I find Josh—number twenty-five—and point him out to Kaylee.
We’ve already talked a lot about him. Kaylee arrived Thursday night. We went shopping yesterday, out for dinner, then to the theater last night. Today we had lunch with Kesha and did a little sightseeing.
My eye is caught by a woman climbing the stairs just to my left. She sees me too, smiles, and waves tentatively. It’s Lilly, who I met at Josh’s apartment building the other day. Easton Millar’s girlfriend. I wave back. I don’t blame her for accidentally informing me of Josh’s ex (I hope) girlfriend. She takes a seat a couple of rows behind us with a bunch of other young women.
“That was Lilly,” I tell Kaylee. “Who told me about Josh’s girlfriend.”
Yes, I told her about that too.
“Hmm. Pretty.” She glances around casually, as if surveying the crowd. Then she goes stiff and turns to me with big eyes.
“What?”
“Okay, don’t look now—”
“As soon as you say that you know I have to look.”
“I know, but just be casual.”
“What?”
“Lilly is sitting with Layla Young.”
“Shut up!” I resist letting my head whip around to stare at the Victoria’s Secret model.
“I am not kidding.”
“Wow. Okay, then.”
“Here’s tonight’s New York Bears starting lineup,” the announcer bellows. “Brought to you by Nationwide Credit Union. Staaaaarting at center…number ten, Jaaaaaay Bobak!”
The crowd cheers and we clap along with them. I take a surreptitious glance over my shoulder, finding Lilly and…holy shit, Layla Young.
“Ooooon left wing…number eleven…Eaaaaaston Millaaaaar!” After a pause, “On right wing…number twelve, Braaaaandon Smiiiith!”
I recognize these names. I’m getting to know some of the players from watching on TV and Josh talks about them too.
“Oooon defense…number twenty-four, Naaaaate Karmeinski…aaaand number twenty-five, Joooosh Hellller!”
Kaylee and I grin at each other and clap harder for Josh.
He announces the goalie, Colton Gunnerson, and then we rise to our feet for the national anthem. Tonight’s game is against San Jose. When that’s done and my eardrums are vibrating from the noise of the crowd cheering, we take our seats as the players move into their positions at the face-off circle at center ice.
“This is so exciting!” Kaylee says.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen him play live.” I can’t stop smiling. I feel like bouncing in my seat.
The game is super fast and it’s harder to follow than on TV, for me anyway. I also don’t have the benefit of announcers telling me what’s going on, so there are moments when both Kaylee and I are mystified by a penalty or the whistle being blown, but whatever, we’re having fun.
It’s a crazy close game. First the Bears score, then San Jose. Then the Bears, then San Jose again. At the end of the third period it’s tied three–all and we’re going into overtime.
“This is exciting and all,” Kaylee says. “But I hope it ends soon.”
I shoot her a mock horrified glance. “What? Don’t you want the Bears to win?”
“Of course I do,” she says quickly. “But I want them to do it fast. I want to go meet these hockey dudes!”
I laugh.
If I thought the pace of the game was fast in regular time, in three-on-three overtime, it’s crazy. It seems like Josh is out there a lot. In fact, it seemed like he played a lot in the whole game. He must be exhausted.
Kaylee gets her wish, but not the way we wanted—San Jose scores two minutes into the overtime period.
The animated energy in the building deflates immediately. People get up and start leaving. Kaylee and I turn to each other and pout.
“Ah well.” I shrug.
I mostly feel bad for Josh. He played so much tonight, and so hard. I feel like the Bears deserved to win, but that’s not always how it goes.
Josh told me where to meet him after the game, so we follow the herd of people leaving and hang out at the exit onto Sixth Avenue as the arena empties out.
I pull out my phone to check what people are saying on Twitter about the game and read the comments to Kaylee as we wait. Finally, Josh shows up, along with a couple of other guys.
Next to me, Kaylee mutters, “Holy shit.”
I second that. Because all three guys are tall, big, freshly showered, and dressed in suits and ties. I let out a happy sigh. I mean, I’m mostly looking at Josh, but the other two men are definitely noticeable.
Josh spots us and lifts a hand as he strides toward us. “Hey,” he greets me with a tiny smile.
“Hi.” I hug him. “Sorry you lost. You should have won.”
He makes a face.
“Josh, this is my friend Kaylee. Kaylee, Josh.”
Josh then introduces his teammates Brandon and Nate. “Some others are going to Bobby’s,” Josh says. “Want to go there and join them?”
“Sure!”
We all head out onto the dark street. It’s a mild evening, with low clouds and damp air. Brandon and Nate lead the way, zigzagging a few blocks over to Bobby’s Bar and Grill.
It looks like a tiny place from the entrance, every seat at the long bar full. But as we make our way past the bar, I can see how far back the room goes. Someone waves to Brandon and Nate, and we keep going toward the group, passing people sitting at wooden tables and stools, old brick walls, and chalkboards with drink and food specials.
As we draw closer, the first person I notice is Lilly. Well, of course she would be here.
Kaylee grabs my arm. “Layla’s here. Omigod.”
I nudge her, grinning. “Chill. Remember, I’m famous too.”
