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"He'd never hurt me."
"I know he wouldn't, because I'd kill him."
She followed the crowd up the stairs toward the concourse area, grateful that they were moving along at a snail's pace. Her legs were fine, and she didn't feel weak at all, but it was better to take her time and not push herself too hard.
"He did so great tonight, didn't he?" Penn gushed. "I was on the edge of my seat during overtime."
"We all were," Holly admitted.
After losing the second home game of the series to San Jose, they'd come roaring back for the third game tonight and won a hard-fought battle, beating San Jose 4–3, seconds before the end of the first overtime period.
"Penn, you have off for the rest of the home games, right?"
"Thankfully. And my boss assured me she'd let me off for all road games if they go to the Cup finals. But it still sucks not to be there in person tonight." Penn paused. "Where are you, Hol? Are you still in the arena?"
"Yeah, I just got to the concourse now. I'm looking for an exit. I'm gonna grab an Uber and head back over to my hotel. Most of the girls are still hanging out at their seats and chatting. I thought I'd sneak out, though. I have a hot date with Netflix after a nice, long, relaxing shower. How's my Missy Moo doing?"
"Oh, she's great. She's snoozing on the couch in the living room while I make a snack. It worked out since Bo is spending a few days at the doggy ranch while West is on the road. He loves playing with the other dogs, too."
"That's good. I appreciate you taking care of her while I'm here," Holly said, following a swath of sad San Jose fans out of the arena.
"No worries. You know I love my kitty niece."
"She adores her Auntie Penn, too. Okay, I'm going to go. Talk to you when I get home tomorrow."
"Love you, babe!"'
"Love you too, Curly Cue," Holly said, smiling.
Holly walked over to the Uber zone area and rubbed her eyes. She’d had a bit of double vision during the game, but it hadn’t lasted, thankfully.
She was thrilled the Kingsnakes had gotten the win tonight. Not just for her friends and their significant others, but for Eli, too.
Despite their falling out the other night, she wanted this for him. After everything he'd gone through with his mom, he needed this.
Smiling, she thought of the note he'd stuck to the fridge before he'd left for San Jose.
Wilkes,
I'm an idiot, and you're a goddess. But you knew that already.
I swear on everything I have that I'll never make that mistake again. I really am sorry, and I hope you believe me.
Sincerely, <--(see, I'm being professional like you wanted, so give me bonus points)
Eli
The note had made her laugh, and she had to admit—it felt good to laugh. Between the fire, the guys who harassed her, the weird weakness she was experiencing, the double vision, what had been going on with his mom... it all added up to a thousand pound weight on her shoulders.
His note had been a simple thing, but it had made her incredibly happy. Feeling hurt sucked, but once she'd realized why he'd done what he'd done, the pain had faded a little. And the note had helped it fade a little more.
Instead of analyzing every little detail about her feelings for him, she was just going to enjoy some happiness while she could.
* * *
"Woohoo! Another victory in the bag!" Holly yelled to the empty living room. The Kingsnakes had won game four of the Western Conference finals on the road in San Jose, 2–1.
She hadn't had anyone to babysit Miss since Penn's boss relented and had given her time off to fly out for the game. So, she’d caught a flight back to Vegas and watched the game on Eli's big screen.
