Darkroom: A Moo U Hockey Romance

the safety of my room, I stopped. Lord, I was hungry. Unfortunately, I hadn’t shown Ruby my birthmark yet. The reason I’d avoided it so far was because she was breathtakingly beautiful. Hawaiian on her father’s side and Chinese on her mother’s side, she was an Asian Heidi Klum. She had gorgeous black hair with a natural wave in it that I envied. Her features were elegant and delicate, and even though her lips were on the thin side, her smile was arresting. Don’t even get me started on her smooth golden skin or her long legs.
“Come on. You’d be doing me a favor. I made way too much,” she said.
When I heard the scrape of Ruby’s chair, I made a snap decision.
“Okay, but first I have to tell you something,” I said, removing my sunglasses.
“That sounds a little ominous. Should I be worried?”
“No. It’s not really a big deal,” I said in what I hoped was a casual tone. “I just wanted you to know that I have what’s known as a port-wine stain birthmark on my face.”
Even though my heart was pounding, I tugged my hood down, unwound the scarf and turned around. If she was grossed out, it was going to make things awkward between us for the rest of the year.
“Wow. You weren’t kidding,” she said, putting down the bowl of rice. “That’s…pretty sizable. Were you bullied a lot in school because of it?”
“I got teased every day when I was younger, especially in middle school.”
She growled. “I hate bullies. Nothing good ever comes from bullying.”
“I agree. It’s horrible and I don’t wish it on anyone, but I like to think it made me a stronger person.”
“That’s the spirit. I knew I liked you,” she said, smiling. “Now come sit down and try my fried rice.”
She grabbed an extra fork and we sat down at the table. Even though I was born in China, Chinese food was not my go-to ethnic cuisine, but I was so hungry, I didn’t really care at the moment. I took a bite and was rewarded with a mouthful of deliciousness I couldn’t deny. The SPAM was like a chewy, salty umami bomb in my mouth. Minced ginger gave it a sharp bite, the green peas added a sweetness and when I squirted Sriracha sauce all over it, it was game over.
“Ruby, this is really good.”
She beamed at me. “Thanks. We eat fried rice a lot at home. It’s easy because you can just use whatever you have on hand in the fridge. It’s great for using up leftovers.”
“Funny, pizza is kind of like that too. Sometimes for staff meal, we’d come up with the weirdest combinations.”
“I’m sorry. What’s staff meal?” she asked.
“My parents own a pizzeria. Staff meal is what you feed the restaurant staff before the rush.”
“Oh my gosh, that’s so cool. Did you work there? Can you toss the pizza like they do in the movies?”
“Yes, I can, but it’s not really that hard. People we hire usually get the hang of it after a couple days.”
“What’s the weirdest pizza you’ve come up with for staff meal?”
I took a swig of water from my water bottle. “Well, one of my personal favorites was the cheeseburger and dill pickle pizza.”
“Whaaat?”
“First, you spread ketchup and mustard on the dough.”
“Okay. You can stop right there.” She made a face. “Ketchup and mustard?”
“Hear me out,” I said. “Ketchup and mustard as the sauce. Top that with cheese and cooked ground beef and bake. After it comes out of the oven, you put lettuce, chopped pickle, and onion on top and drizzle it with a sauce made out of mayo and—don’t freak out—pickle juice.”
Instead of instantly recoiling like she had before, Ruby thought about that. “Okay, actually that might not be that bad. It’s like an open-faced burger on crust.”
“It’s delicious. Honestly. Another fave with an unconventional sauce is something my dad ended up putting on the menu, the Brat Bacon Pizza. The sauce is apricot jam and honey mustard. The toppings are bratwurst, dry-cured bacon, grilled onions and cheese.”
“Now, that sounds like it’s to die for. Indi, where did you say your parents live again? Because you seriously need to take me to your pizzeria.”
“They live in Brattleboro, about two hours south of here. We’ll have to visit one weekend. You can have all the pizza you can eat.”
“That sounds amazing.”
After we’d finished and were cleaning up, Ruby said, “Hey, Indi, can I ask you a delicate question? It’s about your birthmark.”
“Sure.”
“I saw how you were dressed before…” She made a circular motion with her hand around her face. “And I was wondering if your birthmark is supposed to be a secret, because if it is, I’ll keep it until I die…”
“No, it’s not really a secret. It’s just…private. The only people who know about it are my very close friends and family.”
“Okay. I get it. Thanks for clarifying. And for the record, I want to say that I’m really grateful you shared this with me. I think we’re going to be great friends.”
Touched by her sincerity, I had to blink back some tears. I’d been afraid that being so beautiful might have caused her to place a higher than normal value on looks, which would mean that once she saw my PWS, I’d become an object of disdain. I’d had it happen. One of my aunts was obsessed with her appearance, and she loved to dole out criticism about people’s clothing or hair or whatever. She was a mean girl who never grew out of it and although she’d never said anything to my face, I knew she talked about me with pity when I wasn’t around.
But Ruby was the opposite of a mean girl. People claimed you made some of the best friends in your life while at college, and so far, it seemed like that might be true.

4
Hudson
When we got to the Blue Spruce, our teammates were already there, milling around the lobby. While my dad went to the hostess