Page 67 of Need You to Choose Me

“It pushed me to do better,” he replies. “She made mewantto do better. If people are going to call me the best defenseman, then that’s what I’m going to work to be. That’s because of her.”

“Now you’re married with a kid. You clearly knocked the socks, and pants, right off her.”

Sebastian’s deadpan expression makes me crack a grin.

“Anyway, what’s with all the fancy food? Half of this doesn’t look edible.”

He picks up another cracker and holds it out to me. “This is a brie and jam cracker. The other ones are cucumber and ricotta. Try one. You’ll like it.”

I’m not as sure, but I try it anyway. Mostly because I was too nervous to eat earlier, so I’m hungry. And if I don’t put something in my stomach then very loud, embarrassing noises are going to start happening. “It’s not horrible,” I relent, wiping my hands off. “But they should put some pizza out or something because it doesn’t look like anyone else is interested in it.”

He chuckles. “Wait until they’re hungry enough and this whole table will be wiped out by the time they bring out the actual dinner.”

I look around the room, accidentally meeting Bodhi’s eyes again. This time, there’s an older couple talking to him. He looks bored. “When is dinner, exactly?” I ask my brother, who’s watching a few of his teammates roughhouse off to the side.

“Not until seven.”

I frown. That’s still an hour from now.

When one of the boys almost knocks into a waitress holding a tray of drinks, Sebastian groans. “I need to go take care of that before they cause a scene. Coach told us if we weren’t on our best behavior we’d pay through conditioning.”

As someone who loathes exercising, that doesn’t sound fun. “You go. I’ll be fine. In fact, I may go get some fresh air. It’s stuffy in here.”

He’s already walking toward his friends, calling out, “Keep your phone on you and don’t go too far alone. This is New York City, not Lindon.”

I wave him off before pulling my phone out and sending off a text to the right wing across the room.

When Bodhi subtly checks his phone, he shoots me a grin. His hand reaches out and shakes the man’s, then the woman’s, before he dips his head and starts walking toward the exit.

I follow suit, trailing behind him and waving at a few people along the way.

When I see him standing by the front door, his grin is ten times bigger. “I’m fucking starving. Did you see the shit they wanted us to eat? I had two plates of salad.Two, little Henderson.”

“The travesty,” I sympathize sarcastically, laughing when he tugs me into his front and squeezes me against the hard planes of his chest.

“Come on. I looked up the menu at that restaurant and they have edible food,” he tells me, looping our arms back together. “They even have chicken tenders.”

I look at him. “Now you’re speaking my language.” I think about it. “How do you even know I love them so much?”

He taps my nose affectionately before unlooping our arms and draping his massive one across my shoulders. “Your brother said you’d order chicken tenders everywhere you go, no matter ifthey were on the kid’s menu or the main one. And between you and me, I do the same thing.”

I snort. “You?”

“The real question is,” he poses, stopping at the crosswalk flashing red. “Are you a honey mustard or a ranch girl?”

My eyes light up. “Depends on the mood. Tonight…” I play out my contemplation, tapping my chin. “Tonight, I’m a honey mustard girly. But if you order ranch, don’t be shocked if I dip some of my chicken into it.”

He winks at me, and that wink…it has the power to do some pretty powerful stuff to my lady bits. Except, it doesn’t. Not that I’m going to tell him that. Because there’s only one person who really has an effect on me, and it’s not the DILF I’m walking beside.

Because me and kids…well, I don’t know how I feel about them. So, I tell my lady bits to calm down and focus on the chicken tenders we both order from the kid’s menu despite the look we get from the waiter. The conversation flows effortlessly like it always does when I’m around Bodhi, and I let myself forget about his other life.

The one where he’s got an adorable little girl named Gemma in it.

And when my brother calls me, I tell him I’m with a friend across the street and that I’ll let him know when I’m back. It takes less than ten seconds when we hang up before Bodhi’s phone starts buzzing with Sebastian’s name on it.

He doesn’t pick up, letting us stay in our little bubble for a little while longer.

“So…” Bodhi dips his chicken tender in my honey mustard. “Want to tell me about Alex?”

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