Page 33 of Scoring Chance

“Thanks, guys. If you have any questions please let me or my assistant, Kristen, know.”

She walked out and Coach released us. I stood and walked over to Josh and Mikey. They were two of the few single guys on the team, and I wanted to know their plans.

“Hey are you guys going to get dates?”

Mikey looked uneasy. “I probably should. I hate going to these things alone.”

Josh cringed. “But when you bring a girl to a team event like this, they think things are more serious than they are.”

“That’s why you ask a friend,” Mikey clarified.

“How many single girls are you friends with?” Josh asked incredulously.

Mikey shrugged. “A few.”

“Can’t we band together and go solo?” I offered.

Josh snorted. “Not if you want to spend the entire night being set up by the Pride. They see a single guy as a challenge. I swear we’re dropping like flies around here lately.”

He was right. There were only five or six of us remaining.

“So, we’re all finding dates?” I sighed in defeat.

They nodded and we headed out to the hall. I could ask Amelia, but what if she said no? We’d hung out a few times, but what if she felt like things were moving too fast. Josh was right, girls tended to think things were more serious than they really were when you brought them to a team event. They thought it was the equivalent of meeting the family or something.

Amelia would be a safe choice. She knew the guys and the Pride. She would have fun. I doubted she’d get the wrong idea. Except, maybe that wouldn’t be the worst thing.

I liked her. I liked spending time with her. She took the time to get to know me without letting anyone else’s opinions affect her. But did she see me as anything more than a friend?

* * *

This was a risky move. Part of me wanted to call Nikolay and get his blessing, but that was ridiculous. I didn’t need his permission. If anything, Elena was the one I should be talking to, but again that wasn’t necessary. I was just asking for a date, not her hand in marriage.

I paced behind my car, hyping myself up. I could do this. It really wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t even a romantic date, just a fun night out...with a friend. This wouldn’t even be the first time for us. We went to lunch alone, and it was fine. No. Big. Deal.

I checked the time on my phone and walked inside. Madi told me Amelia would be going on her lunch break at one, so I could talk to her without interrupting her work. I could wait another four hours for her to be off for the day, but my nerves were out of control. If I waited that long I’d have a heart attack.

“Hi, can I help you?” A man around my age asked from behind the front desk. He was standing, holding a clipboard and wearing a navy polo with the clinic’s name embroidered on the right side of his chest.

“Yeah, I’m looking for Amelia.”

His eyes narrowed just slightly, but he recovered quickly. “One moment. Let me see if I can find her.”

I watched him walk away and laughed to myself. The clinic was a wide open space with equipment and machines scattered throughout. Only one wall had individual offices and rooms. It couldn’t be very difficult to find someone.

A moment later she walked out of one of the rooms and smiled when she saw me, putting me at ease. She wasn’t upset I showed up here. That was the biggest worry I’d had.

“Hi Derrek. What are you doing here?” She stopped in front of me, and I fought the urge to wrap my arms around her and pull her into me. The thought surprised me. We weren’t close enough for that, but now that I thought about it the temptation was overwhelming.

“I was heading home from practice and wanted to see you.”

Her eyebrows rose just a bit. “Oh yeah?”

I nodded and looked around. There wasn’t anyone else in the lobby and the few people out on the floor weren’t within hearing distance.

“Yeah, I found out about an event today, and I wanted to see if you’d like to go with me.”

She cocked her head to the side. “What event?”