Page 60 of Offensive Plays
Her dad looks at me with weary eyes.
“Both of you,” I say with a smile and he laughs.
A familiar voice calls out from the entrance to the rink,“There he is!”
“Hey bud!” Zane’s voice rings out behind me.
I turn to watch his son Liam skate up to him. He’s not much older than the little girl I’m skating with. But he looks like he skated out of the womb.
“Slow down, would ya?” A mass of red hair is following behind him.
Libby.
Our eyes meet briefly but we both look away after only a second.
I try to focus on the task at hand, and not on the goddess that just appeared on the ice. The same goddess who I had my fingers buried in behind the restaurant we went to last night.
We agreed we’d need to be extra careful with our meetups. And since we both had roommates, we decided that after the Vegas game this Saturday would be our first real hookup.
It’s a little weird. Planning sex. But something about planning it, actually makes me excited. I have the day on my paper calendar circled a hundred times in red marker. The boys would assume it was because of the game. But I know why.
Libby gives Zane a hug when she approaches him.
“Thanks for picking him up. Kesley said the interim CEO of The Pulse called her in today?”
“Yeah, sounds like it could be good news,” Libby’s voice floats over to me.
I’m eavesdropping hard core. The only thing that pulls me away from their convo is this littles girl’s dad falling on his ass for a fourth time with a grunt.
I smile and extend him a hand to help him up.
“I’m helpless,” he admits as he takes my hand.
“Nobody is so helpless that they’re beyond hope,” I tell him. Realizing that I just quoted my dad’s latest book without even trying.
The guy laughs. “I just heard that on a podcast.”
“Let me guess, Turn Your Life Around?”
He shrugs. “I am trying to turn my life around…seemed like a good fit.”
My dad, apart from pastoring one of the biggest churches in the Houston area, also hosts a podcast and writes books. His face lines the shelves of almost any big box store I frequent.
And even though I don’t attend his church anymore, I still make it a point to listen in and read every book of his that comes out.
I love my dad. He’s a good man with strong faith. And anytime I’ve lacked my own, I tend to lean on his.
I’m old enough to realize I shouldn’t. Depending on someone else’s faith to fuel yours is dangerous territory. But it’s the best I can do right now.
“So you and Zane’s girl a thing?” The man says.
I look at him, brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, it’s just that I saw you guys went on a date recently.”
I let out a breath. I’d hate for our arrangement to get out before we’ve even had a chance to enjoy it.
“Oh, no. That was just a charity thing. We’re not… together,” I confirm.