Not yet.
I need to figure out how to win her over first - Rylee, notClickTease. I need her to fall for me, so that when I do tell her, she doesn’t want to break things off.
Yeah… yeah, that’s what I need to do. I have a goal, now. I can make a game plan and start to woo Rylee.
Do people still woo?
Whatever. I’m going to woo the shit out of her.
Mind made up, I push away from the wall and hurry out to the parking lot to get my gloves so I can get back to the locker room and ready for practice. The last thing I need is Coach chewing my ass in front of everyone for being late.
I make it back inside and get ready just in time to finish getting dressed and head out to the rink with the rest of the guys.
As soon as I make it onto the ice, I spot Rylee standing in the penalty box, camera in hand. One of my teammates is waiting next to the wall for her, as it’s likely his turn to be photographed and interviewed.
My heart is racing as I watch her for a moment. Rylee.ClickTease.It’s like I’m seeing her with new eyes.
She smiles as she gazes down at her camera and I gulp, heat rushing through me. I jerk my gaze away from her and move to skate away before she notices, but I don’t move fast enough.
“Zander!” she calls, and when I look back at her, those mossy eyes are locked on me.
I freeze for a moment, unsure of what to do, but I force myself to skate over to her and try to keep a casual expression on my face.
“What’s up?” I ask, flinching at how tight my voice sounds.
“ICON wants some preliminary head shots of you, and there are a few contracts you need to sign,” she explains matter-of-factly. “We also need to have a conference call with my editor and a few other members of my team to confirm details for the feature. They’ve arranged a private room at the Hilton for Saturday all day. We’ll start with the call and then do the photo shoot. Okay?”
The Hilton? Of all the hotels in the city, they just had to choose that one. As if being around Rylee won’t be awkward enough now, I’ll be constantly reminded that I jerked off to thoughts of her in that very hotel after having the best date of my life, not knowing that it was with her.
Ooph. This is complicated.
I force a big smile and reply, “Okay, it’s a date. I’ll be there.”
She furrows her brow and stares at me as if dumbfounded then shakes her head and murmurs, “Weirdo,” before turning and walking away.
My heart sinks as I watch her go.
Oh, man. I’m fucked.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: CONFUSING AS HELL
RYLEE
A tiny,furry mallet is bopping me on the nose. Bop, bop, bop, bop. I sniff and let out a puff of breath, trying to blow the little mallet away, but it persists. Bop, bop, bop, bop.
Cracking open my eyes, I find Gizmo sitting beside my head, batting at me with his paw.
“What are you doing, you menace?” I grumble.
He swats at my forehead, harder now that he’s successfully woken me up.
Groaning, I sit up. “Fine! Fine, I’m awake, okay? What’s wrong? Is your food bowl empty?”
I look over to where it’s sitting by the closet and yes, it’s empty.
Ah. Gizmo is not patient when it comes to his food. His water is low too, though whether that’s because he’s been drinking it or just playing with it, I’m not sure. Like a true Gremlin, he goes a little nuts when he gets wet.
That’s why I always have to have a rubber mat beneath his bowls, or risk the floors getting soaked and ruined.
