Page 35 of The Flirty Forward

“So you want to date her?”

I scoff. “I want to marry her, but as you can see, that’s not going so well.” He gives me a look, and I know him well enough to know I’m not going to like what he’s about to say. “What?”

“You sure you don’t like her just because she’s the first person to ever say no to you?”

His words immediately make me angry. “Yes. I haven’t always been this popular.” I scowl at him. “It’s not like that.”

He puts his hands up defensively. “You’re with a lot of women.”

“Not for real,” I defend myself. He shrugs. “I just take dates to events because I have to. I’ve never been serious about any of them. I’ve never found a woman that makes me want to pursue something with her.”

“But this one does?”

“Stephaniedoes.”

“Why?”

I consider his question. “I love verbally sparring with her. She’s not afraid to tell me exactly what she thinks of me, instead of saying yes and agreeing to everything I say. She’s both fire and ice, and she’s fun to get stirred up because I never know what she’s going to say. And getting a smile out of her is next to impossible because I’m pretty sure she hates me. But when I get one?” I smile. “It’s the most rewarding thing in the world. Most of the time, she’s tough as nails. She gives as good as she gets. She’s sarcastic and funny. But today, I got a glimpse behind all that. I saw her vulnerable and dare I say...scared. It made me want to hold her and protect her and never let her go. And yes, I know how sappy this all sounds,” I say in defeat.

Keith doesn’t say anything for a little while, and I’m okay with that. I’m feeling a little wrung out in the emotional department.Good grief.I’m glad my teammates can’t hear me or see me right now. They’d never let me live it down. “I’m going to head inside.”

“You’ve gone after what you’ve wanted with your whole heart your entire life, Little Brother. Don’t let this be the one thing you don’t go after.”

His words surprise me. “You think I should continue to pursue her, even though she’s not interested?”

“You already know the answer.” With that, he turns and walks back inside.

I stare after him as a slow grin fills my face. I need to make a game plan. If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s make a game plan. I jump up the front porch, skipping the steps, and head inside. I need to come up with a plan.

____________

The next day, I park in the players’ and staff parking lot and walk inside the building. I’m ready to get to practice; I need a hard practice to work out my frustration. I asked Stephanie out on a date. She gave me a big fatno. Notno thank you,maybe another time...just ano.I spent all last night thinking through what I should have done differently yesterday—how it all went so wrong. I was really looking forward to spending time together with her with my family; I thought maybe they could provide a good buffer so she would be comfortable. But that didn’t work at all. One good thing out of it was that I made two hundred dollars, though they all fought me on it, saying Stephanie didn’t stay. But I held to my argument—I never said she had to stay; she just had to come.

I head into the locker room, ready to get my thoughts onto hockey and off of my current heartache.Wow, I sound sappy, even to myself.I shake my head; I need a good hard workout.

“What’s with you?” Zac asks as soon as I step into the locker room.

I ignore him and go to my spot to get ready for practice. I ignore the guys goofing off. I’m tying my skates when a body lands next to me on the bench. “You good?”

“I’m fine,” I tell Rico, our goalie and one of my good friends.

“You sure? Because your face says a different story.”

“Want your face to tell a different story?” I ask without looking up.

He laughs and stands. “Got it, Man. Just remember I’m here if you want to talk.”

I finish with my skates and head out of the locker room, grabbing a stick on the way. I'm ready to hit the ice and work out this frustration. Coach Seers is ready and waiting, and we start with drills. Within minutes, I’m sweating. Then we start scrimmaging.

“Hart!”

I wipe off my sweat and listen as my coach reams me out for at least the third time this practice. I can’t remember the last time I got yelled at this much; not since I was a rookie. When we finish practice, I’m the last off the ice. I’m not really in the mood to face my teammates. I skate a few extra laps, getting rid of the last of my energy, before heading to the locker room. My hope is that my teammates have already showered and moved on. No such luck.

When I get to the locker room, Rico, Aiden, and Gunner, our team captain, are all waiting for me. “That was a terrible practice,” Rico says. “You going to be good for the game tomorrow night?”

I’m irritated that he’s even asking. Of course I’m going to be fine for a game. “Yeah.” I whip off my shirt, so I can head to the showers. I’m not in the mood to talk, so I take my time in the shower. When I come out, everyone’s gone except for Aiden. He’s staring at his phone when I walk into the room.

“Somebody sent Stephanie black roses,” he says without looking up from his phone.

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