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Chapter 3
Gen laid down on one of the pool loungers surrounding her family's pool. This was the first day of summer, the summer that was going to go down in the history books. This was the summer she was going to find the love of her life. She couldn't wait for the boys to come home and for summer to start. But Patrick, Ben and Max were still in the playoffs, playing for the Rangers, Blackhawks and Canadiens. And none of the hockey player's who were already eliminated had started their summer workouts yet. Which meant summer didn't really start for her yet. "Hey loser." Connor opened one of the french style sliding doors and closed it behind him as he walked over to the Connelly's spectacular pool. He laid down on the pool lounger next to her. "What's up Conn." She took a gulp of her Corona beer and slid her Ray Ban Aviator sunglasses onto her face. "Just wishing I was playing hockey right now." The roles were reversed.
This time last year Patrick was sitting on this pool lounger, sulking around the house after the Bruins eliminated the Rangers. Now Connor had to deal with the pain that he felt inside, but it was different. Getting eliminated by your own brother's team was a new one for the Connelly brothers. "It happens Conn, the playoffs are so unpredictable. No one thought the Rangers were going to be playing in the Conference Finals and now their up 2 zip. Just be happy for Patrick, okay? He was so excited for you last year. You need to have his back. We're all we have. We need to support one another." Connor nodded his head as he took off his Penguins t-shirt and jumped into the pool, coming up for air as he tried to whip his flow towards Gen to get her wet. Didn't work. "So have you talked to Brayden." She didn't want to hear that name. She wanted it out of her vocabulary. He took out of her heart and stepped on it. "I mean I know i've been playing this year and couldn't be there for you. But what actually happened Gen." She propped her sunglasses onto her head and stared into her older brothers eyes. "I was in love with him Connor. I had this plan. We would be together forever. After we graduated I was going to move to Chicago with him. I was supposed to be this hockey wife. But it all blew up in my face." Her brother got out of the pool, grabbed a towel dried himself off and sat down next to her on her pool lounger, wrapped his arms around his baby sister.
"I wouldn't do it with him. I know it's stupid. I know me being a virgin is stupid. I am 19 years old for gods sake. But I want to do it with someone special, not just some guy I like. I wanted to be in a committed relationship for at least 6 months before I just gave it away. He seemed okay with it. Probably because everyone knew he was getting it from random girls and then coming upstairs to my room and playing the boyfriend card." She cried as her brother ran his fingers through her hair, something that always calmed her down. "He's a fucking coward Gen. If he couldn't wait for you and be respectful of you, then he is someone you don't need in your life. He's a douche who gets with puck sluts. You are not that. One day you'll find someone who loves you for you. Not who your brothers are." They laid there in silence. "I know. I just loved him. I thought he was the one." Her brother kissed her forehead and walked inside to give her some privacy.
She grabbed her phone and brought up Brayden's text messages. She didn't know why she saved every single one of their conversations. Every text of his. She smiled at the conversation, before he asked her to be his girlfriend. "I am so glad I met you here. I couldn't do Freshman year without you Bray." The smile went away at his reply. "Me too Erica." She asked him who was Erica. "Oh so sorry Genevieve. That was for my cousin. She's going through a breakup." She didn't see it then. It was right in front of her. Erica was a puck slut doing him in his room when she wasn't looking. He only dated her for her brothers. A text from a random number popped up as her phone dinged. "Hey it's J.T. Miller. I am a teammate of your brothers. Chris Kreider gave me your number. Maybe we can hang out this summer?" She smiled. "Oh yeah your the guy I tripped over. I would love to hang out this summer with you." She put her phone down, and slid her sunglasses on. Maybe she could try to get a tan. Her phone pinged again and she grabbed it. "Great it's a date." She screamed a little as she got up off the lounger and did a little dance. She collected herself before texting him back.
"If you want to score on Tokarski tonight. Go top shelf where momma hides the cookie jar." She clicked send and slid on her Jack Rogers heading inside. Gripping the iPhone tightly. Ping. Ping. She looked down at it. "I miss you. I fucked up." Brayden's name appeared. She had gotten those texts on a daily basis, then weekly basis, now monthly basis. Miller Time appeared right after. "Thanks for doing a little scouting. If I score tonight, I'll have to thank you (:" She was moving on from Brayden. "Brayds. Please stop texting me. How am I supposed to get over you if your still talking to me. You had me, you lost me. Please let me move on. And you should move on too. I want the best for you. And one day I hope you find it. But treat that girl better then you treated me." She clicked send and then with one swipe to the left. Deleted their whole ten months of conversations. Took the kisses emojis off of his name. And put them next to Miller Time. She was moving on.
This summer should be exciting. Let's go number 10 in red, white and blue.
