Page 29 of Zero Pucks Given
Grayson
“You okay, bro?” Mason asked me.
I blinked and turned to my rookie teammate. “Yeah. I’m fine. Why? What’s up?”
“You’ve been staring at that truck across the street. I said your name three times and you didn’t hear me.”
“Sorry. I’m thinking about our road trip tomorrow,” I lied. In truth, I was thinking about Josie. About the extremely vivid sex dream. Ever since waking up that morning, I couldn’tstopthinking about it. My entire perspective had changed in a way I couldn’t explain.
It was just a dream. It doesn’t mean anything. I once had a sex dream about Judge Judy, but that doesn’t mean I want to fuck her.
Except I wasn’t about to go on a date with Judy Sheindlin.
“It’ll be a tough road trip,” Mason said. “Honestly, I just hope we can win two of the four games. Iknowwe can beat the Predators and Blues, but the Stars…”
“You don’t have to wait out here with me,” I said. We were standing outside my condo, waiting for the team driver to arrive.
“And miss a chance to be in the background of your photos? Nochance. My agent says I need all the publicity I can get. That’s what leads to endorsements.”
“Uh huh.”
“I’ve never sat courtside at a Spurs game before. And against the Lakers! I know I’m, like, a professional athlete myself now, but I would still lose my shit being that close to LeBron James.”
“Talk to the marketing department,” I said absently. “They’re always trying to cross-promote both teams. They can put you courtside any time you want.”
“Seriously? Hell yeah.”
A black SUV pulled into the parking lot. I felt my pulse quicken. I had a strange sense of anticipation for our date, a feeling that hadn’t existed before my dream. I was almost looking forward to seeing Josie in person.
Almost.
The car pulled up to the curb and Manny jumped out of the front seat. “Stay right there, captain. We’re going to do some promo shots before you both leave.”
He opened the rear door, and Josie stepped out.
My breath seized in my throat as I took in the sight of her. She was wearing tight-fitting jeans and a white Spurs jersey. It was exactly what she had told me she was going to wear, the information I had relayed to our wardrobe department.
But it was also what she had been wearing in my dream, a fact which had escaped me until this exact moment.
“Getting a good eyeful?” she said with a glare.
“I’m just surprised you actually wore what you said. I expected you to change outfits just to fuck up our coordination.”
“Let’s get this over with.” She glanced at Mason. “Hey there, rookie. I like the goal you scored last night. You want to take his place? I’d much rather go out with you than Grayson Aluminum here. Andunlike him, you just might score.”
Jealousy flooded through my veins in an instant, filling me with rage. My first instinct was to shove Mason in the chest to put myself between the two of them. But just as quickly as it had appeared, the jealousy died away.
What was wrong with me?
“Really?” Mason’s eyebrows rose. “I mean, if Grayson doesn’t want to go…”
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Manny said, “but we’re kind of on a tight schedule here.”
“She’s fucking with you,” I told Mason before turning back to Josie. “Leave the kid alone.”
“Sorry, but he’s right,” Josie told Mason. “Let’s get this over with so I can go back to more important things.”
“I’d hardly call TikTok videos important,” I muttered as Manny positioned us for photos.
