Me: Tickets will be at will call under your name.Do you want a jersey?
Phoebe: Yours?Absolutely!
“She does,” I tell Randi.“A jersey, please.”
“Sure, what size?”
My brain malfunctions at that.
Randi smiles kindly and nods toward my phone.“Ask her.It will be men’s sized.”
Me: What size?Men’s sizing.
Phoebe: XL, I think.What size do you wear?
Me: XXL.That would be way too big for you.It would be a dress.
Phoebe: XL then.Thank you!!I’m so excited to see you play!And I can cheer you on without getting dirty looks.
Me: I’d protect you.Let me finish up here, and we’ll talk later.Can’t wait to see you.
Phoebe: Same!
She gives me a smiley face emoji that makes me smile in return as I relay the size to Randi.Raising my gaze from my phone, I meet Randi’s raised-eyebrow expression.
“Have you known each other long?”she asks.
“Our older siblings are married to each other.She’s my best friend.”
Randi’s smile grows.“Aww…Declan and I have been friends since we were kids.We reunited when I started working for the team a couple of months ago.That’s a whole other story.But anyway, friends sometimes become more.Just sayin’.”
I’m starting to blush, so it’s time to go.I gather everything Randi has given me and rise to leave.I need to return to the hotel and rest before the game.
“Thanks for your help, Randi.I appreciate the welcome.”She did more for me in fifteen minutes than the Sasquatch staff did in six months.
“Of course, Ollie!We take care of each other here.If you think of anything you need, let me know, and I’ll connect you with the resources that can help you.That’s what I’m here for.”
I nod and leave her office.The locker room is empty, and my gear is undisturbed.Grabbing my bag of Devil Birds warm-ups, I leave the locker room and make my way to the mall that’s part of the complex with the rink.It’s a unique space—part retail, part sports and entertainment.The wind blowing down the Boardwalk is blustery as I leave the pier the team calls “the Nest.”I look back at it before I enter the Devil’s Den across the street.
Everyone has been so friendly and welcoming here.I can’t decide if it’s nice or if it feels like a cult.How can everyone be so happy and functional?It’s unnatural.Maybe they’re putting on a good front for the new guy.I’ll see how they really are tonight when the pressure of the game reveals their true colors.
3
PHOEBE
I putmy phone back in my pocket and turn to my coworker and friend, Andie Reynolds.
“We have two tickets to the Devil Birds game tonight,” I tell her.“We’ll get them from the will-call window.”
Her blue eyes light up.She has a crush on one of the players, Colby Alvarez, so we’ve gone to a few games to watch him play.If how often he comes by the bakery we work at is any indication, he’s interested in her too, but Andie is reluctant to date again after a breakup with her jerk of an ex.We provided desserts at the New Year’s Eve gala the Devil Birds held, and I bid on Colby in the date auction so they could finally spend time together, but she insists they’re only buddies.
“How did you manage that?”she asks, her Texas drawl still coloring her words.
“They have a new player, Oliver King, and we’re friends, so he asked if I wanted to go.”
“King?Bigfoot shifter?The guy who was onBigfoot Finds a Brideand told the whole country he’s a virgin?You know him?”She’s talking a bit too loudly.
We’re in the back of the bakery, away from the public, but she’s loud enough that customers at the counter could have heard her, and I don’t want that.Ollie shouldn’t be ridiculed or treated like he’s odd for being a virgin at twenty-four.It’s not that he couldn’t have been with women through the years.He’s gorgeous and smart and so sweet.Now that he’s a professional athlete and making a great salary, that only adds to the allure.If he wanted to do the mattress mambo, I’d be first in line.And do my best to be the only one in line.
