Page 65 of The Fake Out

“I gotta go, baby,” I told her again and shifted her onto her back.

“Everyone abandons me,” she muttered.

How could I leave her when she said something like that?

I sat up and hovered over her, my hand going to her face. “Veronica?”

“Hmm?”

“I gotta go travel with the team, okay? I’ll see you in a few days. I promise.”

Her eyes shot open, and her brow furrowed when she looked up at me. “Blaise?” she asked, confused. “Oh, right. Sure. I’ll see you later.”

“You okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I’ll see you when you get back, or whenever. Text me when you need another appearance from your fake girlfriend.”

I wanted to scream. I didn’t want her to be my fake girlfriend anymore. How did I let this happen?

I kissed her forehead. “Go back to sleep. I’ll text you later.”

She closed her eyes, and I reluctantly got out of bed. I went into the bathroom and did my normal morning routine. I peeled off the saniderm bandage on my chest and applied ointment to my new tattoo. I opened up the drawer in her bathroom and found a roll of more of it in there and applied the new bandage. Was it smart to get a tattoo during the season? Probably not, but slapping on a saniderm bandage usually did the trick to let it heal.

I was glad I finally let Veronica do the cover-up because I loved the work she did. The dark red of the petals buried Astrid’s name, painting over a past I’d rather forget. Veronica had blended the vines into my sleeve, marking my skin as if Astrid had never been there. Like her handiwork healed my broken heart.

I walked back into her bedroom and started getting dressed. We had stopped at my place last night for my travel bag. Thank god she was smart enough to mention that. Especially since I needed to be suited up for travel. I cringed as her closet door creaked, and I pulled out the white dress shirt. I shrugged it on, buttoning it quickly, and pulled on my pants, tucking in the shirt neatly.

“Damn…” I heard Veronica whistle from the bed as I stretched the matching suit jacket across my wide-set shoulders and wrestled with my tie.

“Go back to sleep, sweets.”

“Sorry, there’s a hot hockey player in my bedroom wearing a sexy suit.”

She slid out of bed and came over to me. She fixed the tie for me and smoothed down my jacket.

“Thanks, sweets.”

She nodded. “Damn, get out of here before I rip your clothes off.”

I groaned and adjusted myself in my pants. “Don’t tempt me. I don’t have time.”

She smirked at me.

“Go back to sleep,” I said and gave her a quick kiss. I pushed her back down into the bed, and she laughed.

“Have a good game,” she told me, and she seemed sincere about it.

Starting this thing with Veronica made me realize something about my previous relationship—Astrid never supported my career. She didn’t care about it, and even though Veronica said she didn’t like ‘sportsball,’ she understood how important it was to me. Why did Astrid stay with me for so long if she didn’t even care? Why had I?

I kissed Veronica goodbye, and she surprised me by not flinching at the gesture. That was kind of relationship-y, and we weren’t actually in one. We weren’t at my house where my dad or siblings were around and would think it was weird if I didn’t kiss her goodbye, but she didn’t pull away to remind me of that. It felt so natural waking up beside her and kissing her goodbye. Like it was something we always did. Like we really were together. I had to keep reminding myself we weren’t. Despite the way my heart was screaming at me.

I tried to push down the intrusive thoughts as I drove to the jet. Once I got there, I greeted my teammates while we walked on board. I took my seat and put my headphones on, trying to drown out all my conflicting thoughts. They only let up when I fell asleep.

After we touched down and settled into our hotel for the night, I got dinner with the boys.

“You ready for this road trip?” TJ asked and sipped his beer like he was in a hurry.

“Sure, just need to be good on the PK,” I told him.