Wicked Winters: A Collection of Winter Tales

by Lucy Smoke

  Now, all I had to do was figure out what I would say when we did have that talk.

  28

  Hayden

  Saturday 9th December – 16 days until Christmas

  I entered The Press office to see Steph sitting in my chair at my desk, legs up on the table with her ankles crossed, staring off into space.

  "Comfortable?" I called out as I let the door slam behind me, a scowl on my face. I looked around the room and saw that Steph was alone. Where was this lead?

  She blushed as she dropped her legs. "Sorry Sugar, I've seen it in movies and wanted to give it ago. Didn't expect you to catch me, I thought you would be caught up with Justin for a bit longer."

  "And what is that supposed to mean?" I demanded from her.

  Her eyes went wide. "N… Nothing, just that your study sessions normally go long on Saturdays."

  “Oh, right. Well, I saw your text before Justin arrived, so I left when we were done.” I removed some of the edge from my tone. Dropping my bag on my desk, I walked around it, and sat down in my chair, reclaiming it as mine. Leaning back, I gestured for Steph to take a seat in one on the other side. “So, what’s this about a ‘real’ lead?” I asked, bunny quoting real.

  Steph perked right up, sitting on the edge of her seat. “Well, last night when I was in the marquee and Christian was helping out a couple of kids with their snowman, this couple comes up to fill in the details for their plot. I’d instantly recognized the guy as a hockey player since he’d cornered me on my way to art history last week. Once he had grabbed a pail of snow and headed off to their plot, I grabbed the girl’s arm and I said to her, ‘Darling, that guy is bad news. He’s on the hockey team and they have a sex rating system. If you sleep with him you will end up on their scoreboard.’ I thought she would have been glad to have the knowledge, but she just let out a laugh.” Steph leaned forward and tapped the table with her index finger, “Now, this is the good bit. She said that she was already on the board and was competing to be this year’s Puck Queen.”

  Fuck, this was a real lead. Puck Queen. These girls were actively competing, by intentionally sleeping with the entire team? The words sank into my brain, as Steph sat there looking like an excited puppy about to be rescued from the shelter.

  My heart sank at the realization that I no longer needed to continue on with the guys. Steph had done what she had set out to do and found us a Puck. I could ditch my cover and finally get the information we needed. The journalist in me perked her head up from under the pile of denial she’d been hiding under and sharpened her pencil.

  I leaned forward in my seat. “Tell me there’s more,” I demanded.

  “There’s more Sugar, there’s enough that you could write a two-page spread on this with pictures,” Steph said with glee; her eyes sparkled and ringlets bounced. “At first, I was a bit shocked, but I pulled myself back together quickly enough. I asked her what she meant. She explained what we already knew. It’s called the Puck Games, and the Puck Board is the actual scoreboard, which has all the names of the players currently participating as well as the names of the Pucks. The only players who don’t participate are the ones who have girlfriends. She called them something in particular, but I can’t remember what it was. I asked her if I could talk to her more about it because my friend had accidentally gotten her name on the board. You’re the friend Hay, I figured that would be your cover story when you meet her,” Steph said with a proud smile on her face.

  “Meet her?” I asked quizzically.

  “Yeah, on Tuesday afternoon at the Coffee House. Apparently, she has plans for the weekend. Earliest she could do was Tuesday afternoon.”

  I sat there staring at Steph for a second. This was amazing. A girl who actually wanted to have her name on that board was going to provide us with everything we needed to know to write at least a preliminary article. Once we blew the lid, maybe we could get access to the actual board itself.

  “We need to make a list of questions and decide who should ask them. We’ll need to frame them as if my name is actually on the board and that I am worried about what that means, rather than going for the traditional interrogation approach. If she is participating in the Puck Games by choice, she won’t want to be a source to the article that puts a stop to it.” A list of possible questions already flowed through my mind.

