The Attack Zone (Slap Shot #2)

26. Mitch

CHAPTER 26

MITCH

THE NEXT DAY

W hen Caleb asked me and Thomas to plan his bachelor party, I thought for sure we’d be the only people he invited. But then he added a guy who just got traded to the Blizzards to a group text with us. Matti is from Finland originally, but has been playing for Montreal for the past few seasons. He seems like a nice guy, but he’s somehow shier than Caleb so I’m not entirely sure how this is going to go. Caleb wanted nothing to do with planning, so Thomas and I took care of all the details. We decided to surprise him with a trip to Puerto Rico for some R I was too drunk that night and then yesterday we had to get ready for the trip, but at least I don’t feel like launching myself at his throat when I see him at check-in in the airport. That’s growth ... right?

“Hey, man,” Thomas says as I approach his check-in kiosk.

“Hey,” I say, not looking up as I go through my phone for my confirmation number.

“Dude.” He places a hand on my shoulder. “Are we good?” he asks.

“Let’s just focus on Caleb right now,” I say. “He deserves a great party.”

“Mitch, I didn’t mean to make her cry,” he says.

“I know, man. We’re good. We always will be,” I say. “Let’s just focus on getting to PR and then we can talk about it on the beach or something.”

The thing is, I’m pissed as hell at him about Stacey, but some of what he said was true. I shouldn’t be drinking that much. Especially when I’m already feeling a bit fragile from the playoff loss. But he was way off base with what he said about Stacey, and I don’t quite know how to forgive him for making her almost cry. I’ve never seen her that upset—angry, sure. But never with tears in her eyes. I wanted so much to scoop her in my arms and make it okay, but I wasn’t in any kind of a state to do that, and I was so busy with getting ready for the trip that I didn’t get to see her at all before leaving. Once we’re checked in, I type out a message to her.

Mitch: Ready to get your outdoorsy on?

Stacey: Ugh.

Mitch: Do you even own hiking boots?

Stacey: I bought some cute ones yesterday!

Mitch: Cute is not how I’d describe useful hiking boots. Are they comfortable?

Stacey: ...

Mitch: I’ll take that as a no.

Stacey: But look how cute!

Then she sends me a photo of herself in a mirror of a local outdoor store, posing with her new boots. She’s wearing a short skirt and a blouse. It’s both hilarious and adorable to see the outfit—and Stacey in general—with hiking boots.

Mitch: Well at least the trees will be impressed by your sexiness.

Mitch: Just the trees though.

Mitch: No other men.

There’s no reply. I realize we haven’t talked about whether or not we’re sleeping with other people. I obviously haven’t, but what if she is? Dear god, I hope not.

Mitch: Right?

Finally, she sends a laughing emoji. I’m not sure what that means though.

Stacey: Yes, Mitch. No other men.

Oh, thank god.

We arrive at our gate and see Caleb and Matti sitting in silence together. It was really nice of Caleb to invite Matti, but the two of them definitely need some help getting out of their shells. Good thing I’m excellent at that.

“Who’s ready to party it up in PR?” I ask with a little dance as I approach.

“Hell yeah,” says Thomas, offering his hand for a high-five. As soon as our hands collide, Caleb has a smile on his face and Matti seems more relaxed. It’ll be worth it to let go of my anger towards Thomas if it means this trip goes well, so I pull him into a hug. Toxic masculinity can suck my dick. He slaps my back weirdly like all men do and steps back. We share a knowing look and I guess this is what burying the hatchet feels like. I haven’t been historically great at it, but Thomas has been there for me when my own parents weren’t, so I have to try.

My phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s a photo message to our group chat from Stacey of the girls in her SUV driving up to the mountains. Cassie and Hazel are there too, along with Cassie’s new sparring partner for boxing, Sarah, but I just stare at Stacey. She has a big grin on her face, and it nearly takes my breath away. Thomas and Caleb got the text too. It makes sense for Caleb to be checking out his future wife, but Thomas seems to be staring at it too. I wonder what that’s about?

“She’s married, dude,” Caleb says to Thomas.

“Who’s married?” he asks.

“Sarah, isn’t that who you’re staring at?” Caleb asks.

