Page 33 of Hockey Player Seeking Fan

"Can I be 100 percent honest with you, Erica?"

I nod slowly. "Of course, please."

"You're stunning. Most probably one of the most beautiful women I've ever met. But... oh, Louise." He sighs. "She just makes my heart... She's an angel on earth, and I just feel really bad for her. I want to be able to help her. I've even thought about dropping out of grad school to get a job, but I wouldn't be able to stay in the States because I'm on a student visa, and then that would defeat the purpose," he says. "But I love her. I think she's the one for me, and I just don't know what to do about it or what to tell her."

I stare at him for a couple of seconds, and I realize that he's one of the good ones. He's one of the guys who would make me believe that my hypothesis—that true soulmates exist—was true. It was just that he wasn't my soulmate.

"You should call her. Call her right now," I say.

"I can't. She's at work."

"Well, why don't you go and order something and leave a really big tip?"

He throws his head back in laughter. "I don't have the money to do that," he says. "I wish."

"I mean, we could go and then I could leave a big tip on my credit card," I say.

"That's really nice of you, Erica, but there's just no way. I mean, I don't want her to know that I'm on a date." He wrinkles his nose. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. I've made this awkward."

"You haven't. I guess what you want is cash, huh?"

"Yeah. I wish I had a stack of cash to put on the table." He shrugs. "Maybe one day she'll see me as something more than her friend."

"She's probably just overwhelmed with life," I say. "If she's got a kid and is working, and she's helping at the animal shelter and feeding the homeless...” I pause. “I mean, maybe I can think of a way to get some cash.”

“Oh, no. Oh my gosh, Erica, we are on a date. I'm sorry. I don't want you to think?—"

"No, hold on." I grab my phone. I consider calling Wes or Miles, but I know they'll think I'm a light touch, especially if I tell them I'm on a date. But for some reason, I really want to help. I don't even know Louise, but from having gotten to know John just a little bit, he seems like a really great guy. He seems like a guy who would be a stand-up man. "Give me a second, okay?"

He stares at me and nods. I head out of the bar and place a call.

Tyler answers it within ten seconds. "Hey, how's it going? Date already over?"

"Well, not yet. I'm actually still with him, but?—"

"Oh, shit. Do you need me to come and save you again? It's not with Elliott again, is it? If it's with Elliott, I am going to lock you up and throw away the key."

"Tyler, you're not the boss of me. So if I wanted to date Elliott, I would. Number two, you don't own the jail system. And number three, if you try to lock me up and throw away the key, I would sue your ass for everything you have."

"Okay, then. May I ask why you're calling me on this lovely evening if you're on a date with someone who's not Elliott?"

"I'm calling because I'm on a date with this guy, John, and he is absolutely lovely."

"He's so lovely that you're calling me."

"Shut up, Tyler. Listen?—"

"Ooh, someone's a bossy boots now."

"I'm not. It's just—he's in love with someone else. This girl Louise, and she's like a saint on earth. She has a kid and is working at some restaurant, but she also helps animals and feeds homeless people… Anyway, he's in love with her and wants to help make her life better. And I thought maybe as a romantic gesture, he could go into the restaurant, order something, and leave her a huge tip and be like, 'I love you, would you like to go on a date?'"

"I mean, that sounds like a good idea. Why are you calling to tell me this?"

"Because he's a broke grad student, and I don't really have access to cash right now. And... well, I know you do. As a hockey player—I mean, you're the most famous hockey player in the world, right?"

"Oh, now you know that," he says, chuckling. “So are you asking me for a favor here?”

“I mean... maybe. Yes. Kind of. If you want to see true love prevail.”