  Steph pulled out her laptop and had it opened and on my desk before I’d even finished speaking. I got up out of my chair and headed around to her side of the table, sitting in the twin seat to hers, which I dragged a little closer so that I was practically sitting on top of her. I threw an arm around her and gave her a squeeze, whispering, “Thank you.”

  She patted my knee with her free hand while she opened up a blank document on her laptop with the other. “You can thank me by writing this article and getting my damn name off that board.”

  I sat up straight and gave a sharp nod and then started letting my ideas flow out as Steph typed. We worked on our questions together for a few hours, molding them so that we didn’t blow our cover, and then practicing them so they sounded genuine. Once Steph felt I had the whole act under my belt, she said goodbye for the day, leaving me at The Press so she could go grab dinner and have The Conversation with James. Finally.

  My plan for the rest of the evening was to sort through all the remaining paperwork to do with the Winter Wonderland, which meant I had to walk across campus to the committee meeting room, since that was where the campus security had left all of the stall boxes. It was going to be a long night.

  29

  Vinnie

  Saturday 9th December – 16 days until Christmas

  My phone vibrated on the coffee table in front of me as my player shot a three to tie up the score against Justin’s team. I glanced at it quickly and saw Hayden’s nickname on the screen. My heart stuttered a little; it was the first time I’d heard from her since last night. I’d decided to give her space, let her make her own decision about moving forward.

  It had killed me not to message her all day.

  And now, there was a message waiting for me behind the darkened screen of my phone while I sat here letting Justin steal the ball from me as I mooned over a girl. Crap, okay Vinnie concentrate, only a minute left in the game.

  We went up and down the court; Justin scored two free throws from a penalty my defensive man caused. My hands twitched on the controller as I waited for Justin to finish shooting. Ten seconds left. I needed the turnover, or I was toast.

  Just after he scored his second shot his phone vibrated on the armrest of the couch. Whoever was texting him caught his attention long enough for me to grab the ball mid-air, drive it up the court, and just for fun score an undefended three.

  “Yes!” I stood up, holding my hands up in the air in a victor’s V. I reached down and soft punched Justin in the shoulder. “Pumped you again!”

  Justin just grunted at me as he stood up and grabbed his phone, jamming it into the pocket of his hoodie as he headed into the kitchen.

  I stood there and just watched him as he walked away from me, a little confused by his dismissal. I shrugged it off, it was fine by me; I could message Scoop back.

  Scoop: What ya up to? J

  Me: Just kicked one of my roommate’s butt at NBA Live. You?

  I stared at the screen waiting for a response; my thumbnail tapped the glass. I waited a few more seconds, but didn’t see anything so locked my phone. Of course, right at that second, I saw my message change from delivered to read.

  I went to unlock my phone, but then stopped myself. If I opened the message before she sent her reply, her message would appear as instantly read. Do I want her to see that I was waiting for her reply?

  What am I doing? Act normal dude. Seriously.

  I unlocked my phone and went back into the message just as it arrived.

  Scoop: I’m at the Life Sciences building in one of the student meeting rooms working through all the unfinished paperwork from last night. Boring zzzzzzz.
/>
  More bubbles appeared straightaway, so I just waited until the next message game through.

  Scoop: I had a great time last night x

  I stared at her words for a few seconds, letting them sink in. This was it; I had to make a decision. I liked Scoop, a lot. I respected the hell out of her. I seriously didn’t want her name anywhere near the Puck Board. Last night was our third date, so technically I could have asked to go back to her dorm room. Instead when she had asked to come back to my place, I had turned her down.

  Which meant I had already made my decision.

  I wasn’t going to sleep with her until I had a commitment from her. Until she was officially mine. The rules of the Puck Games said that I needed that commitment first, so that I could declare myself as a Whip, otherwise I would have to put her name up on the board.

  Since I didn’t want her name on the board, and I didn’t want to stop seeing her, then I was going to have to ask Scoop to be my girlfriend. Tonight.

