Page 96 of Zero Pucks Given
Sharon raised an eyebrow at me. “I thought you were rootingagainstthem now.”
I shrugged. “They’re representing San Antonio. Besides, I’m happy there’s going to be a game six. We make great tips during the playoff games.”
She looked skeptical, but said nothing.
The first batch of lemon tarts were too sweet, but I ate two of them while Sharon tweaked the recipe. “This is a lot more fun than makeup,” I told her. “Although if I keep doing this, I’ll need to start filming video from the waist up.”
“Oh be quiet. You could eat a dozen of these every day for a year and not gain a pound.”
“That isnottrue. You didn’t know me during my college days. The semester I had to take Chemistry, I gained fifteen pounds.”
Kyle jumped up and shouted, “Josie!”
Surprised by his outburst, I said, “Okay, maybe it was only ten. Still, that Chemistry professor had me stress-eating at the dining hall until three in the morning.”
But he was staring at his phone as he joined us in the kitchen. “I just got a text from my buddy Andrew…”
“Who’s Andrew? Why haven’t I heard about Andrew?” Sharon asked.
Kyle ignored her and came over to me. “He sent me a TikTok video. You need to watch it.”
I groaned. “If it’s another angry Surge fan ranting about my makeup channel…”
“It’s not that,” Kyle interrupted. “It’s Grayson. He posted a video.”
“OnTikTok?”I asked, incredulous.
“Yes,” he said, shoving his phone at me. “And the video is titled:To Josie.”
47
Grayson
I was sitting on the bench, feeling useless.
Worse than useless. I was a fuckingliabilityfor my team.
They were a better team without me on the ice.
I closed my eyes and let the despair wash over me. I wallowed in it, welcomed in the pain, because it was better than feeling nothing.
I thought about the teammates I had let down. They had worked so hard to get to this point, and just when they needed their captain the most, I crumbled.
It could have been worse. I was paid a lot of money to lace up every game, regardless of my performance. I had financial stability, a concept I had onlydreamedof when I was younger. Despite my failures, I should have felt incredibly lucky to be here.
Then I thought about Josie.
Being back here in Edmonton reminded me of her. I imagined I could smell her perfume when I walked through the hotel lobby. I thought about our first kiss—firstrealkiss, not in front of a camera—by the bathroom in the bar. All the screaming Oilers fans dimmed when I pictured myself in the hotel room, and all the filthy, beautiful thingsJosie and I had done there.
God, it was so good. That was the first time I’d felt alive,trulyalive, in years.
Just the memory of that trip filled me with energy.
And it wasn’t only about the sex, although that was fantastic.
The way Josie gazed into my eyes, truly seeing me the way nobody else ever had… that gaze haunted me. That’s what I thought about when I closed my eyes. How Josie didn’t care that I was rich and famous. Hell, shehatedmy fame. When we were alone together, just the two of us underneath the sheets, she was the only person I had ever allowed to trulyknowme.
And I had fucked it up.
