Page 81 of Golden Goal

I clear my throat. I was wondering when this topic was going to come up.

“Tell us all the details,” Ansley says, her eyes sparkling. “I was pretty shocked when I heard the news.” She takes a drink of her soda. “Wait, that sounded bad. The news that he was dating someone shocked me. Not that it was you. I didn’t mean . . .”

“I know what you meant.” I lift a shoulder in a half shrug. “We’ve gotten to know each other over the past few months. We’re neighbors. One thing led to another.”

“And he makes you happy?” Sutton asks.

“He does.”

He really does. I can’t remember a time when I was this happy. Part of me keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop. For something bad to happen to him or Hazel, that’s my fault. But I’m trying not to think that way anymore.

“Good. I’d say you do the same for him because I haven’t seen him smile this much in probably as long as he’s played for the team,” Sutton says.

“Me either.” Ansley agrees.

We eat silently for a few minutes, and I wonder if that’s the end of their questioning.

“Is it serious?” Sutton finally asks, tilting her head to study me.

I furrow my brow. “We’re exclusive, but it’s new. I don’t know where it’ll go.”

Ansley chuckles. “I heard you two went house hunting together. Sounds pretty serious.”

I choke on my water, barely keeping myself from spitting it all over the table. Nothing stays private with this team. I take a few deep breaths, trying to regain my composure.

“He asked me to go with him, yeah. I was just helping him out. I’m not moving in with him.”

“Sounds like he trusts you. A lot,” Sutton points out.

“Don’t you have to trust the person you’re dating?” I ask.

Sutton raises her hands in surrender. “True.”

I turn my attention to Ansley.

She shrugs. “Don’t look at me. I’ve only gone out on a couple of dates in my entire life.”

My mouth falls open at her admission. Not that it matters that she’s never been in a relationship. But she’s gorgeous, smart, funny, and easy to talk to, so I’m surprised.

She covers her face with her hand. “Don’t look at me like that. What can I say?” She drops her hand. “Dating has never really been a priority for me.”

“I’m not judging you. You just caught me off guard,” I admit.

“I feel as though I’ve missed out on so much of my twenties because of it. Not that I’d change most of it, but you know . . .” She sighs. “I have a few years left, not that anything is going to be different, though, with me being as busy as I am with this job.”

“Turning thirty scared the shit out of me. But trust me when I tell you, my thirties have been significantly better than my twenties. I’ll be thirty-five this year. Mid-thirties.” I shiver.

Sutton snorts. “Oh, come on, we’re still young. Plenty of life to live. Doesn’t hurt when your boyfriend is younger than you. I refuse to believe that late thirties is old. Forty is the new twenty. Right?”

“Holt’s not much younger than me. He’ll be thirty soon.”

“He’s still younger.” Sutton claps her hands together. “I know, we should plan a girls’ night out soon. Maybe we can find someone for you, Ans. What do you say?”

“This is one of those times I wish I didn’t travel with the team.” Ansley wipes her hands with a napkin before taking a sip of her drink. “Count me in if I’m home, but don’t plan it around my schedule.”

We spend the rest of lunch talking about random topics—books we’ve been reading, shows we’ve been loving, and Sutton regales us with stories about the guys she’s gone out with recently.

Eventually, we clean up our trash and make the short walk back to the arena.