Page 41 of Six Wishes

“You know I am a hockey fan, my entire family is, Van,” Chloe starts explaining. “Not all of us are as dedicated as Hunter is, but we do love following the season. You are an amazing player, and I know you know that,” she teases me sweetly. “But if you wonder if I won’t want to be with you when you’re not a professional player anymore, then you are wrong.” She takes a deep and fortifying breath in, then lets it all out. “I hope you’re going to give me a chance to prove that to you.”

My phone starts ringing before I have a chance to respond. Since it is connected to the car’s system, the screen shows Chuck’s name. I sigh and debate if I should answer or not. I am supposed to sign the contract with Wyatt, and I don’t want to shake the boat one way or another before that. Plus, I haven’t had a chance to mention it to Chloe, and I don’t want her to be blindsided.

“Chuck,” I greet him with an even tone.

“Van, I was expecting you to get back to me by now.” I never realized how nasty Chuck’s voice could sound. I hear it more and more since my future with the team is not exactly clear.

“I was busy,” is all I say. I don’t want to get into any details with him.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” his snarky comment makes me sit up straight. “Knee deep into pussy,” he starts cackling, and I hear Chloe gasping in the passenger seat.

“Chuck, this is uncalled for.”

“No, Van,” Chuck continues to laugh. “What is uncalled for is you passing on this once in lifetime kind of deal just because the pussy you’re getting at the moment is good. You’ll find better, I’m sure.”

My patience has finally snapped. “Listen here, motherfucker, don’t ever call anymore. And if I ever hear that you referred to my girlfriend as anything other than by her name, I will make sure everyone knows what a piece of shit you’ve turned out to be.” With that, I hang up the phone.

The call fucked me up. I am so mad, I can’t help the way my hands clench and unclenched on the steering wheel.

“Van,” Chloe touches my leg softly, almost as she is afraid of what my reaction will be.

“I’m sorry,” I grab her hand and squeeze. “I never knew what an asshole my agent was.”

She squeezes my hand back and doesn’t say anything for a few moments. There’s tension in the car now, and I hate it. I just want to have great times with Chloe. This is not a good time.

“What did he mean when he said you’re passing on a deal because of…” She hesitates for a second. This would normally be a perfect opportunity to tease her with some dirty talk, but I am not in the mood. “Because of me, I guess,” Chloe chuckles nervously.

“He is talking out of his ass, Chloe,” I try to reassure her even though I am fuming on the inside. “And I promise that I will tell you all about it once I know that Wyatt is taking care of it.”

“Is it something bad?” she whispers.

“Not at all, baby,” I try to reassure her. “He sure has been acting up lately though.”

Her next question should not throw me off the way it does. We’ve been so wrapped up in each other over the last few days, I feel like I’ve known her forever.

“Do you think we’re moving too fast?”

“As far as what?” I play stupid even though I know what she’s asking.

“As far as us… I just, I don’t know…” She hesitates, clearly unsure of how she wants to approach what she’s got to say.

I am just about to pull in my driveway by now, so I just wait until I’m parked in the garage and the motor is turned off.

“Let’s go in, okay?” I look at Chloe, and she gives me an apprehensive and awkward smile.

We both reach for the door handles and pop them open at the same time. I grin at her but her smile is not as open. I feel a heavy sigh ready to escape as I get out of the car. How did today go to shit so fast? I couldn’t wait to get home and get Chloe in my bed. Now I’m wondering if it is worth me grabbing the bag with the box of condoms that caused us a couple of today’s derails.

As soon as we walk into the house, I grab Chloe and pull her with me to the bedroom. It is very large and sunny, and I am determined to salvage what I can of this day.

I walk us over to the small couch at the foot of the bed, then sit. Chloe follows my lead as she sits sideways, one long leg tucked underneath.

“Talk to me, baby,” I run a hand over her hair and tuck a strand behind her ear.

“I’m just wondering,” she finally says after a couple of minutes where the suspense is threatening to kill me. “If we just jumped into this with both feet without any thought of the consequences.”

“What consequences, Chlo?”

“Well, when summer is over, I plan on going back to school to work as Alison’s assistant.” I nod in understanding. I get that she needs to make money. “If you go back to New York, how any of this would work, Van?”

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