Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 92180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92180 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 461(@200wpm)___ 369(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
The Titans played a great game. They would’ve won if you’d been in net.
I smile because my sister is my biggest fan, even though she knows this is preseason and all the players are getting their shot on the ice. But she’ll always think I’m the best and want me out there a hundred percent of the time.
I shoot her a heart emoji and then add, The boys all good?
All tucked into bed and sound asleep, she replies.
I send a thumbs up emoji. I’ll call them in the morning.
I’m disgruntled that’s the only text. Nothing from Brienne.
“Hey, McGinn… up for a beer tonight? We’re tired of you saying no.”
I glance over and see Stone with his sweater off, removing his pads. I look back to my phone, almost willing a text to appear.
It doesn’t.
“Yeah, man. I’m up for beer.”
♦
Coen, Stone, Boone, and I share a table at Mario’s, which is traditionally where the players hang out after a home game win. Yeah, we lost tonight, but the stakes aren’t as high for us as a team. Individually, yes… preseason is stressful as it’s when final determinations are made about who will stay on the team and who goes. It’s safe to say Coen, Stone, Boone, and I aren’t worried about our spots. Boone had stepped into Coen’s place on the first line when Coen got suspended, but now that he’s back, he’s been killing it on right wing, the spot vacated when Gage moved to the coaching staff.
“It’s about time you came out with us,” Boone grouches to me after the waitress brings our beers.
I take a sip and look around the place. It’s nice, but crowded, and I’ve not done the limelight stuff in forever. I’ve tried to avoid attention, given the shitty experiences I’ve had this past year.
“Admit it,” Stone says, punching me in the shoulder, a smirk on his face. “You have someone you’ve been seeing on the side. It’s why you’re always ditching us after games.”
“What?” I exclaim, eyebrows raised as I try to look offended and shocked at the same time. “No fucking way.”
An absolute lie, but no way in hell can I explain this thing with Brienne. What we’re doing is forbidden.
I think.
Not sure, but it’s absolutely something that cannot get out.
“I’ve just been trying to unpack and get everything settled before the boys arrive.” It’s a partial truth, as I have been unpacking a bit each day, when I can.
“Remind me how old your kids are?” Coen asks. I have to say, I’d expected him to be an asshole based on how he acted last season, but he’s one of the chillest dudes.
“Jake is almost seven, and my twins, Colby and Tanner, are five.”
“Jesus… twins?” Coen’s eyes are wide and awestruck. “That’s got to be all kinds of awesome and terrifying at the same time.”
Laughing, I shake my head. “Honestly… I’ve learned to roll with the punches trying to raise three little boys.”
“Three sounds like a good number,” Coen muses.
“Not even dating but a few months, and you’re already thinking of kids,” Boone teases.
Coen shrugs. “I’d love to talk Tillie into moving here permanently during the season. I haven’t really thought past trying to figure out how to make the long-distance thing work.”
I feel like I’ve become a bit of an expert over the last year on figuring out how to make things work, so I give unsolicited advice. “Compromise, hard work, patience, and a whole lot of humility.”
“That’s your formula?” Stone asks.
“It’s not the entire formula, but those are the main ingredients.”
“You should write a fucking self-help book, dude.” Stone laughs. “I bet raising three kids on your own has toughened you up so that you can handle anything.”
I chuckle because raising these boys is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. “That’s one way to look at it.”
It’s also the most rewarding, so it goes without saying I don’t regret a single fucking heartache or frustration. I don’t even regret Crystal because she gave birth to my boys who hold every inch of my heart.
“So, what do you guys think about how the team’s shaping up?” Stone asks, and just like that, we’re talking hockey. That’s par for the course when going out with teammates. You’re either talking hockey or getting laid. Since Coen and Stone are in committed relationships, and I’m sure as hell not out to get laid tonight, hockey is where we stay.
Although maybe I should get laid.
That would probably end this obsession with Brienne. I glance around, notice several hot women, a few who are overtly staring at our table with calculated looks. I could crook a finger and one of them would be in my bed tonight.
The waitress appears. “You guys ready for another round?”
Stone drains the rest of his beer and sets the bottle down. “I’m out. Heading home to Harlow who’s far better company than you losers.”