Chapter 6

I clapped as I watched Dash walk down the stairs.

They did it.

Tears were threatening to fall because, somehow, my brother and his best friend managed to make it to the same NHL team. The dream they had talked about since they were ten years old was somehow coming true, and I couldn’t believe it but the happiness I felt for them burned inside me like a roaring fire.

Still standing and clapping like a performing seal, I realized I was now amongst in an empty row of chairs with no one to smile or talk to. Right. Well, I better sit.

Blowing out a breath, I relaxed into my seat, wondering when my parents would be back, or Cade for that matter. They were no longer on the stage, so I hoped they’d come back soon, and weren’t planning on leaving me here for the rest of the night.

Dash shook his new manager’s hand, and the pit of my stomach simmered with something other than hunger. Dash was…well, he was always handsome, but I’d never seen him in a suit before, and he looked good. Better than good. The suit fit him in all the right places, emphasizing just how tall and muscular he was. If I wasn’t already hot for Dash, then I’d be feral over him now.

But alas, after that Spin the Bottle debacle, I was almost certain Dash wasn’t interested in me. At least, that was what I continually said to myself. It was just, there were a couple of things that made me second guess myself. The way he looked at me just before his name was announced being one of them, the things he said to me in the car when he drove me home, the fact that he’d been avoiding me since the incident. Things weren’t adding up.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, and I immediately took it out, expecting to see something from Kyle. Admittedly, I wasn’t that interested in him, but when he messaged me after Spin the Bottle, telling me he wished I stayed, I didn’t feel like there was any harm talking to him. It was also helping fix my now fragile ego after Henry so casually tossed me aside.

When the phone lit up, I frowned when I saw the message.

Tiff: SOS

Not the type of message I was expecting considering she knew where I was.

Madison: There’s not enough signal for a call here. What’s wrong?

Tiff: Something that I really don’t want to share via text. Can I come to yours tonight? I desperately need help.

Madison: Of course! You know where the key is. Not sure how long we’ll be there, but I’ll message you when I’m on my way back.

Tiff is typing…

As I waited for her response, someone cleared their throat and when I looked up, it was the same woman that had spoken to my parents before.

“I’m sorry to bother you, ma’am, but are you Daniel Bridges’s sister?”

“Uh.” My mouth was hanging open like a fish as I looked between the lady and the camera crew filming behind her. “I’m a friend.” I left it at that.

“Oh, you’re his girlfriend,” She said, turning to the camera crew. “Can we ask you a couple of questions?”

“Oh, um.”

Before I could really deny anything, the woman had managed to usher me out of the row.

“Nothing too intense. Just a few fluffy questions about Daniel that we can put out with our online marketing.”

“Uhm.” Should I correct her? Looking between her and the camera crew, I realized if I didn’t answer these questions, then no one else would. Dash wouldn’t have something to look back on and who was I to deny him that privilege?

“Follow me.” She started walking down the steps toward the stage and I guessed I had no choice but to follow her. Watching my heels, I made my way down the steps, not sure what I was doing, but in too deep to stop.

As the heat of the lights hit my skin, Dash made eye contact with me.

“Madison? What are you doing here?”

“Smile, Big Man,” I said, mine never faltering as I extended my arms and pulled him into a hug.

“What’s going on?” He whispered in my ear and although we were on a stage with thousands of people watching us, it felt like this was the closest thing to a quiet moment we’d have.

“I just wanted you to know you had someone rooting for you here.”

Pulling away, his eyes bore into mine, and looked at me the same way he did earlier. I felt something deep in my bones. Something I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel again. His lips parted slightly, and I was on the tips of my toes, waiting for him to finish off what he was saying before his name was announced, but then he quickly shut his mouth.

Nothing. He was going to say nothing again, and I couldn’t help but be disappointed, because it felt like he was holding something back and I desperately wanted to know what it was.

What was on his mind? I was more than happy to tell him what was on mine.

“Congratulations, Big Man,” I said before I was ushered to the side as he took pictures with his new manager and team jersey. Oh, how I wanted to steal it and sleep in it every night. Too bad that was only in my head because after this, Dash was leaving. He’d go to college and be some hot shot goalie and forget about me.

“I’m sorry. We didn’t get your name earlier.” The woman asked. I glanced down at the microphone now sitting by my chin and realized that I was going to have to speak. The camera was live and I didn’t want to embarrass Dash, so I decided to go with it and have a little fun. It was just a few fluffy questions, after all. How bad could they be?

“I’m Madison.”

“Great. So, Madison, how do you feel about Daniel getting drafted in the first round?”

“I’m so excited for him. Das-Daniel is one of the most loyal and determined guys I’ve ever met. He deserves this and every other success that comes his way.”

Dash’s words from the beginning of summer suddenly echoed through my head again. “You deserve a guy that will make you their everything.” Was he going to say something like that again tonight after finding out about Kyle? It felt like it, but what did I know? I had one boyfriend who was obviously cheating on me, but I was too infatuated to notice.

“His dad couldn’t make it tonight, unfortunately, but I know he’d want me to say how proud he was, too.”

“And going to do anything tonight to celebrate?”

Kiss him. I smiled before taming my lips into a frown because I didn’t want the camera giving my thoughts away. No. Kissing him was only something I thought about it my dreams lately. No wonder Cade was worried about me getting up so late. I wasn’t sleeping well, I could admit that, but it wasn’t just down to Henry as Cade thought. It was down to a lot of things.

Huge changes were about to happen in my life. My brother was moving across the country, and he was taking his best friend with him. A fact that I would have been fine with three short months ago. But now, I wasn’t so sure.

“Dash is pretty low key, so we’ll probably just celebrate with a quiet night in.”

Why was I having visions of me and Dash sitting on my sofa, eating popcorn while he grumbled about the romcom I was forcing him watch?

Had I become obsessed with Dash?

I wasn’t sure, but the more I stood there and talked about him, the more I wanted to text Kyle and tell him I was taken because my heart wouldn’t be owned by anyone else at this point.

“You must be very proud.”

“I am.”

The wide smile instantly dropped. “Thank you so much.” And that was all she said before she walked away.

Dash's girlfriend? My heart fluttered at the mere thought even though my brain knew I was being delusional.

But was delusion really that bad?