Pucked Up

“Oh. It’s Camp Beaver Woods.” Me and Randy had a good laugh about that.

“Why’d you pick one in Canada? It seems out of the way.” Kale picks a dandelion fluff out of Su

She’s fixed her hair since I first came downstairs. It’s not the wild mess it was. The braid is smoother, but tendrils have already escaped, blowing around her face when the breeze picks up.

“Usually I do a couple of weeks in the Chicago area so I can visit my family, but now that I’m back there, I figured I’d do something different this year. And I wanted an excuse to see Su

“Looks like.” He grins.

I lean back in my chair and return the smile. “I don’t mind sticking around for a few days after the camp is over, though.”

The tension at the table is thicker than my playoff beard. I’m aware I’m having a pissing contest with this ski

Lily puts down her phone. “So this camp you volunteer for, it’s for hockey brats?” She says it more than she asks.

I frown. “It’s a sports camp, but a few of the kids have special needs.”

“Miller subsidizes it so struggling families can afford it,” Su

Ironically, Lily seems shocked. “Oh. I didn’t realize that.” Everything she knows about me is based on media coverage and Instagram pictures posted by bu

“It’s not something I advertise.”

“What’s it called again?” Lily asks.

“Camp Beaver Woods,” Su

The conversation makes me feel uncomfortable—like I’m on the hot seat facing a bestie interrogation. Lily has this look on her face like someone shit in her cornflakes.

Daisy pats my hand. “You’re always doing such wonderful things. You’re so generous. Isn’t he, Su

She gives me a small smile. “He is.” She looks almost guilty. I can’t imagine why.

“It’s no big deal. I don’t think something like money should get in the way of a kid’s opportunity.”

“Must be nice to have lots to throw around,” Kale says, loud enough that we all hear him.

I want to give this dickhead a swirly. He’s being antagonistic. If I was on the ice, I’d stick him in the shins, but I’m not. So I only have words as an option. “You think helping pay for kids who otherwise would never have a chance to go to a camp like this is throwing money around?”

“I don’t think Kale means it like that,” Su

“I just think there are other causes you can donate to that would have more of an impact.”

I know exactly the kind of guy Kale is. He’s the same kid in my classes in high school who used to have a comment for everything, the one who would find a weakness and exploit it to make someone feel dumb. I’m done with his superiority complex.

“Really? So you don’t think subsidizing a camp for low-income families or financing a partnership with an inclusion program for kids with special needs is going to have an impact? That’s an interesting perspective.”

He blinks like I’ve high-beamed him. Lily looks stu

“Miller’s involved in a lot of charity work.” Su

I don’t want to defend myself to this jerkoff, or have Su

I’m also aware that my current career is limited. I’m only going to be able to do this for so long before my body starts to break down on me, before I’m not fast enough or good enough to keep up with the younger players. I’ve started doing the charity stuff now so I can continue it later and have something beyond professional hockey in my life when that’s over.

Lily puts an end to the smoldering argument before it can really ignite. “We should get going. It’s a long drive, and we’ll want to set up camp before it gets dark.”

Andy sticks his head between Su

A gummy, green blob covered in drool lands in her palm.

“What is that?” Kale gets in closer.

I lean over so I can get a better look. It only takes a second for me to recognize it. It’s one of my Green Giant condoms. Andy must have dug it out of the trash in Su

I scoop it out of her cupped palm. “I got this, sweets. You should wash your hands.”

“It looked like chewed gum,” Daisy exclaims. God bless her.

“He was digging around in your bathroom when I went upstairs to change. You know what he’s like, always loving on your used tissues and stuff.”

“Oh no! Bad Andy! That stuff makes you sick!” She gives him a tap on the nose. He whines.

Robbie makes a noise from the other side of the table. I peek over in his direction. I have a feeling he might know what it was, too.

We help Daisy clean up the plates and cups and bring them inside. Lily excuses herself to the bathroom while Su

I’m about to find a reason to run upstairs when Lily comes out of the bathroom. I need to get her on my side; that way she won’t be pushing Kale on Su

“I think we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot,” I tell her.

She crosses her arms over her chest, looking like she wants to be anywhere but trapped with me in the hall. “What makes you say that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s the way you hate me.”

“I don’t hate you, Miller. I don’t trust you. You’re too smooth and too . . .” She waves her hand around.

“Too what?”

“Too . . . Ken.”

“Ken?”

“You know, like Barbie and Ken.”

“What does that even mean? Ken’s not a bad guy.” Randy’s little sister used to watch Barbie movies all the time. We’d get stuck babysitting when his mom had to work.

“You’re a player.”

“You think Ken’s a player?” If anything, Ken was whipped.

Lily rolls her eyes. “All this charity stuff you do doesn’t change the reputation you have with women. Su

“How do you get to decide what kind of guy I am based on the little you actually know of me? I’m not looking to hurt Su

She plants her hands on her hips. Oh, man. Here we go.

“I’m ready!”

I look up to see Su

The guys come out of the kitchen with Su

The door opens to reveal not one of those beat-down camper vans, but a for-real camping trailer. Where people can sleep. It’s old, but seems well maintained. Still, I don’t want Su