Page 19 of Inside the Penalty Box

“Okay, so tell me, why can’t we work for the Dominators?”

“Because of Dylan.”

In my mind, I was making perfect sense. To Lorelai, she did not know who Dylan even was, so she just sat there, her face contorted in confusion, waiting for me to explain.

“Who the hell is Dylan?” she asked.

“Remember the guy in Cozumel?” I asked.

Lorelai frowned. “The guy you slept with, the one-nighter, who, according to you, was the best sex you’d ever had? The guy and his friend who I thought looked familiar? That guy?”

“Yes, that guy,” I said, picking up my pop and taking a drink.

“Are you having some kind of meltdown I should know about?” Lorelai questioned with concern. “You never got the guy’s name, and I don’t have a clue what he has to do with you acting this way or why we can’t work with the Dominators.”

“Can’t you keep up?” I gritted.

Lorelai glanced around the room like she was looking for a hidden camera or something. Then she looked back at me. “Aurora, I can keep up, but you aren’t making any sense. Why don’t you just start from the beginning? Phil has worked hard to get us interviews with the head of their therapy division with the Dominators. I’d hate for us not to show up and take the interview.”

I gritted my teeth together. I did not know why she was making this so much more difficult on me than it had to be. Yet instead of getting angry, I took a deep breath and looked over at my friend.

“I know he has. Your brother is one of the best there is,” I said, feeling kind of bad now that I wasn’t sure that was the best course of action to take for work.

“I know. I also know we can’t spit in his face that way. He’s doing us a huge favor. He’s gone out on a limb for us.”

I let out a sigh. “Okay, so the guy in Cozumel.”

“Yes.”

“I never got his name, remember?”

“Correct, and you were kicking yourself in the ass for weeks after. Probably still are, which is probably why you are completely messed up, because you’re missing some of that good old loving right now.”

I played with my straw and nodded. “Correct.”

“So???”

“I know who he is.”

Lorelai almost dropped her glass. She placed it at the back of the table and looked over in my direction. “What? How?”

“His name is Dylan, and he’s one of the Vancouver Dominators!” I said, not really wanting to divulge how I even knew that.

“Oh my god, you’ve got to be kidding me. The best sex of your life plays on the team with my brother. I’ve told you that you need to watch hockey. It wouldn’t have taken you so long to figure it out.” Lorelai giggled.

“It’s not funny, and I’m not joking.”

“Okay, sorry,” Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. “So, how did you find that out? Did you see him on TV? Did your brother take you to a game where you ran into him? Which, if he did, I’m going to be pissed you didn’t tell me,” Lorelai said, picking up her glass once again.

“He is my new stepbrother.”

This time Lorelai’s glass slipped from her hand and smashed on the floor. She stared at me and then looked down, embarrassment flooding her face as she realized she’d broken the glass.

“Wow. Now it’s not a wonder why I thought he looked familiar.”

“I bet Walker and him will get along well.”

If she only knew. I shook my head, still not sure she believed me.

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