Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
I hear chuckling again, and I look at Brett. “So not really right.”
“I …” I stutter, looking down at the picture and then up again, and he continues chuckling. “I didn’t.” It comes out lower now. He’s shaking his head as he unwraps tape from his leg. “Do you know her?”
“Met her last year at the Max Horton Foundation event. She walked in and jaws dropped,” he says. “Her date was this skinny dude who looked like a banker. Maybe that’s the pencil dick.”
I look down again, imprinting her picture into my brain. “It’s just one date,” I tell him, turning my phone off and putting it on the shelf. “One date.” I don’t know if I’m trying to tell him this, or if I’m trying to convince myself of it.
I get into the shower and then make my way over to the kitchen, grabbing a heaping plate of pasta and chicken. I look around and see it’s almost empty, so I sit down and start eating while I scroll TSN to check the stats. I see my Twitter app is going nuts, and I’m about to open it when Candace calls.
“Hey,” I say, putting the phone to my ear while grabbing another forkful.
“Hey so,” she starts, and I know she is irritated. “In case you are wondering, you have about four thousand DMs with girl’s numbers. There are actually fifty people who created fake Zara Stone accounts.”
I shake my head. “But did Zara ever DM?” I ask.
“She did. She dropped her number,” she says, and I go through them, stopping at the one I know is Zara’s and see she put her number. “Are you going to call her?’
“Yes,” I say, grabbing my drink and taking a sip.
“I think it’s a mistake,” she says.
“I’ll remember that,” I say and disconnect. I look down at the number, and for the first time ever, my palms are sweaty. This is stupid. I’ve called girls before. This isn’t even me reaching out to her. She reached out to me first.
I don’t have the balls to call her, so I text her instead.
Me: Hey, it’s Evan. Is now good time to talk?
I press send and look at the text I should have sent with an emoji. While I’m looking down, I see the bubble with three dots at the bottom appear and then disappear, but no message is coming through. I watch it like a hawk, and finally, she answers back.
Zara: Getting ready to have family lunch. How is tonight?
I smile at the phone and then type out my answer
Me: Text me when you can talk.
I put the phone away and then get up and head to the gym. For two hours, I lift weights until I feel the burn everywhere. I take another quick shower before I leave and look at my phone. Grabbing my baseball cap, I put it on backward, then grab my phone, wallet, and keys. I look around and yell out a bye to whoever is left in the locker room. Today was not mandatory, but it’s always good to get on the ice. I walk to my black BMW, pressing the button to unlock the door, and get in. I make my way home to my brand-new house. Well, it’s not brand new because it’s been six months. I know I shouldn’t have bought it since I don’t know where I will be at the end of the season, but I couldn’t help myself. I pull through the gate to the community and make my way down the street. It’s a new development, which is why I couldn’t say no. I love huge properties. I don’t really care how big the house is as long as I have my space.
I pull into the concrete drive that runs in front of the house and then turns into the driveway that leads to my house. The grass is green, but it’s Dallas, so it’s always green. After I park in front of the garage door, I get out, hearing the barking. I laugh and walk up the one step to the huge brown door. The tinted glass doesn’t allow me to see inside, but if I know my dogs, they are at the door. I open the door, and Lilo and Stitch jump on me.
“Hey there,” I say, walking into the huge foyer. A winding cast-iron staircase leads to upstairs, but the staircase is blocked off by a cast-iron gate to keep the dogs from going upstairs. I look to my left and see that the bedroom door is still closed, which is great, since two days ago, they got into there. Lilo is a golden lab and Stitch is a chocolate lab, and boy, do they get in trouble. I rub their heads and then walk through the foyer and straight into the family room.