Page 6 of Break Out

“Yep!” I say, popping the p. “I heard back from them this morning.”

“Holy shit, Aubs. I’m proud of you,” Summer says, leaning forward to prop her hands on my desk, a huge grin on her face. “Why aren’t you more excited?”

“It feels surreal. It hasn’t sunk in. Plus, maybe I shouldn’t take it.” I chew on my bottom lip. “I’d have to give up my job here.”

“Yeah, but the deputy director position is your dream. Of course you should take it. Why wouldn’t you take it?”

“It’s only for a year. I’d lose my tenure. What happens if it doesn’t work out?”

Summer stares at me for a moment before saying, with a shake of her head, “you figure it out if it doesn’t work out. But the Eclipse Observatory is the place for infrared research. You’ve been saying for years you want to go visit and get in some lab time. Now you’ll be there for a year. At least. I’m sad my bestie is moving to Hawaii though. But you need to go. Otherwise you’ll regret it.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Aubrey,” Summer scolds. “Don’t think. Accept it. We should go out this weekend and celebrate,” she says, snagging another Hershey’s Kiss.

“I can’t. I’ve got to go to Orlando. Unfortunately.”

“Bummer. Okay, next weekend we’ll celebrate. Gives me more time to plan. Are you seeing Brody?” Summer asks, wiggling her eyebrows and shimmying her shoulders.

I laugh. How did she know?

“Yeah. We’re having dinner tomorrow night.”

“Are you going to finally tell him about New Year’s Eve?” she asks, taking another chocolate from the jar.

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Aubrey. You came back and told me you had the best kiss of your life,” Summer says, pinning me with a look that says she won’t let me get out of this conversation.

I lean back, crossing my arms. “Yeah, but I don’t know who with.”

“That’s why you should ask him about it. Maybe he can help you figure out who it was. Or better yet.” She raises a finger to the sky like a light bulb went off in her head. “Set up a kissing booth and invite all his single teammates. You kiss them all and find out who your mystery guy is.”

I roll my eyes. Not only is that a ridiculous idea, but I can picture Brody’s face if I ask him to help me kiss all of his single teammates. Steam would be billowing out of his ears and his face would turn beat red. Brody is a lot of things, including being overprotective of me and our friendship.

“I can’t ask him that,” I hiss. “Plus, you just convinced me to move to Hawaii. It won’t matter if I do find out. I won’t be here.”

Summer laughs. “Fine, but I still think you should ask. Okay, I’d love to stay and chat, babe, but I’ve got work to do. Come say bye before you leave.” She hops to her feet, rapping her knuckles on my desk before spinning on her heel and leaving my office.

I turn back to my computer to try to get some work done. But my thoughts keep drifting to that kiss on New Year’s Eve. Not that I’m looking for anything serious, but it would be fun to know who my mysterious kisser was.

The rest of the day passes in a whirlwind of paperwork, emails, and meetings. Before I know it, it’s time to head home and get ready to leave for Orlando.

The entire drive to my townhouse I contemplate what Summer said—that I should talk to Brody about what happened on New Year’s Eve. But no matter how I frame the conversation in my head, I’m convinced the outcome would be him being pissed off that someone touched me, kissed me. Not that he has any claim over me—we’re only friends. Something he made clear years ago. Plus, if I tell him, I’m sure he’ll use it as a reason not to invite me to another team event. No, there’s got to be another way to find out who I kissed.

Either that or forget the whole thing and move on with my life.

Yeah, that’s probably the more logical thing to do.

Chapter four

Brody

I steer my Range Rover into a parking spot outside the Vietnamese restaurant that Aubrey and I agreed to meet at. It’s one of my favorite spots in town and one I visit frequently. The food is good, the staff is friendly, and I never get recognized. I’m just another customer, a frequent customer that the staff knows by name, but I’m not treated differently because I’m a professional hockey player.

Heck, I don’t even know if they know who I am. Which I’m grateful for. It’s nice to be a normal person every once in a while instead of a professional hockey player that everyone wants a piece of.

I hop out of my SUV and walk toward the restaurant, scanning the parking lot for Aubrey’s car. I grin when I spot her red Civic with its Orlando Storm bumper sticker parked a few spots over. Probably the first time I’ve smiled in weeks. If anything can put me in a good mood, it’s seeing her. Pushing the door open, I blink, letting my eyes adjust to the dimly lit interior.