She snorts. Way to keep me grounded.
There are loud greetings. Josh takes my and Kaylee’s jackets and hangs them on a nearby coatrack. Everyone else already has drinks, but a waitress is waiting to take our orders. I ask for the same beer as Josh and soon have a nice cold glass in my hand. Josh finds stools for Kaylee and me, but they’re in short supply, so he stands near us.
“You played twenty-two minutes in that game, Hellsy,” Brandon says.
Hellsy. I shoot him an amused glance.
“Yeah.” Josh rubs his forehead. “That was a lot.”
“Coach likes you.”
Josh grins. “Of course he does.”
“Teacher’s pet?” I ask.
He laughs. “As if.”
“You seriously did play a lot,” I say. “Even I noticed.”
“It’s good,” he replies.
I pull his head down to my level and say into his ear, “Is that Easton Millar over there? With Lilly?”
He stiffens. “How do you know Lilly?”
“We met in the elevator on Wednesday when I was at your place.”
“Ah.” He glances their way, his face tight. “Yeah, that’s Easton.”
“Just trying to put faces to names.”
He nods and straightens. “So how’s your trip to New York been, Kaylee?”
“Great!” She babbles on about the things we’ve done and I jump in here and there.
“Where you from, Kaylee?” one of the players asks.
“Kaylee, James,” Josh says in a quick introduction. “Also known as Red.”
“A fellow ginger,” Kaylee says with a smile, eyeing James’s auburn hair. “I live in Washington.”
“D.C.?”
“Yes. I’m an attorney in the DOJ.”
“That sounds impressive.”
She smiles. “I like my job.”
He edges closer to her stool. “How long are you in town?”
“I leave tomorrow afternoon.”
“Aw
. That’s too short.”
Josh shoots James a narrow-eyed look. James ignores him.
I become aware that Lilly and Layla are looking at me and talking. I know they’re talking about me. Then Layla pops out of her seat and rushes over.
“Oh my God!” she cries. “Sara Carrington!”
I give her a weak smile. “Layla Young!”
She laughs and throws her arms out to hug me like we’re long-lost sisters. “I can’t believe this! I love your videos!”
Of course my first instinct is to say incredulously, “You do?” But instead I say, “Thank you!”
I catch Kaylee’s eye and give her a “See, bitch, I am famous!” look. She rolls her eyes, but she’s trying not to smile. She loves me.
Everyone else is watching this, the guys looking mystified. Except Josh. He looks…proud. I love the smile he lays on me.
“I loved that pink wine video you did!” Layla says. “You are so funny!”
“Aw, thank you.”
We chat about that video and another one Layla liked, and then she says, “Would you ever do a video with me?”
My eyes fly open wide. “Holy hell yeah! Would you do one with me?”
“Of course! It would be amazing!”
“Okay, okay!” I’m so excited I’m nearly bouncing. “We’ll plan it!”
Behind Layla, Lilly waves at me, smiling. “Hi again. I wondered if I’d see you here. How did the move go the other day?”
“Hi, Lilly! It went great.” I slide Josh a sideways look. “All ready for you to actually move in tomorrow.”
“Finally,” he says. “I’m tired of that hotel.”
“Oh, no doubt,” Lilly says sympathetically. “It’ll be nice to have you in the same building. You and Easton and Owen and Evan can all carpool to practices.”
“Uh, yeah,” Josh says unenthusiastically.
“How did you two meet?” Lilly asks us.
“She interviewed me for her podcast,” Josh says.
“Which aired Thursday night!” I remind him.
“I have to listen!” Layla says.
“Did you listen?” I ask Josh.
“Yeah. On the plane coming home.”
“We’re getting tons of good feedback. Tons of listeners!”
He smiles down at me. “That’s great.”
For a few seconds, we’re alone, his warm gaze and smile enclosing me in a bubble of privacy. But that’s an illusion.
“I’ll have to listen too,” Lilly says. “What’s your podcast called?”
“Random Acts of Sara.”
“That sounds fun.”
I shrug. “I’ve done some fun interviews. My YouTube videos talk about a lot of different shit. How about you? What do you do?”
“I’m a dog walker. That’s how Easton and I met. That was his dog Otis I had the other day.”
“He’s cute.”
“He’s adorable. I love him. I’m in the process of opening a doggy daycare. I also work for Colton and Layla.” She waves a hand toward Layla.
A server arrives with a tray loaded with shots and offers us one.
“Those are from us!” a woman calls from the table in the corner, part of the group. “Kamikazes!”
I meet Josh’s eyes. “That’s Nadia,” he says. “Igor Barbashev’s wife.”
We each take a shot glass, and the server moves over to Kaylee and James, who also pick up glasses. We wait until everyone has one, and Nadia shouts, “To the Bears! Drink!”
We all down our shots.
“Oooh, that was pretty smooth,” I say. “What’s in that?”
I guess Nadia could hear me, as she shouts back, in a Russian accent, “Vodka! Also orange liqueur and lime juice.”
“She and Barbs are crazy,” Josh mutters in my ear.
“We order more!” Nadia calls. She waves to the waitress then circles her finger to indicate another round.
