Page 5 of The Flirty Forward

“This is good. This means you’re finally coming to your senses and developing roots. That’s the first step in identifying what you want in your future. So who is this lucky man?” And just like that, my mouth goes dry. Because I have nothing. “There is a man, right?” my mother asks.

“Yes,” I croak. And then my mind pings to my run-in today. “He’s a hockey player,” I blurt out.

The line goes silent. Again. “A hockey player?” my dad asks. I can already hear the disapproval in his voice. Something deep within me pushes me to make this believable.

“Yes, he’s a player in the AHF. He’s a...a forward.”I think that’s what Aiden called him. “He’s tall and fast and shoots the puck into the net.” I nearly roll my eyes at that one.Seriously? “And he makes a ton of money.” I take a shaky breath; that last part was completely for my parents’ benefit. I would never go after a guy simply because he had money; that kind of thing doesn’t matter to me. If I marry someday, it will be for love. Nothing else.Whoa.I rein my crazy thoughts back in; nobody’s talking about marriage. I hold my breath as I wait for my parents to say something.

“This is...Steve?” my mom asks, trying to get my father to handle this.

“Hockey, you say?” my dad asks again.

“Uh, yeah.” My voice is a little breathless.

“What team does he play for?” he asks, surprising me. He’s never followed sports, as far as I know.

“The Green Thunder,” I supply.

“Hmmm.

“We should meet him soon,” my mother says, causing me to give a nervous laugh.

“Oh, no, that’s not necessary. We’re not even serious yet. Anyway, so you were going to tell me about what cases you’re currently working on.” Thankfully, my parents fall for my bait and get sidetracked talking about their work. When I hang up a few minutes later, I feel like I sufficiently redirected.

I sigh and put my head against the seat. “I can’t believe I did that,” I mutter to myself. I shake my head and start my car and make the ten-minute drive over to Anna’s Coffee Co. I need caffeine therapy STAT.

“Hey, Stephanie,” Anna calls out from behind the counter.

“Hey.”

“What can I get for you today?”

“As much caffeine and sugar as you can give me,” I tell her.

She laughs. “Uh, oh. Rough day?”

I shake my head. “You have no idea.”

A few minutes later, I walk back out to my car with my large toasted marshmallow cold brew with extra whipped cream in hand. I take my first sip and breathe out a sigh of contentment. That’s what I needed. After a few more sips, I feel ready to make the drive home. I pull up in front of my small condo and park and stare at the exterior for a few minutes before I finally make my way inside. I drop my bag off on the chair in the kitchen and head back to my room to change out of my heels and puton slippers. A few minutes later, I spread out at the kitchen table, ready to get to work. I have to grade these essays before tomorrow. I like being able to hand papers back to my students the next day. I remember waiting forever to get papers back as a student when I was in school; I refuse to do that to my students. I take another drink of coffee and get to work.

Time passes quickly, and before long, it’s dark out. I stand and stretch, working out the kinks. I head over to the refrigerator, looking for something easy for dinner and wonder absently what Brielle made for dinner. She’s a much better cook than me. But Aiden’s finally home for a night; I’m not going to bother them. I know they don’t get much time together.

I end up making some pasta and sit at the table a few minutes later, eating my pasta and feeling melancholy. I don’t know why. I haven’t felt this way for a while. I’m sure some of it is due to Brielle not being able to spend as much time with me anymore. We used to do everything together, but she has Aiden now. And while I don’t wish her anything but absolute happiness, lately I’ve felt increasingly more lonely. I look across the table at my history papers spread out and sigh. I used to enjoy teaching so much. But lately, it’s been a struggle. It's definitely not my first love anymore, but it’s okay. I just have to find the joy in it again.

I finish my pasta and get back to work. It’s late when I finally crawl into bed. And though I’m tired, I can’t get my brain to turn off from my huge blunder today. I can’t believe I told my parents I was dating a hockey player. At least nobody knows about it, and nobody ever will. My parents will forget about it when I don’t bring it up again. If they eventually remember, I’ll just tell them we broke up. The one thing I know for sure is that Sebastian Hart can never know. And as long as I’m careful, he never will.

Chapter 2

Sebastian

I grin as I climb out of my car and make my way towards my parents’ house. It’s Sunday, and I don’t have a game today. So that means Sunday brunch. My parents have a standing invitation every Sunday for my siblings and me and their families. Sunday brunch is the best part of my week. I don’t make it often during the season, but I’m here as often as I can.

I don’t bother knocking as I open the door and step inside. I'm instantly met with the chaos of a loud family, and I love it. My nieces and nephews come barreling into me. “Uncle Sebastian!”

I bend down and try to pull as many of them into my arms as possible. Besides Max and Kayla, I’ve got two more nieces and one nephew. These three are Tina's and Andrew’s. Brittany is seven, Eliza is five, and baby Sammy is almost one. I give a round of tickles, and they all run from me shrieking. I grin and make my way into the large kitchen. My mom is busy at the stove, and my dad is cutting bread. Keith is currently making a pot of coffee, and Kristin is holding baby Sammy for Tina. Andrew has his hand on Tina’s back. I look down at my older sister, who currently has her head down on the serving counter. “Hey everybody,” I call out.

“Sebastian,” my mother responds, and I kiss her on the cheek and simultaneously snag a piece of sausage out of her skillet.

“What’s with her?” I ask Andrew, nodding at my sister.

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