Chapter Ten
CHAPTER TEN
MAX
When I was a teenager, making Sabrina Sutton mad was my full-time job. She was the cutest thing when her face would get all red and her eyes would scrunch up so tight they’d look like tiny slits. Her red hair was always a mess back then. She wore it long, and the strands were always frizzed in the most unique ways.
I had two younger brothers so didn’t understand how important girls’ hair was. I learned fast, though, not to mess with it…even when they were adults. Yet there was something about Sabrina’s wild hair that was different. Immortalized in my head.
The girl could get angry. Sometimes angry enough to stomp on my foot or sucker punch me in the shoulder. The worst was when she “babysat” my lizard for a whole weekend without telling anyone. I was an emotional mess for two days, and when she finally relented, she handed back the lizard and told me to never steal a fry off her plate again.
It was diabolical. And epic.
I wasn’t sure how grown-up Sabrina would react to the deal I struck. I was hoping as an adult who worked with other professionals on a daily basis, she wouldn’t resort to violence.
I wouldn’t put it past her though.
Lights dance out the window in the dimming sunlight as we speed down the highway, heading home from a game in Buffalo. I should be thinking about how I missed my last shot on net and how I needed to focus on pelvic twisting when I got back into the gym and speak with the trainers. Instead, I’m wondering how Sabrina took the news of being my host.
I have no doubt she’s pissed at me, and my day of reckoning is coming. The whole thing has me buzzing with excitement.
My eyes are growing heavy with sleep when my phone buzzes in my hand. The audiobook I’m listening to pauses for a moment, then starts back up again, but I don’t hear a thing as I look at my phone and read the message on the screen.
A laugh bursts out of me.
SAbrINA: Count your days, motherfucker.
I can’t help the huge smile on my face as I read and reread her message. There’s an ache in my chest, but it must be from the excitement and anticipation of her threat. Sabrina could always get her message across with dramatic effect.
“Is someone threatening you?” Mason asks from beside me. My screen is a beacon in the dark and has clearly caught his attention.
“No. Well, yes. But it’s not a real threat. It’s just…Sabrina. She’s pissed at me.”
“Obviously, if she’s told you to count your days. Damn, Max Speed, what did you do to her?”
Shaking my head at the hilarity of the situation, I chuckle as I put my phone back in my sweater pocket. “I got her a job with SNN.”
Squinting at me, it takes a second for him to process my words. “She’s mad because you got her a job?”
“Yup,” I say, popping the p .
“At Sports National Network?”
“Yup again.”
“Doing what? Scrubbing toilets?”
“I honestly think she may prefer that task, but no. She’s going to be the host of Off the Rink for their next docuseries.”
“Are you for fucking real right now? That’s what she’s mad at?”
“She’s…a unique and fiercely independent woman.”
Mason huffs in agreement. “Sounds like it.” He adjusts his hoodie so it’s not a lump on his neck, settling in for the rest of the ride and elbowing me in the process. “You’re sweet on her, right?”
The question catches me off guard. I turn my head so quickly that I feel an ache in my neck. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t know, man. You went through a lot of effort to get her a job, and now you’re smiling at her death threats. Seems like you’re pretty into her.”
“We’re friends,” I state with a bit of an edge to my voice. “At least, I’m hoping we’ll get back to that stage with the documentary bringing us together.”
Even in the low light, I can see Mason shake his head. “You’re doing all this for a girl that doesn’t even like you? Man, you are so into her.”
“She likes me. She’d just like me to perish at this point.”
“Good luck, man. I hope you get the girl.” With that last parting phrase, he pulls his hoodie all the way over his face and crosses his arms on his chest. He’s out like a light. I can’t correct him again.
As I turn back to look out the window, Mason’s words circle over and over. Maybe I have gone above and beyond to get Sabrina in the same space as me again, but all I want is to rebuild our friendship.
At least, that’s what’s at the heart of everything I’ve put in place. I don’t want to probe too deeply. I’ve finally got Sabrina talking to me again, even if it is via threats.
It’s only a matter of time before I win her over again with my charm and effortless humour.
We will be friends again. I want her in my life. What more could a guy ask for?