AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He stood. "I will do good, you'll see."
I had no doubt that he wanted to do well, but I was still going to be in Colorado just in case.
That evening, as I packed for my trip the next day to Colorado, I thought about how I hadn't heard from Todd all week. Of course, he had his hands full with his son, but that didn't stop me from feeling disappointed, even as I knew it was silly if my goal was to distance myself from him. I wondered if maybe I should call him to check in. Was I being a bad friend by not doing so?
I pushed that all away as I finished packing my bag and headed to bed. I hadn’t had good luck with men, but clearly, it was because I allowed myself to get attached to men who wouldn't be able to give me what I was looking for in a relationship and didn't want from me what I wanted to give them. I believed Todd was a better person than my ex-fiancé, but that didn't mean there was a future for us, and I needed to remember that.
The gamein Colorado was much like the opener back home in Nevada. Mikael skated brilliantly, and when the media surrounded him, he was able, for the most part, to keep his comments from turning into a media nightmare.
I waited with the team as they showered and cleaned up and then rode back with them to the hotel. I planned to go to my room, but Mikael draped his arm over my shoulder as we entered the lobby of the hotel. "You still owe me a drink."
"Tonight is for you to celebrate."
"And you will join us. Come on. There is nothing fun to do in your hotel room." He was right. I figured I'd have one drink and toast to the team.
The hotel bar was filled with hockey players, several fans, and I even picked out a few sports media people.
I sat at the bar with Mikael, ordering a glass of wine while he ordered beer.
Dylan came up and patted Mikael on the back. "Dude, you're a demon on the ice."
Mikael grinned. "That pass in the third period you sent to me was amazing."
I smiled, happy to see all the members of the team getting along. I was also glad that while Mikael could still be cocky, he recognized that he wouldn't be as good as he was without his teammates.
Once again, Mikael draped his arm over my shoulder. "Betts is my good luck charm."
Dylan looked between us, a brow arched. I shook my head to let him know that if he was thinking there was something between us, there wasn't.
"I only keep you from embarrassing yourself in front of the media,” I said.
Mikael let out a laugh. He leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "It's a very hard job. Is it not?"
I grinned at him. "You have no idea."
The evening wore on, and it was nice to see the team celebrating together. While the season had only just begun, there had been real concerns that they would struggle after losing their two best players from last season. But it appeared now that they felt as strong as ever.
I was just finishing my wine when one of the sports media people stepped up to Mikael. "Amazing game tonight, Mikael."
Mikael grinned. "We came to win and we did."
"Are you fully settled into the American way of life?"
Mikael nodded. "Yes. I love it here."
"And it seems you have a new friend." The man nodded toward me.
Mikael, for the third time that night, put his arm around me. "Yes, this is my girlfriend, Betts."
My brain screeched to a halt. I leaned toward the reporter on the other side of Mikael to correct him, but the reporter's phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. With a quick excuse, he left Mikael’s side.
"Why did you tell him I was your girlfriend?" I asked.
Mikael's brow furrowed. "You’re a girl and you’re my friend. Girl friend."
I let out a groan. "In America, a girlfriend is someone who is more than just a friend."
He stared at me like I was speaking Greek. There was little I could do about it now, and hopefully, it wasn't something the media was interested in. I wasn't a celebrity. In fact, once I left the bar, chances were Mikael would take up with one of the several women who’d been eying him from across the bar.
