Page 46 of The Reality of Wanting Him

Well shit.One of Blake’s friends coming out to me wasn’t on the list of things I thought would happen tonight.

“Nice to meet you, Ash,” I say with the first genuine smile I’ve probably had in the last hour as I offer him my hand. “Are you out now?” I ask quietly.

“Nope, and I’m kind of freaking out about how casually I just told you that,” he says with a nervous laugh. “But I don’t actually know you, and Blake storming in here with a hot boyfriend announcing he’s bi like it was no big deal made me very jealous. So here we are.” He shrugs, giving me another hesitant smile.

I beam at him. “Welcome to the club.”

“Thanks.” He laughs again before asking me more about the show and if I went into it wanting to date a man. We’re pretty absorbed in our conversation, so I don’t care when everyone else makes their way back out onto the balcony for the next period.

“Not into hockey?” Ash asks when I don’t make a move to leave the bar.

“Not into sports.”

“Wow. Blake must really like you if he still wants to be with you knowing that,” he teases.

“More like I must really like him to sit through tonight.” I laugh knowing that even though this hasn’t been my idea of a dream date, I’m still happy Blake’s happy.

23

BLAKE

Producer:You’re a huge sports fan. How are you handling that the person you’re falling for isn’t into them at all?

Blake:Horribly. No, I’m kidding, but if you told me that before the show, I’d say it was a dealbreaker. But now, I kind of don’t care. I like watching sports, but I like Liam way more.

This game is crazy.I’m so glad we were able to make it tonight.It’s only the second period and both teams have scored multiple times. We’re currently winning, 3-2, but things can change quickly. The players are getting frustrated, and another bullshit penalty was just called against us for tripping, so we’ll be down a guy for the next two minutes.

“That didn’t look like tripping to me.” I roll my eyes as I turn to Liam to see if he understands what the penalty was for, only to see he isn’t actually there.Did he not come back out for the start of the second? I know he went to the bar inside, but I thought he’d joined the crowd back out here.Shit, how did I not even realize?

I rush back into the box, and heave a huge sigh of relief.Helooks fine.He actually looks happier than I’ve seen him all night, talking with Ash at the bar.

“Everything okay?” I ask as I walk up to them, still wondering why they’re in here when the hockey is out there.

“Yeah, everything’s fine, B,” he says, sounding confused by my question.

“So why are you in here?”

“Ash and I are hanging out,” he replies.

I know he isn’t a sports fan,but I still feel like a complete asshole for not realizing he was in here.I should have known this wouldn’t be his idea of a good time. I think part of me just hoped he’d come and see it was more fun than he’d made it out to be in his head, but I also kind of threw him to the wolves with a dozen of my friends after announcing I have a boyfriend.

I’m an idiot.

“Do you want to get out of here?” I suggest, hoping it isn’t too late to fix my mistake.

His head snaps in my direction, and the confused look on his face is so cute. “Out of here?” he repeats, like he doesn’t understand the words.

“Yeah, you’re obviously not watching the game, and I know big crowds aren’t your thing. This whole night was a stupid idea,” I admit. “We could go back and have a drink at my place instead. Ash, you’re welcome to come too. We haven't had a chance to catch up yet, so that would be great. I can text Chad, but I don’t know who else would want to leave.”

“Blake, I’m fine here, really. I promise. I don’t want you to miss out on the game you’ve been so excited watching,” Liam offers, but I’ve already texted Chad to see if he’d want to go with us, and I can see him standing from his seat on the balcony to come back inside.

“Can’t get rid of me that easily,” Chad teases before walking right out of the box to lead us out of the arena.

“I guess we’re leaving,” Liam says with a laugh, getting up to follow Chad. “Ash, are you joining us?”

“Yeah, I think Blake and I have a lot to catch up on.” He smirks, and I raise a brow at my friend. Ash and I have never been super close, he’s always been one of my more reserved friends, but he’s a good guy and our families are friends, so we’ve known each other our whole lives. “I’ll tell you more at your place,” he says, looking at me this time. I follow them all out, surprisingly okay with leaving even though Liam told me he was fine with staying. I believe him, but maybe some things really are more important than sports.

“Okay,I was trying to be chill while your rich friends were here, but seriously, Blake? I can’t get over how fancy this place is. I can’t believe you live here,” Liam says, looking around my condo in awe.

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