CHAPTER 6 DATE DAY #3
I slowed down so her tiny legs could keep up with me. “Yes?”
“Where are you from?”
“Humble—outside of Houston.”
My eyes tracked her fist pump, bringing a smile to my face. She had these cute little quirks I’m sure she didn’t even know she did.
“I knew you were a Texan!” She whooped. “How does a Texan get into hockey over football?”
“What gave away my Texan aspects? I played football for a good while, but my dad grew up in Philly. He taught me, and I just connected with hockey,” I said, “Football was fun, but hockey just became life.”
Aife looked up at me. “You have a little accent.
That’s how I know. I know Texas when I hear it. Are your parents still in Humble?”
I loved that she pronounced Humble correctly. It made me think she was from Texas too. “Mom is in the Houston area still. I don’t ever see her leaving.” We stopped at a bench and sat down. “Dad… um… he passed away two years ago.”
“Oh, TJ. I am so sorry.” Her hand came down on my arm and gently squeezed. “We can talk about something else.”
This woman really was too sweet. It was like she wanted to avoid hurting others at all costs. “It’s okay. Cancer’s a bitch.”
“Do you want to talk about him?” Her hand never left my arm. It slowly squeezed my shoulder and then made gentle circles as if to soothe me. My body seemed to relax under her ministrations.
“Thanks, Aife, but I think I’m okay.” I sent her a cautious smile.
She smiled back softly. “Okay. Well, I’m here if you need to talk. Grief is a weird thing; it’s not exactly linear.”
Her small hand remained on my arm. Wherever she touched gave me these little tingles.
It was a weirdly addictive feeling, and I had to remind myself we were just friends… really people who had just met.
“New topic,” I said, still enjoying the feeling of her touch. “Where in Texas are you from?”
“You picked up on that too, huh? I was born in Katy, spent some time in Denton, and then back to the Houston area.”
I smirked. “So, we grew up around each other.”
“I guess so. Davis said you went to college together?”
“Yeah.” I nodded and looked at her. She had a beautiful smile on her face, one that completely lit up her visage. “Me, Davis, and Zeke all did our bachelor’s degree together.”
“Did you finish?”
I knew she wasn’t asking that maliciously.
Pro athletes didn’t always get their degrees.
“Mom made it a point that I had to finish before going pro.”
I laughed, thinking about my mom. “She’s a tough woman, but I guess when you have five boys you have to be. She’s completely outnumbered. Mom also made it a firm rule in the house that education came before sports. All of us have degrees. Mine is in physical therapy and sports medicine.”
“Wow. Four brothers?” Her eyes widened in shock.
“That’s a lot of testosterone. Your mom sounds like a strong woman.”
“She truly is. Before you ask, I’m the middle child.”
“Ah, is that why you went pro? Dealing with middle child syndrome?” She stuck her tongue out at me, laughing at her bad joke. Her eyes darted to my mouth before resting back on my own eyes.
Laughing, I nudged her shoulder. “I don’t think so.
Mom and Dad did a great job giving equal attention. Four out of five are professional athletes. We’re just competitive, I think.”
“Well, don’t leave me hanging, TJ. Tell me about your siblings.” Her eyes met mine again, and I felt so centered in that moment. Her gaze was soft, easy. I could see curiosity, not fishing. God, this woman.
“Sure.” I smiled as I thought about my family.
They were weird and wonderful, and I loved each of them.
“My oldest brother is Eaton John—EJ. He’s a damned giant, plays point guard for the Dallas Innovators.
Dad really struggled with that one. He was a huge Spacers fan, and Dad always felt like he was betraying Houston by rooting for his son.
He would wear the traditional yellow and red to the games, not caring how obnoxious he looked. I missed him every day.
“Next up is Callahan Justin or CJ. He’s the shortest one out of all of us but tough as nails. I know he’d have my back in a heartbeat. CJ’s a linebacker for the New Orleans Rooks, and he was defensive player of the year last year. Honestly, he definitely could give JJ Watt a run for his money,
” I said proudly.
I leaned back on the bench, resting my hands behind my head.
Calm—that was the best way to describe how I felt in that moment.
“Then there’s me. After me is our non-athlete,
Dakota Jeffery or DJ. He’s finishing up his surgery internship at Brown University right now. He’s hoping to get residency at Memorial Hermann in Houston.
“Lastly, is the squirt, Adin Jones aka AJ. He’s second baseman for the most hated team in baseball… the LA Dragons.” I laughed.
Aife laughed as well. She was a native Houstonian,
so she knew the Galaxy were really the most hated team right now. “You never said what your first name is.”
My cheeks flamed red. My first name was incredibly embarrassing.
Mom loved Celtic and Gaelic history, so we all had names that sounded weird or outdated.
My brothers, at least, had first names they could relatively work with.
Mine was just awkward, resulting in countless teasing and silly names growing up. “Um…”
“Oh, come on. My name is Aife. I’ve had to fight with that my entire life. Yours cannot be that bad.” She nudged my shoulder. Her hand had finally returned to her own lap, and I missed the warmth and connection to her.
“Talon.” I sighed. “Talon James Walker.”
“Oh.” Aife blinked and bit her lip. “Well… it’s really not that bad.” It almost sounded like she meant that.
I laughed a little. “Hush. Your turn. Tell me about your family.”
“It’s not as big as yours. Just one older sibling and my parents.”
Aife looked down at her feet. It was like the question had deflated her energy.
“I come from a family of scientists. My dad is a geologist, loves rocks. There’s a huge rock collection in my childhood home. He could talk for hours about minerals. Mom is a geneticist. She’s 97 currently looking at autoimmune disorders. The two of them getting into arguments is absolutely wild.”
She had a small smile on her face now. “My older brother, Kayden, is a hydrologist—basically a water guy. I’m the weird one.”
“I don’t think you’re weird,” I said quietly. I placed a hand on her thigh, squeezing gently.
“Thanks.” She looked up at me again. Her eyes shone before she blinked the vulnerability away and squeezed my hand on her thigh. “Aife is a name my mom saw in a book, so she and my dad decided on Aife Marie Gomez.”
“That’s a beautiful name. Gomez though?” A pink blush made its way onto her cheeks. “You’re sweet, TJ. My dad is a first generation. His mom and Dad are from Honduras, and I know I don’t look it. I got my mom’s genes.”
“You’d be the first to make the claim that I’m sweet, but thanks.” Looking at my watch, I saw it was nearing lunch time. “You getting hungry?”
“Starving, actually.”
“Come on,” I said, standing up and holding a hand out to her. “Let’s go eat.”
After grabbing some burritos, we headed back to her place.
Aife promised it would be two hours max as she really needed to write more of her paper.
I was completely fine with this, partly because it gave me an excuse to study her.
Aife was an enigma that I wanted to figure out; there was something so compelling about this woman.
She was more than an attractive person; she kept me engaged and laughing.
We settled into her apartment, and I took the opportunity to look around.
It was neat, everything had a place. She had little trinkets and photos scattered around.
Everything seemed so colorful too. I could tell purple and blue were her favorite colors based on the decorations.
Her place just felt cozy. There were even small plants around, more pops of color against her dark furniture.
Ordinarily, it would be an assault on my eyes, but it just felt like Aife.
Aife motioned for me to settle on the couch as we both devoured our burritos.
When we had finished, she grabbed her laptop and started clicking away at the keys.