Page 77 of Just One Season
Is a group text really necessary?
Lachlan
You’re lucky I didn’t keep the original name, which was Kellen & Lucy Pretendto Bang
Atticus
I’m going to kick your ass
I bite back a grin.
Fake dating Lucy Knox hasn’t really worked out like I thought it would.
For instance, I don’t think I should be fantasizing about my fake girlfriend day and night, reliving each time we’ve touched. Including the conference room kiss.Especiallythe conference room kiss.
I didn’t expect to miss her when I’m not around her.
Lucy’s ten rows ahead of me, sitting with a woman from accounting. I’d kind of hoped we’d sit together, but instead, I stick in my AirPods and turn on the true crime podcast I’ve been following.
Two and a half hours later, the bus pulls up to the luxury ranch resort. Saratoga, Wyoming, feels like it’s on a different planet from Fort Collins. It’s remote and rustic and charming. Not that FoCo isn’t beautiful, but this is different.
The annual retreat is purely a bonding event, with the requirement being that we get in some kind of workout every day—a low-key but tailored workout agenda was assigned to each player by the team trainers—and attend the team activities. Every year we play laser tag, and it gets super competitive. The resort also has paintball and other more intense activities, but it’s in our contracts not to participate in extreme sports. Is paintball really extreme?
The Blizzard rents out the entire place for three nights. The resort has a series of connected one-bedroom cabins—rustic in their decor, but expertly decorated and full of luxury touches. Each has its own private lounging area and hot springs pool. The pools are supposedly filled with water from the hot springs, but it’s filtered and chemically treated so it’s really just like a giant hot tub. There are also normal hotel rooms in the main lodge for the more junior ranking players.
I hop off the bus, and Lucy’s off to the side with her boss, the accounting woman, and the social media manager. She briefly glances my way, and I wave—I actually fucking wave—and she turns back to gawk at the scenery with the other women.
I am such a dork.
A sleek black Ferrari pulls up. Paul and Savannah. Everything is going according to plan.
“Here to ruin the fun,” Atticus says under his breath from next to me.
I shrug. He’s right, but they’re also the reason I get to fake date Lucy Knox, so it’s a bit of a toss-up. I follow Atticus into the lobby to get our keys.
I’m feeling bad about cutting Savannah off completely and also making her seem like the bad guy. But what else should I do? Risk my future to be her friend? Do something else that’ll end up on the NHL Tea hockey gossip site?
I’ve gotta protect my family.
Later that evening, we’re all hanging out around the resort. In the front of the main building, there’s a fire pit surrounded by rocks perfectly shaped for sitting. A few groupings of wooden chairs are on the long, covered porch attached to the lodge. And around back are secluded lounging areas.
The night is cool but still comfortable, and most of the guys are wearing hoodies or long-sleeved t-shirts, warmed by the fire. Mid-November can go either way in this part of the country. It could be freezing or still warm.
I’m sitting with a bunch of my teammates around the firepit, including Atticus and Harley. Savannah is with us, along with a handful of staffers. Lachlan and a few other guys are off to the side in a circle of chairs with Lucy and another woman. He looks over at me and raises his eyebrows, then pulls out hisphone. Mine buzzes a few seconds later with a string of texts to just me.
Lachlan
Mate. Get your ass over here and hang out with your girlfriend. Before someone else snatches her up and I have to kick a rookie’s ass
Me
1) fake girlfriend
Me
2) they wouldn’t dare
Lachlan
