Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 97382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Me: I have a store, but I haven’t published it yet.
DoesMyBreathStink60: Beep, beep, beep, bop, bop, bop.
Me: ??
DoesMyBreathStink60: Sorry, I was telling your bot to do her job.
I snort out a laugh.
Me: I’ll get it done
DoesMyBreathStink60: Bet. Send me the link when you get it.
Me: Okay.
DoesMyBreathStink60: So, do you truly believe that even with Odder in goal, the Assassins will not be the number one team?
Me: So, hear me out. Odder can only do so much. Without a good defense in front of him, he’s a lone man trying to protect a huge-ass goal. What Adler needs to do is trade off these third- and fourth-line defensemen for some huge talent. Or trade off some of her snipers. They need defense. Or it’ll leave Odder to overcompensate and ultimately get hurt.
I smile to myself when I hit send. That was a lot of typing I just did like a damn pro! My dad would be proud. I didn’t even use voice-to-text.
DoesMyBreathStink60: Hmm, I think you may be right.
Me: I am. It’s okay to admit it.
DoesMyBreathStink60: I won’t, but too bad you couldn’t tell the Adlers that when they were there.
Me: I know, the trade happened two weeks after, but I did get a contact from FanDuel Sports Network South to try out for broadcasting for the Knoxville Bears, so I take my wins where I can.
DoesMyBreathStink60: So you’d move there?
Me: Probably, if I decide to go that direction. I don’t know yet. I have a lot of applications out right now.
DoesMyBreathStink60: That’s badass. You have a lot of sponsors, though, and a huge following. Why don’t you stay with the podcast?
Me: I plan to, but the goal is NHL.
DoesMyBreathStink60: That’s a huge goal.
Me: I’ll get there.
DoesMyBreathStink60: I don’t doubt you.
Why do his words make me feel like a fluffy white cloud? I know in my soul this man is a bad idea. Especially with how he spoke about fighting for the protection of athletes, I know he will ruin me. It doesn’t matter that he seems like such a sweet dude; it’s all an act. It has to be. He’ll wine and dine me, and then he’ll fuck me so good, I’ll end up using the dildos that I was given to make up for how royally desperate he’d leave me.
I know this. I do.
I’m not dumb.
Or maybe I am because I know exactly who DoesMyBreathStink60 is.
But for some reason, I don’t call him out.
I do smile like a fool at his words.
Which is so bad.
“So…”
I glance up into the sweet face of Ella Mae. I swear she came out of the womb cool AF. She has trendy dark hair that brushes her shoulders, with a piercing that is connected to a chain going across her pert nose. Her lip is pierced too, and she looks just like her mom. But her eyes are all her dad’s. She is stunning, and I’m lucky to call her a business confidante.
“Dawson Sinclair has been here a lot looking for you.”
I snort as I wave her off. “I’m just a shiny new toy that he wants and I won’t let him play with.”
She grins. “I love that for you. He’s a hottie.”
“He is,” I agree, shaking my head. I mean…he is, and it’s really unfair. “But it’s nothing.”
“Doesn’t seem like nothing.”
I give her a side-eye. “How’s your love life?”
She grimaces before flipping me the bird. “Have you met my dad? I have no love life. They take one look at my dad and run—or hear his name and still run.”
I grin even though I know sadness fills my features. I miss my dad so much. Ella must notice because her shoulders fall, and she puts her hand on my wrist. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be complain—”
“Ella.” I stop her. “It’s not your fault my dad passed, and I love how loving and protective your dad is. My dad was the same.”
The best.
I wonder what he’d think of Dawson.
Just thinking that, though, I know the truth. Dad would have loved him. It’s almost as if I can hear him in my head. “His past might be messy, but if he treats your heart like it’s gold, that’s what you pay attention to.”
He had said that to Tía one time, but Tía didn’t care. She dumped the guy anyway, but remembering his words warms my soul.
Doesn’t change my mind about the whole thing but warms me just the same.
“He’s here,” Ella says, pulling me from my thoughts.
I look up, that swooping feeling hitting me when he appears in front of me out of thin air. My eyes widen when he leans back in the booth, his eyes trained on me as he takes a long pull of his coffee. He’s wearing a hoodie, and I almost look underneath the table to see if he has shorts on. I didn’t get a good look at his thirsty thigh tat the other day, and I wanted to check it out. Just to make sure it was still there and not a figment of my imagination.