9. Defensemen have the strongest bodies, right?
9
"Defensemen have the strongest bodies, right?"
Aaron Miles
“Hey, you!” I call when I finally hear the front door open. The moment Marissa comes home, the day gets a little better. Just like always.
“Hey. It was a long day,” Marissa says, slipping off her boots and shrugging off her coat as I meet her in the entryway. I love when she wears that top. It really hugs her curves and does crazy things to my imagination.
“I bet.” I la ugh softly, averting my eyes. “Are you opening again tomorrow?”
She nods, her long hair draped over part of her face. “And the day after. Gotta make up for the days I missed on the road trip. And Beth is helping her parents tomorrow again.”
“I wish I could come give you a hand,” I say, and I truly mean it. I’m sure we’d have fun.
“Me too, but only if you wore prosthetics. Otherwise, you’d do more harm than good. Imagine the line at the door if people found out the Raptors’ star defenseman was serving coffee.”
I chuckle. “Would be a good publicity boost, though.”
She drops her bag on the counter and sits down. “Why are you wearing a suit?” She yawns. “You don’t have a game tonight.” Her eyebrows furrow. “Wait, that’s not your game suit.”
I shift my weight on my legs. “The charity date thing is tonight.”
“Oh, that soon, huh?” she says, her eyes sparkling. “She must be eager.”
“Yeah.” I scratch my jaw. “She called the PR team this morning to arrange it, and since I’m free tonight. . .” I shrug. “Anyway, it’s not like I have a choice.”
She gives me a pointed look. “A s if you’re not delighted. That girl is hot. And you haven’t seen anyone in a while.”
It’s like someone just doused a glass of ice-cold water over my head. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Oh, speaking of. Guess who I ran into today at the shop?”
My forehead wrinkles. “Who?”
“Greg Erikson. Isn’t that crazy? He just moved here.”
My jaw clenches, like it always does when Marissa mentions one of her dumb exes. The ones she only has because of my own cowardice. “Oh, yeah. Greg.”
“I gave him my number, and he’s already texted me. I’m seeing him tomorrow night.”
My mouth goes dry, and I try to clear my throat. “Really? Why?”
Her eyebrows draw together. “I don’t know. Just to hang out, I guess. He just moved here.”
I scratch my head, as if I’m trying to burn off the short hair growing there. Greg, like all of her exes, wasn’t worthy of her. Not even close. He was always trying to change her into someone else. He’d make her feel bad because she didn’t watch the news enough or wasn’t really into politics. Not to mention he was boring. But I have no right to remind her of that right now. If she decided to go on a date with him, I have to accept it. Even if that means I’ll be going bald soon. “Okay. Well, I have to go. Try to relax tonight.”
She flashes a bright smile. “I will. Have fuuun!”
As I close the door, my suit suddenly feels too tight. I should be happy for Marissa. She looks happy. So, why does it feel like I’m about to lose something I never even had?
“So, yeah. That’s how I ended up here,” Angela says, playing with her necklace.
I haven’t listened to half her story, and I feel guilty about it. “That’s cool,” I say, hoping my response matches what she just told me. Frankly, she seems nice, but we don’t have a lot in common.
“So, what’s it like being a star hockey player?”
“Um.” I take a sip of my soda to buy myself some time. I’ve been interviewed countless times throughout my career, but that’s a weird question. “It’s great. I get to do what I love.”
“Yeah, that’s amazing. How long have you been playing?”
“Since middle school,” I say with a smile, remembering the first time I ever stepped foot on the ice. Coach was my PE teacher, and he took us to the ri nk in the winter. We loved it, and I immediately felt at ease. Everything about the experience was harsh, from the blades to the freezing weather and the hard ice, but it felt like home. Coach Martin saw something in me, and next thing I knew, he was buying me gear, and I was joining the middle league team he was coaching. Finally, a place to blow off steam.
“That’s incredible.” She leans forward, exposing some of her cleavage over the neckline of her tight red dress. I keep imagining Marissa wearing it, and how phenomenal she would look in that dress. “And it’s your second season with the Raptors, right?”
I nod. “It’s a great team. We have good chemistry, and we’re pretty optimistic for the playoffs this year, after losing in game seven last year,” I say, as if I’m talking to a sports journalist. But frankly, if she keeps asking me questions about hockey, I’ll naturally get into hockey mode. It’s my favorite mode, after all.
“I love it. Why did you choose that position? Defensemen have the strongest bodies, right?” she asks, trailing her eyes over me in a way that makes her attraction toward me clear, though it doesn’t spike anything in me.
“Yeah.” I scratch the stubble on my jaw. “I have a long reach, and I’m a fast skater, which is an advantage for transitions, so I naturally gravitated toward defense. And I’m not afraid to tak e hits.” Actually, I kind of like it, but that’s awkward to say out loud.
“Wow.” Her eyes sparkle as she watches me with a hazy look. I glance at Norman, the PR assistant sitting at the next table, but he’s enjoying his sundae, seemingly unbothered by this conversation. Well, it is a pretty benign conversation. I just wish I’d asked if there was a minimum length for this date. I keep giving her stats and rambling on about hockey, and she hangs on my every word. She clearly doesn’t know much about the game, but I guess she likes hearing me talk about it.
“So, I’d love to do this again,” she says, twirling the ends of her hair as we say goodbye. It’s funny how that small action has absolutely no effect on me when Angela does it, but when Marissa does it, it stirs all kinds of emotions inside of me.
I dance on my feet. She’s nice and pretty, and I know I should be interested. Heck, I want to be interested, but I’m not. What’s wrong with me? “Um.”
“And I’d also love to take my little brother to a game. Do you think you could meet him? That would make his day.”
“Sure.” I nod, always happy to put a smile on a kid’s face. Plus, Coach did say Angela was his friend’s niece, and I want to treat them well. “I can get you VIP tickets, and he can meet the team before the game.”
“Really?” Her eyes shine. “ That would be amazing. Thank you so much.”
“Sure. Next game is the day after tomorrow. Does that work?”
“It does. Could we go together? I’d love to surprise him, but if I take him straight to the arena, he’ll know something is up.”
“I tell you what, why don’t we meet at the Rise & Grind coffee shop on Warlington Lane? My best friend works there. Your brother will never suspect a thing. We’ll have to leave early, though. I always head to the arena three hours in advance.”
“That’s fine.” She nods firmly. “He’ll love it.”
“Great.”
We exchange numbers, and she gives me a hug before we part ways. After chatting with Norman for a few minutes, I head home. It’s still early, but that date felt like it went on for hours. There’s something seriously wrong with me. I just spent time with a beautiful, charismatic girl, and the whole time, all I wanted to do was go home to my best friend.