"Haven't I made it obvious?
Haven't I made it clear?
Want me to spell it out for you?
F-R-I-E-N-D-S"
FRIENDS - Marshmello & Anne-Marie

oOoOo

On Saturday morning, Grace informs us that she got us tickets for the Bruins game this afternoon. Apparently, her dad owns box seats. He was supposed to go to the game today with friends, but something came up and he gave the tickets to Grace instead.

I'm reluctant to go, but my worries are pushed aside when Blair gives me a pep talk. Hanging out as a group gives me the perfect chance to make things up to Kaden and show him how much he means to me.

After lunch, Blair, Marc, Grace, and I pile into the car. We go to pick Kaden and Chase up from their house and then head to TD Garden.

We enter the building and make our way up to where the box is located.

It has seats in front of a large glass window that overlooks the ice. The back of the room has a long counter with catered food. We are by far the youngest people here; we're sharing the space with businessmen tonight.

"So who are they playing today?" I ask, overlooking the stands. People are starting to file in and take their seats.

"The Canadiens," Chase responds. "They're our biggest rival, so shit might go down tonight."

I'm surprised when he answers me. It's the first time he has acknowledged my presence so far today.

"Yeah. It always makes the game a lot more interesting," Kaden adds.

"Have you ever been to a hockey game?" Grace asks.

"No," Blair and I both answer.

"I don't usually go to huge events like concerts or games. It's a security issue."

It feels good to finally be able to be open. Coming up with countless cover stories was getting exhausting.

"That sucks," Chase says.

"I'm not really into sports, so it's not a big deal to me. I don't understand hockey, anyway." I shrug.

"Same, girl. All I know is that the guys whack a puck with their sticks and fight each other," Grace laughs. "Kaden, didn't you use to play hockey?"

He nods. "Yeah, I've played for most of my life. I can try to explain it."

We claim the seats in the corner of the room.

"Okay, so there are six guys on the ice from each team," Kaden starts. "The goalie obviously defends the goal. The two defensemen are on defense and prevent the other team from scoring. Then, there's the center. Centers are similar to quarterbacks in football. They support the other players and do face-offs for the puck. Finally, the left and right wings try and score. Obviously, each position does so much more than that, but I won't get into that."

"That makes sense, I guess."

Blair nods in agreement.

"We'll explain more as the game goes on," Chase offers.

oOoOo

An hour later, the game is in full swing.

I watch the players skate back and forth. A player shoots the puck across the ice and suddenly a whistle is sounded and the game stops.

"What just happened? What's icing?" I ask after hearing the announcers on the TV next to us talking about it.

"28 just shot the puck all the way down the ice and the puck crossed the red goal line," Kaden says as he points to the rink. "That's not allowed, so the refs paused the game. Now there's a faceoff on the other side of the rink."

We watch the faceoff. The Bruins get possession of the puck and 31 races down the rink. One of the Canadiens checks 31 into the wall. Another Bruin skates over and starts a fight with a Canadien.

Someone's arm knocks a helmet off as the men fight. A few other players join in the fray. Gloves come flying off and players from both teams get checked into the glass.

The crowd is going wild.

The refs break up the fight. On the jumbotron, there's a closeup of one of the players with blood gushing out of his nose.

Another player is shown; he is developing a black eye. This is a hell of a lot more brutal than I thought it would be.

The players who fought get escorted to the penalty box. It's announced that they each have to spend five minutes there.

I try to keep up with the game as what Kaden called a power play goes on. Apparently, the Bruins have the advantage right now.

The next thing I know, a goal is scored. There is a deafening cheer that we can hear loud and clear from our box.

"Who scored?" I whisper to Grace. It's hard to keep up with all the motion.

"I don't know, I wasn't paying attention," she responds, not even looking up from her phone.

I look around and read the room. A few of the men wearing Bruins jerseys are celebrating. I'm guessing the Bruins scored.

The game continues.

Every so often, Chase and Kaden stand up to curse or shout.

In the third period, the Bruins and Canadiens are tied. There are three minutes left, so anything can happen.

I watch as 46 swipes the puck from the Canadien. He turns around and passes the puck to one of his teammates.

The Bruins approach the goal, passing the puck back and forth.

The Canadiens have no luck in stealing the puck back.

Number 31 gets the puck and makes a shot. The crowd goes silent as the puck slides across the ice. It goes in the goal, and the crowd roars as the Bruins win the game.

oOoOo

After the game, we head to a sports bar for dinner.

We file into a circular booth. I squish myself between Grace and Blair so I don't end up next to Kaden.

I can handle spending time near him, but being squished up against each other in a booth would make this dinner much more awkward.

"Welcome to O'Malley's Bar and Grill. My name is Rose. I'll be taking care of you guys tonight," our waitress says as she gets out her notepad. "Can I start you guys off with some drinks?"

We all order waters.

"What did you guys think of the game?" Chase asks.

"It was surprisingly fun," Blair says. I nod in agreement.

