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CHAPTER2
ARI
Cal-i-fucking-forn-ia.
I grimaced at the sunshine and sighed for the millionth time since my plane had touched down.
I was standing in the parking lot of the arena, just staring at the building.
Practice started in thirty minutes. And I had a bunch of bullshit I needed to do before I stepped onto the ice.
Instead, I decided to procrastinate a little bit longer and call my good ole buddy Lincoln.
“How’s the land of milk and honey?” Lincoln drawled as soon as he picked up.
“Ugh, you sound way too smug and self-satisfied. You just had sex.”
“Yep,” he said with all the happiness of an asshole who was being laid regularly by his soulmate.
“Tell my bestie I say hi,” I snorted.
He scoffed. “She is not your bestie,” he immediately shot back. “Monroe only has one best friend, and that’s me.”
I cackled, because he had the same reaction every time we had this conversation, and it was making me feel better.
“You’re standing in the parking lot, aren’t you?” he said.
“Yep.”
“Just getting pumped to see Soto.”
“Yep.”
There was silence for a moment.
“This season is going to be weird.”
I swallowed, because now wasn’t the time to get all emotional about the fact that I’d given up my dream life to spend a year in California.
To get my dream girl.
Ok, it was worth it.
“I’m going to go piss off Soto,” I said, rather than answering, because I needed to hold onto my mantra that big girls don’t cry and all of that.
“Knock ‘em dead.”
“One year,” I said.
“One year,” he answered.
And then the phone clicked off.
Now that I’d gotten that dreamy motivational speech, it was time to go in.
I started towards the colossal structure before me, because L.A. obviously had to overcompensate for things…
Its architecture was sleek and pragmatic, tall columns framing the entrance, reflecting the sunshine and the pulsating energy around. The oversized windows, branded with the team's insignia, gave me a sneak peek of what was inside – a sea of blue seats, the pristine ice waiting for skates, and the anticipation that only a roaring crowd could generate.
