Page 118 of Never Bet Against A Hockey Player

The arcade was packed. By the time we found a table, there were several more juniors and their families who joined us. Clearly, word had spread.

Of course, the other parents started to lose it over my mates.

A beta woman joined me on the outskirts of the crowd, giving me a small smile.

“Tell me I found another introvert,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest as if it could make her smaller and less visible to the crowd around us.

I nodded my head. “This is a lot.”

“It is,” she agreed. “I usually just sit with my drink, smile, and nod when they need me to. But my pack are the social ones.”

“Same,” I agreed, gesturing toward my hockey players.

“So, you’re the reason we have such famous people joining us here today.”

“Yeah, they’re mine,” I said fondly. “Gavin’s mine, too.”

She scanned the crowd before pointing out one of the kids my guys were talking about during the game.

“Caleb is mine. I can’t tell you how much August has done for my kid. I thought we were going to have to quit hockey.”

“August really liked working with him. He and I both had... we’ll just say rough childhoods, and he had a coach who reached out to him that changed his life. Now he’s doing the same for those kids,” I explained.

“My boy, and I will be eternally grateful that he gave Caleb a chance,” she said as we watched the kids talk animatedly. “I’m trying not to teach him my introvert ways and making sure he stays active.”

“I feel that,” I laughed. “Gavin is somewhere in the middle right now.”

Both boys, plus Ryan, all ran by shouting excitedly. We turned to each other before bursting into laughter.

“I think we’re doing okay,” I joked.

“We definitely are,” she said, nodding along. “Come on. Let’s go snag us a seat. I’m starving.”

August caught my eye as we passed. He raised an eyebrow as if to ask if I was all right.

If our life was going to include being part of this crowd, I was going to have to get to know them at some point.

I just gave him a quick smile and nod before following my potential friend over to the table.

“I’m Katrina, by the way,” she introduced herself.

“Dhara.”

“God, having another hockey mom around is honestly nice. Mostly dads stick around the games. The moms are a bit different, but I never really clicked with the ones who do show up.”

Everybody had kind of branched out into little groups, talking and finding seats. The poor waitstaff was going crazy trying to run drinks and food orders. When it was our turn, we ordered quickly before she rushed off to the next table.

“So, what do you do for work?” Katrina asked.

“I was working two jobs. One is at South Lake Diner, the other over at the arena. I was cleaning the locker rooms at night, but I think I’m quitting that job. I don’t have to work two jobs anymore.”

“Oh my gosh, I love that diner. Lydia, the owner, is phenomenal. I swear it feels like running into an old friend every time I go there. And I don’t say that lightly. I don’t like to talk.”

“She’s amazing,” I agreed before a few of the dads started shouting at the TV. When it calmed back down I turned back to her. “What do you do?”

I wasn’t great at small talk, but thankfully, she didn’t seem to mind.

“I’m a real estate agent.” Then she launched into stories about some of her recent clients and showings, and before I knew it, our drinks had arrived. We ate while we watched the kids run back and forth through the arcade.