AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter One
Laney
"Are you sure youwant to do this, Laney?" my best friend, Addison Kissinger asks, squeezing my arm in a show of empathy as I hesitate outside the doors to Bridgestone Arena. The place is already packed, hockey fans coming from all over the state to watch the Predators play.
The size of the crowd isn't what has me hesitating to go in, though. It's the memories that threaten to send tears trickling down my cheeks.
Two months ago, my dad died. He was my best friend and closest ally. He's the reason I love this game and the reason I'm here now. He coached at the high school I graduated from last spring. This game meant everything to him.
Every season, he and I attended at least one game together. It was our tradition.
A little over a year ago, we found out he had an inoperable brain tumor. Buying tickets to the game was impossible when his medications cost so much. But Dad's team reached out to Weston Davies. My dad coached him for a few years back when Weston played in a youth hockey league.
He sent my dad tickets to every home game scheduled last season and again this season.
If my dad had a favorite player, it was Weston.
He's a beast on the ice, aggressive, dominant, and a little bit wild. He spends more time in the penalty box than anyone else in the league. But he's so damn good at what he does. The Predators refuse to trade him off, no matter how many times he's slapped with fines for fighting.
Watching him is hypnotic. I'll never admit it, but I've always had a big crush on him. He's incredibly beautiful, with short dark blond hair and soulful gray eyes. His body is a work of art. He's ripped from head to toe, but still lean and fast as heck. He's sexy without even trying.
Every other woman on the planet thinks so too.
For some reason, he doesn't seem to date. Or, if he does, he manages to do it completely under the radar. As often as paparazzi used to follow him around, I figure they would have caught him with someone by now. A lot of people speculate that he's gay. He isn't. I'm not sure what makes me so certain of that fact, but I am.
A lot of people say he's rude and standoffish. He seems like a nice guy to me. His crooked smile is always so full of mischief. My dad liked him, which is a ringing endorsement if you ask me. My dad was always an excellent judge of character.
"Laney?" Addison nudges me.
"Sorry," I mutter, shaking my head to clear it. "I'm sure I want to do this."
I don't think she believes me.
I don't either.
The thought of meeting Weston Davies sends an entire flock of butterflies into flight in my stomach. But I'm determined to see this through. Even though he probably doesn't even remember sending my dad those tickets, I want to thank him. Because of him, my dad and I got to spend his last year bonding over the game we both love.
Surely I can keep it together long enough to thank him?
Okay, probably not.
Unlike Weston, I'm not graceful. If I tried to skate, I'd probably break my neck or someone else's. I'm chubby and awkward, like a baby seal. The only things I have going for me are my blue eyes and my boobs, which I hear are pretty phenomenal.
I'm also messy and clumsy and a little bit crazy. And words leave my mind without my permission. A lot.
Which means tonight is highly likely to end in disaster.
But hey, what kind of hockey game doesn't end with a little blood on the ice, right?
I am so going to live to regret this, but I surge forward with the crowd anyway, committed to seeing this through for my dad. He never got to thank Weston himself. It's up to me to do it for him.
Addison sticks close to my side, gawking at the crowd pressing in all around us. Almost everyone is dressed in team colors—yellow and blue. Not Addy though. She's in a hot pink hoodie and jeans.
Unlike me, Addison is fashionable and absolutely gorgeous. Her glossy black hair, blue eyes, and porcelain skin give her an almost elvish appearance. Men fall all over themselves trying toget her attention whenever we go anywhere together, but she doesn't pay them any attention.
Since she started working as an intern at Saunders Management, a talent management agency run by Riley Jamison, she only has eyes for Clayton Devine. He's a big country music star everyone is going crazy over.
If anyone has a chance with him, it's Addison. She's incredible…and incredibly shy. Whenever Clayton's in the same room, she can't even seem to speak to him. Which is basically what I expect to happen tonight with Weston. If I even manage to get close enough to say thanks, the odds of me throwing up all over him are high.
