Page 47 of Lost Track

A video popped up immediately from CelebX. The headline said: Sunshine Capone causes chaos at hockey game.

“Should I click on it?” she asked, suddenly unsure.

“Hell yeah,” he said. “Let’s see what I did now.”

She snorted and hit the link.

The video was taken on someone’s cell phone and it wasn’t very clear. But it looked like Sunshine — or someone that looked like Sunshine — was making out with a girl in the stands. A guy came up and grabbed the alleged Sunshine by the collar and punched him. Alleged Sunshine then shoved the guy and took off. A brawl broke out in the stands.

“Officials are still trying to piece together what happened at United Center,” Sabine read out loud. “It appears that Sunshine Capone made a pass at an unknown woman. The woman’s partner took offense and stepped in. Capone escalated the situation and then fled the scene. This story is still updating.”

She dropped her phone with disgust.

“Seriously?” she asked. “Escalated the situation? The other guy threw the first punch! If anything, it was self-defense.”

Dave took the phone from her and set it aside and looked her in the eye. “That wasn’t me. I was here with you tonight.”

“Right.” She jerked her chin back. “I know that. I mean, obviously that wasn’t you. But if it had been, they wrote the piece in such a way that you were the one responsible for all of it.”

He lifted his eyebrows slightly and gave a sad smile. “Yeah.”

So much made sense in that moment.

“This happens a lot, doesn’t it?” she asked.

“It is the main reason I don’t go on the internet anymore.”

“At all?” she asked, surprised. Everyone was on the internet in one way or another. “But you have social media accounts,” she said before she realized that she was admitting to looking him up…and maybe following him in a few places.

He shrugged. “Someone else runs those. A firm that Max found for me.”

Her heart softened hearing that. “Max watches your back, huh?”

“He and Leslie have been with me since middle school. I had a few other friends for a while but…” He chewed on the side of his thumb again. “Success can change things. It doesn’t always. But if someone has a problem with you, money makes it obvious.”

His eyes grazed over her face and she realized they were still leaning towards each other.

“It’s a rare person who doesn’t look at me like a scandal, or a payday.”

Oh.

“How do I look at you?” she asked, her voice just above a whisper.

“Like you see me,” he replied. His gaze dropped to her mouth and then bounced back up to her eyes and he smiled. “Do you mind if I grab another Dr. Pepper?”

“Go for it,” she replied, sitting back up and trying to compose herself.

The fuck had just happened?

He got up and bounded to the kitchen. “Do you want anything?” he called.

“A bucket of ice?” she mumbled to herself and then groaned. “Water, please,” she called instead.

Here he was, making a friend, trusting her to not be like every other asshole trying to take advantage of him, and she was thinking he was going to kiss her.

Thank God he hadn’t.

How awkward would that have been?

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