I’m happy to take another shot and toss it back.
“Easy there,” Josh says. “I don’t want to have to carry you home again.”
“I was not drunk that time. And I’m not a lightweight.” I clap my hand to my chest with an affronted look. “I can hold my liquor.”
He eyes me skeptically. “You are literally a lightweight. You probably weigh half what I do.”
I narrow my eyes. “How much do you weigh?”
“Officially? Two hundred eighteen.”
I blink. “Officially?”
“Yeah. That’s what they put in the stats.”
“So…what’s your unofficial weight?”
“Two eighteen.”
I giggle. “Okay, then. I weigh more than half your weight.” I pause, doing the math. “But not by much.”
“There’s no way you can drink as much as me.”
“Hey. You don’t believe me?”
“Uh…”
I lift my chin. “I’ll match you drink for drink tonight.”
“It’s not a competition.”
“Why not?” I challenge. “You’re a pro athlete. You should thrive on competition.”
“Actually, I do. Ah, what the hell. We have a day off tomorrow.” He lifts his second shot in a toast, then swallows it down.
“Like I always say…if it involves a hangover and bad decisions, I’m in.”
Josh laughs.
“She does say that,” Kaylee puts in from my other side.
“Christ.” Josh rubs his face.
Chapter 19
Josh
“I bet my stick would feel great in your crease.”
My jaw drops. Did I really just hear that? I turn to look at Red, flirting drunkenly with Kaylee. At first she was laughing it off, but now she appears to want to escape.
“Red!” I bark.
He lifts blurry eyes to me. “Yeah?”
“Shut the fuck up.”
He frowns. “No, you shut the fuck up.”
I sigh. With a jerk of my head, I say, “Outside.”
“You wanna go? Serioushly?” He pushes away from the table and lurches my way.
“As if I’d fight you.” I roll my eyes and grab his arm. I drag him toward the front of the bar. “She has a boyfriend. Leave her alone.”
“I’m jusht having fun.”
“It’s not fun for her. You’re making her uncomfortable.”
“Aw fuck.” He shakes his head. “She’s hot.”
“She’s taken.”
He heaves a sigh. “I need to take a leak.”
“Bathrooms are downstairs.” I point to the stairs.
He staggers that way. Hopefully he doesn’t fall down the stairs and crack his head open.
I turn to find Sara standing right behind me.
“I heard that,” she says. “Thank you.”
She’s looking at me like I just walked on the moon. I kinda like it.
“He’s just drunk,” I say. “He’s not that bad a guy. Can’t handle his liquor.”
“Unlike us, huh?” She leans into me.
Yeah, we’ve both had a couple of beers and a few shots. I’m feeling a little buzzed. Sara should be hammered, but doesn’t appear to be. I shake my head, a smile tugging at my lips.
“I need to talk to you,” she says. “Alone.”
We’re in a bar, surrounded by people, but at the moment we’re basically alone. “What’s up?”
She peers up at me. I still can’t get over her eyes, that translucent light greenish blue that glows. “Did you or do you still have a girlfriend in Dallas?”
I give my head a shake. I was not expecting that. “I did.” Then I frown. “You thought I still do?”
“I’m just asking. I was trying not to jump to conclusions.”
“Okay.
I, uh, appreciate that.”
“But I was jealous.”
One corner of my mouth lifts. “Yeah?”
She closes her eyes. “I don’t like being jealous.”
“We’re done,” I tell her. “We were only together about a month before I got traded. I didn’t want a long-distance relationship.” With an inner wince, I remember Cora’s texts and calls in the weeks after I left.
She lets out a breath. “Okay. I’m so proud of me.”
I repress a smile. “Yeah? What for?”
“I could have been all dramatic and made a big scene about it. But I waited to talk to you like an adult and didn’t make assumptions.”
“I wouldn’t be with you if I had a girlfriend.”
She meets my eyes. “I know.”
I cup her face. “Thank you.”
She puckers her lips and goes onto her toes, so, smiling, I lean down and kiss her.
“Okay,” she says. “Let’s get another drink.”
Shaking my head, I follow her back to the group.
“Thanks for stepping in,” Kaylee says in a low voice. “I kept trying to tell him to knock it off, but he wasn’t listening.”
“He’s hammered,” I say. “Which is no excuse.”
Lilly has taken a stool near us and Sara slides onto the one beside her. “So, Lilly. I’d love to hear more about your dog-walking business.”
They start talking. I meet Easton’s eyes briefly across the small table, then look away.
I sigh inwardly. I could go over there and talk to him. But I don’t want to.
He wasn’t playing great tonight. I gave him a couple of fantastic chances to score on the power play and he flubbed them both. Then he glared at me like it was my fault. I love being on the PP unit, and we’ve had good success so far, but he’s making it weird.
I turn away from him to listen to Sara and Lilly. They sound like they’ve known each other for years. Sara’s laughing at a story about a dog at the shelter where Lilly volunteers.
“Oh! I could come and do a video there!” she says. “I love dogs, and it would be a great way to get attention for them.”
“That would be amazing!”
You Had Me at Hockey (Bears Hockey) Page 15
