Chapter 51 - Josie
Josie
They lost.
Ugh!
Not only did the Surge lose to the Dallas Stars, their in-state rivals, but they got swept in four games:
Game One: 3 - 2
Game Two: 5 - 4
Game Three: 1 - 0
Game Four: 4 - 1
Making matters worse was the fact that games three and four were played at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. Which not only meant that I had to witness the losses in person, but that the opposing team got to celebrate the sweep on our ice.
It was a disappointing end to an otherwise fairytale season. I took solace in the fact that Grayson played well in all the losses. It wasn’t really anyone’s fault: the Dallas Stars were just a better team.
Which, selfishly, meant I wouldn’t get blamed for it.
After shaking hands with their opponents, the Surge players skated around the ice and waved to the crowd.
Even though the clinching game was a blowout, most of the Surge fans had stayed until the very end, eager to savor just a few more precious minutes of San Antonio hockey before the season ended.
I prepared myself for their frustration, knowing they might boo the home team for the ugly performance in this series.
Yet despite the disappointing loss, the fans showered the players with applause and praise. It was heartwarming to see.
“I’m proud of these boys,” Grayson told the media after the game. “Proud of how far they got, and proud of how much fight they showed every step of the way, in spite of all the injuries we’ve dealt with this past month.”
“Grayson!” one reporter shouted. “Are you disappointed with the result tonight?”
“Every loss is disappointing,” he admitted. “I wish we had won. But let me make one thing very clear: the league had better watch out for us next season. Because the San Antonio Surge are just getting started.”
I waited for Grayson outside the arena by the team parking lot.
The players trickled out one by one, wearing various expressions of disappointment and resignation.
I tried to imagine how they felt. When one of my videos did poorly, it was easy to shake off because I usually had another video being posted the next day.
But these guys? Their season was over. A few guys would retire.
Others might play for a different team next season.
But those that would stay on the Surge had to let this loss marinate for months before getting a chance to redeem themselves.
I didn’t know how they did it.
Finally, Grayson came striding through the door. He looked tired, but gave me a weak smile.
“You waited for me?”
I laced my arm around him and snorted. “I wasn’t going to let you go home alone.” I leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Huh.”
“What?” he asked.
“Kissing a loser feels the exact same as kissing a winner.”
The joke was on the edge of playful, and I hoped it wouldn’t sting. Fortunately, Grayson closed his eyes and chuckled.
“Too soon?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I appreciate that you can make me laugh after we got our asses handed to us. Let’s go home. I can’t wait to crawl into bed and close my eyes.”
“Amen.”
But on the way to his car, we passed a chain-link fence where dozens of fans were waiting, waving Surge towels and cheering in our direction. As soon as we came into view, they started screaming Grayson’s name.
“Let’s make a detour,” he said, heading in that direction.
The fans erupted in approval when Grayson reached the fence.
They shoved pens and markers in his direction, begging him for autographs.
Grayson put on a smile and said a few words to each fan as he signed whatever he was handed: scraps of paper, jerseys, even one older woman’s cleavage—which drew a huge laugh from the crowd.
“Don’t worry honey,” she told me. “I’m happily married. Not trying to make a move on your man.”
“You’d better not!” I joked.
“There’s plenty of me to go around,” Grayson joked.
One fan thrust a notepad and pen in my direction. “I’ll make sure he signs it next,” I said, taking it from her.
“That’s for you!” the fan insisted. “I want Josie Harper’s autograph!”
“Me too!” another woman yelled, fighting through the crowd so she could shove a makeup case across the fence. “I bought this after watching your channel! Sign it for me!”
I exchanged a look with Grayson, then began signing the objects.
“I have to admit: this is the first autograph I’ve ever given,” I told the woman.
“It won’t be the last,” she replied.
I doubted I would ever get that famous. But the comment gave me a surge of joy.
This was so much nicer than reading angry comments on my channel.
Grayson stayed and signed autographs until every single fan was gone. He looked like he could barely keep his eyes open when we finally got in the car and drove back to his place.
Mason was asleep on the couch, snoring softly while Golden Girls played on TV. “Did he choose to watch that? Or was it already playing on a channel or something?”
“Don’t get me started on his taste in television shows,” Grayson murmured. “I don’t even think he watches it ironically. He legitimately loves those old women.”
We got ready for bed, then climbed under the covers together. “I hope you’re not offended, but I’m not in the mood for anything sexy,” he said.
I threw one of my legs over his and snuggled up against his warm body. “No offense taken. We can just cuddle.”
He sighed happily. “This is nice. Takes my mind off the loss.”
“I was hoping it would.” I gently planted a kiss against his ribs. “I was surprised you signed autographs for that long. I thought you hated your fame.”
“It’s not bad in small doses,” he replied.
“Besides, the fans are the reason I have a job. They pay my salary. And if they’re dedicated enough to wait by the parking lot for two hours after we lost?
Then I can spend an hour of my time signing autographs for them.
It actually took away the sting of the loss. ”
“I was right on our first date,” I teased. “You do have a big ego.”
“I wasn’t the only one signing autographs.” He must have felt me flinch, because he chuckled. “Yeah. You thought I didn’t notice, pussycat.”
“I hated it.”
A silence stretched.
“Okay, I actually really liked it!” I admitted. “But you have to understand where I’m coming from. I’ve spent the last week deleting the most angry, spiteful comments off my channel. For once, it was nice to get some positive interaction with my fans.”
“Now you know why I signed autographs for so long,” he countered.
I couldn’t argue with that.
“Grayson?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry you lost.”
His chest rose as he took a deep breath, then let it out. “Me too. But we played well, despite the outcome. Dallas is a very good team. I don’t think there’s anything we could have done to win that series.”
“Tyler and MacConnell should’ve changed their defensive strategy,” I said. “Dallas was slicing apart their zone defense. They should have switched to man-on-man defense after the second game.”
The bed creaked as Grayson leaned forward to look down at me. “I thought you hated hockey.”
“It’s possible I picked up a few things while fake-dating you.”
“You’ll pick up a lot more by real-dating me.”
“Is that what’s going to happen next?” I asked softly. “We’re going to date for real?”
He smiled at me. “We’d fucking better.”
I pushed up onto an elbow to kiss him. I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to hear those words until they left his lips. I ran my fingers over his bare chest, tracing the lines of hard muscle.
“You sure you don’t want me to take your mind off things?” I said in a lusty voice.
His groan came from deep within his throat. “Tempting as hell. But no.”
I allowed my fingers to drift down to the elastic of his boxer-briefs. “Not even a blowjob?”
His groan deepened. “Even more tempting. But I’m really enjoying cuddling with you.” His hand pulled me closer. “With you in my arms, today’s loss doesn’t feel so bad.”
“So I am a distraction, but a good one this time?”
“Exactly.”
I planted another wet kiss against his ribs. “Fuck you.”
“Fuck you more.”
Somehow, he made the curse sound downright loving.