Grabbing my phone, she punched in Mazzy’s information, and I watched as she typed out a text.
Me:Hello, it’s me, the asshole, Ben Wells. I’m with your smart and talented cousin, Kylie. She’s in control of my phone right now because I have yet to develop opposable thumbs. I would love to catch up, since I’m a real bozo and think the world revolves around me.
Then she hit “send,” handed me my phone, and smirked. “That was what you were going to say, right?”
“Uh.” I stared blankly at my phone. What the hell was happening right now? “Did I do something to you?”
“Nope. Notme.” She flipped me off. “Good luck with your game, asshole. Don’t get tackled too hard or whatever.”
She skipped off, leaving me stumped and speechless.
What the hell was that?
I managed to put the strange encounter out of my head for the match. I had too many people counting on me to pull through, and getting distracted could lead to serious injury. I’d had enough concussions and tears for a lifetime. At my age, something going wrong could put me on the bench for life, and I wasn’t ready for that.
As soon as I’d showered and changed, I pulled out my phone and found a message waiting for me.
Mazzy:Is this a joke?
I didn’t think twice before replying.
Me:Hey, Mazzy? This is Ben with two opposable thumbs. I had an interesting encounter with your cousin earlier, but I managed to get your number out of it, so all’s well. I’m pumped to hear you’re in Denver. Wanna hang out?
I figured I might as well go for the gold and not waste time with a million texts before getting to the point. The night I spent with Mazzy still ranked high on my list of best ever. I couldn’t say I’d forgotten a thing about her in all the years that had passed. Knowing she was close by, I saw no reason to delay our reunion.
She could leave her cousin at home, though.
Mazzy:Okay, I know this is a joke. Did Kylie put you up to this?
Frowning, I tossed my bag in the back seat of my car and slid in behind it. As soon as my driver pulled onto the road, I hit Call. It took a few rings, but she finally picked up.
“Hello?”
I grinned at the sound of her voice. She sounded like she was calling out in a haunted house, braced for a ghost or axe murderer to come running at her.
She was still as cute as I remembered.
“Heyyy, Mazzy-mazz. Remember me?”
She gasped. My smile widened.
This was going to be so much fun.
Chapter Nine
Mazzy
Idon’tknowwhatI’m doing here.
Well, technically, I did. I was at the Mountain Lions stadium to meet Ben during his practice. It had been a few days since our phone call, and I still wasn’t certain why I had agreed to this. This decision didn’t make sense, even to me, the one who’d made it.
I guessed I felt I owed it to Katty—to try one more time, so when she was older, I could explain I hadn’t given up. I’d done all I could to foster a relationship with her father. In my heart, I knew it was fruitless, but I had to try.
Did that mean I had to come back to the scene of the crime?
Sure, it was convenient to my job, so it was easy to take a long lunch to meet him. But the stadium? The place where he’d broken my heart? I’d done my best to avoid it since moving to Denver, and here I was, voluntarily walking right in.
I smoothed my hands along my wide-legged trousers and futzed with the collar of my blouse. When I’d left the house this morning, Katty had told me I looked pretty. Now I was feeling dowdy and old.
