Page 94 of My Best Bet

I could live every day like this, with him, forever. It felt like Colt and I were stealing time, flying down a highway in a getaway car, leaving all our real life worries behind and just loving each other.

29.Mer - Birthday Party

Colt was going to hire a service to decorate for Lucy’s birthday, but I convinced him we should do it together and Lucy loved the idea.

All week leading up to her party, we were constantly running to the stores together for decorations so everything would be perfect.

The Saturday night before her party, Lucy and I stayed in and watched the Whalers game from Colt’s couch at home with a bowl of popcorn between us.

Halfway through the third period, Colt had a breakaway. His jersey billowed behind him while he sprinted to the net with Boston’s defensemen chasing him down. He was able to score, but he was going too fast to stop himself. Right after he shot, he lost his balance and went down hard before slamming into the boards.

Lucy and I gasped. We automatically held hands.

My eyes were glued to the TV as I chanted, “Get up, get up, get up.”

As soon as he popped up on his knee and leaned on his stick, both of us let out sighs of relief. Skating back to the bench, he stretched out his right shoulder and arm.

He skipped his last shift, so I figured he was hurting, but he was standing and moving in the teambox, so he had to be decently okay, but that didn’t completely ease away my worry.

Lucy and I were both sleeping by the time Colt got home.

“You okay?” I asked as soon as he popped open the bedroom door.

He carefully pulled his shirt off, hissing when he moved his right shoulder, then gingerly sat on the edge of the bed. His heavy hand came down on my hip. “Now I am,” he said, sounding exhausted.

That night, I was the one to sit behind him in bed, my legs stretched on either side of him while I iced and massaged his shoulder until we both fell asleep.

The next morning, I let Colt sleep in so his body could rest while Lucy and I got to work on the balloon arch– the last thing we had to do before the party later.

The only problem was that I wasn’t tall enough to figure this out, and were definitely struggling, so I called Piper for help– it was actually the perfect excuse to get her over here because I had a feeling she was trying to skip the party today and I didn’t want her to feel lonely, especially not when I knew she still hated Sundays.

When Piper arrived, Lucy opened the door for her and gasped. “I love your hair, and your outfit, and your shoes!”

“I loveyou,” Piper said with a chuckle, handing me a coffee over Lucy’s head. While Lu and I were still in our pajamas, Piper was in off-black tights, thigh-high boots, a caramel colored mini-skirt, and a tight black top with a long peacoat overtop. Her blonde hair was curled and coiffed and her winged eyeliner looked impeccable. “You're a great hype woman, you know that?”

Lucy smiled. “Are you here to help decorate?”

“You know it, girlfriend,” she said, easing inside.

We were just putting the finishing touches on the balloon arch when JP and Kappy stormed in, each holding a box of donuts and coffee. JP was dressed nicely for the day in a button down and lulu dress pants, Kappy either didn’t get the noticeor didn’t care, because he wore a fur-lined jean jacket, gray sweatpants, and a snapback sitting on top of his messy hair.

Kappy opened the box he was holding, which was filled with pink sprinkle donuts, and presented it to Lu. “For the birthday girl.”

Lu giggled and snatched a donut.

“Happy birthday, little Lu,” JP said, patting her head. “Where’s your dad? Shouldn’t he be up yet?”

“Not yet, but I’ll go get him!” Lucy yelled before dashing up the stairs.

Right then, a balloon popped, making me jump.

“Sorry,” Piper grumbled.

“Piper the Viper, in the flesh,” Kappy said, giving her a wink.

“Dick,” she deadpanned.

“Play nice you guys,” JP warned before wandering back to the kitchen.

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