Page 28 of He Has Game (Boston Brawlers Hockey)
Chapter 7
Vivvie
“How come you don’t have your coat on, ready to go?” Grace says as she walks in the door.
Instead of putting me off, her usual bluntness makes me smile. Motioning her inside to the couch, I go over my lines like I’m in a play. The worst soap opera of a play ever written.
“We need to talk a minute. I have some . . . news to tell you about.”
“You did it with Finn? How big—?”
“No. I mean that’s not the news. I told you. I’m not sharing private details of our relationship.”
She scowls and I force my face into a big happy smile though my gut churns with guilt.
“We’re engaged. He asked me earlier today and—”
“You’re fucking engaged? To marry him? Are you shitting me?”
As my face heats up and I’m sure I’m beet red, my smile tight and starting to slip, she pulls back from her stunned look and squints at me.
“How could you get engaged to a guy you barely know? You wouldn’t—you’d never do such a crazy thing. It’s not you.”
“Aren’t you happy for me? He’s not a stranger. I told you we met a month ago and I’ve had a crush on him forever.”
“Crush? You don’t go from a crush to fucking engaged, Vivian. I know you’re a romantic and all, but . . .” She looks suspicious.
“But nothing. I’m in love with him,” I say with exasperated finality. It’s possible. Maybe if wehadmet a month ago I would be. Heaven knows I have to watch out or I’d be falling right now. Or maybe I am—
“Didn’t he have a scandal recently?”
I shrug. Grace follows all the sports news and especially the salacious stuff, but she’s smart in a wordly way. The way I’m not as smart. But I think it’s more about experience because my family kept me sheltered, aside from hockey and my brothers which couldn’t be helped.
They’ve always been very protective of me. Going away to college was only allowed because Boston College is local and it’s Catholic and my brothers have been keeping tabs on me. Until this semester. They’re probably out looking for Finn now to interrogate him. My parents were shocked, but they trust me. Dad was excited about Finn being a hockey player, but only because he doesn’t know about Finn’s reputation. My brothers will know or they’ll find out fast. Then I’m not sure what’ll happen.
In the meantime, Grace is speculating with a gleam in her eye.
“Is it about the Boylston Foundation scandal? Where he supposedly made an illicit proposition to Mrs. Rich Bitch Boylston? I bet it is. There’s something about that lady I don’t like.”
“What are you talking about?”
Panicked into worry about my heart rate, yet again, because Grace is so crazy close to knowing everything and I just can’t do that to Finn, can’t betray our secret for his sake—never mind my boss. I refuse to think what my internship grade will be if she finds out I spilled the secret. So I latch onto a deflection.
“What do you know about Mrs. Boylston?” It’s a legitimate question and I’d really like to know anything more than I know now. Which is nothing except what Finn and Mary told me.
“Mrs. Boylston is snobby and mean and rude and a whore. According to Mom, who I trust.” Grace does the sign of the cross. “Between you and me, I think she’s a miserable person because she’s married to an old man who can’t get it up. I wouldn’t put it past her to make things tough enough for the team to scheme something like a fake engagement to keep Finn out of hot water and on the straight and narrow.”
I laugh in a fit of nerves and cover my mouth, but she rips my hand from my mouth and stares me down.
“Confess. There’s something not right about this relationship of yours popping up so suddenly. Not that I don’t think Finn could be totally into you.” She waves her hand up and down because I’m all dressed up in a sexier than I would normally wear outfit for the game. The black pants fit me like paint and the red sweater reveals the perfect voluptuous curves courtesy of my new Victoria’s Secret bra and I’m standing tall in my knee-high heeled boots. My hair falls in effortless natural waves courtesy of the impeccable haircut. With my new lashes and permanent eyeliner, I don’t need to apply a lot of makeup, just a touch of blush.
“You look smokin’ hot. I feel dowdy next to you. That’s a big change that’ll take some getting used to.”
Maybe Grace is right. Maybe I do look good enough to compete and I wonder for a brief second what would happen if I returned to campus and walked into class looking like this. Would guys look at me differently?
So what if they did? I haven’t met a mature boy at school yet that I’m interested in, especially not in the classes I take. The guys who major in English lit don’t tend to like hockey.
Every one of them I’ve talked to, in fact, universally professes to hate sports. Not that I’ve talked much. I have to admit, I’ve been too busy with classwork and writing my novel. The one that’s not for my final project.