  But how? Scoop was skittish at the best of times, last night being the exception. My mind zoomed through the options, quickly making a decision. But first, I’d have a little fun, pay back for apparently not being mysterious.

  Me: I had a great time too, got to spend some time with this fabulous girl. I picked out her Christmas tree for her J

  I smiled down at my screen, hoping she’d take the bait.

  While I waited for her reply, I changed screens and opened up the app for my Uncle Giovanni’s pizzeria and quickly ordered a pizza, putting in our family discount code. With my phone in my pocket, hand wrapped around it so I wouldn’t miss her reply, I followed Justin into the kitchen.

  He was leaned back against the kitchen counter, texting someone on his phone, probably Grant. Those two had been hanging out a lot recently. I hadn’t realized they were so close. I’d overheard Grant’s advice to Justin the other night, and it had hit close to home for me. I’d thought about it all night and then when I’d seen Scoop the next day at the Coffee House, I just hadn’t been able to resist asking her out on a date.

  “Hey man, I’m heading to Uncle Gio’s to grab a pie. Mikie messaged me to come hang out for a bit, so I’ll probably be a while,” I stated as I grabbed the keys to my bike.

  Justin locked his phone and looked up at me, holding it loosely between his fingers as his palms rested on the edge of the counter. My phone vibrated in my hand hidden in my pocket, making me clench my fingers around it nervously.

  “All good man,” he replied distractedly. He glanced over my shoulder and nodded his head in acknowledgement.

  I turned and saw Christian coming out from his room, shrugging into a jacket.

  It hit me then. The next time I saw them, I would have a girlfriend. For the first time in our friendship I would be a Whip, off the market, not playing the field. I was seriously going to do this. And I wanted them to meet her. I wanted them to meet Scoop and like her as much as I did. I wanted her to fit in with all of us so that I could have my best friends and my girl.

  I didn’t know what would happen if I had to choose between them. I really liked Scoop, we just clicked so well. But the guys, they were family. We were going pro together. We’d stuck together since freshman year. They had to like her.

  Not one for pulling the band aid off slowly I just dived right in. “What are you guys doing tomorrow?” I asked both of them.

  Christian stopped and looked at me, head cocked to the side as he seemed to think about his answer.

  I turned to Justin who just shook his head at me. “If you bring home another chick, I’m not interested, thanks,” he stated. His phone vibrated against the cabinet, making an obnoxious rattling noise.

  “Oh no, nothing like that. Well kind of, not really. I just wanted to know what you guys would be up to, thought maybe we could hang out or something.” God Vinnie, so lame.

  “Uh, well I was hoping that the girl that got assigned as my TutorAid is free tomorrow since she had to cut our session short today. I might ask her to come here since I won’t have a reserved place at the study hall,” Justin replied as he brought the phone up to read his message.

  Oh. Ohhhh!

  “That’s the girl you were asking Grant for advice about!” I exclaimed; the little details finally clicked together. Justin had met someone. Thank the Hockey Gods. He had needed to let go of Vanessa for months. Damn bitch had had her claws in deep.

  “Oh yeah, how’d that go, did you ask her out?” Christian asked, pocketing his phone.

  Justin and I turned to look at him incredulously.

  Christian had the grace to look sheepish. “I overheard your conversation with Michaels the other day; he wasn’t exactly quiet.”

  Justin looked back at me, jaw clenched. A little bit of panic on his face.

  I held my hands up in front of me. “My lips are sealed bro, I won’t say anything, pretend like this conversation isn’t even happening. Right Christian?”

  Christian nodded his agreement, before he pulled his phone back out of his pocket and read a text that made him smile. Hmmm maybe someone else has met someone too.

  Justin nodded his head and took a breath. “Yeah it’s her. And it went well. We had a date last night actually.”

  “So, you weren’t with Grant last night?” I pressed with a sly smile and raised eyebrow.

  Justin just shook his head, looking everywhere but at me.

