Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“You hate hockey,” Zoe says.
“Then he wants me to visit him and attend the casino night his team is hosting,” I tell them, and the doorbell rings again. I get up and go to the door and unlock it, and I’m shocked when I see two people at the door, and one is carrying a huge fruit basket.
“Oh, my God,” someone says from behind me. I reach for the fruit basket and then hand it to Zoe so I can take the big white box that is handed to me.
I thank them and close the door, walking into the living room. “If you don’t want to date him, I will,” Vivienne says. “Well, not really date. I don’t date. I will have sex with him for you.”
I know she is joking, and I know this because that is what she does, but it bothers me. Zoe places the fruit basket down and hands me the card. “There is no room for anything on this table anymore.”
I open the card and everything in me flips—my heart, my stomach, everything.
For my sweet Zara.
I hand the card to Zoe ’cause I don’t think I would be able to talk without it sounding all giddy. I open the box and let out a huge laugh. There is a Dallas jersey, a T-shirt, a sweater, and a baseball hat. The card has my name on the top, and I know he wrote this one himself.
Just in case you venture out tonight, here are four tickets. Also, it might be bad luck if you don’t wear my jersey!
E.
“Oh dear,” I say out loud and then hand the card over to the girls while I go get my phone from upstairs. I pull up his name, but I don’t know if I should call him or text him, so I walk downstairs. “Should I text him or call him?”
“He sent you flowers that cost a thousand dollars, a fruit basket, and seven hundred dollars’ worth of merchandise,” Vivienne says. “You need to go and see him naked.”
“NO,” Karrie and Allison both shout.
“I’ll go with you tonight.” Zoe comes to me, and I know she is trying to support me. “I can work while the game is on.”
“What if Matthew and Max find out?” I look at Karrie and Allison.
“Well, rumor is you’re a couple, so let’s just go with that. It’s a rumor,” Alison says, looking at Karrie.
“Yeah, totally,” Karrie says, and I look at her. “But what if it had nothing to do with Matthew and Max? What if he was just a normal guy who asked you out on a date? What would you do?”
“I would go,” I answer truthfully. Hands down, without a doubt, I would go.
“Then fuck what the guys have to say,” Allison says.
“For the record, I’m a hundred percent against this whole dating thing,” Vivienne says. “Off the record, I think you should fuck his brains out.”
“Call him and tell him you’ll be there tonight.”
“Or …” Karrie says, “you show up and surprise him.”
“That is so good,” Allison says. “I remember when I wore Max’s jersey for the first time. He about lost his mind.”
“Guys, isn’t this too soon?” I look at them. “I mean, two days ago I sent this man a tweet to make my ex jealous.”
“No,” Zoe says. “You sent him a tweet because you were angry he lied to you.” I think about it. “And then you thought maybe he cheated on you.”
I look at the women in the room who all nod in agreement. My head spins with everything going on, but my gut is looking at the box with his jersey in it and telling me to go to that game.
Chapter Ten
Evan
“Warm-up starts in ten minutes,” one of the guys say, and I stand to put on my chest protector. I really need to focus on the game, but the whole day, my mind has been absent. Last night after she told me good night, I ordered her flowers that apparently last a year. I have no idea if it’s really true, but for the price I paid for them, they better.
I expected her to text me at least a thank you, but I got nothing. Not even a phone call. I even sent her four tickets to the game tonight and nothing.
“You look crabby,” Denis says to me, putting on his jersey. “Did you not sleep okay?”
“Yeah,” I say gruffly, “I’m fine.” I grab my jersey and then pull it over my head. I finish getting ready to go and stand in the hallway, waiting for the signal to go on the ice. They usually let the home team skate for a minute or so before they let us take the ice.
I stand there leaning against the concrete wall, debating whether I should call her. I mean, maybe she’s sick, or maybe she got busy. I have no idea, and when the guys start moving, I turn my neck right and left and then run till I glide on the ice. I look around while I skate in the out zone, and I see the spectators are still trickling into the arena. I skate to the corner, grab a puck, and then wait in line for my turn to skate and shoot on the net when I hear a soft knock on the glass. Usually, I never look up because there are always home team fans knocking away, but this time when I look up, I’m shocked to say the least.