Page 30 of What if I Told You

“Hey Ella, congratulations on the new job,” Griffin tells her when she pops back out of her room. “We can’t wait to support you in the Mascot Tournament this year.”

She stops dead in her tracks, her eyes widening. “Mascot Tournament?”

“Yeah.” He nods. “Nobody told you about the Mascot Tournament? It’s a huge fundraiser event.”

Ella shakes her head and glances at me with trepidation. “What’s the Mascot Tournament? Should I be scared?”

I give her a confident shake of my head and explain, “Nah, it’s just a fun event with a bunch of mascots from our conference. They do a skills competition on the ice for the fans and they play a short hockey game and then there are picture opportunities and all the fun stuff the fans like.”

“Yeah.” Harrison nods, adding, “It’s a fun day. And it’s for a great cause. The proceeds go to St. Jude so, you know, it’s for the kids.”

I can see Ella’s heart melting already. “Aww,” she says, bringing her hand to her chest. “That sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to do my part.”

“I bet you could do a number on those other mascots,” Ledger tells her.

Ella flexes her arm, showing off her muscles. “Bring it on. I’ll invite them all to my gun show.”

The guys whistle and laugh and Oliver says, “That’s right you will. And we’ll be there to support you one hundred percent. We’re hosting this year, so you’ll want to be on your game for sure.”

“I hope you’ll all train me first!” Ella laughs. “I’m good on the ice, but Auggie’s the hockey player. Not me.”

“You’ll be great, El,” I tell her. “Don’t worry. We’re not going to let you fail. We’ll make sure you’re ready.”

“Phew!” She wipes her brow with the back of her hand. “Good. Alright then.” She holds up the notebook and pen in her hand. “So, let’s get this ball rolling, shall we?” Ella walks through the group of us seated around the living room and finds an open spot on the floor. “We’re all here to help Auggie find the love of his life.”

I’m doing this for her.

I’m doing this for her.

I’m doing this for her.

“Wait,” Bear says, holding up his hand. “Before you start, I’m going to need you to tell us an Auggie story. Something about him none of us would know.”

I shake my head. “That is totally unnecces?—”

“Oh, that’s easy,” she says, smiling. “Did he tell you about the day he thought there was a badger in the bushes behind his house and told me to run for it while he stood there and peed all over his yard because he heard from some older kid that the smell of urine would deter angry animals?”

The guys all burst out laughing as I lower my forehead to my palm. “Okay in my defense I was like eight or nine years old and heard it from someone on the bus.”

“The visual,” Harrison says as his body shakes with laughter. “It’s the visual for me.”

“Or that time when he took several of his fish out of their tanks and walked them around the house in his hand,” Ella continues. “Because he wanted to give them a tour of the rooms they couldn’t see from their tank. Poor fish, by the time the tour ended they were dead.”

More laughter from the guys.

Ella’s brows shoot up. “Oooh wait! Wait! This one is a doozy! When we were like, six or seven Auggie was hanging out at my house and we found a used condom in my parents’ bathroom and didn’t know what it was so Auggie put it on his foot like a sock.”

Cue even more laughter.

“Neither of us had any idea what it really was at the time. I don’t think we figured it out until we were teenagers!”

“Oh my God!” Ledger wheezes. “This is too good!”

“Bet you had the softest feet in the whole damn world that day,” Oliver cackles.

“Damn right I did,” I tell him. “And I was pissed there wasn’t one for my other foot.”

That comment earns another round of straight up belly laughs from everyone in the room. After a few minutes of continued laughter pass, Ella looks at the guys and clicks the tip of her pen.

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