The waitress returns with our drinks. She spends a little too long looking at Kaden for my liking.

"Are you guys ready to order?" She asks, looking directly at Kaden.

"Yeah, I'll have the Chicken Caesar Salad," I pipe up, trying to divert her attention.

"Sure thing." She scribbles my order down and goes back to making goo-goo eyes at Kaden. He's oblivious or a really good actor.

Grace and Blair both order the Mac and Cheese. Marc gets a cheeseburger and Chase gets a hamburger.

"So, handsome, what can I get you?" She asks Kaden.

Blair catches my eye and pretends to barf.

"I'll have the Quesadilla," he says as he collects our menus and avoids her eye contact.

"Coming right up." She grazes his arm lightly before walking away.

"Well, she's forward," Grace snorts.

"What do you mean?" Kaden asks, looking genuinely confused.

"Dude, she was flirting with you." Chase nudges his shoulder.

Kaden picks at his straw wrapper. "Oh, I didn't notice."

I scoff. Yeah, right. How could he not notice the girl flashing her breasts in his face?

"What was that Kate?" Blair asks with a mischievous smile.

"Oh, nothing." I fake a cough. "Water just went down the wrong pipe."

"Mhmm," Grace hums as she sips her water.

I feel Kaden's eyes on me.

I turn my head in his direction. He quickly looks away.

"So, how are everyone's classes?" I ask to change the subject.

"Terrible," Grace groans. "I'm already considering dropping out and marrying a rich politician. My dad can set me up." She flips her hair. "Ooh, or I can become a hockey wife."

"It can't be that bad."

"Trust me, when you take Accounting 201, you'll consider dropping out too. Especially if you get Professor Freeman."

"Oof, I had him last year for Corporate Finance," Chase says. "Good luck passing his class."

"What about you guys?" Grace asks.

"Pretty good," Kaden shrugs.

"That's not what you were telling me yesterday," Chase snorts.

"What happened?" Marc asks.

Kaden's face turns red. I see him watching me out of the corner of his eye.

"If you won't tell them, I will," Chase laughs.

"Not now," Kaden hisses.

Chase pushes him good-naturedly,

"A girl in one of his classes has been harassing him. Apparently, she made a bet with her friends about hooking up with a guy from each frat on campus. I guess now that Kaden's single, he's eligible for the bet. Anyway, I keep telling him to take the chick up on her offer." He turns back to Kaden. "Maybe you'd be less mopey if you were getting some."

Chase's joke falls flat.

We sit in tense silence as Chase remembers that I'm here.

"Sorry," he says to me, not really meaning it. He still hasn't warmed up to me.

"It's okay, we're friends now. There's no hard feelings." I flash them my brightest smile.

"Bullshit," Blair coughs.

"Is there something you would like to share, Blair?" I say sweetly.

"Nah, I was just wondering if you girls wanted to go to the bathroom with me before the food comes."

The three of us get up and go to the bathroom.

oOoOo

I touch up my lipstick as Blair pees.

"What's going on between you and Kaden?" Grace asks as she fixes her hair.

"What do you mean? We've taken a break and decided to try and be friends again."

"Just friends, my ass."

"Yes, just friends," I say slowly.

"Puh-lease, even someone who is blind and deaf would pick up on the sexual tension between you two."

"There's no sexual tension!"

Blair appears behind me. "Yeah, there is. He hasn't stopped ogling you all night."

"We are friends as of now. I won't make the mistake of sleeping with him again," I declare. "Well, not until we figure this out."

"So step it up, girl. Do something to get your man back. Do you want him to go out with the waitress?"

"Ew no." I crinkle my nose. He'd probably catch some sort of disease.

"Right. So do something! The tension between you two is uncomfortable," Grace says.

"Agreed. My suggestion is to just fuck it away. Have mind-blowing makeup sex to fix the problems."

"That's what I thought we were doing last weekend, but I was sorely mistaken," I say bitterly.

"Well, that's why you need to communicate," Grace laughs.

"Like you should talk. You never talk about feelings with Chase."

"Fuck off. We're talking about you now."

"Let's go back," Blair interrupts. "We've been in here long enough."

We head back to the table and find our food waiting for us. The boys have already started eating.

oOoOo

Since the night is still young, we decide to drive around the city, blasting music.

Marc drives like usual and Blair calls shotgun.

Kaden, Chase, Grace, and I cram into the back seat.

It's a snug fit, since the backseat only seats three, but we make it work.

We drive through downtown, singing along to Lizzo, One Direction, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé.

All of the tension is forgotten as we scream at the top of our lungs for hours on end.

I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night with my friends.

oOoOo

Thanks for reading chapter 30! Please don't forget to vote and comment! <3

Also, please correct me if I got any of the hockey descriptions wrong. I know next to nothing about the sport and had to Google almost all of it lol. My next book is going to have an athlete love-interest, so I'm trying to practice sports talk lmao.