Chapter 19 #2
“I’m sorry. I really thought we had it this time,” she says as Penn rakes in the pot—including all that remained of our chips. We bet big and lost bigger.
“Nah, don’t be. I haven’t won a game in…”
“Nine months, at least,” D-Low fills in for me. He’s so helpful.
“I don’t like social games where you have to spend the entire time strategizing. I inevitably get caught up in conversations and forget what I’m doing,” she says.
“Right?” I never could have put it into words but it’s exactly how I feel. “Thank you. Yes. If I wanted to strategize and do mental math, I could have stayed home and finally cracked open my high school calculus book.”
Her smile stretches higher. She gets this cute little line on the right side when her lips pull up high enough. Without thinking, I reach out and drag my thumb along the spot.
She freezes. “Do I have something on my face?”
“No.” Slowly, and with some effort, I let my hand fall away. “Should we leave them to it and find something less mentally stimulating?”
“Oh, no,” Ruby protests. “I was promised answers to all my questions.”
“Did I promise that?” I lean back in my chair and drape an arm along the back of Hannah’s chair. We’re done playing but she hasn’t moved her chair away from me.
“Yes, you did,” Ruby says pointedly.
“Fine. What do you want to know?”
Ruby lets out a little squeal of excitement. “Oh my gosh, where to start.”
While she’s thinking, I notice Hannah’s body language has gone rigid. Is she worried about what my friends think? They can be a lot and she doesn’t know any of them very well. It could be that. Or maybe she’s uncomfortable talking about our situation.
My fingers brush against her shoulder. She looks over at me and I give her what I hope is a reassuring smile.
“Okay, I have one,” Ruby says. She has the expression of a hard-nosed journalist ready to break world leaders to get her story, and I’m suddenly nervous. “Whose idea was it to get married?”
Hannah glances at me for an answer and my guess is it’s because she doesn’t remember.
“Mine,” I say.
“Of course it was. But to be fair, he’s been ready to marry you since the moment he first laid eyes on you,” D-Low tells her.
“Bruuuh.” An entire evening with Aidan has worn off on me.
“What, like she didn’t know.” He looks to Hannah. “You knew, right?”
She laughs uncomfortably.
I am definitely going to destroy him in a shoot-out.
“How did it happen? Were you in an alcohol-induced love haze and thought you’d found your soulmate or were you drunkenly joking about getting married by Elvis and then suddenly found yourself at a walk-in chapel?” Ruby fires off her next question.
“Spoken like a true romance author,” Penn says.
She beams. “I’m just trying to picture it. Set the scene for me.”
It’s my turn to shift uncomfortably. The answer is simple but also complicated.
“I don’t remember,” Hannah admits as she crinkles up her nose. “I don’t drink very often, and we were dancing and kissing and the next thing I know…”
“It was my fault,” I say, stare dropping back to her mouth. She said kissing and now it’s all I can think about. Kissing her in the club, on the streets of Vegas, at the chapel, in the elevator, and back in my hotel room. “However it happened, I’m sure it was my idea.”
I know I should feel bad about it, and a part of me does, but an even bigger part is happy to have another chance. Would she have given me that if we hadn’t drunk too much and woken up married?
“How long are you two planning to stay married?” Ruby’s next question is one I’m better prepared for.
Again, I wait to see if Hannah wants to answer but when she stays quiet, I say, “We didn’t put an expiration date on it.”
“The lawyer said an annulment process is easier the quicker we do it,” Hannah adds. “The Winter Classic is in February. If it goes well, then…”
Then she won’t need to stay married to me to avoid any negative press. Medals and trophies speak for themselves.
“Bill is the best. He’ll get it done for us no matter how long it’s been,” I’m reassuring her more than I am everyone else.
Ruby’s gaze narrows. “So for the foreseeable future, you two are going to stay married?” We both nod.
“What about dating?” Ruby asks.
“No,” I answer quickly. After the misunderstanding yesterday, I don’t want Hannah to have any room for doubt.
“I’m too busy with gymnastics to date so it’s not a big deal,” Hannah says.
“Same.” I shrug one shoulder. “You know what the schedule is like for the next few months, Ruby-Doo.”
“I wasn’t asking if you were dating other people.”
