“I said yes.” Elli said when Harper answered.
“Good, I knew you would.”
“How did you know? I didn’t even know I would!”
“Because you want to see Shea Adler again. You won’t admit it, but I saw the way you looked at him yesterday. You’re smitten,” Harper said.
“I am not!”
“Yes, you are.”
“I’m hanging up.”
“Go ahead. But listen. Make sure you wear the white tube top dress with the blue flowers, and your bright blue Manolo heels to the party. You’re smoking in that dress.”
“I will not! I’m wearing jeans and a studio tee.”
“Whatever you say, Elli.”
The line went dead again, and Elli threw the phone down. She sat down behind her desk and looked up to study the Assassins’ team picture from last year. She needed to print one out for this year’s team, since there were new players, and some of the guys looked a little different. She looked at her favorite spot. Row four, eight guys in from the left, to where Shea Adler stood in his jersey with a C on his chest and a big grin on his face.
She took a deep breath and shook her head as she said, “Damn it. I’m gonna wear the freaking dress.”
“Her name is Eleanor Fisher, Elli for short.”
“Excuse me, guys. It’s my sister,” Shea said as he stood up, leaving his fellow teammates in the living room as he walked to the kitchen to talk to Grace in private.
“Elli, I like it.”
“She’s so sweet, shy like you said, but sweet. She said yes, after making me wait most of the day. She said she got extremely busy, which was probably true. Her studio is extremely hot right now. Not only is her wedding photography beautiful, but her in-studio stuff is amazing. You should look it up online. I’ll send you the link with the invoice for her services.”
“Okay, sounds good. How much is she charging me?”
“Not enough in my opinion. $500.”
“Add $1,000 to it and send it in. Don’t forward me anything; I’ll just lose it.”
“It’s an email, Shea.”
“I lose everything.”
“True. So, $1,500?”
“Yeah. She’s really coming?”
“Yes, Shea.”
“You are awesome, Grace. I owe you.”
“It’s my job. I’m glad I’ve made you happy.”
“You’ve made my day, babe, thanks. Listen, I’ve got Jakob and Alex over. See you Saturday?”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Yep, love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Shea hung up the phone, tucking it into his pocket, a huge grin on his face.
Eleanor Fisher. Elli.
The name fit her. He couldn’t believe Grace had come through. When he came into the living room, Jakob looked up at him and shook his head.
“What’s up with the grin, bro?”
“Grace came through for me. You didn’t finish the story, did you?” Shea asked, changing the subject. Jakob had gone out last night with some girl he had met and was telling the guys about it.
“Not yet. So after going at it all night, then a good part of the morning, we wake up, and she rolls over and tells me to leave. I couldn’t believe it! No woman has ever done that!”
“Maybe you weren’t good,” Alex said with laugh. Jakob pinned him with a glare.
“Fuck off, Welch. I was amazing. She was amazing. I don’t know what happened.”
“Crazy, dude,” Shea said as he leaned back on the couch, a beer in hand.
“Damn right, it was. She was heaven. Damn it!”
“What, she won’t talk to you?” Alex asked.
“Hell no! She won’t answer any of my calls or texts.”
“Maybe she used you.”
“Maybe,” he said with a shake of his head. Jakob was one of those guys looking for true love. It wasn’t that Shea wasn’t looking for the one. He just wasn’t looking right now, like Jakob was. Alex had found his true love years ago; he was married to his beautiful wife and had five daughters, something Jakob was extremely jealous of.
Shea hated seeing his best friend so upset over a girl, but luckily, he thought with a smile, that would never happen to him.
Shea never planned out what he was going to wear. He usually just threw on a pair of ripped up jeans and a tee. But he would be seeing Elli today, and he wanted to look good. So he spent a good 30 minutes trying to pick something out. He even made the mistake of calling Grace. After being cussed out, he went back to trying to pick something out on his own. He decided on a nice white button-up shirt, and a pair of cargo shorts. After fixing his hair, he threw his black Billabong hat on and slid on his black Converse shoes.
He was nervous, something he never felt. Not even during game seven of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was always ready.
Shea was basically bouncing in his seat as he drove his chromed-out Range Rover over to Grace’s house, where the party was being held. Grace had much more room than he did, plus she loved having parties at his expense. When he pulled into her driveway, he noticed a huge black F-150 sitting on the side of the road. None of the guys drove that, so he thought it must belong to one of the workers. Some of the team members had already arrived with their families, and the party was just getting started when Shea entered the backyard.
It was the perfect September day for a party. The sun was shining and the sky was bright blue as kids ran through the sprinkler and raced down the water slide that Shea had insisted upon. He had a pair of shorts in the car, just in case he got to urge to slide with Ryan, his nephew. As Shea walked through the party, he stopped to say hi to his teammates and their wives or girlfriends. He looked around the party and saw James, Grace’s husband, holding Amelia in his arms.
