Page 60 of Seamless Forever (Sleepless November Saga 3)

The four of us spend the rest of the night hanging out in Holden’s suite. We considered going out, but we decided it’s probably not the best idea for him to have a hangover tomorrow. He needs to be in the best shape he can be.

THE ARENA IS HUGE, much bigger than the one I’m used to. It can probably fit double the amount of people and every seat is filled. We still get to sit in the front row, but not right next to the bench like we have been.

As they’re introduced and come skating into the rink, the energy in this place reaches immeasurable levels. The lights are dimmed but spot lights move all over the ice as the crowd cheers for their favorite team. There aren’t nearly as many signs for Holden at this one, but I figure it’s only a matter of time before that happens. He’s still new.

The first opportunity he gets, my fiancé skates past us – smiling like a little kid on Christmas morning. Suddenly, someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around to see one of the workers of the arena, holding a jersey in his hands.

“Are you Miss Jacobs?” He asks, and I nod. “I was told to give this to you. It’s from Mr. Rivers.”

I take it from him and thank him kindly. Brandon looks at me jealously while Emily coos. I pull the jersey over my head and use the hair tie on my wrist to tie it behind my back. Holden winks as soon as he sees me wearing it.

“Excuse me?” The girl behind me gets my attention. “How did you get that? Those aren’t even available yet.”

Noticing her for the first time, she’s wearing a white T-shirt with Holden’s name and number written on it in puff paint. I’m glad he already has fans here, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t twist my stomach up a bit.

“Holden gave it to her.” Emily answers.

She looks at Em, then at Brandon, then back to me. “Oh, oh my god. I know who you are.”

“You do?” We all reply in unison.

“Yes!” She says excitedly. “You’re all on Holden’s Instagram. You’re his fiancé, his best friend, and his best friend’s girlfriend!”

Emily gets really close to my ear. “Stalker alert.” She whispers, causing me snort.

“I’ve been a fan of him since he played with the Black Bears. I’m so happy he’s with the Bruins now!”

“So are we.” Brandon answers and I smile politely.

She writes something down on a piece of paper and hands it to me. “This is my twitter handle. Do you think you could get him to follow me?”

“I can’t promise he’ll do it, but I’ll give it to him.” I slip the paper into my pocket.

Thankfully, that’s enough for her and she goes back to watching the game – screaming for Holden more than any other player on the ice.

THE GAME ENDS WITH the Bruins taking the win. The four of us congratulate H as soon as we see him, but his focus is on me. He excitedly picks me up in his arms and spins us around. His mood is infectious and has me giggling as he peppers kisses all over my face.

“Rivers.” One of his teammates calls him. “We’re going to celebrate. You guys coming?”

He looks to us for approval and we all nod. “Yeah.” He tells him. “Text me where.”

A few minutes later, we’re all piling into the taxi and heading over to the club. I feel something stabbing me in the leg, and it reminds me of the girl who sat behind us during the game.

“Oh, this is for you.” I hand him the piece of paper.

He unfolds it, confused. “What’s this?”

“The girl behind us was a big fan. Asked for me to give it to you so you could follow her.”

“It was creepy.” Emily tells him bluntly. “She knew who all of us were.”

“How old was she?” He asks.

I shrug. “Probably like my age?”

He nods once in acknowledgement and crumples the paper in his hand, throwing it out the window of the cab. Brandon laughs while I just stare at him in admiration. He’s completely unfazed though, kissing my cheek and tapping the beat of the song on his thighs.

We get to our destination rather quickly. It’s a private club, needing to be on a list to get in. Holden gives them his name and the bouncer moves the rope to let us in. The whole team is already there, and it’s almost overwhelming to be around all the people I’ve seen Holden watch on TV. Some of them I’ve already met at his practice, but the ones I haven’t Holden introduces me to.

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