Page 81 of Matched with Her Athlete Boss
“I used to come here for camps when I was younger and there was a girl, Mac I think her name was. Do you know what happened to her?”
Brian’s head snaps up and he looks at me before glancing behind me. I’m not sure what he’s looking for, but he finally looks back at me.
“You just watched her play,” he says quietly.
“Is it Kenzie?” I ask, leaning forward and trying to keep my voice down. It’s not like this is a state secret, but I’d prefer not to experience what Kurt went through an hour and a half ago.
Brian smiles and says, “Yes, but you didn’t hear that from me.”
“Why did she change her name?” I ask, hoping it will give me some more insight into who she is.
With a long sigh, Brian shakes his head. “I don’t know a whole lot about women, as evidenced by the ones that keep leaving me because of my major quirks, but I think she needed a new start. She changed after she started hanging out with Hillary and wanted to start over in college.”
I frown, trying to put all the pieces together. I’d met Hillary at the game and at the race, recognizing her as Jack’s old friend. But the Mac I knew pairing up with Hillary seemed like a long shot.
“So, were the changes good or bad?”
“Not bad, I mean, she went from having braces and glasses with a face full of acne to the woman we see now. I’d say she just needed time to mature a bit more.” Brian smiles and I nod.
“Well, time has been good to her then,” I say, turning around.
Kenzie walks down the hall toward us, her long hair wet from a shower. I can’t help but smile as I see all the changes in her from over the years. But now I can see the similarities.
“You stayed?” she asks, tucking a section of hair behind her ear as she looks up at me.
“Yeah, I had to see if you had a big ego or if you can really game.” I stuff my hands into the pockets of my pants and grin at her.
She raises an eyebrow and says, “And?”
“You’ve got some moves,” I say, trying to decide if I share what I know about her yet.
Her wide grin at my compliment causes me to smile and I don’t want that to disappear just yet.
“Thanks for watching.”
We both wave to her dad and walk toward the entrance. “It was fun to be the spectator for once. I mean, you got to see me in action. It’s only fair I got to see you.”
She tosses her head back and laughs. “Let’s be honest, I was able to pull out a move every once in a while. It’s different playing once a week compared to practicing daily.”
“True. I can feel a difference when I haven’t practiced in several days.”
We walk out to my car. “Do you want to go get something to eat?” I blurt.
“That sounds so good right now, but I need to get home to bed. I mean, I passed out at your house and didn’t get anything done. Maybe a full night of rest will help that.”
“What do you think will happen tomorrow?” I ask, curious about who her last date would be. I’m more worried about that than I am my own date, and I was the one who wanted to find a partner in the first place. “Maybe you’ll find someone who is a Harry Potter or Star Trek fan. Just round out all the fantasy kingdoms.”
“Yeah, that’s all I need. Don’t get me wrong, I might be willing to watch anything my date wants to watch, but I don’t need a play-by-play commentary throughout the entire thing.”
“Do you think you’ll get a good match?”
Kenzie laughs again. “No, I’ve said the whole time that I think I’m cursed. What about you? Any chances of a relationship happening from this dating torture?” Her smile fades and she focuses on the keys in her hand.
“I don’t know. I mean, I know we’re supposed to have a lot in common with most of these people, but there are slight differences that are hard to get past.”
“Amen to that.”
I take a step forward, curious what she’ll do.
