Page 21 of Slap Shot Surprise
I hesitated, and he noticed.
“Or not,” he said, backing off. “If you’d rather dance or something, we can go back into the ballroom. I just?—”
“It’s not that,” I blurted. “It’s your girlfriend.”
“My girlfriend?” He looked confused.
“Yes. I—” Squeezing my eyes shut, I realized I had to confess now. “This is a bit embarrassing, but I suppose that’s on-brand for me at this point.”Hiccup!
“Go on.”
“Ari looked at your social media and saw a bunch of photos of the same woman. It looks like you have a girlfriend, and maybe I shouldn’t read into things, but I just feel weird about—hic!”
“Hey.” He touched my shoulder. “You hold your breath, and I’ll explain.”
I inhaled, trapping the breath in my lungs.
“I was dating someone for about eighteen months.That’s whose picture you saw. We split up in April, and we are staying that way.” His big shoulders lifted. “To be honest, I probably should have broken it off a lot sooner, but I didn’t want a messy breakup in the middle of playoffs.”
I nodded, letting him know I understood, but continued to hold my breath.
“I’m too focused on my career to be in a relationship,” he explained. “If you asked my ex, she’d give you a long list of my flaws as a boyfriend. And I probably should have scrubbed her from my posts, but honestly, I just don’t care that much. Seems like a waste of time.”
At my limit, I exhaled slowly and nodded. “I get it. It’s not like it erases the past.”
“Exactly. Anyway, I do not have a girlfriend, but if you’d rather not hang out alone with me, it’s totally fine. I just like talking to you.”
My decision was made in a fraction of a second. “Let’s go out on the balcony,” I said. “Should I grab drinks again so you’re not attacked at the bar?”
“I’ll get them this time. If anyone tries to stop me, I’ll fight them.”
I laughed. “Okay. I’m going to use the bathroom real quick. Meet you out there in a few minutes?”
“Sounds good.”
Inside the ladies’ room, I fluffed my hair, checked my teeth, and swiped my perfume rollerball across my collarbones. I thought about reapplying my lip gloss, but just in case this night turned crazy and Joe Lupo wanted to kiss me, I left my lips bare.
Suddenly, Ari swept in. “What is happening? I saw you and Joe Lupo both come out here, and only he came back in!”
“He doesn’t have a girlfriend—those posts were old—and we’re going to have a drink on the balcony.” I tucked my perfume back into my clutch. “By the way, your cousin Eric is dating someone.”
“Oops—sorry.” She looked sheepish. “Didn’t realize.”
“It’s fine. We didn’t really have chemistry anyway.” I turned to face her. “How do I look?”
She fussed with a strand of hair near my face. “Perfect.”
“Thank you. Okay, I might be gone for a little bit, but text me if you get tired and want to leave. I’ll come find you.”
“Okay.” She grinned. “Have fun.”
We walked back into the ballroom together, and I made my way toward the doors that led to the balcony and pushed one open. Outside, it was dark and humid, the air heavy with mist. No moon or stars shone through the clouds, but two strands of party lights crisscrossed the air above our heads, their little round bulbs hazy in the fog.
Joe was already standing by the railing, holding a glass of whiskey on the rocks in one hand and a champagne flute in the other. After handing it to me, he pulled a napkin-wrapped slice of lemon from his pocket. “I brought you a present. Just in case you get the hiccups again.”
I laughed. “Thank you. So do you have all summer off from hockey?”
“Yes and no. We do take some recovery time—and I had to get some PT for a shoulder injury—but we have to keep training to stay in good physical condition.”
