Page 91 of What if I Told You

“Yes! That’s how I feel with Auggie.”

“Well, for what it’s worth I think the two of you are perfect for each other. I’ve always thought that. And one day when you’re Mrs. August Blackstone, I’ll be able to say I knew you two were destined to be together way before either of you did.”

“Well, I suppose if that day comes, you’ll have plenty to talk about during your maid of honor speech.”

“Eeeek! You know I will! Years of memories to tell everyone.” A bell dings on her end of the line. “Oh, I’ve got customers. Gotta run. I love you Ella! Let’s talk again soon, okay?”

“Absolutely. Have a wonderful day, friend!”

“You too!”

CHAPTER TWENTY

AUGUST

“Get ready to shoot! Aim right for the five-hole!” I shout at Ella as she slowly maneuvers the puck toward Bear who is standing with his legs spread in front of the net. The rest of us are standing along the wall giving her pointers as she uses her special light-up hockey stick to shoot her shot. The puck goes straight through Bear’s still legs and slides into the net.

“YES!” Ella pumps her fist.

“That was great, Ella!” Oliver calls from the wall. “But let’s try it with him moving a little. You have to be able to anticipate where he’s going to move. Which way he’s going to move, and then shoot the other direction.”

“Oh God, that sounds super hard.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Remember these mascots aren’t players either. They can skate but they’re no better at this than you are.”

“I mean they’re a little better than me in that they’ve been doing this tournament for years.”

“Yeah, but you trained me for hockey for years,” I remind her. “Don’t forget that. You learned the skills just as much as I did. And I venture a bet you could skate rings around them.”

“I sure hope so,” she says as she skates back to the center of the ice and prepares to go again. This time Bear skates a little sporadically back and forth in front of the net as she moves the puck down the ice. Trying to calculate which way he’ll slide so she can shoot, she’s too focused on what she’s doing and not keeping her eye on the puck.

“Ella look up!”

Too late.

She ends up skating right into Bear, loses her balance, and falls right in front of him. He just laughs and lends her a hand to help her up.

“Might want to try sinking the puck next time, Montgomery,” he says, smiling down at her.

Wiping her brow with the back of her furry Lumin glove she gives him a cheesy smile. “Sorry about that! This is harder than I thought! How the heck do you keep your eye on the puck and watch where you’re going while skating at a fast rate of speed?”

“Practice,” Ledger says with an understanding nod. “Lots of practice.”

“Ah. That’s fair. I’d say you all deserve a raise but you get paid an ass load so I think you’re good.”

The guys laugh as she gets herself back to the starting point and tries shooting a goal three more times. Twice, Bear doesn’t let her in, but the third time, he takes pity on her and allows the puck to slide between his legs.

“Thanks for the pity goal, Bear.” She laughs and gives him a high five. “I’ll take it.”

“You’re alright, Montgomery,” he says, putting an arm around her shoulders. “You don’t look too bad out there.”

“You’ll be the cutest pussy on the ice that’s for sure,” Griffin announces with a smirk.

“Watch it, Ollenberg,” I say to Griffin who’s standing on the ice in his blue pajama pants with pink bunnies all over them, but he only laughs and shrugs a shoulder. “What? She’ll be wearing a damn cat costume and she’s literally the only female mascot in the league. I’m not wrong.”

He’s not.

And she’ll be the cutest pussy on the ice in every sense of the word.

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