Page 29 of Ruck Me Harder

“So, where is Tony tonight?” I ask casually. “I thought he’d be here with you.”

Cari raises her eyebrows. “Really? Why?”

“No reason,” I hurry to add.

“He’s at work.”

“At the animal shelter?”

“No, the restaurant. He’s a waiter at this high-end place in the North End,” she says. “He only works at the shelter part-time.”

“Plus training.”

“Yeah. He’s on the men’s national gymnastics team,” she says proudly. “He’s in the running to go to the World Championships in Rotterdam in a few weeks.”

“Really?” My voice goes up. “That’s super cool.”

“He went to the Olympics three years ago, brought home a bronze medal.”

Like I didn’t Google him the second I found out his name. Well, after my panic attack.

Beside me down the row, I see Sadie and Rachel listening to us, amused. Vanessa and Hailey, on the other end, are obliviously paying attention to the hockey game.

“I’m kind of surprised you didn’t meet there,” Cari continues. “You were there, right?”

“There were a lot of people on Team USA,” I deflect.

She hums as two hockey players collide against the boards in front of us. I like that she doesn’t otherwise react to the giant crash. She’s used to this, same as I am. It’s par for the course when your sibling grows up in hockey. They crash into everything.

“It’s kind of cool that you’re meeting now. Maybe you can be friends,” she says with the endless optimism of someone who has never had an awkward encounter with their ex.

Not that Tony is my ex. It was just one time. That’s all it was.

That’s all it will ever be

“Yeah, maybe,” I echo quietly.

Sadie reaches over, handing me a bucket of popcorn. “We’re going to a bar after the game,” she announces. “You coming with?”

“The rest of the team will be there?” I ask.

She nods. “You know, the usual place.”

Smart of her not to say the bar’s name when we’re mixed in with everyone. Even though we get into the VIP section, we don’t need the rest of the arena trying to come party with us. Personal safety is a major concern.

“Yeah, I’m in,” I decide. “Cari, you coming?”

She nods. “Al already told me we’ll ride home together.”

“Great,” Sadie echoes. “Jared has an early morning meeting, so we won’t be staying out too late.”

The Grizzlies manage to pull off a win with a sneaky goal late in the third period, and as we wait for the crowd to filter out, I open my phone and pull up the photo Cari tagged me in. There are several thousand likes and a few hundred comments.

A text scrolls across my screen. It’s from Alycia.

Let’s talk, she’s texted, along with a screenshot of the photo.

My stomach drops. Oh no. What did I do?