Page 18 of Any Second Now
“I think I’m already halfway there.” I glance at my crappy RV. “And I might have been kind of hard on you in college.” Being hard on him was a self-defense mechanism. There was no way I was going to let myself overtly flirt with my best friend’s little brother.
“Nah. You kept it real.” Atticus stretches his neck to one side. “You were probably the only one besides Lucy who treated me like a normal person. January ignored me except to laugh along with you two. And most other girls threw themselves at me and were totally fake.”
“You’re welcome?” I press my lips together. I watched girls fawn over Atticus Knox in college, and besides the fact that he wasLucy’s brother, I was zero percent interested in crushing on someone who was given so much damn attention. I was not his type. And we couldn’t be more different in our goals, ambitions, interests… I had to make sure I wasn’t obvious about my attraction to him.
Atticus looks at me, a cute smirk on his face, and I’m sure that he’s thinking about New Year’s Eve.
“Hey, want to come to drinks tomorrow night? At a bar in town. The Black Diamond. Lachlan will be there.”
I consider coming up with an excuse as being around Atticus makes me feel a bit squirrelly. I could make something up, but he’d know, and why would I want to avoid human interaction? I’ve been going nuts driving around by myself.
“It’s my birthday. You have to come.” A pained look flashes across his face, then is gone.
“It is? Happy birthday! Are you…” I do some quick math. “Thirty? Tomorrow?”
“Today.”
“Today! Happy birthday!” I glance at our leftover cheese sticks. Sort of a sad birthday lunch.
“Thanks.” Atticus nods. “So yes for tomorrow?”
Well. I can’t say no. It’s his birthday.
I think it’ll be nice to be here and not drive for a bit. I can just wait for Lucy to get home.
I don’t want to drive more than a few miles for a long time.
“No other plans.”
Atticus smiles even wider. “Wanna give me a tour of the Pink Palace?”
I blink at him and picture the inside of my RV, where there’s piles of empty hoops and half-finished designs everywhere. I basically move the pile to my bed when I’m driving and to the living area when I’m sleeping.
Also, not sure I can handle being in such a small confinedspace with Atticus.
“No, no I do not. I need to… clean.”
“Another time, then.” Atticus quirks a smile at me. “Hey, I don’t think I have your number.”
“Oh, okay,” I say.
Then I casually give my phone number to a hot professional hockey player.
CHAPTER 4
Maybe Her
ATTICUS
Sunday, June 29
Iwalk out of the players’ gym and through the Blizzard arena to the parking lot, pushing my damp hair off my forehead. The Fort Collins sun is blazing and it’s already almost ninety degrees out.
I’m antsy for drinks tonight with Lachlan and Raleigh. Seeing her yesterday brought up all sorts of feelings. I felt excited for the first time in ages. Like I have something to look forward to instead of just waiting for the offseason to pass so my regular life can start back up again.
It was shocking how fast the crush I’d had on her in college came roaring back on New Year’s Eve. Especially when I finally—fucking finally—got to kiss her.
To get it out of my system, like I told her? Nah. Didn’t work. I haven’t been able to get her out of my head for the past six months.
