Page 13 of Don't Puck His Best Friend
I shake my head in disbelief. “He must’ve seen me leaving with Liam.”
She shakes her head. “None of the guys saw him. I was hanging out with them, and they were all like, ‘Where’s Liam? Where did he go?’ Literally no one saw you two leave. So for this date… it definitely won’t be Liam.”
“I never said I was looking to meet someone, Maddie.”
“But you should be. And Sirus has this friend Cole who’s apparently sweet and funny and not at all like the usual hockey meatheads.” She holds up her hands before I can object. “It’ll be a double date. Low pressure. If you hate him, you can leave. But Harper, you need to remember that there are other types of men in the world besides idiot artists who cheat on you.”
I want to argue. I want to tell her that I’m perfectly fine being single, that I don’t need her meddling in my love life, that I have absolutely zero interest in going on a blind date with some random guy just because she thinks I need to get over myself.
But the truth is, maybe she has a point. Maybe what I need is a reminder that there are normal, stable guys out there. Guys who don’t make me want to throw my carefully constructed rules out the window.
I huff, staring at her. When she gives me a pleading look, I cave.
“Fine,” I hear myself saying. “Friday. But if he’s weird, you owe me tacos for a month.”
Maddie claps her hands together. “Deal! This is going to be so fun. You’re going to love Cole.”
After she leaves for her afternoon classes, I sit alone in the kitchen, staring at my now-cold latte and trying to convince myself that this is a good idea. A safe, sensible guy is exactly what I need right now. Someone who will help me forget about my ex and now those ocean-colored eyes.
I close my laptop and tell myself that nothing would ever come of whatever happened between me and Liam anyway. That’s just wishful thinking, and the honest truth is that it was a hookup. A really, really good hookup that I’m never going to repeat.
Time to move on.
Even if a part of me doesn’t want to.
5
The Wingman Trap
Cole
Theweightroomstillsmells like sweat and disinfectant from this morning’s session, but most of the guys have cleared out by now. I’m wiping down the bench press when Sirus flops down beside me with that particular grin that usually means he’s about to ask me for a favor.
“Need you Friday night, man,” he says without preamble.
I toss the cleaning rag into the bin and give him a look. Sirus’s a decent defenseman and a good teammate, but he’s also twenty years old with the impulse control of a golden retriever. The last time he “needed” me, I ended up helping him move a couch up three flights of stairs because he’d promised his ex-girlfriend he’d get his stuff out by midnight.
“What is it this time?” I ask, grabbing my water bottle. “Bailing you out of a bad Tinder date or moving furniture again?”
“Neither.” His grin gets wider, which is never a good sign. “I’ve got a date with this girl Maddie. She’s incredible, dude. Funny, hot, into fitness, probably way smarter than me—”
“Definitely smarter than you,” I interrupt. “What’s the catch?”
“The catch is she’s bringing her cousin, and I don’t want her cousin feeling like a third wheel while I’m trying to work my magic.” He makes air quotes around “magic” like he’s some kind of dating genius instead of a dorky guy who doesn’t score often.
“Cousin?” I ask. The distaste is clear in my mouth. What the hell is this? “So you want me to babysit.”
“I want you to be my wingman. The noble sacrifice. You swoop in, keep her cousin entertained, and I get quality time with the woman of my dreams.”
I lean against the weight rack and study his face. “Sirus, I don’t do setups.”
“This isn’t a setup,” he protests. “This is strategy. Pure and simple. You’re not looking for love, she’s probably not looking for love. Everyone has a nice time, mission accomplished.”
The thing is, I’ve heard this speech before. From Sirus, from other teammates, from well-meaning friends who think what Ineed is to “get out there” and “have some fun.” What they don’t understand is that I’m perfectly fine with my current social life. I don’t need to be set up with random women just because I’m single.
“Blind dates never end well,” I tell him.
“It’s not blind if I tell you she exists.”
