Page 30 of Game Misconduct

Before I could respond, Mitch took her attention. “Do you want to come to the Pie with us? Everyone’s going to celebrate.”

“I’d love to. Jess and Emma told me all about it.” She beamed at each of us. I noticed then she was wearing a Fury hoodie, not a jersey like all the other women. Did she not have one? Maybe she didn’t know who’s to wear. The perfect idea came to mind. After all, friends supported each other.

Eleven

Vivian

As much fun as it was to watch the guys win and to celebrate with them afterward, I was seriously questioning if it was worth it when I was on my third cup of coffee before ten the next morning. If I wanted to continue going to games with Jess, I was going to have to learn to function on less than eight hours of sleep.

Maybe I would only attend the weekend games, or not go to the dinners with everyone else. But almost all the other women had regular day jobs to get up for. Was there a secret to trudging through the next day? Next time I saw the Pride, I’d ask.

“You okay?” Kerry asked me as she refilled her mug. “You never come back for thirds.”

“Just a late night.”

“Oh, right,” she grinned. “Just a casual hang out with the Fury guys. No big deal.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s starting to feel that way. Once the shock and glamour wear off, they’re just normal guys.”

“Sure,” she laughed. “Wyatt Hartman and Erik Schultz aren’t hockey gods, just average Joes you’d run into on the street.”

“You should see Erik around his wife and sister. They put him in his place whenever his ego makes an appearance.”

“What a life.” She sighed wistfully.

One of the guys from the development team was eying us, and I didn’t want him to hear more than he already had, so I grabbed her arm and dragged her away. “I don’t want the office knowing how I spent my off time.”

She nodded. “Fine. I get it. Once word gets out, they’ll suddenly act like your best friend for tickets and autographs.”

“Exactly,” I said.

“It’s too bad your real best friend doesn’t even get any of those perks.”

“You were at the game!” I laughed.

She shrugged. “In the normal people section.”

“AJ was really nice.” I changed the subject to something I knew she would want to discuss. “I’m glad our plan worked.”

She lit up with a brilliant smile. “I’m so glad you got to meet him. I really like him, Vivi.”

I could tell that as soon as I saw them walking toward me last night. They were somehow staring into each other’s eyes while navigating the crowded lines at concessions, smiling and blushing. They were definitely falling for each other, but I wasn’t sure if they knew that yet.

“I’m so happy for you. He seems like a great guy.”

She lifted her mug to cover her mouth as if that would hide the effect of what just mentioning him did to her.

“If I ever find someone, we should double. I want to get to know him better.” Although with my track record, I doubted I’d meet anyone worthy of meeting my best friend. Luck and dating were two things that hadn’t ever come together for me.

“Yes, oh, yes. We definitely should.”

This could be the perfect test for Parker. After all, he said we could bring each other to activities if needed.

“Maybe this weekend?” I offered.

She considered. “Sure, but who are you going to bring?”

“Parker?” Was that a terrible idea?