Page 15 of The Love Penalty

He looks like a beat up little kid and I feel for him, I really do. Especially after what he told me earlier. “You’re gonna be just fine. And as for your reputation, that will improve. You’ve been making great progress already and we’ll support you, always.”

He stands up and envelops me in a big hug, “Thanks, Grandpa.”

ROBBIE IS THE BEST HOCKEY PLAYER IN THE WORLD

Robbie

Hi. So, quick question. How did you save my contact information on your phone?

Olivia

I added it as Robbie, but now I’m thinking I'll change it to that one annoying hockey player.

I think you mean Robbie is the Best Hockey Player in the World, thank you very much.

Ha. You wish. :)

Ouch. Way to hurt my feelings, prickly ref.

Prickly ref, my new tagline. I like it. I’ll add it to my resume.

TWENTY-ISH QUESTIONS

Robbie

Let’s play a game of 20 questions. What’s your favorite food?

Olivia

What are we, 12? Idk, tacos. What’s yours?

Carbs. What kind of tacos?

Are you really wasting a second question on food again? Tacos al pastor. I love pineapple. What is your favorite color?

Hmm, are you also one of those pineapple on pizza kind of people? Because if so, we can’t be friends anymore. My favorite color is green :)

I see you’ve wasted another question on food related topics. Yes, I do enjoy it on my pizza. Don’t knock it till you try it. What’s your favorite song?

Damn, you are cruel. That wasn’t meant to be another question, just a follow up. My favorite song is AOK. What’s yours?

Probably Work Song. What’s your favorite TV show? And fair warning, there is a right and wrong answer here.

*Sweats profusely* okay I’m going to go ahead and say Brooklyn Nine Nine. What is yours?

Okay, that’s a better answer than I expected. I thought you’d say something like The Office (UK) and I’d have to block you. Mine is Schitt’s Creek.

I like your style, miss Olivia.

TWELVE

Olivia

November

Two more weekshave gone by and I haven’t seen Robbie. We text almost every day, which I didn’t expect. He said he would text me the day after we exchanged phone numbers as soon as he got a new phone, but he didn’t, and I didn’t want to seem too eager for his conversation so I kept to myself as well. A few days later, it was Halloween. I got a picture with the two most adorable cats, both of them dressed up for the holiday. The first one, a black cat, had an orange bow tie around his neck, and the second, an orange tabby had a purple witch hat on his adorable little head.

Since then, I wake up every morning to cat pictures and lots of questions.

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