Chapter 19
Nineteen
Eloise
The garlic permeates the air, aromatic and warm; it fits the restaurant—Renaissance. Kenz has been talking a mile a minute, and every time I sneak a look at Taylor, I’m struck with how stunning she is.
Also, how much she’s glazed over with the amount of information and chatting that Kenz has been throwing her way. Kenz is never subtle, which I love, but Taylor hasn’t experienced this before. Well, experienced off-ice Kenz, at least, which is always a trip.
“So, I was saying to Chloe how she and Scar just need to get a room and—”
“Kenz,” I say, dropping a hand on her arm.
She startles for a moment, turning back to me.
From the corner of my eye, I can see how Taylor has deflated a little, and the way she’s tracking my hand on Kenz’s arm.
“What do you recommend for supper? We’re going to want to get to the bars before cover starts. ”
Her cheeks darken as she looks over the menu. “Oh, you’re not vegetarian, are you, Tay?”
Taylor startles, her relaxed posture disappearing, replaced by a straightened position. “Uh, no, absolutely not.”
“Good, well if you like there’s a great boar gnocchi that you should try if you’re into that. The sauce is a bit spicy, but I think you can handle it.”
Taylor’s cheeks are bright red, and I have half a mind to take a photo for Brynn and Winnie to see and tease her about later. “I can handle it,” Taylor says in response.
“Also, girl, you need to relax. We’re having fun, we’re going out. If you want, I can kiss you to get over whatever awkwardness this is,” Kenz says, and my blood runs cold for a minute. Taylor’s eyes have become as large as saucers, and my stomach drops.
Kenz leans forward, eyes half-lidded, and I’m fairly certain Taylor is choking on her tongue at the thought. “Kenz,” I whisper harshly.
“I appreciate the offer, Kenz, but I’m afraid I’m straight,” Taylor says, her cheeks dark.
As if she likes the flirting.
“I can’t twist your arm at all?” Kenz asks.
Taylor shakes her head. “I’m afraid you’re not my type. I prefer tall, dark hair and freckles.”
“So I’m out, but Eloise is in?”
I choke on the glass of wine that I was trying to sip quietly. As my coughing fit subsides and my cheeks are sufficiently heated to the point where you could cook an egg on them, Kenz focuses her attention on Taylor. I do as well, raising an eyebrow as Taylor seems to flounder at the question.
“Still straight,” she mutters, and I barely catch it over the thudding in my ears from the blood.
“Disappointing,” Kenz says, “but at least now we’ve broken the ice and you won’t be so uncomfortable with me.”
“Oh, I—” Taylor starts. “Sorry, I’m used to watching.”
Waggling eyebrows do nothing to soothe the heat rushing through me. “I don’t mind being watched.”
I hit her shoulder as she cackles. “Taylor, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think I’d have to tell her to smarten up,” I say.
There’s a small uptick in her lips, the corner showing a smile that tells me she expected exactly this without telling me so. “You two are just so stiff. Is this why they wanted to show you guys off?” Kenz complains. “I mean, you have chemistry, you’re just—”
“Just what?” Taylor asks. She stares into my soul instead of looking at Kenz.
“Yeah, Kenz, just what?” I pile on, enjoying the way she squirms for a minute. “Would you maybe like to tell us more about your recent escapades instead?”
She narrows her eyes, glaring at me as the waiter drops our food off. The aroma is to die for, and Taylor looks grateful that she has something in front of her to focus on instead of what Kenz was trying to insinuate. “I told you that in private.”
“And I told you to leave her alone. You’re going to give her anxiety,” I say in a teasing tone. Taylor seems to have wandered off into her own little world.
“She’s not very sociable.”
“Only to people who talk too much,” Taylor quips between bites. Is the wine starting to make her a bit bolder? “But you wouldn’t know that, would you?”
Kenz’s jaw drops open. “Look who’s brave now.“
“Kenz,” I warn. “Eat your meal. Taylor will tell you all about herself during dessert.”
Taylor’s face pales at the thought, but I give her a thumbs up.
She’s going to be fine, and after a bit of booze and food and chocolate, something I know she can’t give up, she’s going to be more than fine.
The lasagna in front of me is steaming and looks delicious.
I must’ve died and gone to heaven because the first bite has me moaning.
Everything is perfect, the ricotta, the parmesan, the mozzarella.
“Where has this been all my life?” I moan.
A throat clears, and Taylor’s cheeks are suddenly flushed again. Kenz laughs in response. “If you got traded to Toronto, then you’d be here with me every weekend.”
