Page 45 of The Golden Goalie

Me- well, at least tell me how much i owe you

Rico- nothing

I close my eyes and lean against the couch a moment before looking back at my phone.

Me-thank you

Me- andthanks for dinner. it was really good!!

Me-anddid you somehow work it out for security to work in the parking lot outside the library?

Rico-i'm glad you liked the food. i was hoping it would go down well and stay down. did it?

Me- so far

Rico- good

Me- so did you do something about security?

Rico- what if i did?

I debate what to say before finally settling on a thank you.

Me-thank you. they walked us to our cars.

Rico-good. they should have been doing that long before now.

Rico- do you get to go to sleep now or do you have more to do?

Me- i have to study now and work on a paper for one of my classes

He sends me back a frowning emoji, and it makes me smile.

Rico-you work too hard.

Me-says the guy who plays professional hockey for a living

I glance at the clock and mentally do the breakdown of how much sleep I’m going to get.

Me-i gotta go. thanks for everything!

Rico- we've got a set of away games, so i won’t be around for a little bit

I stare at the phone, unsure what to say to that.

Rico- and i can tell by your silence that i’ve either confused you or freaked you out. i just wanted you to know that i wasn’t ignoring you.

Me- no worries thanks for the heads up

I quickly lock my phone and place it face down, so I don’t continue to read whatever he sends. The fact is, he’s completely right. He totally confused me with his text, but I’m not going to allow myself to dwell on it.There’s nothing between me and the goalie; he’s just being nice. I’m not attracted to him; he’s not the nicest guy I've ever met.I groan. And maybe if I keep telling myself that enough, I’ll start believing it.

Chapter 19

Amber

The next few days pass in a blur of classes, studying, and work. By the time the weekend comes, I'm ready to crash. I allow myself a little time to sleep in. When I drag myself into the kitchen, my mom’s sitting at the table reading. “Morning, Sweetheart.”

I kiss her on the cheek. “Morning, Mom. Did you sleep well?”

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