Page 97 of The Flirty Forward

“Do you want to go dress shopping?” he asks. I wrinkle my nose, and he laughs. “Got it. No dress shopping.”

“I’ve done enough of that to last a lifetime.”

His gaze softens. “You had to go to a lot of events growing up?”

“All the time...for all the holidays, and I always had to look perfect.”

Our food comes out, thankfully saving me from further talk about my past. I take a bite of my salmon. “Mmmm, that’s really good. How's yours?”

“This chicken is amazing; try it.” He holds out a bite to me, and I stare at it. “Come on; I don’t have a disease or anything.” I stare at it a moment longer before I take a bite. He grins at me. “I take it you didn’t share food a lot at your house when you were growing up.”

“Is that something people do?” I ask, unable to decide if I’m horrified by that thought or intrigued.

He laughs. “Your face.” He shakes his head. “Growing up in a family of five, nothing was sacred, especially as the youngest. I never had anything to myself.”

“You all just eat off each other’s plates?” I ask incredulously.

He shrugs. “Yeah, if we wanted to taste something. I always made sure I ordered something different from everybody else, so I could taste everything.”

I smile. “Oh, I can see that; you love to eat.”

“I do,” he says with a grin.

“So what is Saturday’s event?” I ask.

He pauses to think. “It’s either the children’s hospital or the foundation for troubled teens.” He frowns. “I don’t remember which. One is this weekend; the other is two weeks later. All I know is that you’ll be there; so it will be the best event to date.” He takes my hand in his and gives it a light squeeze before releasing it, so we can both eat.

All too soon, we’re back in the car and on the road again. “You free this Sunday?” he asks suddenly. “For Sunday brunch at my parents? I finally get to be there for one; it’s been a while. I’d love for you to come with me.”

“Saturday nightandSunday brunch? You’re going to get sick of me,” I tease.

“Not possible,” he says, with a straight face.

We spend the rest of the drive making conversation. It feels easy and light, and my spirit feels so much better after saying what I did to my parents. It’s in their court now. Sebastian reluctantly drops me off at my house and heads in for practice, and I try to get my life back on track.

The next day passes in a blur, and all too soon, it’s time for me to head into the city for the game. I glance down at myself one last time before I rush out the door. I’m wearing Sebastian’s jersey and a pair of jeans with sneakers. Hopefully, that’s acceptable.

Traffic is a bear. I finally arrive at the stadium and make it through security, grab my ticket from the box office, and make my way to my seat. Sebastian’s family is already there, ready and waiting for the game to start. I head to the end of the row and tap Sebastian’s dad on the shoulder. He turns and smiles at me before stepping out of the way. “Stephanie,” his mom says in delight, hugging me tightly. “I’m so glad you made it.” She leans forward. “Stephanie’s here. Slide down, everybody.”

“Oh, you don’t have to move. I can just—”

“Nonsense. They got to sit by you last time. You can sit by me this time.”

I feel bad as everybody moves down a seat, but nobody seems to mind. I settle in the chair between Sebastian’s mom and Tina. “Hey,” Tina says, giving me a side hug. “It’s been a while. How’s your head? Sebastian told us you had a concussion.” I have to lean close to hear her over the noise.

“I’m fine now,” I say loudly. She looks like she’s going to say more, but the lights dim, signaling it’s about to get crazy. I sit back in my seat to enjoy the next part. The arena vibrates with the bass of the music, and the video montage of the Green Thunder starts up. I could watch this over and over again. I get lost in the excitement, the thrill of being here. Then they announce our guys and each of them skate out one at a time with the arena still dark and the special effect lighting flashing around the ice rink. When it’s Sebastian’s face on the screen, I catch my breath. I forget how handsome he is and how incredibly athletic he is; I guess because he’s so down-to-earth with me. Soon, the guys gather on either end for the national anthem; and then it’s time for face-off.

Sebastian’s mom grabs my hand and squeezes. I smile over at her. “Does it ever get old?” I ask, genuinely curious.

She beams at me. “Never.”

I nod, and we both watch the faceoff. Aiden gets the puck and sends it down the ice to Zac. And with that, we’re off. The first period passes in the blink of an eye. It’s a tougher team we’re playing. At the end of the period, it’s zero-zero. I stand and stretch during the intermission. “Have we played this team yet this season?” I ask Tina, once she’s finished talking to her daughter.

“We played them away and lost.”

“Oh.” I look back at the ice.

“But we’ll get them this time. This time our boys are in their own arena; they won’t lose,” she says confidently. She leans closer. “This is not a team we want to lose to.”

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