I don’t know how to respond to that.
He brings the phone closer. “I have a game in New York next weekend. Come to the game. We can talk afterward?”
“I don’t know, Tully. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“We won’t…I’m not up for sex and you disappearing again, as much as I might physically want to. We need to talk and only talk,” he says.
I don’t know what I’m going to tell him, if anything, but I find myself shaking my head.
“Okay,” I finally say.
I regret it almost immediately.
There’s no way I can tell him everything.
CHAPTER TWENTY
JUST US
TULLY
Age 21
I’m sprawled on my bed, laptop balanced on my thighs, scrolling through hotel listings on some overpriced vacation site. The one I’ve got pulled up is in Duluth. It has a beautiful view of the water and a massive bed. Best part about it: no roommates. Lola’s birthday is next month, but I want to surprise her with this earlier. She’s been grinding through midterms and got an internship with a tattoo artist she hit it off with in Minneapolis, so she’s keeping crazy hours and working really hard. We’ve been missing each other so bad and have planned to spend this weekend together. I want to make it extra special and spoil her. A place where it’s just us and the quiet.
My phone buzzes on the pillow. Daniel. I hit the speaker button.
“Tully,” he says before I can even say hello. “You sitting down?”
“I’m lying down. Close enough.”
He laughs. “Good. Because the interest in you is huge. They want you bad. All the teams we’ve wanted. The scouts aren’t just watching anymore—they’re calling. Boston wants to meet to talk about you. Detroit too. And listen to this—Minnesota. This is it, Tully. This is the wave we’ve been waiting for.”
My heart does a stupid, happy flip. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a little kid. But hearing it out loud from Daniel, who doesn’t bullshit, makes it real. I grin so wide my cheeks hurt.
Minnesota! They’re the team I’ve wanted to play for all along. My home team—I can’t believe it.
“That’s…that’s insane,” I say. “What’s next?”
“Well, they’re throwing out a few options, but I’m thinking we strike while the iron is hot and do a little introduction with Minnesota this weekend. They want to chat face-to-face. Informal, but not really. You know how it is. Show up at the restaurant I’m meeting them in, shake hands. Let them see the guy who gave us over forty wins last season and is about to do so this season as well.”
This weekend.
My grin falters. I glance back at the laptop screen. I just booked the room—the nonrefundable deposit is already charged to my card. I can picture Lola’s face when I tell her, the way her eyes go soft and surprised, the way she’ll probably punch my arm and call me crazy before kissing me stupid.
“I’m so excited about this, but…I can’t do this weekend,” I say.
Silence. Then Daniel’s voice, flatter. “Come again?”
“I’ve got plans. With Lola. It’s…it’s important.”
“You’re telling me you’re turning down an introductory meeting with an NHL franchise because you’ve got a date?”
“It’s not just a date. It’s a weekend away. She’s been killing herself with school and work, and we promised we’d spend this weekend together.”
Daniel exhales through his nose, the sound crackling over the line. “Tully. Listen to me. I get it. You’re twenty-one, you’re in love, the world is at your fingertips. But this is your career we’re talking about. You decided you wanted to finish college instead of going pro right away. The window doesn’t stay open forever. You gotta be ready in the spring, when the offers start pouring in. You want to be the guy who peaked in college because he couldn’t miss a romantic getaway?”
I sit up straighter, laptop sliding. “I’m not peaking in college. I’m just…prioritizing. You said they were throwing out a few options, right? When was the next one?”
