Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
The red light flicks on, and I throw my hand up as the goalie sinks into the goal. Owen comes for me, crashing into me as we celebrate the goal, shaking me violently. “That’s why you’re my best fucking friend!”
I laugh as he shakes me, and then we head to slap hands with the guys on the bench.
We’ve won, taking three of the four games for this trip. I didn’t get any hat tricks, which is disappointing since Tennessee said she’d be wearing nothing but my hat for me when I got home if I did, but I did pretty well. Five goals and four assists. The feeling of scoring is one I’ll never get used to, probably as much as I won’t get over missing Tennessee for as long as she and I are apart on all the road trips to come. These last few days have been rough without being able to touch her or hold her when I drift off to sleep, especially after spending months yearning just for that. It was as if I got a bit of a taste before it was me leaving this time. But there is no ghosting whatsoever, and thankfully, FaceTime has been our savior. We talk every chance we get, and my baby doll follows directions very well. And watching her come is probably my favorite thing in the world. Who am I kidding? Everything about her is my favorite.
I come out of the shower, heading to my locker area, when I notice my phone is ringing. I reach for it to see it’s Sabine. I grin as I sit down, answering her FaceTime.
“Great game!” she gushes, and I return her smile as I run the towel over my hair.
“Thank you, sunshine. Isn’t it late? Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
She shrugs. “Mom is out, so I’m just hanging out watching hockey.”
I press my lips together and hold in my irritation. I had just sent my mom money earlier that morning. If she didn’t have the money for groceries, how does she have money to go out? “Where is she?”
“I don’t know. I heard her and Jasmine get into it about Jasmine staying late to watch me. I think she’s going to quit nannying me,” she says sadly. “Which is another reason I called.”
Well, that’s not good, but I try not to let that be known. I don’t want Sabine to be worried. “I’m sure everything will be fine. Don’t worry, okay?” She nods, but I know she is doing exactly what I just asked her not to do. She doesn’t want to lose her nanny; Jasmine is the only consistent part of her life right now. Well, and me, but I’m not there. I’m a phone call away, but when I say I’m there, I am, and I take pride in that. “Listen, I got to get dressed and catch the bus. Let me let you go, and I’ll call you in the morning before you go to school.”
She agrees, even though I know she doesn’t want to, and we say goodbye before I hang up and quickly get dressed, forgoing the tie so that I can get out of here faster. I grab my toiletry bag, stuffing it into my bag before getting up and heading out of the locker room. As I go through the door, I almost take someone out. I steady the person with a curse, and then I groan inwardly when my eyes meet her hazel ones.
“Audrina.” My brows come in. “What are you doing here?”
Audrina Hawkins works for the IceCats as a trainer, but she doesn’t travel with us. I haven’t seen her all trip, so why is she here now? I have given her a wide berth, mostly out of respect for her best friend, who was my friend until I slept with her. “Hey, I stood in for Flex.”
I nod in awareness. “Cool, I gotta—”
She stops me, her fingers wrapping around my bicep. She’s a tall girl, very fit and very beautiful. “This is the first time I’ve been able to catch you. You stopped talking to us.”
Us, meaning her and Thatcher. I press my lips together as our eyes meet. I used to run with Audrina and Thatcher. We had a blast and tore up the town, and sometimes Owen came too. But when Owen stopped hanging out and I thought Sabine was moving in with me, I quit running around because I wanted to be home more. It didn’t help that Thatcher didn’t want anything to do with me when he’d discovered I had slept with Audrina. I should never have done it, and when Thatcher found out, he couldn’t look at me. He may claim not to be in love with her as more than a best friend, but his actions say otherwise. He’s madly in love with her, and if I had known, I wouldn’t have slept with her. I honestly didn’t know, and I was drunk that night we hooked up. It was nothing. Meant nothing.