Page 8 of Forecheck
I mulled the idea over for about two seconds before deciding to go for it. Given that I’d been slightly obsessed with him foryears—since I was an innocent freshman at Michigan State, and he was a sexy fifth year senior who had all the girls lusting after him—and he’d just had a career night, it’d be dumb to waste the opportunity. Not to mention, we’d spoken at the bar, andhefollowedme. At least he knew who I was.
“I think I will,” I told my roommates, already opening a message thread with Brent. My fingers quaked as my thumbs hovered over the screen.
“What are you going to say?” Kimber asked.
“Hey,” I read aloud as I typed. “Congratulations on your hatty tonight!”
“Perfect,” Amelia said. “Short, sweet, and to the point.”
I took a deep breath and pressed send, my stomach flipping in anticipation.
Though my eyes were barely open, I was already reaching for my phone when I awoke the next morning. It was shortly after seven, and I really could’ve used a few more hours of sleep, but I came fully awake when I found a notification from Brent.
@Brent22Jean: Hey, thank you! I might have been showing off a bit ??
@BerkDaniels: Oh really? For who?
I don’t know who the hell I thought I was, being so bold and flirty with him. With my long blonde hair a wild tangle around my head, my eyes bleary, and pillow creases on my cheeks, I was a far cry from the girl he’d met at the bar.
Then again, if ever there was a moment to shoot my shot, this was it. It wasn’t every day the hottest guy in the NHL was in your DMs.
Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I got up and headed downstairs. When I walked into the kitchen for coffee and breakfast, Kimber was already at the long counter, a heaping bowl of Lucky Charms in front of her. I dropped my phone at the place beside her before moving toward the coffee pot.
“Morning, sunshine,” Kimber said.
Humming noncommittally, I prepared my coffee, then sat, scrolling Instagram as I sipped, silently willing a response from Brent to pop up.
Amelia joined us a few minutes later and wasted no time interrogating me.
“So, did Brent ever message you back?”
Smiling into my cup, I said, “As a matter of fact, he did.”
“Oh. My. God,” Amelia squeaked, dropping onto the stool on my other side. “What did he say?”
“Just thanked me and told me he might’ve been showing off a bit. It seemed kind of flirty,” I said as I opened the message and showed my friends. “Am I crazy?”
“Definitely not,” Kimber said. “That winky face is pretty suggestive.”
“How’d you respond?” Amelia asked.
“I asked who he was showing off for.”
My phonedingedwith a notification, and three sets of eyes flew to it.
New message from @Brent22Jean
“Oh my God,” Kimber said, eyes wide. “Open it, open it!”
I did as I was told, leaning back in my chair and bringing my phone close to my face, not wanting Kimber and Amelia to read Brent’s words before me.
@Brent22Jean: There’s this blonde girl who ran away from me at the bar last week. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her.
“Holy shit,” Kimber and Amelia breathed in unison.
@BerkDaniels: You can’t possibly be talking about me.
“Berkley!” Amelia shouted, slapping my hand. “Why would you say that?”
