And as I drive through the city to the stadium.
And it’s all because of Winter.
Who I can’t hook up with. One, because she’s my housemate, and two, because she’s Winter. We were always fire and gasoline. And judging by our fight earlier, nothing’s changed.
I need to stay focused on getting out of my slump, not fantasizing over a woman who’s leaving in six months and who I can’t be with anyway.
I’m fucked.
Chapter 7
Winter
Wearing an ankle-length black skirt, aqua wraparound sweater, and strappy, open-toed shoes, I hustle into The Odyssey.
“Winter!!!” Charly calls out as she throws her arms around me. “I’m so glad you made it!”
Before I can answer her, Ashley Hill makes it a three-way hug. “Yay, the three of us together again!”
I pull back and smile at them. Charly and Ashley, my two best girlfriends since we were in diapers.
No matter how far away I feel from my old life, Charly and Ashley never fade into the past. They’ve been on my side from the beginning, and I know they always will be.
Charly’s cream shirt contrasts with her dark hair perfectly, and Ashley’s purple tie-dye shirt and short skirt look great against her hazel eyes and auburn shoulder-length bob. I’m taller than both of them, and my naturally slim stature contrasts with their curvier figures.
“We’ve got company tonight,” Charly says. “Simon, Declan, and Van are all here. Already drinking.”
I laugh. “Well, I could use a drink or two myself, to be honest. Maybe we should join them and get good and drunk.”
“Oh my God, let’s do it.” Ashley grabs my hand and pulls me toward the back table. “I want to know everything that’s going on with you. I feel like we haven’t really talked since you became a star!”
Charly walks on my other side. “Ash and I sat in the front row at your show on Broadway and just kept poking each other, saying, ‘Can you believe that’s our best friend up there?’ I remember when your mother had you auditioning for that baby commercial. Seems like just yesterday.”
Ashley and I look at her and burst out laughing. “You do not remember that!” Ashley says. “You were a baby, too!”
Charly shrugs. “It’s a legendary story around here. I feel like I remember it personally.”
Declan Boudreaux and his sister, Savannah, rush me when I reach the table. Declan picks me up, and Charly’s husband, Simon, hands me a beer while I beg for Declan to put me down.
“Haven’t seen you in forever, Ms. Allen.” He kisses my cheek, and as he returns me to the ground, Simon greets me before Savannah wraps her arms around me in a hug.
“Hey, Van,” I say as I hug Savannah back. “So good to see you.”
“Welcome home,” she says to me quietly. “I know you didn’t want to leave Manhattan, but maybe the time away will be good for you.”
I look into her whiskey-colored eyes, the same eyes as her siblings but with a dash more pain. Savannah would understand what I’m going through. My situation was different than hers, but we both had our physical boundaries violated. And I trust her. I just don’t want to talk to anyone about what happened to me.
We all sit down, and I take a big sip of my beer.
“And guess who we just texted?” Declan says with a sideways glance at me. “Our hockey friend.”
Savannah turns on Declan. “You should have known better than that! No inviting Hunter here tonight. I went over this with you!”
I calmly lean back against my chair. “Van, it’s fine.”
Declan points at me. “See, Win’s okay with it. The group of us have known each other our whole lives. And Winter’s here for six months—I think she and Hunt should hang out. We all know you two ended on a sour note, but that was years ago now.”
Charly smothers a laugh. Obviously, Callie didn’t tell her husband what she and Charly and I chatted about yesterday.
