Page 35 of Uniquely in Love

“Who are you waiting for, Harps?” Mav asked.

“Probably that girl he was staring at the entire game,” Brooks said with a snort. “Did you give her your number or something? Ask her out?”

Some of the other guys were right behind us, joining us here after the game, and we normally ended up with one of the larger booths crammed full of hockey players. Which was a feat, considering most guys on the team were over six feet tall. Even our shortest on the team, Carter Meyer, was still 5’10. Though no one was as tall as Rhodes.

I shook my head. “I wasn’t staring at her the entire game.”

“She’s cute. Who is she?”

They had no idea, I realized. Probably because I’d never shown them a picture of the girl who broke my heart when I was nineteen years old.

“She’s…” How did I even answer that? I tried, but nothing came out.

And then… there she was. She’d taken the jersey off, wearing a coral sweater with her straight blonde hair hanging loose around her shoulders. Ellie had always been beautiful, but now she wasstunning. I’d noticed it at her graduation party, when I’d barely been able to look away from her all night.

Was it any wonder that I’d followed her up into that treehouse and kissed her? That I’d driven her back to her apartment and spent the night with her? No.

Her eyes lit up as she saw me, and she walked towards me with a bounce in her step.

“Hi, El,” I said, trying to look normal.Casual. And also trying to ignore the fact that my two best friends were right behind me, clearly also trying to scope out my girl.

Nope.Not mine anymore. I needed to remind myself.

“Should we go somewhere we can talk?” Ellie asked, tucking her hair behind her ear.

I nodded. “Want to get a drink first? We can grab a booth at the back.” Away from the nosy, prying eyes.

“Okay.” She turned to the bartender, ordering a whiskey sour. We were quiet as we waited for her drink to be made. Once she had it in her hand, I grabbed my beer, the two of us walking back to one of the empty booths.

I resisted placing my hand on her back to guide her there, because that wasn’t something you did with your friend. And that’s what we were to each other now. Or at least, that was all we could be.

Taking a long pull of my beer, I set it down on the table and looked at her. “Why are you here?”

Ellie bit her lip, running her thumb over the rim of the glass. “What do you mean?” I couldn’t help but notice how she tugged at the hem of her sweater. Okay—she was just as nervous as I was.

“At my game,” I answered. “It’s a long drive from Portland. Are you staying the night, or?—”

“I moved here last week,” she answered quickly. “You’re looking at the newest fourth grade teacher at Pine Creek Elementary.”

My eyes widened. “You…what? Ellie, that’s…” I wasn’t sure I had words. But I was so proud of her. She gave me a hesitant smile. “Amazing. Congratulations.”

“Thank you. I wasn’t going to come tonight, but I saw an ad for the game, and I guess I just wanted to see if it felt like old times. Watching you play.” Her eyes connected with mine, and I held her gaze.

“And did it?”

She nodded. “Better now, I think. God, you’re amazing, Owen.”

It was my turn to thank her, but the words tasted strange on my tongue. Maybe because we’d never exchanged pleasantries like this before. We’d never had to. I dipped my head. “Thanks. The regular season will probably be more exciting, but?—”

“No, I thought it was fun. A lot of the guys who played tonight are trying to get a spot on the team, right?”

I gave her a nod of acknowledgement. “We lost to the Warriors in the playoffs last year, so that also had something to do with the game tonight.”

The guys had been feisty, ready to drop their gloves and chirping at the opposition. And while I tried to keep my time in the penalty box to a minimum, I was always ready to defend my teammates. It was practically an unwritten rule when you saw someone on the opposing team messing with one of your guys.

“You really didn’t have to get me a better seat,” she said, looking down at her drink. She’d barely touched it, and I was almost done with my beer.

I shrugged. “I know.” Maybe I shouldn’t have done it, but it had made me feel better. After all, who knew what sort of guy she could have sat next to? Especially being new in the city. She would have been an easy target. “Where are you living?”

---