Page 28 of Hockey Player Seeking Fan (Billionaires Seeking Wives Club #2)

Chapter Nineteen

E rica

I just cannot believe it. I'm in shock right now. Shock and deep hurt. I can’t remember the last time my heart has physically felt so painful. I feel like I want to throw up.

"He's a bigger jackass than I thought he was," I say to Sabrina, who's just sitting there staring at me, with wide eyes. My voice is loud and my tone sounds like I’m about to break down. I hate that my feelings for Tyler have been in my feelings so much.

"Why are you making that face?" I ask her.

"Because I don't think you're being fair, Erica.” Her voice is soft as if she’s worried I might snap at her.

"What do you mean I'm not being fair? I'm being very fair. He was literally on a date with some hoe.” I feel slightly bad for calling the woman a hoe as I didn’t know her, but I didn’t really care.

“He tried calling you for two weeks, right? And he was texting you. You didn’t respond to him. You didn’t call him back. You didn’t text him back. I mean... what was he supposed to do?"

"He didn't have to go to some bar with some skank and start making out?—"

"He didn’t even know you were going to be there! It’s not like he did it on purpose."

"Yeah, well... it's not like he was thinking about me."

"Hasn’t he been texting you and calling you for the last two weeks now?"

"What’s your point, Sabrina?” I’m annoyed. “You just said that.”

"My point is, maybe you should speak to him. Maybe, just maybe, that would actually make you feel better in this situation."

"How am I going to feel better in this situation?” My voice rises again.

I want to punch Tyler in his muscular chest. I want to make him hurt like I’m hurting.

It sucks that I feel so hopeless and dejected.

“He should have been home alone. If he liked me he wouldn’t have been out on some date with some skank. ”

“You’re being unrealistic and unfair. I think that you are definitely overthinking everything because of what happened."

She lowers her voice. We’re sitting in my room, but my brothers are in the living room outside, and I definitely don’t want them to know what went down between Tyler and me.

"Look, it was fine. I knew what I was getting into when I went with him to that penthouse, and it was a lot of fun."

"Erica, you are completely out of your mind right now. You left before he woke up, and you never spoke to him again. The poor guy probably has no idea why you stopped speaking to him."

"Maybe I just wanted to hit it and quit it."

"He knows that’s not who you are, though, Erica. He knows you were a virgin. He knows you were looking for your true love. You slept with him, and then you just stopped talking to him. He was probably worried he did something wrong."

"He didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just a fool. I fell in love with him, and I slept with him. I don’t want him to feel like I am that typical idiot that thinks sex equals love—because obviously, it doesn’t."

"But have a conversation with him. See where he stands."

"I think it’s pretty obvious where he stands. I mean, he was?—"

"Oh my gosh, Erica. I love you. I really love you.

You're like a sister to me—and you will be a sister when I marry your brother—but come on. You really owe Tyler more than this. I really feel like you’ve had it out for him from the first moment you met him.

So maybe, stop leading with your feelings and start leading with your brain. Start leading with common sense."

"Are you calling me immature? Are you calling me?—"

I press my lips together as she smiles slightly.

"It’s not funny."

"I know it’s not funny. But you love him."

"If you say he loves me, I will grab a knife and stab you. This man does not love me. He barely knows me. I barely know him. I’m a fool for falling in love with him. I don’t even understand his job."

"What do you mean you don’t understand his job? He’s a hockey player."

"I don’t even understand hockey. Yeah, I went to the game, and yeah, he taught me how to skate, but I still don’t even really know what the game is about or how it works."

"That’s not important," Sabrina says.

I stare at her, blinking. "So... you think I should return his calls, huh?"

"I think that you would be best served if you speak to him."

"So, you think I should tell him I love him?"

"No! That’s not what I’m saying," she says, laughing. "I think you can explain to him that your feelings were much greater than you anticipated, and you needed time to sort of figure everything out. And you didn’t mean to go silent on him, but life has just been crazy.

"I mean, we have been working on the podcast, and you’ve been trying to figure out other shit. He has to understand that. I mean, it’s not like he’s been doing nothing. He’s been in a bunch of games. They have the championship game coming up."

"Yeah, they do. At least that’s what Wes says."

"So, exactly. He should understand that.”

“But when I saw him in the street, and I called out?—"

"It doesn’t matter, girl. It doesn’t matter. Literally, just speak to him. Call him. Right now."

"I don’t want to?—"

"Call. Him."

"Fine," I say, grabbing my phone.