  My phone vibrated again. Crap, Scoop.

  “When are you seeing her again?” Christian asked as he fixed his collar and wrapped a scarf around his neck.

  “I’m hoping definitely tomorrow, but thinking about grabbing her some food and dropping it off to her now. Just debating it,” he replied as he frowned at his phone like it would provide him with the answers.

  “Do it man,” I urged. “She’ll love it. Chicks dig it when a guy provides for them.” I was about to do it for Hayden. I could already see the smile on her face when I got to her meeting room.

  Justin nodded his head but kept looking at his feet, still undecided.

  “Jus, stop letting Vanessa get to you. I’m sure this girl is nothing like her because seriously if there is more than one Vanessa walking around on this planet, kill me now. That girl was a bitch,” Christian said as he stepped further into the kitchen and leaned his shoulder up against the cabinets.

  “You’re right, I need to stop letting her affect me. I just don’t want to crowd this girl. She’s amazing, funny, smart, gorgeous. I want to introduce you guys to her, you’ll love her.” Happiness lit his eyes as he spoke about her. I hadn’t seen that look on his face in a long time.

  Is that how I looked when I thought about Scoop? I hoped so.

  “We’d love to meet her man,” I replied as I clapped him on the shoulder. “So, what are you going to take her for dinner?”

  “I was thinking Kung Fu Box,” he returned.

  “Good choice, close to campus, should still be hot by the time you get there.” I smiled back at him. “I need to get going, I can feel Mikie texting me non-stop. Probably threatening to eat all of the pizza.” I felt a little guilty that I hadn’t told the guys about Scoop since Justin had opened up about his girl.

  But I just had to lock her in before I said something. I was always the one turning down girls who wanted more than one night. I couldn’t handle it if they knew I was asking a girl for exclusivity, only for her to turn me down. I would be the butt of every joke from now until we died.

  “Yeah man, see you tomorrow,” Justin replied. I nodded to Christian as I brushed passed him on my way to the front door. I grabbed my coat off the hook on the wall and headed down to my bike.

  Twenty minutes later, I had the pizza, two sodas, and my helmet hanging from my fingers as I approached the Life Sciences building. I checked the map on the foyer wall and located the student meeting rooms on the second level. I went up the stairs to my left and then walked down the hallway, peering through the windows trying to spot Scoop. As I reached the second last door,
the door to the stairs at this end of the hallway opened. I turned to look at the person who was coming towards me, checking something on his phone while a takeout bag hung from his hand with Kung Fu Box’s logo.

  Justin.

  I was just about to ask him what he was doing here when I heard steps coming from behind me. No, no, not him too.

  I turned to face the direction I had come from, to see Christian turn the corner at the top of the stairs. He carried a brown paper bag that looked like it was from our favorite burger place.

  Maybe we were all here for different girls. Maybe Scoop wasn’t alone in that room and this would all just be a funny coincidence.

  I quickly turned to confirm my theory, peering through the horizontal blinds that were obscuring my view. Even though I could barely see through the slits, I could make out Scoop with her headphones on, her head bobbed up and down to the beat of the music she was listening to as she compared pieces of paper. I couldn’t see anyone else.

  My stomach clenched; my pulse pounded in my ears. What the fuck was going on?

  I turned my back to the door as my two roommates, best friends, and wingmen arrived, all three of us formed a triangle. I eyed each of them, noting the tension in their shoulders, the anger in their eyes.

  “I take it Mikie wasn’t at Gio’s?” Christian asked me, derision lacing his tone.

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “Clearly.”

  “Are we all here for the same girl?” Justin asked, his voice deeper than I had ever heard it before. I eyed him warily.

  “There’s only one girl in there,” I confirmed. I watched them both carefully. I had to protect Hayden, now was when I had to step up for her. Make my intentions clear. Family or no, I was into Scoop; she was everything I wanted in a girlfriend. Decision made, I went in for the kill.