Chapter 42 Nick #2
I quietly eat my turkey, half-paying attention to all the rich people at the table complaining about paying just a little more in taxes. I glanced at Poppy sitting next to me. She rolls her eyes and quietly mouths, “fucking rich people.” I stifle a laugh.
“Enough of all this tax talk,” Richard says. “You’re gonna bore these poor kids to death.” He nods at Poppy and me.
Sterling sets down his fork and dabs the corner of his mouth with a cloth napkin. “You’re right. We should include our guest in the conversation.” His sharp gaze lands on me. The muscles in my shoulders tense as I brace myself for whatever passive-aggressive dig he’s about to hit me with.
“So, Nick. It sounds like from what Richard and Peter say, you’re quite the hockey player.”
“I think I’m pretty decent,” I say.
“More than decent. One of the top in the country.” Richard holds his wine glass up to me.
Sterling nods. “Right. I’m assuming you plan to play professionally someday?”
I offer a polite smile. “That’s the plan.”
“College sports are quite different from professional sports, though. Much more intense and cutthroat. And just because you’re a star in college doesn’t mean you’d be all that good professionally.”
I clear my throat. “I’m aware of that, Mr. Wylder.”
Poppy sits up straighter in her chair and looks at her dad. “Nick is an incredibly talented hockey player, Dad,” she says. “Scouts for professional teams are interested in him and come to his games to watch him play.”
A warm feeling settles inside of me at the conviction in her tone. At how she doesn’t hesitate to build me up.
I reach down and give her hand a soft squeeze.
“Wow. That’s a big deal,” Peter says.
“Yes, well done,” Richard says.
I tell them both thanks, but I don’t miss the way Sterling is scowling at me, like he’s never been less impressed.
“Nick, I hope you’re not naive enough to think that you’re a shoo-in for a professional hockey team,” Sterling says.
I grit my teeth, annoyed at his condescending tone. “I’m not naive. I know it’s not easy. I think I have a decent shot, though.”
Sterling nods like he’s agreeing with me, but I can tell by the look on his face that he thinks I’m a fucking moron.
He picks up his fork and knife and starts slicing into his serving of turkey. “Even if you do make it pro, there’s no telling how long you’ll last. Sure, you’re young and fit now, but professional sports are no joke. They’re hell on the body.”
Richard chuckles, not seeming to pick up on the tension in the air between Sterling and me.
“One injury and bam. You’re done,” Sterling says, looking me in the eye. “Then what? What’s your backup plan?”
I feel Poppy stiffen under my hand. She purses her lips. I give her another gentle squeeze to reassure her that I’m fine. I can handle this.
“I haven’t thought of one yet,” I say.
“You should,” he says. “You can’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Richard chuckles again. “Oh, Sterling. Lighten up. He’s a kid. Let him live out his hockey dreams. I mean, hell, if I had been good at hockey or golf or any sport, I’d be doing that instead of this boring lawyer business,” he jokes. The table chuckles.
Sterling shakes his head. “I don’t want some delusional dreamer with nothing going for him hitching his wagon to my daughter.”
“Dad,” Poppy says sharply.
“You certainly don’t have the grades or intelligence to do anything other than play hockey, do you, Nick?” Sterling says pointedly, ignoring his daughter.
The whole table falls quiet. Richard and Peter look at Sterling with confused expressions.
“What are your grades like?” Sterling asks me, setting down his silverware.
My jaw ticks as I bite down even harder.
This guy is hell-bent on humiliating me in front of all his rich friends.
And honestly? That’s fine. I don’t care what these people think of me.
They can think I’m trash for all I care.
All that matters is what Poppy thinks of me.
And I know she cares about me. I know she likes me for who I am.
I smile at him and shrug. “My grades are nothing to brag about. I’m not much of a thinker.”
A few people chuckle quietly.
Sterling glares at me. “So you think it’s funny to be stupid? To be a low achiever? To be the dead weight that my daughter will have to drag around when your hockey career inevitably ends and you have no way to make money?”
“Dad, stop it,” Poppy says.
I turn to her. “It’s okay,” I say softly.
I turn back to her dad. “I’m just being honest. I’m not a genius, so I’m not going to pretend that I am.
I work hard to be the best hockey player possible, and my goal right now is to see how far I can take that.
If it doesn’t work out, I’ll figure out something else.
What exactly that is, I’m not sure. But what I am sure of is that I’d never, ever take advantage of your daughter.
I’d work hard to be a good partner to her and provide for her, always. ”
Poppy turns to me, emotion flashing in her eyes as she gives me a wobbly smile.
A bitter laugh falls from her dad’s mouth. He shakes his head and sips the short glass of what looks like whiskey. “You’re not good enough for my daughter. You never will be.”
“You don’t think I know that?”
His angry stare cuts to me.
“Poppy is a million times more brilliant than me. Way, way out of my league in every way. I’m lucky she even gives me the time of day.”
I give her hand another squeeze. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world to be with her.” I turn back to her dad. “I know you don’t think we should be together. But I don’t care. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her in my life. She’s worth it. She’s worth anything and everything.”
My heart pounds in my chest, and adrenaline zooms through my body. I wasn’t expecting to lay bare all my feelings in front of Poppy’s parents and their friends, and I’m feeling a little on edge, but I refuse to hold back my feelings for her.
Richard and Peter nod at me approvingly. Some woman I don’t know holds her wine glass up at me. “If my ex-husband talked about me like that, we’d still be married.”
A few other ladies nod their heads in agreement. But Sterling just rolls his eyes at me, clearly unmoved by what I said. Whatever. I’m not here to win him over. I’m here to show Poppy that I’m the kind of boyfriend who will stand by her no matter what.
“You’re trash,” Sterling mutters.
Poppy slams her hand on the table. “Shut up, Dad.”
Sterling’s brow lifts in surprise. That’s the first time I’ve seen him make an expression that wasn’t annoyed or pissed off.
Poppy stands up at the table and turns to him. “How dare you speak to Nick like that. How dare you try to humiliate him in front of all your friends.”
“Poppy, you listen to me—”
“No.” Her voice is a hair below a shout as she cuts off her dad.
“We’re done listening to you. You’ve been nothing but a condescending, belittling jerk, and I’m sick of it.
” She turns to me for a second, her eyes teary.
“Nick is the kindest, sweetest, most generous guy I’ve ever met.
He’d do anything to make me feel safe and happy.
He goes out of his way to take care of me.
That’s what matters. Not grades or test scores or money or any of that crap.
Just because he’s not a lawyer or a doctor or a finance bro doesn’t mean he’s worthless.
” She swallows hard. “He’s a million times better than you are. ”
My heart swells in my chest seeing her defend me. My girl. So bold and brave to go up against her dad in front of all his friends for me.
A hopeful feeling sprouts up inside of me. The way she stood up for me felt real. It felt like more than just two friends who are fake dating and fooling around.
Maybe her feelings for me are deepening. Maybe that means she’s beginning to see me as the guy who can be her boyfriend for real.
Before I can say anything, she grabs my hand and pulls me away from the table, out of the dining room, and out of the house.