Page 106 of Mr. Swoony

She moves over to Bodhi and takes a picture with him eating a plate of nachos, then one of her and Jade. I sit down next to Troy, and Conor winks and waves on his way back to the locker room.

Before the game starts, Troy goes to get a drink. As we wait for the festivities to begin, I pull up my social media, wondering if I should take a picture of myself here at the game and make us social media official. Tell the world that I’m with Conor Nilsen and currently sitting in the front row and wearing his jersey. But when I enter the app, I go into my notifications to see that Kyleigh has a personal account and has tagged Jade and myself and her dad in the pictures she took with the caption, “Starting the season with a bang.”

I scroll through the comments, pausing when I come across one in particular.

* * *

<3Nilsen49

Oh cute, the blonde thinks he’s hers. Joke’s on her I guess.

* * *

My heart lodges in my throat. This is what I was warned about, and I can handle it. It’s just some random stranger. When I go to her account, I find it filled with videos of Conor, but the one that catches my eye is the one she just posted of him doing his warm-ups earlier tonight.

Whoever this girl is, she’s in this arena too.

Forty-Three

Conor

We win the game three to zero and file off the ice, heading into the locker room.

“What the hell did I tell you?” Tweetie says when we sit down to take off our equipment.

“What?” I take off my pads and undress because I want to hit the showers and get out to greet Eloise as fast as I can.

“You had her wear your fucking jersey. I bet word is all over the puck bunny scene that you’re seeing someone.”

I thought about not giving it to her, but knew I’d see Kyleigh wearing Rowan’s and Jade all cozy in Henry’s jersey. The selfish part of me wanted Eloise to wear mine. I want everyone to know she’s mine. But I get Tweetie’s point too.

“If she’s going to be part of my life, I can’t hide her in a closet,” I say, knowing it’s the truth. I hope that the women will back off now, knowing I’m taken. A lot of them have respected Rowan and Henry’s relationships. Usually, they just move on to the single players.

“It’s too early, man.” He shakes his head, untying his laces.

I’m really hoping Lila will see Eloise in my jersey and find some other player to become obsessed with. But I’m sick of not doing things in my life because of fear. I can’t control someone’s reaction to me living my life.

“I hope for your sake, they’re kind.” He tears off his jersey and pads.

“I’ll handle it.”

And I will. I’m handling Lila already. I told her to go back to Florida and leave me the hell alone. Hopefully, she’ll listen. If she doesn’t, I’ll have to file another restraining order. I haven’t seen her since, so that’s a good sign. And I know Eloise is strong enough to deal with this world and all the shit that goes with fame. I just don’t want her to have to.

I head to the showers, leaving Tweetie and his pessimistic view behind. Not all relationships are the same.

I shower, dress back in my suit, and head toward the room that holds the family members to grab Eloise and go celebrate our win. On the way, my phone vibrates, and I figure it’s probably my mom congratulating me, so I pull it out to respond. It’s from a number I don’t recognize that isn’t in my contacts.

Anonymous: Great game. Loved your warm-ups. I’m a little worried about your taste in women though.

My bag slips off my shoulder and lands with a thud on the floor.

Fuck. It has to be Lila. She was here? At the game? I don’t want to message back like I did in Florida—it only made it worse—so I delete the text, shut off my screen, and continue to my destination.

Eloise is with my dad, laughing at something he said, and it makes all the bullshit go away. My dad has a genuine smile when he turns to me and winks, silently telling me he likes her. Of course he would, I had no doubt. Sure, Mom will be a tougher audience, but after her antics last year, she’ll probably welcome Eloise with open arms regardless of how she really feels.

I shake hands with my dad, giving him a hug as he pats me on the back and says, “Great start to the season.”

“Definitely. Thanks for coming, Dad.”

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