“Not yet, let’s do some more.”

“Brody, now my arms are going to fall off. Come on, man, let’s call it a day. I gotta get home and make sure Kat didn’t destroy all my shit.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine.” I took off my helmet and tossed my stick and gloves on top of the net.

“What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing. Why?”

Viper looked annoyed. “Well, you missed a third of the shots I hit at you. Clearly, you suck today. Why don’t you want to cut your losses and go home?”

I did miss a lot of shots and Viper pointing it out just irritated me more.

“Eh, I’m off my game today, had a shitty morning.”

Viper called out incredulously, “You and me both! What happened?”

I eyed Viper cautiously, not sure I wanted to talk about being turned down with the biggest playboy on the team. Vulnerability wasn’t my strong suit.

Oh, fuck it.

“Um … a girl. I was into her and she shot me down. Didn’t really say why, seems like she doesn’t like what I do for a living and it’s really pissing me off.”

“I didn’t know you’d been seeing anyone,” Viper responded.

“I haven’t, just met her last week when I was stuck up north in that damn storm. I wasn’t even looking for anyone. I was driving along, minding my own business and bam! Now I can’t stop thinking about her.”

Viper was quiet, staring off into space.

I sighed. “Go ahead, asshole. Give me shit about it, I can handle it.”

“I’m not giving you shit, I was just trying to remember if in my whole life, there’s ever been a girl that I couldn’t stop thinking about. There have been girls I thought about for a night then forgot them shortly after I fucked them, but thinking about someone for a week? No way. That’s worth fighting for, dude. Season’s over, you have time. Turn the tables, prove her wrong. Then make her beg.”

Viper was right and I couldn’t say that often. Kacie didn’t know me, how could she possibly know that I was a dead-end road? She was making a snap judgment based on what I did for a living and if I wanted any chance with her, I had to show her who I really was.

“Now remember, you guys, you have to be quiet in here. Whispering only, okay?”

Lucy and Piper bounced along excitedly next to me as we made our way into the library. It was Princess Day at preschool storytime, and while the girls sang about tiaras, I was going to find a quiet corner to do some studying. Even though it was summer, I wanted to try and get a jump on next fall’s classes, but I hadn’t picked my textbooks up in over a week. Microbiology was going to eat me alive if I didn’t get my head out of the clouds.

I left the girls in the multi-purpose room with a woman who was way too old to be dressing up like Cinderella and found a secluded table along the window, overlooking the lake. I got all set up and cracked open my laptop. Up in the corner of my screen, the search bar still had my last search saved.

Brody Murphy

My heart sank a little at the sight of his name. My eyes drifted out over the lake, getting lost in the ripples, thinking about our texts earlier that morning. He seemed disappointed, and frankly, so was I. If it were just me I wouldn’t have to be so cautious, but every decision I made directly affected Lucy and Piper. That thought weighed on me constantly. I had made enough mistakes in my life. I couldn’t afford any more. Dating an athlete who traveled all the time and led a hectic, non-structured lifestyle was not a luxury I could afford.

“Kacie?”

“Oh my God. Lauren!” I jumped up and threw my arms around my old friend. I pulled back but didn’t let go of her hands. “You look fabulous! What are you doing in town? You normally call first—is everything okay?”

Lauren was a walking, talking Barbie doll, but not the plastic kind. She was an all-natural American beauty. I was convinced that her gene pool was made up of magical sparkling stream water from the tippy top of the Alps. She was taller than me, though that wasn’t saying much because most people were. She had long, wavy blonde hair, sky blue eyes and legs that were two miles long. Her toes were always perfectly polished and no hair was ever out of place. From her looks she should be a total stuck-up snob, but that was the furthest thing from the truth. She was in our same social circle in high school, but we got really close after I had the girls. When I got pregnant, most of my friends took off and distanced themselves, but Alexa and Lauren were my rocks. Zach was always somewhere else, but those two were constantly by my side massaging my sore back and painting my toenails.

“Tommy and I are both back, actually, just visiting our parents. I brought my niece to that storybook lady and saw Lucy and Piper, so I had to find you. Boy, Cinderella probably shouldn’t be wearing that outfit, huh?”

“Definitely not, but the kids go crazy for her. That’s all that matters, I guess. Wanna sit?” I motioned toward the table.

“Sure! I’m actually really glad I ran into you … I was going to stop by your house later.” Lauren chewed on the corner of her lip, her eyebrows creased nervously as she sat across from me.

“Okay, something’s up.” It was right then that I looked down at her hands and saw the huge rock on her left ring finger. “Oh my God! You’re engaged?” I squealed.

The Mr. Rogers lookalike at the next table glared from under his unkempt, bushy gray eyebrows and shushed me.

“Sorry,” I whispered loudly before I turned my attention back to Lauren. “When did this happen?”

“Yesterday. He took me to the park where we had our first date. At first I was annoyed because we were supposed to have dinner with my parents and we were running late. Once I realized what he was doing, I melted. I love him so much, Kacie.”

I scooted around to Lauren’s side of the table and sat down, pulling her into another hug. “I’m so happy for you guys.” That wasn’t a lie, I was happy for her, but I couldn’t ignore the twinge of envy inside me.

“Thanks. That’s actually why I was going to stop by later. I know it’s sudden and I’m not being very original about it, but I wanted to ask if you’d be a bridesmaid for me?” She had tears in her eyes, tears of pure happiness. Seeing her overflow of emotion was contagious as my own eyes started welling up for my dear friend.

“I would be honored to be in your wedding, Lauren. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

She let out a sigh of relief and smiled at me nervously. “I’m glad you feel that way, because we gotta get moving. The wedding is in two and a half months.”

My jaw almost hit the table. “Are you pregnant?”

Lauren laughed and shook her head back and forth. “No, but Tommy got accepted into the Master’s Photography Program at the Liberal Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. We leave at the end of August and we won’t be back until late next spring. We didn’t want to wait that long to get married, and of course, we want our family and friends there, so … we’re bumping it up. Big time.”

“You’re moving to Italy? That’s amazing!” My twinge doubled in size, just the way the Grinch’s heart grew. I was ecstatic for Lauren, but she was living the life I wanted. Being a single parent of twins and still living with my mom at twenty-four wasn’t exactly what I had planned. My petty jealousy disappeared and guilt took over when I saw the joy dancing across Lauren’s face. She was glowing and I owed it to her to ditch my pity party and be the best bridesmaid ever.