“Good, I knew you would.”
“How did you know? I didn’t even know I would!”
“Because you want to see Shea Adler again. You won’t admit it, but I saw the way you looked at him yesterday. You’re smitten,” Harper said.
“I am not!”
“Yes, you are.”
“I’m hanging up.”
“Go ahead. But listen. Make sure you wear the white tube top dress with the blue flowers, and your bright blue Manolo heels to the party. You’re smoking in that dress.”
“I will not! I’m wearing jeans and a studio tee.”
“Whatever you say, Elli.”
The line went dead again, and Elli threw the phone down. She sat down behind her desk and looked up to study the Assassins’ team picture from last year. She needed to print one out for this year’s team, since there were new players, and some of the guys looked a little different. She looked at her favorite spot. Row four, eight guys in from the left, to where Shea Adler stood in his jersey with a C on his chest and a big grin on his face.
She took a deep breath and shook her head as she said, “Damn it. I’m gonna wear the freaking dress.”
“Her name is Eleanor Fisher, Elli for short.”
“Excuse me, guys. It’s my sister,” Shea said as he stood up, leaving his fellow teammates in the living room as he walked to the kitchen to talk to Grace in private.
“Elli, I like it.”
“She’s so sweet, shy like you said, but sweet. She said yes, after making me wait most of the day. She said she got extremely busy, which was probably true. Her studio is extremely hot right now. Not only is her wedding photography beautiful, but her in-studio stuff is amazing. You should look it up online. I’ll send you the link with the invoice for her services.”
“Okay, sounds good. How much is she charging me?”
“Not enough in my opinion. $500.”
“Add $1,000 to it and send it in. Don’t forward me anything; I’ll just lose it.”
“It’s an email, Shea.”
“I lose everything.”
“True. So, $1,500?”
“Yeah. She’s really coming?”
“Yes, Shea.”
“You are awesome, Grace. I owe you.”
“It’s my job. I’m glad I’ve made you happy.”
“You’ve made my day, babe, thanks. Listen, I’ve got Jakob and Alex over. See you Saturday?”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Yep, love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Shea hung up the phone, tucking it into his pocket, a huge grin on his face.
Eleanor Fisher. Elli.
The name fit her. He couldn’t believe Grace had come through. When he came into the living room, Jakob looked up at him and shook his head.
“What’s up with the grin, bro?”
“Grace came through for me. You didn’t finish the story, did you?” Shea asked, changing the subject. Jakob had gone out last night with some girl he had met and was telling the guys about it.
“Not yet. So after going at it all night, then a good part of the morning, we wake up, and she rolls over and tells me to leave. I couldn’t believe it! No woman has ever done that!”
“Maybe you weren’t good,” Alex said with laugh. Jakob pinned him with a glare.
“Fuck off, Welch. I was amazing. She was amazing. I don’t know what happened.”
“Crazy, dude,” Shea said as he leaned back on the couch, a beer in hand.
“Damn right, it was. She was heaven. Damn it!”
“What, she won’t talk to you?” Alex asked.
“Hell no! She won’t answer any of my calls or texts.”
“Maybe she used you.”
“Maybe,” he said with a shake of his head. Jakob was one of those guys looking for true love. It wasn’t that Shea wasn’t looking for the one. He just wasn’t looking right now, like Jakob was. Alex had found his true love years ago; he was married to his beautiful wife and had five daughters, something Jakob was extremely jealous of.
Shea hated seeing his best friend so upset over a girl, but luckily, he thought with a smile, that would never happen to him.
Shea never planned out what he was going to wear. He usually just threw on a pair of ripped up jeans and a tee. But he would be seeing Elli today, and he wanted to look good. So he spent a good 30 minutes trying to pick something out. He even made the mistake of calling Grace. After being cussed out, he went back to trying to pick something out on his own. He decided on a nice white button-up shirt, and a pair of cargo shorts. After fixing his hair, he threw his black Billabong hat on and slid on his black Converse shoes.
He was nervous, something he never felt. Not even during game seven of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was always ready.
Shea was basically bouncing in his seat as he drove his chromed-out Range Rover over to Grace’s house, where the party was being held. Grace had much more room than he did, plus she loved having parties at his expense. When he pulled into her driveway, he noticed a huge black F-150 sitting on the side of the road. None of the guys drove that, so he thought it must belong to one of the workers. Some of the team members had already arrived with their families, and the party was just getting started when Shea entered the backyard.
It was the perfect September day for a party. The sun was shining and the sky was bright blue as kids ran through the sprinkler and raced down the water slide that Shea had insisted upon. He had a pair of shorts in the car, just in case he got to urge to slide with Ryan, his nephew. As Shea walked through the party, he stopped to say hi to his teammates and their wives or girlfriends. He looked around the party and saw James, Grace’s husband, holding Amelia in his arms.
