39. Maya
Maya
Hockey is ruining my life.
Okay, so that’s dramatic.
But in my defense, both Jamie and my dad are way too stressed about the Frozen Four. No matter how many times I reassure either of them that they have nothing to worry about, they continue to stress.
My dad has been having one-on-one meetings with every player, as well as having extra practices every day, and time in the media room watching game footage.
When he’s not at the rink, Jamie is in the gym or at home, watching more game footage, or talking strategy with his friends. He says, as Captain, he has to be prepared for anything.
They won the regional semifinals game they had last weekend, and tomorrow night, they have the regional finals in Massachusetts. If they win, they advance to the Frozen Four weekend, hosted this year in Tampa.
The team bus left earlier this afternoon, so that they could get settled in Boston and warm up on the ice in the morning.
Laying in bed, my phone starts to vibrate with an incoming call from Jamie.
“Hey, love,” he sighs when I answer.
“Hi. What’s wrong?” I ask, worried he’s calling be because something happened. I hear wind and traffic noise in the background of the call. “Where are you?”
“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. I’m sitting on the balcony at the hotel so I could talk to you. I’m just exhausted and stressed about this game, and I figured hearing your voice would make me feel better.”
A small smile pulls at my lips. “You’re cute. And you’re going to be fine; I know you want to win, but you’re going to the NHL either way, so just focus on the team and having fun.”
I can almost hear a bit of the tension leave his body as he lets my words wash over him. “You’re right. We’ve done all we can do. How was your day?”
“It was good. I had a couple clients today, so I was pretty busy for a while. I’ll have to show you the piece I did on this girl’s back…
” I go on to explain the intricate sword and dragon spine tattoo I completed, with swirling flames and florals.
The piece was by far one of my favorites I’ve ever done.
“Send me a photo, I want to see.” Jamie’s voice gives away the fact that he’s smiling after listening to my ramble. “Actually, better yet…” My phone beeps as he switches over to a video call, and his beautiful face fills my screen.
“Hi,” I say again, taking in his full lips and straight brows.
“Hi,” he replies with a smirk. “I should’ve just done this in the first place. I missed your face.”
“You saw me yesterday,” I remind him, laughing.
“Doesn’t matter. Now, share your screen and show me the tattoo.
” We talk a few more minutes about the piece, and my stomach is filled with butterflies as we do.
Not that I would expect otherwise, but Jamie being genuinely interested in hearing about my day and what I do, even though he could potentially be playing the last game of his college career tomorrow, makes my heart swell.
“You never told me about your tattoos,” I throw out, not wanting the conversation to end.
Jamie grins, his eyes twinkling with a teasing light. “We’d probably be sitting here a while if I told you about all of them.”
Rolling my eyes, I match his playful energy. “You’re right. I think I’m going be mad that you had another tattoo artist before me.
“Oh, is that right?” he chuckles. “I’m sorry, I should’ve come to you before you started apprenticing, and while we were also living on the other side of the country from one another.”
“Damn straight,” I say, grinning, and his amused snicker echoes through my room.
“Tell me about the lightning,” I say, rolling over on my pillow and looking into his stormy gray eyes.
Jamie clenches his jaw, voice growing somber. “You know how everyone talks about the calm before the storm, or the calm at the eye of the hurricane?”
Nodding, I watch intently as he fights the instinct to shutter up his emotions, instead sharing another piece of himself with me.
“I never really had that. I never had the calm before, where you know it’s too good to be true and shit’s about too hit the fan.
I only had the bad; if it wasn’t a beating then it was yelling or it was being denied dinner as punishment or it was gaslighting and blackmail.
No matter what I did, where I went, I was surrounded by Ross’s insanity.
Well, I guess at some point, I decided I didn’t need the calm.
Because storms create lightning, and lightning is… powerful.”
The silence that surrounds us is heavy; only the sounds of traffic below him fills the space between us for a minute as I wait to see if he continues.
“It sounds kind of dumb when I say it out loud, but that’s why I got it. Although, usually I just tell people it’s because it looks badass.”
His comment pulls an unexpected laugh from me before I finally speak. “It doesn’t sound stupid at all. It’s poetic, and it’s important to you, so it could never be dumb.”
Jamie leans back in his chair, and the two of us take a moment simply staring at one another. The love in his gaze is reflected in my own, and I want nothing more than to kiss his lips, lay my head on his chest, and tell him everything’s going to be okay.
“Tell me about yours,” he requests, breaking the silence. “Tell me about memento vivere.”
“You know what it means,” I say, reminding him that he’s got the same words etched into his thigh.
He sigh in mock exasperation. “Yeah, I know what it means, smartass. I meant, tell me what it means to you.”
I shrug up a shoulder, rolling over onto my back and holding the phone up in front of me.
“I liked the sentiment of remembering to live, even when the voices in your head get too loud. You could let the thought of the consequences, the responsibilities, the fear rule your decisions…or you could live. As long as you’re safe and not hurting anyone, I think it’s important to remember that you only have one shot at this life, and you should make the most of it.
Eat the dessert even though it’s got too many calories.
Dance on the table with your friends even if you think people will laugh at you.
” I stop, taking a breath before adding, “Give someone a second chance, because maybe you didn’t know the whole story.
You only get one shot at life, and I liked the reminder to make the most of it. ”
Eyes flashing with emotion, Jamie nods in agreement. “Me, too. Before you, Maya, I wasn’t living. I was scraping by and doing everything I could to keep my head down. I’m grateful you gave me another chance, and I love you for making me a better person.”
“No,” I reply, shaking my head. “I didn’t make you a better person, Jamie. You’ve always been good. I just helped you bring that person back to the surface.”
The sound of the sliding door interrupts our conversation, and I see Drew’s head pop out from behind Jamie’s chair. “I hate to be the responsible one in this relationship, but it’s getting kind of late, Jay. We’ve gotta be up at six, and Warren’s getting cranky in here.”
“Shut the fuck up!” Beau hollers from somewhere in the background, making the three of us laugh.
“I’ll let you go. Remember, you’ve got nothing to stress about. I’ll see you Sunday, okay?”
Jamie nods with a small upturn of his lips. “Love you, Maya.”
“Love you, too, Jamie.”