Page 34 of Uniquely in Love

Just kidding.

Hi.

It’s just been a long time since you’ve texted me.

I know.

You never changed your number.

I know.

You never changed yours, either.

I can’t believe you’re here.

Do you want to come out with me after? Some of the guys and I are going to get drinks. We can talk.

Sure.

You didn’t have to upgrade my seat, by the way. This is way too much.

Nah, it’s not. Besides, I like it. It was fun being able to turn around and see you there. It’s been too long since you were at one of my games.

Yeah.It has.

Alright. I gotta go. I’ll see you after.

Good luck tonight, Hockey Boy. You got this.

Thanks, Skater Girl.

I shut my eyes, trying to center myself. To focus on the game, and not the excitement I felt at seeing Ellie afterwards. I was supposed to have moved on, so why did I care so much that she was here?

Because no matter how hard I tried, she was always going to be ingrained under my skin.

But I couldn’t risk having her and then losing her again.

She might have been here tonight, but that didn’t mean anything. So I needed to be strong. I couldn’t be weak and sleep with her again. Even if every cell in my body screamed for it.

What I needed was for us to be friends.

I was tired of being on the outside of her life. When we’d been teenagers, we’d told each other everything. Now, I heard about her through my mom. It was the worst. Like hearing about her skating accident second-hand, months after the fact.

All I’d wanted to do was to drive down to Portland, wrap my arms around her, and tell her everything was going to be okay.

But I hadn’t been able to. Because she wasn’t mine anymore.

That was the slap to reality I needed.

So from now on, I couldn’t touch her. Not until I stoppedbeing so weak.

After the game,I texted Ellie to meet us at our favorite bar, a hockey themed one aptly named The Penalty Box. We loved hanging out here, because people didn’t normally bother us, even though it was close by the arena and most of the other patrons were Seattle Hockey fans.

Brooks and Maverick were right behind me, still horsing around with each other after the game. They were two of the closest brothers I knew—well, besides the twins, Zach and Wes. I’d grown up with them, so I was used to their ribbing. Still, the Hendrix brothers always had some good-natured teasing going, and that extended to the other players on the team as well. After so many years together, it really felt like we were all brothers, and this team was my extended family. When you ate, slept, and breathed hockey, it just happened naturally.

Heading inside, I looked around the bar for the head of blonde hair I would recognize anywhere.

Not seeing her, I moved to the bar, ordering my usual porter. It was a label by a local Seattle brewery. I loved supporting the local beer scene. Considering how large the micro-brew scene in the Pacific Northwest was, it was fairly easy. Waiting for Ellie to arrive, I stayed in my spot with a view of the door.

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