Page 133 of The Pucking Wrong Man

The pimply-faced kid stared at me like I was an idiot. “You want to trade that ticket for one...higher up?” he repeated slowly.

“Yes, please,” I said, plastering on my dance smile because I really needed him to hurry up. The game was about to start and I didn't want to miss any of it.

“Do you realize this is in the front row? These are the best tickets available.”

He was still talking to me like I was slow, and I took a deep breath, trying to find some patience. The crowd’s roar filtered out from the tunnel behind me, and I tapped my foot anxiously.

The ticket guy blinked a few times, and I inwardly winced at the color of his eyes. They were watery blue. Just like Michael’s.

I shot a glance around me, like he could possibly be lurking around just because someone with similar eyes was here.

I still hadn’t figured out how I was going to pay Michael off. It was a subject I kept avoiding thinking about because it made me feel so helpless.

“There’s nothing else in the lower bowl,” the boy finally said, after he’d typed on his computer for the longest minute known to man. He pushed my phone back toward me.

“The upper bowl is fine,” I said, hoping I got the lingo right. There was now a line forming behind me, and it was making me even more anxious. My phone had buzzed multiple times—and the only person who knew my number was Camden. Of course he would be wondering where I was.

The ticket guy stared at me like I was crazy, his nose scrunching up and his gaze darting around like someone needed to come claim me because I’d obviously lost my mind.

The crowd roared again, and I gritted my teeth. “Anything up there will do,” I urged.

He gaped at me for another ten seconds before finally turning back to the computer. After a few clicks, he snorted. “All I have is the top row of the upper bowl. The players are going to look like ants.”

He cocked his head as he glanced at my ticket again. “Hey, isn’t this where the players’ wives and girlfriends sit?”

“The upper bowl is fine,” I said quickly. “I’m ready any time.”

Wrinkling his nose again, he printed out the new ticket. “I can't trade that ticket in if it’s a player ticket.” He clicked something else on his computer. “Which I’m positive it is. So, that’ll be twenty dollars.”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I didn’t have twenty dollars. I didn’t have one dollar.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” a man growled suddenly behind me, slamming a twenty on the counter. “Give her the damn ticket. The game’s starting!”

The ticket guy shrugged and took the cash, and finally, I got a new ticket.

“Thank you,” I squeaked, hustling away and ignoring the stares from the disgruntled people who’d been waiting in line behind me.

I went up an escalator to the next level and then moved through the tunnel to the upper bowl.

He hadn’t been kidding. I was literally at the very top. I couldn’t really make out jersey numbers from up here.

Those other seats would have been so much better. But I was already relaxing, sitting without the pressure of sitting with the wives and constantly being shown on the screen.

It was much better just being able to watch the Jumbotron. It was like watching a movie at a theater, not as much fun as watching it live, but still good.

The cameramen loved Ari, Lincoln, Walker, and Camden, and the screen was constantly showing them. It seemed like Camden kept glancing at the stands.

But maybe that was my imagination.

I pulled out my phone. He wasn’t going to see this because he was in the middle of a game, but maybe he’d see it in between periods or something. I was pretty sure they had gone back into the locker room after each period during that first game I’d been to.

Me: I’m here. Just decided to sit somewhere else. I looked a mess after practice and didn’t want to embarrass you.

I stared at the text, deciding to add a “Kick Some Ass!” for good measure before I sent it.

The Knights switched shifts, and I watched Camden and Ari climb over the boards on the screen.

A second later, my phone buzzed. My eyes widened seeing he’d texted me back. He was playing a game!

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