Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
SARIAH: Touché.
TEXT LABEL TBD: However, I’ll give five stars to unexpected text conversations with strangers who hate math.
SARIAH: LOL agreed. Thank you for being so nice tonight. You really didn’t have to spend half an hour texting with a stranger.
TEXT LABEL: If you tell me your name, we won’t be strangers anymore.
Was it dumb to tell him my name? Probably not. I could just block him once we finished talking.
SARIAH: I’m Sariah. Nice to meet you.
TEXT LABEL TBD: That’s a pretty name. I’m Rob :)
SARIAH: Thank you. Anyway, I really appreciate you. I needed someone to talk to tonight and you made me smile. But I’ve taken up enough of your time. Also, my bathwater is cold.
ROB: No problem at all. If you feel like talking again, hit me up. I’m on the road until next week, so I’m usually in my hotel room staring at the TV when I’m not working or in meetings.
For the first time since we’d started talking, I felt a moment of unease. It had been fun to chat with someone who knew nothing about me, but kind of weird in a way too. He seemed nice enough, but was probably a forty-year-old porn addict who lived in his mom’s basement. And the last thing I needed was some weird internet stalker.
SARIAH: I have a long day tomorrow and there’s a lot going on because I have an important interview next week. I’m not sure what my schedule will be going forward.
ROB: No worries. Drop a text if you feel like it. If not, take care.
SARIAH: You too.
I put the phone down and took another long drink of wine. Part of me was still wondering if it was actually Theo fucking with me, but he wouldn’t have been that nice. Or that patient. Then again, to get out of paying for half the vet bill, I wouldn’t put anything past him.
I was probably too suspicious for my own good, but I’d sworn off all men. Even sweet, faceless mystery men I only knew via text. Whoever he was, Rob had been a good distraction on a day when I desperately needed one. But that was that.
Peace out, Rob. Have a nice life.
Chapter Two
Nash
* * *
“I saw your picture on the El train the other day when I went to Chicago,” my teammate Boone said, shaking his head. “It’s so fucking weird seeing your goofy mug doing that smolder thing in a little Speedo.”
I laughed. “I wasn’t smoldering, and it wasn’t a Speedo. But if it makes you feel less butt hurt about not being chosen as one of the sexiest athletes alive, keep ’em coming.”
He gave me an exasperated look. “Dude, I was happy for you. But your damn picture is everywhere. On the magazine at my doctor’s office, on billboards…enough already.”
We were in the locker room after hockey practice, making small talk after showering.
As I put on a clean T-shirt, I said, “The world needs to know about the sexiness, man. It’s out of my control.”
It had been months since the magazine spread featuring me as one of the 15 Sexiest Athletes Alive had come out. And to be honest, I was pretty sick of all the attention myself. But when you’re a hockey player, teammates will seize any opportunity to chirp at you. For a month after the article and photos came out, I’d walked into the locker room to see a different photoshopped variation of one of the photos every day. A rookie named Eric Alvarado had started it, and his favorite one was a photo of me standing on a beach that he’d added long, flowing Fabio hair to. Rookies with big enough balls to do that to a veteran had to be put in their place. And I wasn’t about to let Alvarado know he’d gotten on my nerves—that wasn’t my style.
Our team captain, Wes, walked over and gave me a wry look. “Hey, I’ve got a fantastic opportunity for you, man.”
“Let me guess. Babysitting?”
“Well, since you’re offering.” He grinned. “Lars always has plans now that he’s with Sheridan. And Annalise loves it when you bring your dog.”
“Dogs. I have three, dude, and Athena and Louie get their feelings hurt when Archie gets to go somewhere and they don’t. Last time Athena gave me sad eyes for a full twenty-four hours afterward.”
“Hell, bring ’em all,” Wes said. “The kids love the bulldog, but they’ll play with all of them. Hadley and I are desperate for a night out since I’ll actually be home this weekend, and our usual sitter has plans.”
“Yeah, I’ll do it. For pizza.”
My teammate gave me a grateful look. “Any pizza you want, man. As many as you want. Thank you.”
“Who the fuck put this on my car?”
Wes and I looked over to see Eric Alvarado, who had just stormed into the locker room with a magnetic bumper sticker in hand. He could be a hothead and we all knew it, so everyone mostly ignored him. I didn’t even look his way.