Page 34 of Zero Pucks Given
Hard.
16
Grayson
I wanted to get this over with. I wanted to make this date convincing enough to get Bob off my ass so I could focus on whatactuallymattered. If that meant pretending to enjoy a real kiss with Josie, then so be it.
But as soon as my lips touched hers?
I stopped pretending.
In the blink of an eye, everything wasveryreal. The way her lips churned against mine. The soft noise she made deep in her throat, a vibration more than a sound. The way she tilted her head up to mine and leaned in, her hand touching my knee, all those wonderful indirect signs that she was enjoying this every bit as much as I was.
The spark I felt, the electricity pinging between our bodies, was unlike any other kiss in my life.
The crowderuptedwith a roar that rivaled any reaction LeBron James had received in the first quarter.
Then the loudspeakers blared with a voice: “The game’s just getting started. Let’s hear it for your hometown San Antonio Spurs!”
We pulled away. The kiss had gone on after the camera hadchanged. Not that we had any way of knowing since our eyes had been closed.
“Good,” I said, clearing my throat. “That should be convincing enough for Bob.”
“Yeah. Bob,” Josie agreed. Her cheeks were flushed, and she quickly looked away.
For the rest of the date, things were different between us. She lightly teased me some more, and I made a few joking comments about her pitiful TikTok fame, but neither of our hearts were in it.
We left during the fourth quarter, passing through the tunnels underneath the arena until we reached the parking garage where the car was waiting. Even though Manny wasn’t taking photos, I instinctively held the car door open for Josie. Then I felt kind of weird about it.
“We’re dropping Josie off first,” Manny announced as we left the arena. “That way you can walk her to her door and I can get a few photos to bookend this date. Then you two are done.”
“Good,” I said.
“Finally,” Josie muttered.
There was an uncomfortable tension between us on the drive. We both stared at our phones and didn’t say anything, while Manny and the driver talked about the game. Apparently the Spurs had made a come back after we left and won by two points.
Josie lived in a mid-range apartment complex on the north side of town. It wasn’t the slums, but it wasn’t very fancy, either. I couldn’t think of a good joke about her apartment that threaded the needle between teasing, but not too mean.
I didn’twantto hurt her feelings, now.
As soon as the car stopped, Josie opened the door and jumped out. “Sorry, but I have to pee super bad. You don’t have to walk me to the door for photos. Okay, bye.”
Then she practically ran away from the car.
“Must’ve been the two giant beers,” Manny muttered as we drove away.
“Yeah, the beers,” I said. “Do you think Bob is going to flip out because we didn’t get any goodnight photos? Because if he says tonight doesn’t count because of that…”
“I think we’re good,” Manny assured me. “I actually think it’s better that we don’t have photos of you two saying goodnight. We can leave it ambiguous. Let the fans use their imagination to decide how your date ended. Sex sells, baby!”
“Yeah,” I said, remembering my dream.
Mason was playing video games on the couch when I got home. “There he is!” he said, putting down his controller as soon as I walked inside. “Captain Casanova! Did you two manage to fool everyone, or were you at each other’s throats again?”
“It’s done,” was all I said, going to the fridge to get another beer.
“You’ve got to give me more details than that! Did you bicker? Or did you two sit in silence the whole game?”
