Page 13 of The Trade Up

“You slept with Zach Reid?” she yells, then closes the door behind her quickly.

“Alert the entire museum, please.” I roll my eyes, annoyed that she isn’t being more discreet about it.

“He just showed up here and asked that this be delivered to you, so I’m sure everyone already suspects there’s something going on there.”

“Why didn’t he just give it to me himself?” I wonder aloud.

“He had a car waiting for him and seemed a bit rushed. I happened to be walking by the front entrance and heard him asking Shelley to give this to you, so I introduced myself as your best friend, and he gave it to me instead.”

“Thank God,” I say. Shelley’s the nosiest person alive. She probably would have opened the box herself if Blake hadn’t been there.

I hold my arms out and Blake crosses the room and sets it into my outstretched hands, saying “Alright, what’s in there? I’m dying to know.”

I pull the thick satin of the blue bow and lift the lid to the box. And then, I stop breathing.

“Oh shit,” Blake says and then lets out an awkward laugh.

Together we stare down at the Boston Rebels jersey, neatly folded so REID is prominently displayed, and the two tickets to tonight’s game that sit atop it. Beneath the tickets is a flat notecard, and I slide it out to read the message scrawled across it:In case you change your mind…

I stare at it in stunned silence.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I really want to see him again, but if I go tonight I’d have to see Colby too.”

“Good, let Colby see you in Zach’s jersey. It’s exactly what the asshole deserves. And Zach’s known as being one of the nicest guys in the league, whichyoudeserve.”

“I’m not looking to cause drama. These are front row tickets. What if Colby sees me and makes a spectacle?”

“Colby won’t be expecting you, so he probably won’t even notice you’re there. But if he does and he starts shit, then hopefully Zach actually throws a punch and knocks him unconscious.”

I think about what I learned this morning from searching him up online. He wasn’t joking that his “brand” is based on not fighting. Apparently some of the fans hate that about him, but I read article after article about how he made it into the NHL so young by being a smart, tactical defensive player, and how his ability to keep his own emotions under control while getting under his opponents’ skin might just be the key to his success.

What if my being there tonight actually backfires and Zach loses his cool?

“I can see Zach again at a different time. He floated the idea of coming back here for Christmas,” I say and Blake’s eyes bug out of her head. “And, my funding came through for my PhD this morning, so I’m moving to Boston next month. He wants to keep seeing me once I’m there.”

Blake sighs. “You’re living my dream life, girl. You really like him, don’t you?”

“There’s just…I don’t know, we just had this connection I’ve never had with anyone else before. And the sex was…out of this world.”

“I see what you did there, rocket scientist.”

I laugh because it was unintentional. “Not only did he give methreeorgasms, he’s a huge Star Trek fan, too.”

“So…the sex was amazing, he’s a nice guy, he lives in Boston, and he’s a Star Trek fan. How have you not married him already?” she asks. “You’re really going to let Colby get in the way of you seeing Zach again before he leaves?”

“I want to be there to support him. But wearing his jersey? That means something.”

“If you don’t feel ready for that step, you could go to watch him play and not wear the jersey, you know.”

“I think you just want to go to the game with me,” I tease.

“You know I do. And if the only thing holding you back is the possibility you’ll see Colby, I hate to see you give him that control over you.”

“I don’t want to make things awkward for Zach if Colby starts running his mouth.”

“Does Zach know your ex plays for Seattle?”

---