I kept my notebook out as if I was going to write through the cacophony, but it was too exhilarating once the game started.
Me
Congrats on all those points!
I text Noah after the game, refraining from asking where he’s going tonight, or what he’s doing now.
* * *
Lacey is at the main door when I head out. I don’t say anything, but I do look at her, wondering why she isn’t waiting where we normally do.
“Goalies takes forever to come out, and it’s worse after a loss. Like he’s waiting for the rest of the arena to clear out before he can show his face,” she explains.
“That sucks. Especially when they played great.”
“Great isn’t perfect, and an L isn’t a W.” She shrugs, probably repeating something Darren said to her. “Was Tish better company?”
My confusion must show, because she elaborates.
“The woman you talked to during the first intermission. Donovan’s daily deal.”
“It was nothing,” I assure her.
“You look like it’s still something.”
“I just need to return this to Noah. He lent it to me at the arena once, and I keep it in my bag in case Izzie or I get cold, but especially with her not here today, I don’t want to look like a jealous puck bunny.”
“Wearing that guarantees you don’t.”
“Because it’s not a skimpy jersey?”
“Because it’s his.”
“You know that because I just told you.”
“I know because this is the team issued sweatshirt with his name on the back and number on the arm. The ones in the store just have the logo on the front.”
“Oh.” I suddenly feel even more self-conscious than I did before. How many people know stuff like that? Should I?
“Take the jerseys. It’s not the sexiness that matters. I have the jersey dress that I wear to parties or after the games, I don’t often wear it here because it’s freezing. But it’s Darren’s official jersey I made the dress with, not the ones you can buy in the gift shop. That’s how people know who I am. Same as you.”
“I’m not…we’re just friends.”
I sound like a broken record, and it’s frustrating as all hell to constantly remind myself of that. Yes, we’re friends with benefits, but I have no right to have his number on my back in any official capacity.
“Every time he scored tonight, the first thing he did was find you in the audience and smile. That’s some friendship.”
Noah
Thanks. Wish I’d done more.
See you Tuesday.
I want to believe Lacey. I really do. But unfortunately, I don’t think she knows what she’s talking about.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Noah
