AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well,” I say, goading him to tell me more, “what do you know about him? What team does he play for?”
“Team?” He flashes me a perplexed look, his eyebrows raised in confusion. “He doesn’t play for a team.”
I fold my arms across my chest, locking onto Murph. “I was so sure he was an athlete. But he was with Coach. All of her friends are in the business. Is he an agent?”
He shakes his head. “Nope, Jamie is a gamer.”
“As in he plays video games?” Now, I’m confused.
“Well, yes and no. He’s a software engineer. His company designs video games, but he also makes apps and other stuff.”
“He didn’t look like a nerd to me,” I joke.
“Jamie’s a cool nerd. I’ve played a few of the first-person shooter games he designed, and they're kind of bad ass.”
As a girl who grew up on sports, comic books, and video games, I had a strange childhood. I was never the girl who’d brush Barbie’s hair or have tea parties with her friends. Most of my friends growing up were the sons or daughters of other famous hockey players. We had unusual lives, to say the least. My closest friend was a boy until his father was traded to another team, breaking us apart.
It didn’t help that we’d moved back and forth between the United States and Canada for most of my life. By the time I was old enough to attend college, I had chosen a school in Philadelphia to stay close to my dad during hockey season. I never expected to fall in love with the city and move here permanently.
My dad still travels between the U.S. and Canada, mostly because my mother had refused to leave her country. She likes it in the States, but she says it’s nothing like home. I don’t blame her. I like both countries for different reasons, but now Philly is where I call my home. Every few months, I make it a point to visit my mom. She gets upset if I don’t carve out a weekend for her at least once every quarter.
But with hockey season in full swing and all the events we have going on at the Wells Fargo Center, the likelihood of me getting away from here anytime soon is slim. At least I have my dad around, despite how little I get to see him with our busy schedules.
“That’s funny you thought Jamie was an athlete. He’s about as nerdy as they come.”
Hot nerds, who knew there was such a thing?
I’ve always like smart guys. It beats the hell out of talking to a man who’s taken one too many hits and can’t hold down a decent conversation. Since my dad is usually the topic of those conversations, my dates tend not to last long.
“He has the build of one. I just assumed that he was with Coach because she represented him.”
“Aw, man,” Murph says, laughing. “Jamie is going to get a kick out of this the next time I see him.”
I hold my hand out in front of me. “No! Don’t even think about telling him about this conversation.”
“Why? Do you like him?”
“No…I don’t know. We didn’t have much time together before Coach and her friends found us. It was kinda awkward having Parker, Kane, and Donovan hovering over us while we were talking. And Coach is…well, you know Coach. She can be intimidating.”
He chuckles to himself. “Jamie is good people. I’ve known him almost as long as Coach.”
“What else do you know about him? Did Coach and Jamie ever date?”
He laughs so hard he snorts. “No way! Coach and Ja
mie are like brother and sister. They grew up in foster care together. There’s nothing sexual about their relationship.”
I smile at his words.
“Look at you,” Murph says, pointing his finger at me. “You like Jamie. How about that? And here I didn’t think you liked anyone.”
“Why is that?” I throw my hands onto my hips. “Because I won’t go out with you?”
Murph shrugs. “Maybe.”
“You’re too in love with my dad to ever fall in love with me, Murph. It would never work between us. Besides, you’re the closest thing I have to a best friend anymore.”
“I’ll take what I can get,” he deadpans.
