Page 23 of Zero Pucks Given
“I have a feeling I’m about to find out what our second date is.”
A few seconds later, Grayson Steele himself came walking toward our concession stand, surrounded by an entourage of security guards and fans. The weight of practice still clung to him in the most delicious way—sweat darkening the collar of his shirt, and his damp hair curling slightly at the nape of his neck. His jersey was slung over one shoulder, exposing the sculpted line of his biceps.
His green eyes found mine through the crowd of fans that had stopped to stare, and for a few seconds I forgot how to breathe.Confidence radiated from the man as he stopped in front of my stand, smiling like he was up to no good. He smelled like sweat and victory. Like every late-night fantasy I’d never admit to having.
Then I remembered who he was, and how our first date had gone.Cockinessradiated from him, not confidence. And that smile hid a thousand unspoken words, insults, jabs, and criticisms.
The photographer and video guy aimed their devices in our direction.
“Our first date ended too quickly,” Grayson said. They were very obviously not his words, but something that had been written for him to say. “I’d love to take you out again.”
The crowd practically swooned for him. I might have done the same if I didn’t know this was all a charade. His smile never touched his eyes.
“I’dloveto go out with you again!” I said with exaggerated sweetness.
Sharon kicked me, but none of the watching crowd noticed that I was being sarcastic.
“How about the Spurs game on Thursday?” Grayson asked. “I know you’re probably working, but I think I can pull some strings and get you the night off.”
“Going on a date where I work? That sounds like theperfectdate.”
“Same,” Grayson said, and for a brief moment I could tell he felt the same way I did about the whole thing.
“See you then,” I said, hoping that would end this whole spectacle.
Grayson glanced up at the board behind me. “While I’m here, can I get two large beers?”
The crowd’s laughter felt scripted.
“Oh, right. I’ve got a game to play.” He smacked his forehead. “We’ll save the beers for Thursday.”
He punctuated it with a wink, then turned around and walkedaway. Some of the crowd followed him, begging for selfies and autographs.
“Ugh. It pisses me off howhothe is,” I said.
Sharon sighed wistfully. “Is it too late to switch places with you?”
“Shut up,” I muttered, turning to the line of fans who were waiting to order.
“I’ll take a small Coke and two pretzels,” the first woman in line said. Then she grinned and added, “You’re so lucky!”
“Oh yeah. I’m the luckiest girl in the world!”
My sarcasm was lost on her. She and all the other fans couldn’t imagine anyonenotwanting to go out with Grayson. Which only annoyed me even more.
“At least you know what the date is, now!” Sharon said enthusiastically.
12
Josie
As annoying as the situation was with Grayson, I was enjoying the side benefit of my TikTok channel exploding in popularity. Aside from working or sleeping, I was spending every single minute of free time recording, editing, and publishing new videos. My fifteen minutes of fame would probably end after our date tomorrow night, and I wanted to make as much money as I could before my life returned to boring normalcy.
It feltgoodto be succeeding at my side-hustle. Making some legitimate money rather than watching every video fizzle out with only a few views. For the first time in my life, I had a sense that I was actually progressing toward my goals, rather than just scraping by.
While editing videos on the couch, I had the hockey game on TV in the background. I didn’treallycare about the game, but nothing else was on. Plus, I was curious to see if they would mention the contest or my date with Grayson. It was the first period, and the Surge were losing 0 - 3.
When the camera view showed Grayson, I reached for the remote and unmuted my TV. “You can tell he’s trying to rally the team,” the broadcaster was saying. “Not an easy task considering the hole they’ve dug themselves.”
