EXCERPT
Mavericks group text
Wes: Boys, this is your captain speaking. I want every member of the team to join me in congratulating Nash and Lars, who are selling their bodies to raise money for charity. Nash brought in 7k for a night with a cougar, and Lars brought in 10k from a supermodel. Enjoy those dates, guys â and update all of us here.
Boone: I hated to miss that auction but I had to. How much of a cougar are we talking? Is Nashâs date at a nursing home?
Nash: No dude, maybe like 50 and sheâs hot.
Beau: Dude, cringe. My mom is 50.
Nash: Is she hot? Can I get her number?
Beau: FU
Drew: Lars is going out with an actual supermodel?
Wes: Yep, Sheridan Lee …
Ross: Holy shit! She paid 10 large to go out with Lars??
Lars: What is a supermodel?
Nash: Itâs a generous person who spends an evening with a total dipshit to benefit charity.
Lars: I just Googled her. Sheâs more famous than me.
Ross: Dude, sheâs way way more famous than you. More famous than any of us. She has a clothing line or something and she makes the lists of wealthiest women in the world.
Lars: She could have paid more than $10,000 then.
Nash: Youâre lucky she paid anything at all for you. Put some duct tape over your mouth and the date will go great.
Lars: Youâre just jealous.
Nash: Nah, cuz I know youâll blow it. Youâll make some stupid comment and then wonder why she doesnât like you.
Wes: Check in here after the dates, both of you. Letâs see who ends up with a second date.
Lars: Okay.
Nash: Deal.
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Nash was right. I didnât have the best track record with relationships. But I didnât care, because I wasnât looking for one.
Eat. Sleep. Hockey. Occasionally get laid. That was all I needed.
Iâd dated a woman who occasionally spent the night after we slept together when I was in the minors, and she always complained when my alarm went off at 5:30 for my workout. Sheâd wanted to stay in my apartment while I worked out, but there was no way I was going for that. Sheâd bitched the entire way out the door the last time weâd been together, and Iâd decided then and thereâno more women staying the night. My 5:30 workouts were non-negotiable.
It wasnât just that, though. Iâd seen what my friends and teammates had to go through with their wives and girlfriends. If they asked where they wanted to go for dinner, it was always, âOh, I donât know,â but if the guy suggested something, it was, âNo, I hate that placeâ.
My teammate Drew got stuck watching stupid shit like Big Brother and Real Housewives, because that was what his wife Nina wanted to watch. He spent forever in the grocery store trying to find the exact brands of ingredients she put on the grocery list, and he went to Fashion Week and Broadway shows just to make her happy.
Fuck that. If I went to New York City, Iâd be watching baseball and hockey games. My teammates in relationships just didnât seem to get itâyou could have all the sex you wanted without the bullshit.
đReviewđ
Sheridan has been through a lot in the past both personally and professionally. She finds herself at a crossroads as she works towards the future she wants and the past that refuses to leave her alone. Winning a date with Lars in an auction may be enough to bring them together but with everything going on in their lives is it enough to keep them together?
Lars is a successful hockey player who may come across as distant and detached but that couldnât be farther from the truth. He is uncomfortable when it comes to feelings and relationships but there is no denying he is a great teammate, loyal friend and man anyone would be lucky to have in their lives, but he is going through a difficult time of his own as well.
Both Sheridan and Lars are trying to deal with their current situations alone which causes some turmoil and hurt but once they open their hearts to each other they prove that anything worth having is worth fighting for.