Page 15 of Scoring Chance
I’m more than halfway across the room when I see the grin on Ollie’s face. That’s when I start to get nervous.
Another ten feet, and he starts laughing.
That’s when I get really nervous.
“What the hell, Ollie? Why did you take my paddle and—”
Ollie’s more than a little tipsy, but he smiles wide. “Happy birthday, Mel.”
Lord save me from drunk idiots. “My birthday’s in February, Ollie.”
“Happy related birthday?” he says, giggling.
“You meanbelated, dude. Belated birthday.”
My gaze turns toward the sound of the voice, and I look up to see the hot guy from the coffee shop. The overgrown new guy with the dimples and the clear blue eyes. But this time, he’s half naked. And even the half that’s covered is…very, um…prominent. I’m wondering who shrunk this poor guy’s shorts when it occurs to me that he’s not only wearing floaties and too-tight trunks, he’s also holding my paddle. And right next to the number 137 is the wordwinner.
I turn to Ollie. “What the hell did you do?”
11
Mel
The early morning shift at Drip is never my favorite, especially after a night like last night. I’ve been here since six a.m., and my shift is almost over, thank goodness. I’m exhausted because I barely got any sleep last night. It’s not like I partied after the bachelor auction. I just tossed and turned in my bed, replaying the night’s events in my head.
I still can’t believeOllie swiped my paddle and bought me a date. I don’t know whether to be offended or annoyed. For now, I’ll ride the middle and go with both. Ollie’s a hard guy to stay mad at—there’s just something so sincere about him. But he’s definitely in the hot seat. And when he gets here in twenty minutes, he’s definitely got some explaining to do.
I takethe cup that Cammie hands me and automatically start making a caramel apple frappe. It’s muscle memory now since I’ve been working here so long. Soon I’ll be one of the many rats in the race that is corporate America, but I’m looking forward to it. And as much as I’ve loved my time at Bainbridge, I’m ready for a change, for something new. I’m ready to leave this place in my rearview and focus on what life has in store for me. I only have a few months left, and most of my classes are pretty easy. I just have the practicum which requires travel, but that won’t be so bad. Before I know it, I’ll be walking across the stage to get my degree in December. That means the only things on my to-do list this semester are working at Drip, working on homework, and taking the train back and forth to D.C. when my class requires it, so there’s no way I have time to babysit a freshman, even if Ollie did pay for the date. Surely there’s somebody else who’d love to spend a couple hours in the guy’s company.I mean, he is gorgeous. And he seemed nice enough, if a little awkward when we talked briefly last night. I can’t really blame him, though. The poor guy had just split his pants on stage in front of a couple hundred people.
Our conversation was brief—wedidn’t even set a time for this date, which is yet another reason I’m pretty sure I can back out of it. This guy, Will, met me for all of two seconds. He probably doesn’t even remember my name, so I figure there’s a fair chance he wants out of this date as much as I do.
I keep makingdrinks as the students and professors of Bainbridge file in for a caffeine fix.
I top a frothy drink with a perfect swirl of whipped cream, snap on the lid, and slide it across the counter to Dr. Mauro, who orders her frosted mocha like clockwork every morning. I tell her to have a good day, then turn back to the counter to see what I’ll be making next. I’m so in the zone, that I’m a little surprised when Ally comes in to take over.
“Holy crap,”I say, laughing. “I didn’t realize you were behind me.”
“I've been herefor two solid minutes,” she says, tying her apron around her waist. “But you look really committed to your job. I almost feel bad taking over. If you’d like to stay…” she teases.
“Ha,no thanks. I’ve pulled enough doubles to last a lifetime. I am out of here. Well, actually, I’m sticking around for a cup of coffee. But then, I am out of here,” I say as my coworkers nod. We all get sucked into the cycle of sticking around after our shifts to have a drink or just relax. It’s fun, but sometimes it feels like I live here.
Cammie checks me out,and I take my mocha and my salted bagel over to a table by the window to wait for Ollie. I sent him a message early this morning asking if he wanted to meet for breakfast or lunch, figuring I could spend my morning break explaining to him why it’s an awful idea for me to go out with this kid. But I’m fairly certain Ollie just rolled out of bed because he texted half an hour ago to say he’d meet me at one. I look up to wave him over, but it’s not Ollie. It’s Josie. She heads for the counter to pick up her mobile order, then makes a beeline for me.
“You’re still here,”she says, smiling and taking a seat. “I was afraid I’d miss you and I want to know how the auction went. Did you buy a date with Booker?” Josie’s busy squeezing a lemon into her hot tea, so she doesn’t immediately see the look on my face.
“Uh,yeah, I bought a date with Booker,” I tell her. “And he really thinks the two of us are going to the aquarium and then out to dinner. He’ll be pleasantly surprised when Ian shows up in my place.”
“That’s so sweet,”she gushes, tearing off a bite of her lemon muffin and popping it into her mouth.
“Yeah, they're pretty adorable,”I agree.
“So, it went well?”she asks, eyes wide. Josie’s fishing, as she often does. She won’t come right out and ask for specifics on a certain hockey player, but she definitely wants the details.
“I think so,”I say. “I left early, but I think they raised a lot of money.”
“Just over ten grand,”a voice says behind me. I turn to see Ollie smiling. And yeah, he looks like he hasn’t slept for more than an hour or two, but he smells like he just stepped out of the shower. His hair is damp, and he’s wearing a BU Hockey hoodie and basketball shorts. Objectively speaking, he’s a good-looking guy, but he’s never been my type. And right now, of course, I don’t have a type.
Ollie setsdown his iced coffee and pulls up a chair as Josie looks around.
