Chapter 16
sixteen
. . .
Mason
three years ago
chicago
Airports are the 10th circle of hell which is why offering to pick someone up from the airport is a love language. Hence me now sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on my way to pick up Violet. I’d been wired all morning; pregame jitters are what we will call it.
Sometime between Monroe leaving earlier this morning and Violet texting me how much she was looking forward to spending time with me this weekend, I realized Monroe was right. I wanted Violet. I think it took me so long to come to this realization because I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment when our friendship turned into something more.
You always hear couples saying things like, “And that was when I knew she was the one!”, but I couldn’t narrow it down to one specific time when I was with Violet and thought, “Damn, this is it for me”. I am too inexperienced with love to pinpoint a monumental moment like that, but I can recall dozens of little moments over the past sixteen years that felt significant in hindsight.
I can remember how natural it felt to welcome the shy little kid who had just moved to our small town when she was six years old. I can remember holding her while she cried because her mom had to miss Christmas for a new temp job at the local hospital. I can remember the sense of pride that filled my chest when she published her first research paper. I had read it at least five times and still couldn’t figure out what it was about. My girl wrote it, and that was enough.
On my way to practice this morning, it became clear that the reason I couldn’t figure out the exact moment I fell for Violet was because I couldn’t remember a time when I didn’t love her. And I supposed it was about time I told her that.
I make it to Violet’s gate before she sends me a text saying she’ll be out soon. Every romance movie tells me the guy should wait outside of the car so the girl can run into his arms, so I do. But shit, the March wind in Chicago is absolutely brutal. I check my reflection in the side mirror and run my fingers through my hair a few times as if good hair will help Violet realize she’s in love with me too. Romance movies also tell me chicks fall all over a guy rocking a backward ballcap. Maybe I have a cap in the car …I search my backseat for a baseball cap when I see her walking toward me. I shut the car door and turned to face her. I take in her long, curly black hair that’s currently being grounded by the beanie on her head. Shit, so hats are hot on girls too. Her face is flushed from the cold, and a smile takes up her whole face as she sees me. She’s so stunning when she looks at me like that. Before I have time to overthink it, I wrap my arms around her waist and bring her into my chest for a soul-crushing hug, praying she doesn’t notice how fast my heart is beating.
A small laugh leaves her lips, and she wraps her arms around my neck and buries her head deeper into my chest. “Well hello there. That is quite the greeting.”
“Can you blame a guy for missing you?”
“No, I'm pretty fantastic. I’d miss me too.”
We break apart and I grab her suitcase. I place it in the trunk and circle the car to open the door for her. “Shall we?”
I watch her face in anticipation, as she sees the small bouquet of flowers on the seat.
She looks pleased, “I feel like I should be the one getting you flowers. It’s your game day after all.”
Smiling like an idiot, I close her door and round the car to the driver’s side. I pull out from the curb and head toward I-490.
“Yeah, but it’s your first time seeing me playing for the Rangers and instead of going somewhere warm and tropical for the rest of your spring break, you chose to come to the frigid cold of Chicago.” You chose to spend it with me.
“Well, you are on the first line. I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it.” She teases.
“Yeah, it’s been pretty insane. It’s still a temporary thing as far as I know. During practices they’ll still switch me and Kallum in and out of the lines and it’s usually a game-day decision whose starting.”
A few weeks ago, the coaches pulled me aside and let me know that they’d decided to move me up to the first line for our game against the Bruins. It was a ballsy choice given the guy I was replacing was Kallum Donovan — one of the most popular and established guys on the team and my alternate captain. A part of me wanted to turn it down. I had only been with the Rangers for a year and didn’t want to start any tension. But a bigger part of me knew that there wasn’t a point to any of this if I didn’t bet on myself .
“So, I have to warn you…I was only able to book one room since the hotel was basically sold out.” It wasn’t an entirely true statement. I had initially booked two rooms, one for my sister and Violet and one for myself. But then one of my teammates, Connor Marshall, realized he booked a room in a hotel an hour outside of the city, so I let him take my room and figured I’d sleep on the couch or something.
She raises an eyebrow at me. “Well when you bring someone home tonight, can you point me in the direction of the closest Motel?”
My face flushes bright red and my stomach vacates my insides and plummets to the floor. I felt sick about the woman I loved thinking about me in bed with someone else. Even though I had earned that quip.
“I wouldn’t do that to you. Especially not after the week you just had.” I am looking at the road ahead, but I can see her head hanging down as she begins picking at her fingernails. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“About my dad?” I nod. “Nope. He’s taken up enough of my time. And I won’t let him ruin this weekend too.”
“Fair enough. One fun-filled weekend coming up.” I tease. “You excited to share a room with me? It’ll be like when we were kids and you used to climb into my sleeping bag when you swore our house was haunted.” I shoot her a wink.
She looks at me out of the corner of her eye, a smile forming on her face. “Yep, just like old times when Monroe and I would paint your nails while you slept.”
Her mention of Monroe reminds me that we will be alone this weekend. Shit maybe she is uncomfortable with this arrangement. “I can probably stay with one of the guys if you want? I wouldn’t mind at all.” I would be a little upset, but “I don’t want you to be uncom?——”
She places her small hand on my shoulder and squeezes gently. “It’s fine Mason really. Though if you are anything like your sister and start hogging the bed we may have a problem. So, what’s on the agenda for the next few days?” I chose not to address the bed-sharing comment…for now at least.
“Are you saying you don’t have a three-page, single-spaced, bulleted itinerary mapping out all the hidden gems and tourist shops in Chicago that you want to go to? What the hell did Vermont do to you, Vi?”
“Hey, I can be spontaneous and go with the flow. Spring break is a great time for me to get work done but I am being so chill and laid back. Look at me, I’m literally in Chicago!”
“We’ve been planning this for months. Down to when you could fly in so you wouldn’t mess with my morning practice, but also be able to make it to the game without getting stuck in traffic.” Violet was probably one of the least ‘go-with-the-flow’ people I’d ever met. Not one single Hayes-Amin vacation took place without extensive planning and preparation. She ran all of our trips like a drill sergeant, and no one was safe from her wrath if they managed to get off schedule (see the time my parents got lost in Rome because they woke up hungover and Violet refused to be late for our tour of the Vatican so she left them behind. It was their wedding anniversary trip).
“Well, I guess this just shows that I trust you so much, I’m willing to let go of my calendars and itineraries.”
I know she’s teasing but my heart races anyway. Violet had confessed to me before that her need for planning largely stemmed from her hate for the unexpected. Likely a result of all the shit she and her mom had gone through before they left her dad. I didn’t know how to respond knowing that she felt comfortable enough to let me take the lead this weekend. To avoid spilling my guts about all the things I’d been feeling lately, I clued her into what the rest of today would entail.
“There’s honestly not a lot of time between now and when we have to get to the arena, so I was thinking we could drop off your stuff at the hotel and then grab lunch at Catering. I can introduce you to some of the other…” I’m not sure how to label Vi olet. Friend feels derogatory now, “...friends and family of the team. They can take you to the box.”
“Ooo box seats. I feel so special.”
“You are special, Vi.” Shit, I hope that sounded casual. “I mean, if the Hockey East Championships are any indication, you’re definitely my good luck charm.”
A faint blush forms on her cheeks. “Alright let’s reel in any talk of good luck before your teammates catch wave. Last thing I need is to be forced to follow the team around for the next few months because of some superstitious hockey players.”
My laugh fills the car. Not a bad idea, Vi.