Page 31 of The Slapshot and the Single Mom
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Jack
My name echoesthrough the lobby of my condo building just as I’m about to push through the door to go outside, and I turn to see Dozer, one of my teammates, hurrying from the direction of the elevator.
“Hey!” he says, getting closer, a wide smile stretching across his face. “How are you, man? Haven’t seen you in a while!”
I clasp his outstretched hand, and we both pull in, bumping our shoulders together before separating. His girlfriend Marissa steps up behind him, her long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She offers a little wave.
Smiling, I nod at Marissa. “How are you two? Did you enjoy your vacation?”
“Oh, man,” Dozer crows, “it was amazing. We went down to Cannon Beach and stayed in a hotel right on the water. The weather was perfect, and the views were gorgeous.” He reachesbehind him, pulling Marissa forward and draping an arm around her. “We had thebesttime.”
“I’m a little surprised you didn’t go with Abernathy again. Didn’t he go back to that cabin you and he and Eastman went to last year?”
Dozer grimaces, ducking his head and rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, well, things were a little awkward last year, and I got the feeling that I wasn’t exactly welcome again.”
“Ohhh, that’s right.” I grimace too. I remember hearing about that. He wasn’t with Marissa then and brought some other chick along and it didn’t go well. She was mean to Abernathy’s kids, from what I heard. Uncle Dozer wasn’t so nice to them either, thanks to her influence. And while I know he’s been forgiven—he brought Marissa to Abernathy’s house for American Thanksgiving last year, after all—I can see why they’d be loathe to invite him along on another summer with yet another woman, even if she is pretty great.
“Plus,” Marissa adds, “we wanted our first summer vacation to be just for the two of us.”
Dozer kisses her cheek, looking completely smitten, and I can’t help grinning at how whipped he is. Something about the guy who’s most likely to start—and end—a fight on the ice being all goo-goo eyed over a woman is funny to me.
“Well, it was good seeing you guys, but I gotta go.” I hitch a thumb over my shoulder. I’m leaving plenty early to pick up Maggie, but I know how crowds at sports stadiums get. I don’t want us to feel rushed finding parking and getting inside to claim our seats. She’ll for sure want to be there for the ceremonial first pitch.
Looking me up and down, Dozer raises an eyebrow as he takes in my baseball hat, though I’m wearing a solid navy T-shirt. I bought the hat special for today. “Where’re you going?” he asks.
“Uh, I’ve got tickets for the baseball game tonight. I gotta pick someone up, and we’ll want to get there with enough time to try to find a decent parking spot.”
Dozer’s brows climb his forehead. “Baseball?”
I shrug, catching Marissa’s knowing smile. “Is your friend the woman I’ve seen you paired with on the gossip sites a few times?”
Brows now furrowed, Dozer turns to face Marissa. “What? What are you talking about?” Then he looks at me. “What woman?”
Shrugging again, I resign myself to this conversation. “Her name’s Maggie. We started going out after we lost in the playoffs. Since I’m under strict orders not to party, going out with her to different things makes the summer more bearable.” I cringe inwardly, hoping that doesn’t sound as dickish out loud as it did to me. Ilikespending time with Maggie. And if I had to choose between taking Maggie out every week or partying with Connor? I think I’d choose Maggie. No, I’ddefinitelychoose Maggie. As much fun as I had with Connor, and as much as I don’t regret it, spending time with Maggie makes me feel … better, somehow. And I don’t wake up feeling like ass afterward, which is also a nice benefit.
Still smiling, Marissa nods. “I’m sure it does. Having company makes a lot of things more bearable.” She and Dozer exchange a look, but I’m not really sure what it’s about. A tiny sliver of jealousy lodges under my skin watching them, though, which is anew and weird feeling. Not that I’m jealous of Dozer, per se. It’s more like I want what they have together.
I want Maggie to look at me the way Marissa looks at Dozer.
And I want to be able to look at Maggie like that without it being weird.
“Have fun at the game!” Marissa chirps, turning back to me. “Eat a hot dog for me!”
With another wave, I turn to leave, and I hear Dozer murmuring something about feeding her a hot dog, and I do not need that double entendre in my head when I’m off to pick up my platonic date.
It’s my own fault I find myself in this situation, though, where I’m letting everyone think that Maggie and I are dating—including my teammates—even though I promised I’d keep things strictly friendly between us. The truth is, I’ve always been interested in more than a platonic relationship with Maggie, more than a series of dates that make us look like a couple when we’re really only friends.
She’s gorgeous, funny, smart. Who wouldn’t want that?
But she seems to think that her schedule, her baggage, herlifewould be too much for me to handle. That was what she was trying to tell me at the very beginning when I was still hoping I could get her to go out with me for real.
Did I fuck things up by offering this option? She did agree to have lunch with me after that. Maybe I could’ve turned this into something real, but I was impatient and too willing to concede defeat instead of playing the long game.
Shaking my head at myself as I climb into my car and start the engine, I decide to stop worrying about that. Whether we kiss or sleep together or not, I’m taking Maggie on real dates. If I’m cock-blocking myself, I could just … stop doing that. I won’t do anything to make her uncomfortable, of course. I like Maggie a lot. And I care about her a lot. But if I want her to think I see her as more than a friend, I need to start letting her know, and then let her decide where we go next.
“This is so great,” Maggie says, grinning at me as she tosses some popcorn in her mouth and wiggles in her seat like she just can’t contain her excitement. “Thank you so much for getting these tickets.”
