“I was like that as a kid too. My mom says hockey was the only thing she didn’t have to force me to care about. I simply did.”
“Well, you’re an amazing player. I’ve really enjoyed seeing you grow from the freshly drafted center to a seasoned veteran.”
“I appreciate that, Craig.”
Mr. Warren claps Jabari on the back, then nods at me. “How did you two meet?”
“Actually...” Jabari states, “we reconnected on a blind date.”
Mr. Warren laughs. “Really? Who set you up?”
“Believe it or not, Raimo Karvonen,” Jabari says. “Raimo claimed he knew the perfect girl for me, and Javier Sanchez agreed.”
“And Raimo told me a hockey player would treat me right and he knew the right one,” I add.
“Remarkable. I’ve never heard of a successful blind date.”
Jabari turns my way. “We’ve had our ups and downs.”
Then all of a sudden, his mouth drops.
Why is he looking at me like that? His mouth closes, and a look almost like a ...smolderfills his face. Heat fills my middle, and I lick my lips. Wait, did his gaze just drop to my mouth?
“Jabari?” I murmur. Something’s going on.
He shakes his head, then grimaces. “Sorry, what were you saying?” He turns back to Mr. Warren, who’s also eyeing him skeptically.
“You okay, Crank? Do you need some pain medicine?”
Jabari’s Adam’s apple bobs. “No, just a slight headache. No need for anything.”
Yet the way he clenches his hand makes me think otherwise. I don’t want to call him out in front of a potential donor, but I can’t help but worry. I have an intense desire to pull him to the side and make him tell me everything.
Only he switches the conversation from everyday small talk to how donors help the Warriors organization. Whatever is going on with Jabari will have to wait until we’re alone. For now, I’ll smile and nod and help him win over Mr. Warren. It’s the least I can do.
37
Jabari
For a brief moment in time, I saw Val clearly. Her beauty hit me right in the solar plexus, and my jaw dropped. But I can’t tell her any of that since my current job is to earn favor with Mr. Warren. Plus, when I shook my head, my vision went back to being blurry and spotty.
Did I imagine Val’s face?
Nah.No way I made up the brown beauty who stunned me to the soles of my feet. Even now I can perfectly picture how her black hair curled at the edges and her pink lips held a smile that seemed to be only for me, which I ended up staring at for a moment.
Did she catch me gawking? Wait. If she saw me staring at her lips, then I’mnothallucinating. I saw her. For a moment. For a few seconds that has my heart beating out of my chest.
I want to treat my head like an Etch A Sketch and shake it until my vision changes.
Focus on Craig Warren. He’s nota done deal.
Right. I have a job to do.
Remembering the different tiers, I share with Mr. Warren how he can help the Warriors Foundation with a donation, then wait for his response.
“I’m definitely interested in one of the top levels. I understand your organization also has outreaches to various youth groups, helping foster the love of hockey from a young age.”
“We do. I used to mentor the middle school group. After the concussion, I took a step back. Recently, I asked the foundation to create a group for the vision impaired. Some other NHL teams have started hockey clubs focused on those who suffer from disabilities. Our aim is to be more inclusive, and I think this is a great contribution to their mission.”
