Chapter 14 #2
She’s silent for a few seconds, then says, “A Grammy.”
“Ah, right. A Grammy for you, a Stanley Cup for me.”
“Would that make you feel you’ve made it?” She turns her head to look at me.
I think about it. Over the last year, the Stanley Cup dream took second spot behind my dreams of her.
Having her. I’m not going to tell her that after her rejection, though.
“Well. Making it to the NHL was a big goal for me, and I’ve done that.
And yeah, everyone wants to win the cup.
Be the champion team. But lots of great players never actually do.
Because hockey is such a team sport. You can’t win it on your own. ”
“Hmm. That’s true.”
“Whereas you… you’ll get your Grammy all on your own.”
She tilts her head and leans on the fence. “That’s not totally true. I have a team I work with, too.”
“Right. But it’s not quite the same.”
“Yeah. But also… I’m learning that a lot of success is very… out of my control. There’s a lot of luck and timing involved.”
“I guess so.” I hadn’t really thought of that. “And I suppose that’s true of hockey as well. Sometimes things happen that are out of our control—getting traded, getting hurt… no matter how hard you work, or how talented you are, other things can impact your career.”
Our eyes meet and she dips her chin. “Yes.”
There’s that connection again, that feeling I had the first time I met her that something joins us, some kind of invisible elastic band of understanding.
My eyes drop to her lickable mouth and she notices that, her eyes flickering, lips parting.
We stare at each other with focused intensity, heat pulsing between us, and my mind fills with every filthy memory of that night in Vegas.
My presumptuous cock stirs in my jeans. Not now, buddy.
She sighs and looks away. “Also… it’s not going to happen now.”
She keeps saying that. I swallow and will my dick to deflate. “Maybe I should get a dog,” I joke.
“Yes!” Her eyes widen. “You should! Right now!”
I laugh.
“Seriously. We could check animal shelters right now.” She pulls out her phone.
“Calm down, diva. We’re not adopting a dog today. And if I ever do, Archie’s girlfriend Andi works at an animal shelter. I’d go see her.”
“She does?” Nikki straightens, intrigued. “That’s cool.”
“She loves dogs, too.”
We watch the dogs play for a while longer—well, she watches the dogs; I watch her—Nikki laughing when one of the men hooks a golden retriever to the leash and heads toward the exit.
The dog plants all four paws firmly into the ground, refusing to leave.
Then he sets his butt down. The guy tugs harder on the leash, but the dog then lies down and rolls onto his back.
“Oh my God,” Nikki says, giggling. “Look at him. He doesn’t want to go home.”
The man tries to figure out what to do. Finally he gives up and walks away like he’s leaving. What’s the dog going to do? For a while he doesn’t move, but when the man gets out of sight behind some trees, he rolls up to his feet and runs to look for him.
“Ha! It worked.” Nikki shakes her head, her face beaming. “Dogs are wonderful.”
If a dog makes her this happy, I’ll get one. Immediately.
We move back to the stone-paved walkway and amble farther along the river toward the marina. We walk out onto one of the piers and sit on a bench for a while talking.
I tell her about Alfie and his wife, and what they went through when they were in a car accident last year and their baby died.
“Oh my God, that’s terrible,” Nikki says, wide-eyed. “And now they’re splitting up? That’s so sad.”
“It is. He was crazy about Ayla. They met at Uncle Ernie’s Café. We hang out there all the time. It’s a lot for one guy to handle.” I shake my head. “I hope he’s okay. I’ll check in on him tomorrow.”
“That’s nice of you.”
I shrug, although her words create a glow in my chest. “Are you getting cold?”
“A little.”
“There’s a coffee place across the road. Let’s go get warm.”
She purses her lips briefly, then says, “Okay.”
We walk into Coffee Haven, immediately surrounded by warmth and the delicious smell of coffee.
“Let’s grab a table first.” I scope out the place to find an inconspicuous spot and proceed to a small table right at the back.
I hold a chair for Nikki so her back is to the café, then take off my jacket and drape it over the back of the other chair. “What would you like?”
“Latte. With oat milk if they have it.”
I nod and go to the counter. There’s no line and it’s not busy here, so that’s good. I order drinks and a couple of scones because it’s been hours since lunch. Also, shit, who even knows if Nikki ate lunch today. She tends to forget things like meals. Jesus.
When I set things on the table, she looks up at me. “Scones?”
“Yeah. I’m hungry. One’s for you.”
“Thank you.” And she devours the whole thing.
“Did you eat lunch? Breakfast?”
She scrunches her face up, thinking. “Yeah, I did have a smoothie for breakfast.”
“Okay. That’s not enough.”
She rolls her eyes. “Blake will kill me if I put on weight.”
My jaw nearly smacks the table. “Who the fuck is Blake?”