“Thanks for the review.”
“I’m just saying, if you’re going to have a mental breakdown on the ice, at least make it entertaining.”
“I’m not having a mental breakdown.”
“Right. You’re just temporarily forgetting how to skate, pass, and think simultaneously. Totally normal.”
Varga slides into the seat across from me with a plate that appears to consist entirely of protein. “Still the woman?”
“There’s no woman.”
“Always a woman. Or a man, your preference. Point is, someone broke your brain.”
“My brain is fine.”
“Your brain is thinking about a woman instead of hockey.”
“Thank you, Dr. Varga. Very insightful.”
“Tell her you miss her. Women like honesty.”
“I tried texting her yesterday. She didn’t respond.”
“Then text again. Persistence is attractive.”
Rodriguez nearly chokes on his orange juice. “Dude, no. Persistence from a guy she barely knows is stalking. Elliot specifically told you to give her space.”
“Elliot talks too much,” Varga grumbles.
“Elliot knows Golda better than we do,” Brody points out, joining our breakfast therapy session uninvited. “And she says Golda’s just scared.”
“Scared of what?” I ask.
“Of getting hurt again. Of letting someone into her kids’ lives who might disappear. Of taking a risk on someone whose life is completely different from hers.”
“My life isn’t that different.”
“Dex, you make more money in one season than most people make in a decade. You travel constantly, have women throwing themselves at you everywhere you go, and until last week, your longest relationship was probably about six weeks.”
“It was eight weeks,” I correct automatically.
“My point.”
I stab at my eggs. “So what am I supposed to do? Just give up?”
“No, you’re supposed to prove that you’re serious about this. That it’s not just a phase or a challenge or some quarter-life crisis.”
“Quarter-life crisis? I’m thirty-two.”
“Fine. Whatever-life crisis. The point is, if you want her to trust you, you have to show her that you understand what you’re asking for.”
“Which is what?”
“To be part of her family. To be someone her kids can count on. To be the kind of man who shows up and stays, not the kind who gets bored and moves on to the next interesting thing.”
The weight of what he’s saying settles on me. It’s not just about convincing Golda to date me. It’s about convincing her that I’m worth the risk of disrupting her life.
“I don’t know if I know how to be that guy,” I admit.
