“Hey, I didn’t get a chance to ask in there”—he nods his chin toward the arena—“but would you want to come over after the Chicago game Saturday and officially meet Sommer?”
“Sommer your wife, not summer the season, right?”I laugh at my own joke, and he rolls his eyes.
“Yeah, fuckwad, my wife.”Cale runs a hand through his hair.“I’m trying to introduce her to my friends, so she feels… I don’t know.Like part of my life.”
“Is she feeling okay?I mean, you know…”
He gives me a tight smile, his eyes not quite meeting mine.“She tells me she’s doing fine and that the treatments are going okay.I know she gets tired quickly, though.Which is why I thought you and your new girl could come over for dinner and we could all just chill.No late-night barhopping or anything like that.”
I give him a puzzled look.“My new girl?”
Costa looks around like he’s not in on the prank or something.“Well, yeah.That girl Halle.I heard you two were dating.”
“What the fuck?Where’d you hear that?”
He lifts a shoulder.“I don’t know.Rumor has it you were spotted having lunch and then you were spending time at her place.”
“Jesus Christ.The rumor mill around here is worse than a fucking hair salon.”I run a frustrated hand through my hair and expel a breath of air.“The rumor is wrong, though.We’re just friends.”
He raises his hands defensively and then dismisses this without further commentary.As a friend should.“Okay, okay.Sorry.Well, if you change your mind, feel free to bring a date, Halle or otherwise.”
Cale pats me on the shoulder and dashes off toward his car, shouting at me as he goes, “After Saturday’s game.See ya!”
Baffled, I start my car and head toward the arterial roads, reflecting over Cale’s assumption and the rumor floating around the team already.
What if I did ask Halle to come with me?Would she be interested?
And am I so adamant about the friends label to convince my teammates of my relationship with Halle, or am I trying to convince myself?
Could Halle and I pick up where we left off?Is she as interested as I am?
My feelings and attraction for her are stronger than ever and go well beyond friendship.In the past, I chased after her and got what I wanted.
But things are vastly different now.I need to regain Halle’s trust before I can win her heart.
As my mom has always told me, there’s only one only way to find out.
Do it.
26
Halle
After unexpectedly taking several consequetive sick days off from my new job, I had to get caught up on a ton of reporting upon my return before I could pull the data I needed to prep for my presentation today, my first one at our regular staff meeting.
The meeting was supposed to be earlier in the week, but because I was out, Trevor moved it to…today.
Now, as I carry my laptop, notepad, and pen into the conference room just down the hall from our bank of cubicles, nerve pangs hit me in my belly.This is the first time I have to present in front of my new team.
I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my teammates, especially PJ.I’ve come to find out that PJ is brilliant and can regurgitate stats like nobody’s business, but he has the maturity of a twelve-year-old boy, which can prove to be annoying.He is also hooked on watching KPop Demon Hunters and listening to the soundtrack on repeat, which is also a bit annoying.I swear, Lenni has a higher maturity level than that kid.
And then there’s Anna, our team’s statistician.Over the past month, her system knowledge and willingness to train me have been invaluable and because of it, we’ve become close personally.She asked me out to lunch again before I got sick, and she and her partner have invited Lenni and me over for a spa day at their house soon.
Sanjay is the video coach who reviews all the video clips from each game.He provides valuable insight into each player’s strengths and recognizes the challenges which he then passes on to the coaches.
As I’m the first one in the room, I’m uncertain whether there’s a seating order around the table, so I grab the chair nearest to the back wall, leaving my back to the wall of windows that overlook the practice rink.The room is like a fishbowl, surrounded by glass.On one side is the rink below and on the other, more windows give a view of the hallway for the offices.When the team is at home, we can easily watch them practice right below us.My brothers get super excited when I send them short video snaps of the boys practice sessions.
It’s been fun to come in here with a cup of coffee and watch the team do their thing.I’ve been particularly interested in watching one of the best right wingers in the league—aka the Ax Man—as he works on his skating form and stickhandling.