“Every weekend?” Taylor echoes, her eyes as big as saucers. “Fuck me, that sounds like heaven,” she mutters under her breath. I catch the tail end of it, but Kenz puffs her chest out slightly, proud.
“So I did a good job picking the restaurant. Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Of course you did; just stop antagonizing my new bestie, and it’ll be perfect,” I say.
“Yeah, leave the bullying on the ice,” Taylor says, “We’re going to kick your ass this year anyway.”
I laugh, watching Kenz lean back with a groan. “I forgot that you two were going to be playing together. Shit,” She wipes a fake tear from her eye, “You’re going to be a force this year.”
“Walter Cup Champs is what you meant to say, right?” Taylor asks, with an unreadable glint in her eye as she watches me instead of Kenz. She looks away after a few seconds, but Kenz doesn’t seem to notice the way my eyes widen. It’s a damn rollercoaster, and my heart and my stomach can’t handle it.
“I can’t believe you’d say that,” I say, “Winnie would be killing you if we were back home.”
Taylor snorts. “She’s just paranoid. We’ll be fine.”
Kenz groans. “I hate that you’re so confident. There’s no way you guys know you’re going to win it all.”
“As long as we beat Minnesota,” Taylor and I say in sync. Our eyes connect across the round table, and we laugh. Kenz leans back in her seat, sliding down in exasperation.
“I don’t like this. You’re supposed to be my best friend, El, not Tay’s.”
My laugh dies down for a moment. “I’m allowed to have more than one friend, Kenz.”
She sighs dramatically, readjusting to eat her supper. “I guess.”
“Move to Vancouver,” Taylor says, “Then we can all be best friends.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling at the thought, but through my lashes, I catch Taylor looking at me again, her green eyes like peridots in the warm light.
My whole body feels alive and tingly and something that I shouldn’t be feeling for a woman who has reiterated that she’s straight so many times, especially in the last couple of hours.
I can’t keep falling for her.
“You’d want to be my best friend?” Kenz laughs. “I didn’t think I worked that much magic.”
“What you don’t leave on the ice you make up for off the ice,” I say.
“Bitch,” she teases. “But tell me, Tay.”
“About what?”
“Anything, everything? I feel like I didn’t get to know you well during college, and now we’re on opposite sides of the ice.”
“And the country,” I say.
“Exactly, and the country,” Kenz points at her with her fork. “Tell me something I don’t know.”
“My therapist thinks I have ADHD,” she says.
Now, that doesn’t seem like a shock to me. “This is the first time you’re finding out?” Kenz asks and Taylor nods.
“Next session we’re doing a test, but she thinks it's ADHD because of how I deal with change and how I would go for walks in high school instead of staying in class, despite getting decent grades.“
“It makes sense,” I say. “Blake got diagnosed because he couldn’t sit still, right?”
Kenz nods.
“I didn’t, but that’s because I’m the better twin,” she says. “He’d argue that his ADHD makes him a better skater, but that’s just bullshit; he keeps pushing me down in our races.”
I try to steer the conversation back to Taylor, who seems fascinated at the thought. “That’s good though; it’s always better to know.”
“Yeah, and it’s already put some things in perspective.”
“Like the coffee thing?” I ask, and her jaw drops. She looks like the world has shifted underneath her.
“Is that an ADHD thing?”
I shrug. “Sometimes.”
Kenz nods. “If Blake has coffee, he’s out like a light. Something about the way his dopamine receptors interact with caffeine. It’s really fun when you don’t want to talk to him.”
“That’s mean,” I smack her thigh.
She rolls her eyes, sighing. “It was more fun when we were in high school.”
“So, the ADHD thing makes sense?” Taylor interrupts, looking like her world has been taken out from beneath her feet.
I shrug, “Not to be stereotypical, but you’re a pro hockey player in your late twenties and you drink coffee at night to calm down. It’s plausible.”
She leans back in the booth, and I can practically see the steam coming out of her ears from her brain working overtime. “Oh.”
Kenz shrugs. “I can’t wait for any more discoveries we’ll have tonight.”
She turns to me, and my cheeks burn under her gaze. I do want to get drunk enough to feel free and make out with a person. We’re still pretty obscure for the most part. If we’re not wearing our jerseys, then people don’t notice us.
“Wonderful,” Taylor mutters, but there’s a small smile on her face.
She wants to go out as much as both of us.
Brynn’s mentioned how they love dancing together from time to time.
She catches my eye, and I try not to get lost in the green pools.
She smiles, hesitantly, as if afraid to let it grow and show us that she enjoys being around us.
“It’ll be fun!” Kenz says. “It’s one of the hottest bars around, trust me!”