Page 98 of The Recovery Coach
Connor shoved his phone and keys into his jeans pocket.“I have a date.Don’t wait up.”
With a wink and a wave, he left her sitting there gaping after him, his team’s post-game show blaring over her thoughts.
It would have been less shocking if he slapped her.Connor didn’t date.Especially on game days.
She’d never felt more stupid in her life because she’d somehow gaslit herself into believing things were changing between them.With a single sentence he stomped on her heart again, and it was her own fault.
Connor had been clear with her.They were never, ever going to happen.Why couldn’t she get it through her thick fucking skull?She didn’t have anyone to vent to.Her friends were commiserating a devastating loss.
Fuck.
Chapter 33
Hazy
HazymetTiffanyata fancy bar near his house.One of those places where the space was dimly lit by a hundred-year-old chandelier, the staff wore bow ties, and a simple vodka soda cost thirty-five dollars.He fucking hated it.But it went over well with every girl he’d ever sweet-talked into meeting him for a hookup.
Tiffany sat at a high-top, wearing a slinky black dress and shoes that weren’t meant to be taken off.He joined her.
“This isn’t dinner,” she said in greeting.
She slid a glass toward him.They’d done this song and dance a few times before.
He took a quick sip of his drink and smirked at her.“We both know dinner wasn’t the main event.”
“I wasn’t hungry anyway,” she said.“I was beginning to think you’d lost my number.”
Hazy took a few more swallows of his drink.“Don’t you follow the Freeze?”he asked.
He’d met Tiffany simply by existing as a professional hockey player.Some people would call her a puck bunny.He disliked the derogatory term.Somewhere along the way he’d stopped thinking of the women who wanted to have sex with players that way.It felt too much like slut-shaming, and he was the biggest slut out there.Nobody batted an eye when men liked sex or had preferences on type.Women should be no different.
“I do.”
“Then you know I’m injured.”
“Yeah, I saw that.Fucking awful.I worried about you.You could have texted.It took the team days to give fans an update.”
Tiffany stirred her drink with a straw, looking at him through hooded eyes with beautiful dark lashes.She was stunning, all smooth skin and flushed cheeks and bouncy hair.
“You shouldn’t have worried.You’re not my girlfriend.Sometimes we fuck.That’s it.”
Her mouth popped open, disbelief filling her expression.“I know.But I hoped after a year of casual sex you might consider me a friend, at least.”
Fuck, he was an asshole.She had been a friend to him.Or as close to one as any girl he’d ever slept with had been.“Sorry.That was rude.Of course we’re friends.”
Her smile brightened her whole face, and she finished her drink and slid off her chair.Her demeanor turned flirty again so fast Hazy almost got whiplash.
“You could have texted still.I don’t mind doing all the work.”
“That would have been fun for no one.”
“I would have made it fun.”
She placed a hand on his cheek, leaning in for a kiss.Hazy met her halfway.Her fingers tangled in the front of his shirt.A strong tug got him out of his seat.
He fumbled for his wallet, his lips still locked with hers.She pulled away from him.
“I already paid.Let’s go.”
