Chapter 36 – Pretending You Are Mine Novel

But I know one thing for sure. Silas Taters just stole a little piece of my heart.

* * *

“Oh my God,”I yell as Silas is slammed against the Plexiglas. I turn into Ross and cover my eyes. “What on earth is this brutality?”

Ross loops his arm around me and says, “I’ve never been more captivated in my entire life.” And then to my horror, he yells, “Get the f**king puck!”

“Ross, don’t yell at them. They’re trying their hardest.”

“No, they’re not when they can’t score a freaking goal. What is this shit?”

Mr. Mustard leans in and says, “This is normal for hockey. There aren’t many high-scoring games.”

“Wait.” Ross turns toward him and asks, “You’re telling me, we sit here for five periods—”

“Three,” I correct, because I did learn something from the Uber driver.

“Ah, that’s right, we sit here through three periods with an expectation of one goal?”

“On average, one to three,” Mr. Mustard says.

“Well, that’s just . . . thrilling,” Ross says with excitement as he screams again. “Slam him, Posey. Slam him against the wall.”

I’m not sure what I’ve created, and I’m not sure I like it.

* * *

Silas is so faston the ice.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.

He’s smooth and quick on his feet. He’s able to turn at a moment’s notice, and then how he handles his stick. Hockey must be one of the hardest sports to master.

The puck is on the other side of the . . . uh . . . rink? Is that what we’re calling it? And a bunch of guys are fighting over it. It reminds me of little kids playing soccer when a small group huddles around the ball, trying to get it.

But this is much more . . . brutal. Elbows fly, bodies are shoved, and there was even a fight between Posey and another player where Posey upper-cutted the guy. I’ve talked to that man. He’s so nice in person, but to see him just go at it with another guy was shocking.

All of a sudden, the crowd erupts, and I glance down the rink to see what’s going on. Out of nowhere, Silas skates down the ice, twisting his stick, handling the puck. He passes it over to Holmes. Silas slides behind the goalie, and then with two fl**ks of the wrist, one from Holmes and one from Silas, they score.

A siren goes off, a red light flashes, and I swear on my two tits, the crowd cheers so loud that I fear the arena might collapse.

“Yessssssss,” Ross screams while shaking me. Then he turns to Mr. Mustard, and they belly bump.

I laugh while I watch Silas hold his stick up and celebrate with his boys.

I have to admit, this is probably one of the hottest things I’ve ever watched.

* * *

“Are you sure this is allowed?”I ask as we walk down a cinderblock-lined hallway.

Right before the game ended—the Agitators taking the game two to zero—an attendant told us to meet her after the game at the top of the stairs. I assumed she was sent by Silas, so I listened.

But now that we’re walking through the inner depths of the arena, I’m slightly nervous.

“Yes,” Carrie says. “This is very much allowed.”

“Do you think we’ll see Ian Rivers?” Ross asks, now wearing an Agitators shirt and holding a giant foam fi**ger that Mr. Mustard bought him. Before we left, they exchanged phone numbers and plan on meeting up to watch another game together. When I tell you I don’t recognize my best friend, I mean it. In the last few hours, he’s completely transformed. I even considered leaving the game after the second period, but Ross was glued to the Plexiglas. He wasn’t going anywhere.

“I’m not sure. Ian keeps to himself a lot. He usually sl*ps right out of the locker room and is usually the last to leave.”

As we turn the corner, we see a few people standing by a door, and I recognize one in particular.

“Ollie,” Winnie says with a bright smile on her face. “Ah, it’s so great to see you.” She wr*ps me in a large hug and then looks up at Ross. “And who do we have here?”

“This is Ross, my best friend,” I say. “He recently became a huge fan of hockey, and when I say recently, I mean tonight.”

Winnie smiles. “Isn’t it thrilling?”

“I’m pretty sure I’m living on some sort of sports high, and that’s never happened to me in my entire life. Now I get it. I understand why grown-ass men cry over sports.”

Winnie and I both laugh. “Pacey, the goalie, is my fiancé.”

“Really?” Ross asks. “He was amazing tonight. Mr. Mustard was telling me he’s one of the best goalies in the entire league.”

Winnie’s cheeks blush as she says, “I don’t know who Mr. Mustard is, but I could not agree more.”

“And holding the other team to no goals, such a thrill to watch. Got a win for this girl’s birthday.” Ross hugs me close.

“It’s your birthday?” Winnie asks. “Oh my gosh, happy birthday.”

“Thank you,” I say just as the locker room door opens, and Hornsby pops out.

He offers us a quick wave. “Going home to my girl. We’ll catch up later.”

“Who was that?” Ross asks breathlessly.

“Eli Hornsby,” Winnie answers. “Also known as Prince Charming. The prettiest face you will ever see.”

“And he, uh, he has a girl?”

Winnie chuckles. “A girl and a baby on the way.”

“How unfortunate,” Ross says just as the door opens again. This time, it’s Silas.

His eyes lift from where he adjusts his sleeves, and an adorable smile spreads across his face when he spots me.

He’s so dreamy . . .

My stomach twists in nervous knots from the pure sight of him in a suit, hair freshly w*t from a shower, his face still covered in a thick scruff that I know would feel good against my skin. And with his bright eyes set on me and me alone, I wait in anticipation to see what he’ll do.

How he’ll greet me.

People are watching, so will he be intimate?

Will he just give me a hug?

Take my hand in his?

“Hey, baby,” he says, causing my entire body to turn into a puddle of swoon. And to my utter delight, he sl*ps his hand behind my head and brings his l*ps to mine, where he p**sses a deep, sultry k**s that nearly makes my shoes fly off right here in the middle of the Agitators hallway.

It’s the kind of k**s you dream about when you see someone for the first time in a long time.

There’s passion behind it. Strength in his grip all the way to his fi**gertips.

It brands me, cuts deep to my very soul.

And when he slowly pulls away, just enough for our eyes to meet up, I can see everything he wants in his mysterious eyes. He wants me.

He wants this.

If only I can convince him to take the leap.

Unlocking our gaze, he sl*ps his hand behind my back and holds me close to his chest. I know this is all for show, that what’s going on isn’t real, but that doesn’t negate the fact that with every touch, every look, he takes my breath away. I can’t pinpoint the moment when this thought process happened, but what I do know is that over the past few weeks, my shield has been lowered, and I’m starting to see Silas in a completely different light.

I’m starting to see him as the man I want as mine.

“Oh my God, I still can’t believe I get to see this joyful smile on Potato’s face,” Winnie says. “It makes me so happy, especially since when I first met you, you were a giant curmudgeon.”

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