Page 116 of What Are The Odds?
It had. Too fast. I wanted time to slow down. Though I was excited to start training with the Eagles, I wasn’t ready for this part of my life to end. Living with my best mates. Hanging with them every day. Not to mention being with Grace. She was the part I doubt I’d ever be ready to give up.
“Today doesn’t feel the same without you here, Gracie,” Dylan complained. “When are you coming home?”
“And will you be bringing the American boyfriend with you?” Seth added.
The mood shifted. At least on our end. Each time Grace and I were reminded how far apart our lives were, it was like I’d just been slammed into the boards.
“It’s a bit complicated,” Grace answered. “Levi’s been drafted to the NHL, which is the hockey equivalent of the AFL.”
Dylan’s expression lit up. “So you could get us amazing seats if we came over for a game?”
I laughed. “Sure. It’s a long way to come though.”
Seth shot a pointed glare at Grace. “We might have to if Grace doesn’t come back anytime soon.”
“I will,” Grace said. “I promise.”
I checked over my shoulder when a car pulled into the drive. Tripp. I’d sat down with him and Ryan the other day and brought them up to speed. Starting with the off-the-cuff dumb bet and ending with the fact that Grace was not a wager to me. I knew I couldn’t squash people talking. I planned on telling Grace. If the truth was going to come out, it was best it came from me. But there’d always been something the past few weeks. A game. A meet. Now, her birthday.
“I should let you get home,” Grace said. “Quiz night at the pub tonight?”
“You know it,” Dylan returned. “Snitty and a pint for twenty-bucks. You can’t turn that down.”
Seth playfully rolled his eyes. “Happy birthday, Grace. We love and miss you.”
“Love and miss you, too.”
She ended the call, just as Tripp threw open the door. His eyes lit up when he spotted Grace on the couch.
“The birthday girl in the flesh.”
He lifted her off me and spun her around like he was a veteran who’d just returned from war. She laughed loudly, the sound like fucking honey. After setting her down, Tripp frowned. He bounced his gaze between Grace and me.
“Why does it smell like sex in here?”
*
Grace was nursing a cocktail. Some fruity concoction Tripp had bought her. The waitress was clearing our table. We’d just finished up with dinner. Ava and Stella were here. So were Tripp, Will and Ryan. So much for the romantic dinner for two I’d originally had in mind. I didn’t mind though. Grace was having fun.
“Are you going to order a drink now you’re legal, Hughesy?” Ryan asked.
Her eyebrows etched. “I was already legal.”
“Huh?”
“Legal drinking age back home is eighteen.”
Ryan appeared floored. “You’re joking?”
“Nope. You can buy alcohol. Go clubbing. The works.”
Turns out Grace was a year younger than me. She’d just turned twenty-one. I turned twenty-two halfway through the year. By all means, she should be a junior. I was thankful that the Australia-America difference meant she’d ended up as a senior. If she hadn’t, we wouldn’t have been partnered in class. But then again, if she was a junior, it meant she would be in the country for at least another twelve months.
“Should we get going then, get a good spot?” Will suggested.
Grace frowned. “Spot?”
Because Grace still didn’t know where we were going, Ava and Stella had turned up to my place with clothes for Grace to change into. She was wearing a mid-length silky skirt, black boots, a knitted crop, and her hair was hanging loose over her shoulders. I tucked a piece behind her ear.