I wait for it to ring, and I am not that shocked when he answers on the second ring.

"Erica? Is that you?"

"Yes, it’s me. How’s it going?”

“What do you mean, how’s it going? I’ve been trying to talk to you for?—"

"I know, I know. Life has just been busy."

"What do you mean, life has been busy? Too busy to call me back? Or to text me? Or to?—"

"I’m sorry. You know how these things go. I’m sure you don’t call back every woman who calls you, right? Have you been in contact with the redhead I saw you with the other day?"

He lets out a deep sigh. "Before we go any further, that is not what you think. She was trying to sleep with me, but I had no interest. She was far too jaded for me."

"I don’t really care about your personal life, Tyler."

"We need to talk."

"We’re talking right now."

"I want to see you. I want to talk in person."

"Why?"

"Because we made love. I took your virginity. You disappeared. I never saw you again. I want to sort of... figure this out."

"And what if I don’t want to talk about it?"

"Why not?"

"Maybe I don’t want to talk about it, Tyler. Maybe that’s awfully feminine of you, wanting to talk about your feelings all the time, but maybe that’s not something I want to do."

"Erica—shut up."

"Excuse me?"

"I say this lovingly, but we’re going to chat. And we’re going to chat in person. And it doesn’t have to be tonight if you’re not ready, but it’s going to happen. Because I need some answers.?

“Oh my gosh, you’re so bossy.”

“Meet me tonight.”

“I don’t know.”

“Meet me tonight. We don’t even have to chat about that. We can just pretend we’re meeting for the first time. As strangers.”

“What? I don’t understand.“

“So when we came up with the bet, there were two sides of the bet, right?”

“Yeah.”

“The first side—your side—was that you would be wooed and courted and find the love of your life, and everything would be like a fairytale.”

“Okay. Yes, that sounds right.”

"And the other side—the flip side, my side—was that you’d allow yourself to go on a journey of sensuality and fun. And just take chances.”

“I don’t know that that was exactly what we said…”

“But tonight, let me show you my side of the coin.”

“Didn’t you show me your side of the coin when we went to the Brooklyn Bridge and then went to that penthouse?” I say, laughing slightly.

“No. I showed you lovemaking, but that’s not necessarily my side of the coin in life, in courting, in dating.” He pauses. “Please, just meet me tonight.”

“Fine. I’ll meet you tonight if that will get you off my back.”

“It will,” he says, sounding happy. And for some reason, my heart flutters. “I’ll text you a place and time. Be there. Sit at the bar. Wait for me.”

“What do you mean, sit at the bar and wait for you?”

“Do as I say, Erica.”

“Fine. Whatever.”

“Good. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Tyler.” I hang up the phone and stare at Sabrina.

There’s a twinkle in her eyes as she stares back at me.

“Why do you look like the cat that just ate the cream?”

“Because he’s so into you.”

“What do you mean, he’s so into me?”

“He’s into you, Erica.”

“He doesn’t love me.”

“I didn’t say he loves you. I don’t know him well enough for that.

And generally, it takes men more than one night of lovemaking to fall in love.

But whatever’s going on between the two of you—he’s intrigued by you.

He likes you. Maybe it’s because he can’t have you.

Men love the chase. I don’t know. But go tonight. Have fun. See where it goes.”

“Remember what you’ve been saying for the last couple of weeks on WhatsApp?

You’ve been saying that you want to be different.

You want to change your life. You want to have fun.

You want to stop being so inside your head—and you’re doing that, right?

You’ve started looking for places to volunteer.

You joined the board of that women’s shelter.

You’re getting involved in nonprofits. You’re using your life for good.

Well, maybe it’s time to start making changes in the personal realm, as well. ”

She grins at me. “Maybe this is exactly what you need.”

I stare at her. “Really?”

“I don’t know what he has planned. I don’t know him. Go and have fun.”

I say, “But if it’s crazy, I’m blaming you.”

“If it’s crazy, film it.”

“Now, what do I wear?”

“I dunno… Wear something that makes him stop dead.”

“Again? Really, Sabrina?”

“What, you’re telling me you just want to hook up one time?”

I stare at her.

“I mean, if it were to happen again, I wouldn’t say no. But I mean, I haven’t even spoken to him in weeks. It’s very unlikely that he’s going to be like, ‘Would you like a repeat performance, Erica?’”

“Girl… do you know men? Trust me, if you’re open, he’s open.”

I burst out laughing. “I mean, I’m kind of open.”

“Depending on what?”

“Depending on if he acts like a jackass tonight.”