Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55153 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“Pax, can we get a comment about your father’s Hall of Fame induction?” a female reporter asks.
Aggravation flares inside me. Who does this woman think she is, ambushing me to ask about my father?
“I’m proud of my teammates for winning our home opener,” I say, still walking. “We worked hard for this during the off-season. Jake Cameron made it clear he belongs on this team, rookie or not. You should be interviewing him, not me.”
“And we will, but as you know, your father holds several NBA records and the whole sports world is buzzing about not just his Hall of Fame induction, but rumors that he’s about to become the next coach of the Chicago Sun. What can you tell us about that?”
I open the door for Kylie, glaring at the reporter. “Why don’t you ask him about it?”
“We’d love to, but”
A security guard walks up to our group as we enter the player lot and puts an arm out to shield me from the reporters.
“This is the player lot and entry is restricted to players only,” he tells them. “I need you to go back inside the arena.”
“I have a press pass,” the reporter says, annoyed.
“Doesn’t matter,” the security guard tells her. “That doesn’t get you into this lot.”
“Does that happen to you all the time?” Kylie asks as we cross the lot to where my Suburban is parked.
“Sometimes. It’s just part of the job.”
I still have her hand in mine. I’m not letting go until she does, which turns out to be when I push a button on my key fob to unlock my car. When I follow her to the passenger side and open her door, she gives me a playful smile.
“You don’t have to play the role when no one’s watching,” she says.
Oh, but I want to. I want to play this role for as long as she’ll let me.
“I’d open your door even if you weren’t my fake girlfriend,” I assure her.
“Thank you,” she says as I put out a hand for her to hold as she steps up and into the vehicle.
I clear my throat as I drive to the parking lot exit, as nervous as a high school kid on his first date. This isn’t how dating works for me anymore. There are eager women in every city we travel to, and I indulge on occasion, but the rest of the time, I’m focused on hockey. Between regular training and our grueling game schedule, there’s not much time left to meet women, let alone take them out for a normal date.
“How was your day?” I ask Kylie.
She yawns and then smiles sheepishly. “Sorry, I’m not used to being up this late. It was a good day, but we were shorthanded at work, so everyone was busy.”
“We don’t have to go out, if you’re tired.”
Disappointment settles in my gut as I say the words, because I’ve been looking forward to this since we made the plans a few days ago. I even got a haircut and bought new cologne. But I don’t want her to feel like she has to stay up late pretending to be my girl after a long day at her challenging job.
“Oh no, I want to,” she says. “It’s been years since I’ve been out past ten with other adults. And tomorrow is Saturday, so I can sleep in.”
“Do you always get weekends off?”
“Yes, that’s a great thing about my job. I have weekends off, and I can take Jasmine to school every morning. My mom picks her up.”
A sudden, clear memory I haven’t thought about in a long time pops into my head out of nowhere. I’m in fourth grade, and my nanny Carrie and I are at Meet the Teacher Night at school. Other kids are there with their parents, and I can clearly read the look of pity my teacher gives me when Carrie introduces herself as my nanny.
When I was a kid, I spent more time with my nanny, my driver, and two security guards than I did my actual parents. Being Nathan Bishop’s kid wasn’t as great as everyone thinks it was.
“You okay?” Kylie asks me.
I shake off the memory and smile. “Yeah, I’m good. Are you hungry?”
“I am, even though I ate dinner already.”
“This is second dinner,” I tell her lightly. “Everyone on the team has two dinners. I highly recommend it.”
Kylie laughs. “If I did that, I’d have a second chin before long.” She reaches up and touches her neck. “Or a third? I may already have a second one.”
“You’re beautiful,” I assure her.
She looks over at me, eyes wide with surprise. “Um, thanks. It’s been an eternity since I felt like anything but a tired, run-down mom.”
We arrive at Andiamo and I park, wishing we could stay in the car so I could have her full attention. I’ve avoided going over to Pike’s house for a while because I knew my growing feelings for Kylie would show at some point, and because it was so damn hard to be around her and not openly stare.