I really don’t need to go into Manhattan on a school night. How about Stokers in Alphabet City? one of the guys says. Where shall we go for drinks after the game? Charles asks his two clients and their wives. When did I drain that? And why am I so thirsty? I reach for my soda and find it completely empty.

When I inspect them, there’s some redness, but it isn’t very dramatic. We’re at a hockey game.ĭeflated, I sit back down beside him. I catch Charles looking at me like I might have lost my mind. No Sleep till Brooklyn comes blaring through the speakers, and I wiggle my butt in time with the music. The tie has been broken, and three minutes from now, Brooklyn is bound to be the winner. Nineteen thousand people stand up and scream. I hold my breath as he fakes a pass to Wilson and then slots the puck to Castro, instead.Ĭastro fires back to Wilson, who shoots so fast I can barely register the movement. One more goal! My palms actually itch from clenching my hands. I lean forward in my seat, as if I could somehow affect the game from way up here in row Q.

Quite a few of them.īut none of that matters right now, because Brooklyn has the puck again, and I want this win. In fact, there are days when I’m sure Mom likes Charles more than she likes me. The fact that he’s also Asian American is just a bonus. But either Charles really is God’s gift to humanity, or she just appreciates the fact that I found a nice, respectable man. My mother and Charles are on the same wavelength. In her next breath, she always adds: And he needs a good woman at his side. Charles is barely more than a trainee, but he’s very ambitious.Ĭharles will run the world someday, my mother loves to say. Who knew rich people like to be entertained by the people who manage their money? Or by the people who get coffee for the people who manage their money. When Charles was interviewing for the position, we had no idea that it would include all these nights out with clients. But while I’m still in college, he’s already an analyst for the high-net-worth division at Merrill Lynch. He’s twenty-two, only a year older than I am. Two or three nights a week, he asks me to accompany him to client events. This earns me another sideways glance from Charles.īut I ignore him. Get there! I scream as Mark Tank Tankiewicz lunges for the puck. It’s a Wednesday night, and I have class at eight a.m. They’re all enjoying themselves tremendously.

Now is not the time to be the demure corporate girlfriend. We’re at a hockey game, and it’s tied 2-2 with only five minutes on the clock. It’s a look that says I’m being a little louder than he likes.īut come on. Let’s do this!Ĭharles-my boyfriend-gives me a sideways glance.

I'm Your Guy by Sarina Bowen