Chapter 25
Josie
Grayson looked distracted out there, his movements just a little bit slower than usual. For a brief moment, right before the other team scored, it even looked like he was glancing up in my direction.
“Cold beer, here!” I shouted while climbing the stairs in the arena.
I wondered if he was off because of our kiss last night.
I certainly had been. It didn’t help that the man who had kissed me was right there, down on the ice, gliding toward the bench to take a breather.
His face appeared on the big screen above the ice.
He looked pissed off. One of his teammates whispered something to him, and he mouthed the words, “Fuck off.”
I doubted he was distracted because of me. Grayson was a professional athlete. They were famous for being able to tune everything out during a game. He wouldn’t have survived at this level if he allowed something like a kiss to distract him from the sport.
The period was about to end, so I exited the arena and returned to the concession stand in preparation for the intermission between first and second period. As soon as Sharon saw me, she hastily waved me over.
“Boss is gone. We’ve got a few minutes. You promised to fill me in on what happened last night, so spill the tea!”
“I’m not going to tell you,” I replied while pulling out my phone. “I’m going to show you.”
I played the raw, unedited video for her. She laughed during the scripted banter at the start, and raised her eyebrow while I applied makeup to Grayson.
“Hey by the way, now that your channel is famous, how about you give me a shout out on your next video?” She asked. “Some of us are still trying to go viral.”
“Keep watching. It’s about to get good.”
“He’s totally into you,” Sharon said, pointing. “See the way he’s looking at you? I consider myself an expert in the male gaze, and right now he’s… OHMYGOD! You’re kissing!”
“Told you it was about to get good.”
“Is the rest of the video… X-rated? Because I don’t know if we have the kind of friendship where I can watch a sex video.”
“All we did is kiss,” I replied.
“That’s a real kiss. Nothing fake about it.”
“I know! That’s the problem,” I replied.
She frowned at me. “Why are you freaking out?”
“Because I don’t actually like this guy! He’s everything I hate. Cocky, self-involved, stubborn, unbending…”
“Sexy, strong, rich,” Sharon added.
“I have to go on two more dates with him,” I said. “And now it’s going to be awkward.”
“Why would it be awkward? If anything, this makes your job easier for the next two dates.”
I pointed at the screen. “You’ll see what makes it awkward in about five seconds…”
On the video, Grayson stormed out of my apartment. I stood there for a few confused seconds, then walked over to the camera and stopped recording.
“Huh,” Sharon said thoughtfully.
A horn sounded throughout the arena, signaling the end of the period. Within seconds, there was a line of customers at our stand. We continued our conversation while taking orders and filling beers.
“What does it mean? Why kiss me and then run away?” I asked.
“Sounds like he’s confused. Just like you.”
Thanks to how busy we were, there was a delay in our conversation before I could answer. “I’m not confused. I don’t like this guy. Yes, he’s attractive and rich, but there’s nothing more to like about him.”
“Rich and hot isn’t enough?”
“No, it’s not.”
Sharon made a frustrated noise. “You’re so full of shit, Josie.”
I was so shocked by her comment that I almost dropped the beer I was pouring. “What?”
“You’ve been walking around in a daze since we got here two hours ago. I’ve seen you this way before: when you’ve got a big fat crush on a guy.”
“Are you talking about Grayson Steele?” the customer at the register asked. She raised her eyebrows at me. “You’re that girl, right?”
“I wish,” I replied. “The beer girl who won the date with Grayson works up in section thirteen.”
As soon as she was gone, I hissed at Sharon, “I don’t have a crush on Grayson. I barely even know him.”
But that wasn’t really true anymore. Grayson had been showing me glimpses of the real man underneath the jersey.
A side of him nobody else in the world got to see.
I’d done a little bit of stalking on Google this morning, and there was no public information about him growing up poor.
That was a piece of information he had shared with me, and only me.
And I was pretty sure he wasn’t making it up.
Despite the teasing and insults, he trusted me.
I barely remembered the rest of my shift at the game. The Surge lost the game by one goal—the goal Grayson had allowed the other team to score while he was distracted. I listened to sports radio on the drive home, and the hosts were tearing into Grayson.
“It’s not just about this loss,” one host was saying. “Steele hasn’t had his head in the game throughout this home series.”
“Whatever’s bothering him, he needs to figure it out soon,” the other host agreed. “The team needs their captain if they’re going to have any shot at going deep into the playoffs.”
I edited the makeup video that night, cutting it off at the end when the two of us smiled at each other—before we kissed.
But it was an abrupt ending, so I put on the same clothes from that night and recorded a quick conclusion to tack onto the finished product.
The lighting in my room was slightly different, but I hoped nobody would notice.
While laying in bed that night, I played the kiss part of the video on my phone.
Then I watched it a second time. The chemistry between us was undeniable, and watching the video immediately caused all the sexual desires from the kiss to resurface.
The way I straddled him in the chair, his muscular arm wrapping around my body to hold me in place.
Possessing me in that moment, claiming me as his…
I wasn’t proud to admit it, but eventually I slid my hand into my pajama bottoms and got myself off while watching the video. That should have helped me blow off some steam, right?
Nope. I was still wide awake.
Sharon was right. I had a big fat crush on this guy. He was a permanent fixture in my mind, always right on the edge of my thoughts.
Eventually, I decided that the only way I was going to fall asleep was if I texted him.
Me: Sorry about the game today. Hope it doesn’t mess up your playoff seeding.
Grayson: Thanks.
Me: I wanted to let you know that I edited the April Fools video. I cut out the kiss, obviously.
Grayson: Okay, cool.
Me: If you have a problem with anything else from the video, let me know. I can send you a copy of what I’m going to post.
Grayson: I’m good. Post away.
Great. So that’s how this was going to be.
I didn’t sleep.
The video went live the next afternoon. It was an immediate hit, receiving five times as many views in the first hour as my previous best video.
Then I got an email from the Social Media Manager for the Surge, notifying me that they loved my April Fools video and were reposting it to all of their channels.
By evening, I had a handful of private messages and emails from people who wanted to work with me. One makeup company even wanted to sponsor a video!
I was officially an influencer.
But my joy turned sour in my mouth. The success felt shallow.
All I could think about was the star player for the Surge, and the kiss we had shared.