Obsessed With The Hockey Captain

Zoey's POV

Theo stood behind Ben as if he owned the entire cafeteria. One hand was resting casually on the back of my seat, the other holding an unopened bottle of Gatorade. His face was expressionless, but his eyes… yeah, those were all kinds of smug.

Ben looked up at him in confusion. “Huh?”

“She asked me to dinner last night,” Theo continued, keeping a straight face. “I told her I'll bring flowers and everything." Then he turned to me. "Don’t tell me you’re playing hard to get now.”

Farrah choked on her juice.

Ben blinked fast, glancing between us like he was trying to do the math.

“That’s not... uh... I didn’t know...”

Theo bent over my chair, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret. He was so close I could smell his shampoo. “Look, man. I get it. She’s hot, but I don’t like sharing.”

My mouth fell open. “Excuse you?”

“Oh, you’re talking now?” he asked without even looking at me.

Ben’s ears were bright red now. The poor boy stood up so fast his tray almost flipped.

“I think I’ll just.. uh... go sit over there. Sorry.”

He was gone before I could stop him. I turned to Theo slowly, feeling anger burn in my chest. “What the hell was that?”

“I saved you.”

“You ruined it!”

He twisted the bottle of his Gatorade open again. “You’re welcome, Princess.”

I shoved my chair back and stood to my feet. “You’re such a jackass.”

Theo smiled and walked off to join his group at the back. I sank back into my chair.

“Breathe,” Farrah murmured carefully, rubbing my back. “In through your nose, out through your rage.”

I glared at her. “Why are you laughing?”

“I’m not! I just... Ben wasn’t your type anyway.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She shrugged. “You need someone who can actually look you in the eye without stuttering.”

“That doesn’t mean I wanted Theo jumping in like some jealous husband.”

“You two have issues.”

“We do not.”

Farrah raised both brows. “Sure.”

I was done. I grabbed my laptop and shoved it into my bag with probably too much force. My salad went untouched and forgotten as I slung the strap over my shoulder.

“Where are you going?” Farrah asked.

“Class!” I snapped. “I’ve got Directing and Stage Performance in twenty minutes and I need to keep myself from committing murder.”

"Wait!" Farrah scrambled to get her things and run after me. We were almost at the door of the cafeteria when I stopped walking for a second, feeling something behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know he was watching. Still, I did.

Slowly, I looked over my shoulder and there he was, sitting with his hockey friends. They were laughing and joking as if they didn’t just tag-team the most irritating moment of my day.

But Theo was watching me, sitting reclined and with his legs spread. His face was blank, but his eyes were all over me. So I raised my hand and gave him the finger.

His entire table erupted. I heard loud whoops and catcalls and a few exaggerated gasps. I didn’t stay to hear the rest.

I turned around and walked away with my chin up. Because if Theo Denning wanted to play games, he had no idea who he was messing with.

********

Farrah was practically bouncing beside me as we headed toward class.

“I still can’t believe he said you were already his date!” she said, bursting into another laugh. “God, Theo’s got you bad.”

I glared at her. “He doesn’t have me anything. He’s an ass.”

“Uh-huh. That’s why your face went tomato red when he showed up, right?”

“I was embarrassed, not turned on. Get the difference!”

Farrah cackled like I just told the funniest joke of the year. “Sure, sure. Just admit you like him a little.”

“I don’t like him,” I snapped. “In fact, I’m going to prove it.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What are you planning?”

“I’m going to date Ben.”

Farrah stopped walking. “Ben?”

“Yes, Ben!” I grumbled, adjusting my bag on my shoulder. “He’s cute, he’s sweet and he doesn’t make me want to set things on fire.”

Farrah tilted her head. “You’re gonna date Ben to prove you don’t want Theo?”

“Exactly.”

She let out a slow whistle. “This I have to see. Good luck, drama queen. I’ve got math.”

“Enjoy your numbers,” I muttered, peeling off toward the theater hall while she walked off giggling.

Inside the hall, a few students were already warming up. I spotted Ben immediately from his brown tousled hair, soft eyes and tall build. He had this slightly awkward, almost golden retriever energy. He was clean-cut and definitely gym-fit, but without the testosterone cloud of Theo and his boys.

He was stretching by the edge of the stage, humming to himself.

I stared at him for a second. He was handsome. Maybe not the type that set your bones on fire, but cute in a safe and warm way.

Attraction could be built, right?

I walked over to him. “Hey,” I greeted, biting the inside of my cheek. “About yesterday…”

Ben looked up, frowning in surprise. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for how that went down. Theo is unpredictable.”

“It’s okay,” he said quickly, waving it off. “It wasn’t your fault. I know how he can be; I'm on his hockey team, remember?”

I nodded, shifting my weight. “Still, I wanted to say… if the offer still stands, I’d like to go out with you.”

Ben’s face lit up like I’d handed him a trophy. “Yeah! Totally. I’ll text you?”

I smiled back. “Cool.”

Ben was adorable. He didn’t even carry himself like a hockey guy. I couldn’t believe he was on the team at all.

Just then, our teacher walked in.

“Good afternoon, my babies!” he sang, strutting across the room in a pair of plaid pants that were definitely not dress code. “Gather ‘round, gather ‘round.”

Mr. Tevin Langston was very loud and dressed like fashion threw up on him in a fit of joy. His rings clinked as he waved us closer.

“Now, our fall showcase,” he said, placing one hand dramatically on his chest. “We’ll be performing Romeo Rewired at the College's Harvest Arts Gala in October, so y’all better start channeling your inner heartbreak.”

Groans all around. Tevin ignored them.

“Zoey, Ben, you two are our leads, per last week’s read-through. Offstage, please. You’ve got sparks to prep.”

Ben and I nodded and slipped off toward the wing. When we were alone again, Ben turned to me. “So, I guess we’re gonna be kissing a lot.”

I froze. “What?”

“In the play,” he rushed. “In the script. I mean. We should probably practice, right? So it’s not awkward onstage.”

His voice trailed off. “Sorry. That sounded pushy.”

It was indeed forward, and I should’ve said no to him. But then I remembered Farrah and her smug little face telling me that I was doomed to orbit around Theo forever.

So I stepped forward, just a little. “Okay. Let’s try.”

I leaned up and pressed a soft, quick peck to Ben’s lips. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t… anything, really. In fact, I was just starting to lean into the kiss when someone roared behind us.

“BASTARD!”

Before I could turn around, a loud thud echoed through the backstage. Ben jerked backward as Theo tackled him from behind, fist crashing into his jaw.