Page 3 of Delayed Penalty

She just stands there staring at me long enough I’m wondering if I’m wrong. Is it not her? Has it been so long since I’ve seen her that I forgot what she looks like? Even thinking that sounds absolutely ridiculous. No amount of time or distance could come between me and Avery that would have me forgettinganythingabout her.

Including the way she looks when she’s about to bolt. Avery is nothing if not good at avoiding awkward situations—it used to make me laugh. Right now, though, it’s making me nervous. I want to talk to her, I want to see how she’s doing. She’s been on my mind since I saw her at the gala last year, clearly upset. I know there’s something off between her and Peter, but I also know I’m probably the last person in the world she wants to divulge her life secrets to.

Doesn’t mean I worry any less, though.

Then you should’ve stayed. You shouldn’t have left her to get scooped up by a man like him.

Her mouth opens like she’s finally going to say something, but instead she just turns on her heel with a bashful smile and the bathroom door shuts on my face, leaving me wondering what the fuck just happened.

Chapter Two

Avery

When I told Kelly I’d come out tonight, I knew it was going to be a terrible idea, but I said fuck it. I knew I’d be pissing Peter off because I wouldn’t be sitting at home when he got back for him to ignore me, like the little obedient fiancée he expects me to be. My sister has been asking me to go out with her for drinks for longer than I care to admit, so I put on a little dress and some makeup, left a note for Peter, and went to meet her at Hudson’s.

The nice thing about the bar she chose is that it’s just a couple blocks from my apartment so I’m able to walk and not have to take a cab.

At least this way, I’m not wasting time and stress on trying to do it in the first place. I’m thankful that, even though it’s only March, it’s at least on the warmer side or I’d be freezing my tits off in this outfit. But when Kelly says to dresshot, I’ve learned it’s easier to try my best than to let her do it for me. If she had her way, I’d be wearing a see-through dress to try to attract “real men”.

Add in the fact that Hudson’s is a bar I’ve been avoiding for years, and tonight is basically a recipe for disaster.

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the bar—hell, I’m sure it’s great—it’s just well-known that this is where the Cyclone’s hockey players meet up for drinks after their games, and with the players comes their fans… both men and women. I’ve never witnessed it in person, thank God, since I’ve done a damn good job of avoiding that man for the lastsixyears, only running into him one other time.

Until now.

Harris Danielson.

A famous NHL player. A six-foot-two hottie with honey brown eyes and a smile that’ll make your panties wet.

Oh, and my college boyfriend, the love of my life who broke my heart leaving me questioning if those two years ever meant anything or if it was all just one big lie.

Hiding in the bathroom for way longer than necessary, I can’t bring myself to open the door. I have this fear of having to talk to him, of opening this door and having to come face to face with him for the first time in almost six years. I’ve spent those years hating him… in my mind, I go back to when everything changed and play it over and over, hoping to find something to explain why everything happened the way it did. But nothing makes sense, and at this point it just makes me angry.

Angry at the situation, angry at myself for falling in love with the athlete I knew I shouldn’t, and angry at him for breaking my heart without even a second thought. Even angrier that I don’t know why, when just before he broke my heart, we were talking about spending our lives together.

I constantly wonder if he’s ever thought of me or if he’s missed me. But I realize it’s impossible because that would imply I ever meant anything to him.

I need to open the door, and I already know he’s going to be standing on the other side, but fuck, I’m at the point where Ican’t hide any longer or my sister is bound to come look for me and that’s just a situation we should avoid.

Just what I need is her to recognize Harris from one of the pictures I used to have in my room, then all the million questions come. With Kelly being older, she was already married and had moved away when I was dating Harris. We broke up before she ever got to meet him.

She knows almost everything about me, but the details of what happened between Harris and I when we broke up is not one of them. It was too intimate, too heartbreaking.

The fact that the second I heard his voice, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand tall, my skin breaking out in goosebumps as his words caressed my skin, I know I’m still in the same damn place.

I’ve felt butterflies before, this is different. It’s like there’s a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttering around and I’ve never been so nervous or excited before in my life—only dampened down by the fact that I’m still trying to remind myself that I hate him… at least, I feel like I’m supposed to hate him.

But you never could. They could never make you hate him. My family and Peter’s have sure tried.

With a deep breath, I roll my shoulders back and push through the door, coming face to face with him just as I expected, but instead of his usual cocky smile—that is so handsome I could die, his whole face lighting up—he looks sad. Almost… worried.

“Ave?” he says quietly.

Hearing his use of my nickname hurts, all the memories of better days coming back in short bursts, like seeing him was the key that opened Pandora’s box. And regardless of how much effort I’m putting into keeping them locked down, they’re going to make their way back up to the surface.

I just know that with everything happening now with Peter, I don’t need another shit storm in my life.

“Hi, Harris, long time no see,” I say, a feeble attempt to seem cold or aloof, but it does nothing to calm the worry in his eyes. The brown in his eyes that’s usually vibrant, filled with joy; it’s murky, muted, faded out by the story of unease raging through him right now.

---