The Score (Sequel to The Exchange)

Bonus- The Real Amanda

By the time I graduated from college, Viktor was a regular at the NHL level. His personality won him quite a few friends in the locker room and management, and plenty of adoration among fans (especially the women).

The next September, I left Minnesota for Boston.

Viktor wasn't a star by any stretch, but he was a fan-favorite for his quirky interviews, his smile, and his girlfriend, who he mentioned at least once per week on social media.

Soon, she was his fiancée.

And she enjoyed that title just a little too much.

I hadn't seen my other friends and family in a while, though, and even though I wanted to spend the rest of my life with Viktor, pieces of my heart also belonged to plenty of other people as well.

We had a big house, but it didn't really mean much if it wasn't filled with everyone we loved, so just after my twenty-fourth birthday, Viktor and I invited everyone over for dinner and to stay for a while.

Blaine, his girlfriend, Arti, Drew, Matt, Natalie, Melissa, Leah, Annika, Viktor's parents, and Dad.

It would be perfect, just like the way things used to be.

I was stuck doing last minute preparations and trying to keep my shit together, and I was successfully failing at both tasks. I was pretty good at baking, but cooking savory shit was significantly more difficult, and with Blaine's girlfriend being a freaking vegetarian, I had to make options for everyone.

"I fucking hate everything. Fuck everything, and fuck this salad in particular," I muttered to myself as I dumped a shit ton of lettuce into a bowl.

"Are you doing okay?" Viktor asked.

I looked up at him. "Yeah, I'm great. I just fucking love everything."

"That's the exact opposite of what you said a second ago."

"Fuck off," I muttered.

"You don't have to be stressed. Everyone who's coming already loves you." He wrapped his arms around me from behind and kissed my neck.

"Are you really going to do this to me? You know damn well why I'm a mess."

"Breathe. It's going to be fine."

I took in a deep breath, and just as I was about to let it out, the doorbell rang.

"What the fuck? I told them to be here at four thirty, and it's," I checked the clock, "apparently four twenty already."

"I'll get the door. It'll all be fine. Just relax," Viktor said.

"This is as relaxed as I ever get," I mumbled, half to him and half to myself, as he went to get the door.

"Viktor!" I heard Natalie's voice cry out. Of course, it was a lot less childish now that she was fourteen, but she never did grow out of her stupid crush on Viktor.

Well, neither did I, so I didn't really have a right to make fun of her for it.

The triplets weren't nearly as identical as they once were either. Natalie kept her hair longer than the other two, Melissa wore whatever she could to attract the least amount of attention, and Leah was stuck in braces and glasses that killed her self-esteem, but she still looked cute as hell.

"I'm surprised you haven't let my daughter get stolen yet," I heard Dad say, then he laughed.

Viktor didn't.

"No one is ever going to let me forget that," Viktor said as he led the triplets and my father into the kitchen.

We weren't expecting his parents and Annika until a little after six thirty, but there was still a bunch of stuff that I needed to get done, since I had to work the night before and had a doctor's appointment in the late morning.