Page 45 of Date with a Devil
“When was the last time we beat a good team like that? We won, and we’re gonna eat some fuckin’ delicious steak to celebrate. I said I’d buy dinner. Now c’mon, everyone get dressed. We’re going out as a team.”
Slowly, his teammates started dressing.
Dane couldn’t help but add, “And hey, with all those people wanting to trade me and murder me, it might even be my last meal with you guys.”
Reavo folded his arms. “Don’t joke about that, D, it’s not funny.”
“Relax, bud. It’s just a bunch of angry nerds screeching on the internet. No one’s gonna murder me at Nick & Sam’s.”
“I’m not worried about you getting murdered at a steak house. I’m worried about you getting traded.”
Dane huffed. “It feels like a goddamn funeral in here. Lighten up, boys. Everything’s gonna work out.”
No matter what happens,he thought.
Chapter 19
Austen
Austenhadoptions Friday night. Her friends bombarded her phone in an effortto drag her out to happy hour, which they hinted would inevitably turn into a pub crawl. A guy or three she’d matched with on Tinder earlier that week offered to buy her dinner.
But after a mentally draining workweek, Austen wasn’t in the mood to party, and she certainly didn’t have the willpower to suffer through another disappointing date. She opted for an ideal quiet Friday night to herself instead: binge-watching Netflix in her pajamas, having a glass or two of her favorite red wine, and trying to lure her cat, Bad Cat, into some snuggles.
DeHardt’s episode ofDate with a Devilwas set to air that evening, but Austen didn’t have any desire to watch that, either. It wasn’t her episode; it was Thayer and Heather’s, apparently. Watching it would only evoke the anger and disappointment she was trying to avoid.
But only a few minutes after the episode aired, her phone began tobuzz,ringanddingincessantly. Text messages, emails, tweets, social media mentions, direct messages.
Everythingwent nuts. All at once. A digital drama-bomb had blown up, and she was standing at the epicenter of the chaos.
And before she could even process what had happened, everyone demanded answers. Was she okay? How was she able to resist slapping that jerk right in his idiot mouth? They couldn’t believe what they’d seen. They worried for her safety.
Even her mom called to let her know that she wasn’t so keen on her doing this show anymore. When Austen tried to diminish her concerns, her mom only seemedmoreworried.
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I haven’t even seen the interview yet, Mom!”
“What do you mean,seenthe interview? Why would you need to see it? You were right there with him! Don’t you remember?! Oh, Austen! You know how much I worry about you doing this silly show!”
Austen groaned. “Don’t worry about me. Listen, I have to go.”
She went to the Dallas Devils Twitter feed and found a link to the interview. She pressed play and anxiously fidgeted while she watched.
“Tonight, onDate with a Devil—”
She immediately recognized the voice narrating. And while they sounded similar enough to fool her own mom, it wasn’t Austen’s voice. It was Heather’s.
So that’s what Thayer needed her for,she thought, angrily shaking her head.Unbelievable.
Then the bowling segment of the date played. Austen couldn’t believe her ears.Everythingout of DeHardt’s mouth was taken out of context and rearranged to make him sound as arrogant and offensive as humanly possible. No, the guy wasn’t exactly Prince Charming to begin with—but Thayer had edited the footage in such a way to make the hockey player seem like some deranged psycho who was five minutes away from chopping her up into a million pieces and dumping her body in the river.
She couldn’t believe her eyes, either—every time DeHardt went to bowl, the clip of his first gutter ball played. Again and again. The bowling ball always veering off the lane in theexactsame way and crashing into the gutter at theexactsame spot. It was so repetitive and so predictable, it became a comical absurdity.
No one will believe this, right?she thought.
And while she knew many would see through it, she also knew that enoughpeople would believe it.
Then, worst of all, the dinner scene. Perhaps it was so obvious, she should’ve seen it coming.
“Tuna nachos!” Austen shrieked out loud. “That’swhy Thayer recommended those? Are you kidding me?”