“I’m not staring at anyone,” King says, far too quickly to be convincing. I’ll definitely be asking him about this at our next breakfast together. But for now, I’ll let him off the hook.

“Does everyone want their first party favor?” I ask.

“Party favors?” Matti asks, a half-confused, half-concerned look on his face.

“Mitch doesn’t do anything halfway,” Caleb says.

I reach into my bag and pull out the custom fanny packs Stacey helped me order on Etsy. They say Caleb’s Crew , except for Caleb’s, which just says Groom . We might look like a bachelorette party, but I don’t care. These things are awesome.

“I am not using that,” says King.

“Yes, you are,” Caleb says defiantly.

We all stare at him. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him sound so self-assured in my life.

“What?” he asks. “It’s my party, right?”

Two Days Later

Traveling for work is one thing; I’m used to it. It’s basically part of my routine at this point. But vacations are something else entirely and as soon as we landed in Puerto Rico, I felt completely alive with energy zinging through my body at light speed. It feels amazing. We’re walking around Old San Juan when Thomas turns to me.

“Okay,” he says as he reaches inside his fanny pack. “This thing is actually really awesome. There’s so much space! ”

“Yeah,” Matti says. “Now I understand why women carry purses.”

“Their clothes also don’t have real pockets,” Caleb says. “Cassie complains about it all the time.”

“That would drive me nuts,” Thomas says.

“Patriarchy, man,” I say. “It’s a bitch.”

Matti and Thomas both give me a weird look. “Has planning my wedding turned you into Stacey?” Caleb asks.

“Which one is Stacey again?” Matti asks.

“The sexy as fuck one,” I say without thinking. I do that a lot when I have this much energy. Thomas’ eyes go wide, and Caleb’s mouth falls open. “What?” I ask, looking for a quick recovery. “You can’t deny that she’s hot, guys.”

“Of course she is,” Thomas says, even though I know he’s not into her at all. At least he’s on my side about Caleb not finding out about Stacey. She would kill me. “Anyway ...”

“Who wants to get a Puerto Rican hat?” I ask, motioning to the local hat maker I already researched down the street. Thank god I saw it out of the corner of my eye.

“Won’t we look a little ridiculous?” Caleb asks.

“Nah, I look great in hats,” Matti says proudly. The dude would probably look good in anything with his Finnish genes, but I’ll take it.

We each get fitted for our custom hats and walk across the street to snap a photo. I share it to my Instagram story and send it off to the group chat. Stacey sends me a separate text.

Stacey: I shockingly don’t hate the hat.

Mitch: Maybe you just don’t hate me anymore.

Stacey: Maybe ... I’m still deciding.

Mitch: Whatever you say, love. What are you guys up to?

Stacey: Check out the view from this rooftop!

Then a photo comes through. It’s a selfie of Stacey in a hot tub, the top of her chest peeking out from her bikini. Her hair is slicked into a high ponytail so I can see the strings of her suit are tied loosely around her neck. Jesus Christ. There are mountains somewhere in the background, I’m sure, but I’m not able to look past Stacey and actually see the view she mentioned.

Mitch: You’re stunning.

Stacey: That’s not the view I was talking about. And you’re making me blush over here.

Mitch: Good. It’s payback for making me horny when I’m thousands of miles away from you.

I’ve actually been horny this entire trip; not that I’d tell Stacey that. Ever since she sent that photo from her car the other day, I’ve wanted nothing more than to figure out how to fuck her as soon as possible. Of course I’m having fun with the guys, it’s been a blast. But I’m ready to get back to Colorado in a couple of days and do very naughty things to my ... whatever she is to me.

Deep down, I know I have too much energy. I know I’m talking a lot and too fast when we’re out to eat. I’m not needing as much sleep as normal, and the other night I got us lost because I wasn’t being careful. I know what all of this means, but when life feels this good, I don’t want it to stop. So I follow King down the sidewalk, and when we happen upon a nightclub that Caleb actually wants to go into, I don’t say no like I should. Instead, I lead the way to the dance floor. Staying up until three in the morning might be a mistake, but that’s a problem for Future Mitch. Present Mitch is too busy having fun.