Hannah flushes. “We barely see each other even living together.”
“Despite my best efforts,” I say in a teasing tone. “Walking around the house shirtless has no effect on her.”
Hannah rolls her eyes, but I can tell the tension has eased.
“Anything else you want to know? Deepest, darkest secrets? Most embarrassing moments?” I ask Ruby.
“I mean…since you brought it up, yeah, kind of.” Ruby laughs. “Okay, I thought of another one.”
“One more.” I hold up a finger to emphasize.
“Have you been forced to hold hands or kiss since you’ve been pretending to be married?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her we aren’t pretending, but I’ll save that for the next time Hannah asks it. I get what Ruby wants to know.
“No.” I shake my head.
“And when you do?”
“Who is going to demand we kiss to prove our marriage?” I ask her. “I don’t walk around pressuring couples to make out in front of me.”
“That’s because we do it without prompting.” She leans over and kisses Nick as if to prove her point.
“That’s true. It might be suspicious if you never touch,” Nick adds.
“Lots of couples aren’t all over each other in public,” Shep says.
“I wouldn’t know anything about that.” D-Low grins.
“Some couples don’t even like each other,” Penn says. “But that’s not Trav and Hannah.”
Oh sure, the quietest guy in the bunch decides to pipe up now? Thanks a lot, Penn.
“We’ll figure it out,” I tell them while I try very hard not to think about kissing her again—pretend or not.
“I’m sorry about all that,” I say to Hannah as we leave my friends with the excuse to get new drinks.
I lead her upstairs and to the back deck.
Nick’s house looks out onto the lake. This time of year, it’s not quite as pretty as in the summer, but it’s quiet and away from everyone else.
It occurs to me that while we live together, we haven’t been alone like this a lot.
We’re rarely at the house at the same time and when we are, we’re usually sleeping.
Mornings are my favorite. I get up early, make coffee, then hang out in the kitchen so I can see her before she leaves.
“No. I get it. I’m sure if my friend got married in a similar situation, then I’d have all kinds of questions too.”
“Mostly I think they just want to get to know you.”
“I like them. They’re funny, and even though I can see giving you shit is their favorite pastime, I can tell they care about you too. Conrad and Danny are just like I remembered them, and it’s cute to see Nick and Ruby together. Penn seems nice too.”
“Salt of the earth. He’s like the wise old grandfather of the group.”
“He’s what, thirty?” she asks with a laugh.
“Thirty-two, I think. Ancient for hockey.”
She laughs again, softer. We stand facing each other at the edge of the deck. I lean one arm on the railing.
“I have a question.”
“Ruby-Doo’s already wearing off on you.” The wind is blowing her hair, and I catch a strand between my fingertips.
“Was it really your idea in Vegas?”
I blow out a quiet laugh. “What do you think?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Who needs to remember to know that I’m the bad influence between the two of us?” I joke, trying to keep the mood light.
“You could have just told them the truth, that we woke up married and don’t remember the events from the night before.”
I shift uncomfortably. I feel bad about that night. That alone should be good enough to assign me the guilt. “Regardless of whose idea it was, it was my fault.”
Her brows pull together as she studies me, considering.
“I’ve been trying to ask you out since the day I met you. I was ecstatic to run into you in Vegas. It felt like…fate or something.”
She doesn’t look convinced.
“There’s no part of our story where you’ve been the one pursuing me, so yeah, I’m confident that what happened that night was all on me.”
Finally, that answer seems to satisfy her, and she turns back to look out toward the lake.
The moon casts a spotlight down the center of the dark water.
A gust of wind has her huddling into herself.
Me too. I pull my shoulders up in a bad attempt to shield my neck.
I should have brought a coat. A coat that I’d inevitably give her.
Maybe I should grow my hair out instead.
“Wanna go back inside and watch me kick D-Low’s ass in a shoot-out?” I ask to save us both from freezing to death. “I’m much better at hockey than cards.”
She lets her head fall back and she laughs. “God I hope so.”
“Prepare to find me irresistible.”
More laughter spills out of her and her eyes twinkle.
“Ooh. Did I find your kryptonite? Do hockey players doing hockey things really do it for you?” I ask as I lead her back into the house. “And after all my efforts to walk around shirtless and flex my abs all week.”