Chapter 14
Olivia
Robbie is at my hotel door at 7 AM sharp. I have to admire his tenacity and punctuality, but this is still way too early for me. I’m a night owl and I would sleep until noon every day if given the chance. I’m sure my grumpy face reflects my thoughts, but Robbie is not put off by me. He gives me a bright, big smile that brings out the dimples I’m so obsessed with. The ones I’ve started to see in some of my dreams.
“Good morning, sunshine,” he says, handing me a big cup of coffee. I frown, but take it from him and give it a sip. Of course he got my coffee just right, damn him.
“Morning,” I say groggily and close the door behind me. We head to the train station and I steal glimpses of Robbie. He hasn’t tried to make small talk since he knows I’m not in the best mood, but he also doesn’t seem upset about it. He’s got a smile on his face and sips quietly on his coffee as we walk side by side.
While I appreciate him giving me the space I clearly need to become a functioning human being this morning, he shouldn’t have to compromise yet again. He already made a lot of changes to our plans that I feel bad about. The least I can do is talk to him.
“So, how come your besties have not been invited on this day trip?” I say. Besties? What is wrong with me? Can I ever hold a normal conversation?
He laughs and says, “Well, Eli was up this morning but he prefers to start his day in the gym. I asked if he wanted to join us later but he said he’s meeting an old friend of his from Finland who is playing for Chicago’s NHL team this season.”
I nod, encouraging him to continue talking. He says, “Jordan is headed back to Grand Marquee early and visiting his parents. And I figured you probably didn’t want Ashton around constantly trying to flirt with you.” He looks at me to gauge my reaction to the last statement and I decide to tease him a bit.
“Hm, what if I’m in need of some flirting?” His eyes go wide and he looks away from me. I may have said the wrong thing. This is why I don’t hold conversations this early in the morning.
He doesn’t say anything for a while as we get on the train and find some empty seats. In the short time I’ve gotten to know Robbie through texts and small conversations here and there, I’ve learned that he loves to talk—constantly. So this silence from him is starting to worry me.
Then he surprises me by saying, “If you want me to call Ash and invite him, I will. It’s just that, during some of the games, I got the impression you weren’t really interested in him. But, if I was wrong about that, I apologize. I’m not trying to monopolize your time, but just for the sake of being honest—“ he pauses and turns his head to look at me, “I was really hoping it would just be us today. Because I like hanging out with you, and getting to know you.”
I feel like an idiot. What the hell was I doing, trying to steer the conversation towards flirting? He totally got the wrong impression too. I was hoping he would flirt with me, not offer to invite Ash. “I don’t.”
“You don’t like hanging out with me?” he asks, confused.
What?
Oh God, I can’t even follow the conversation properly.
I shake my head and drag a frustrated hand over my face, “This is why I don’t hold conversations in the morning.” I turn to face him in the seat and make sure my message is clear this time, “I don’t want you to call Ash. I don’t even know why I made that comment about flirting, it was stupid. I’m not even remotely interested in him, by the way.” Robbie swallows and my gaze gets drawn to his throat. Is it weird to find a guy’s throat attractive?
“Okay, I won’t call him then,” he says with a small smile.
“Good, don’t,” I say definitively and tap my fingers on my knee. “For the record, I really like spending time with you too. I don’t usually do this—just befriend people. There’s a reason I don’t have a lot of friends, and I think some of it has to do with how socially awkward I am.”
His hand covers mine on top of my knee and I can’t help but stare at it, at the way his thumb caresses me. “I don’t think you’re socially awkward. I think you like to keep to yourself and you’re quiet. Except for when you start to let people in. Last week, you sent me a ten minute voice note about how much you love hockey. I think you do just fine at making friends if they’re the right ones.”
I nod and turn my hand so that it now lays flat underneath his. We’re both caught in this moment, just looking at our hands barely touching. I wonder what he’ll do. Will he lace his fingers through mine? Will he continue to caress my hand? I don’t get to find out because the train stops for one of the stations and we both involuntarily lurch apart.
Robbie was right. Breakfast was delicious, and it was definitely what I needed to get me out of my pit of hangry-ness. After walking around The Loop for most of the morning and getting another coffee, we then went to the John Hancock Tower. From the very top, we could see Lake Michigan and part of Illinois and Indiana. If it were a clearer day, we could have seen part of Wisconsin and Michigan as well according to Robbie. I’ve never been in a city as big as Chicago, and I have to say I love it. The bustle of it, the fact that there are so many options for food and stores, the gorgeous architecture, I love all of it.
After the tower, we walked around downtown and Robbie gave me as much information about the architecture as he could. My favorite building was definitely the Chicago Tribune tower, with its neo-gothic architecture.
We then went down to the pier and, just like Robbie said, there were hot dog carts. So we ate our Chicago dogs as we walked down the pier and saw the ferris wheel.
Without realizing it, the day went by and we now find ourselves at the ribbon to ice skate. The sky is getting darker as we are approaching dusk and it’s the perfect time to skate. Not only do we get to see the skyscrapers at night, but there are tons of lights illuminating the ribbon.
“Are you ready for the world's crappiest skates to adorn your feet?” he asks with a big smile on his face.
“Absolutely,” I say with a serious expression, “you promised me blisters and aching arches. You better deliver.”
He laughs and bumps my shoulder on his way to the check in area. He grabs our skates while I get us a locker to leave our shoes in. A short while later, we are ready to hit the ice.
The ribbon is fairly busy, but since we are both professional skaters, we easily dodge kids and people that are learning how to skate. Robbie is skating backwards and taking pictures of me with the skyline as my backdrop and I shake my head at his shenanigans. He trips but catches himself and readjusts his balance quickly.
“Will you please be careful? If you get hurt and have to sit out any games this season, I will be mad,” I say.
“Aw, you like seeing me play that much?” he asks teasingly.
“Oh no, you are a terrible hockey player. Just awful. I just won’t have anyone to hang out with after games, that’s all,” I say while batting my eyelashes.
His mouth drops open in shock and he starts skating towards me. I don’t realize his intention until it’s too late and he picks me up by my middle and pretends like he’s going to drop me. “You take that back right now, Olivia,” he says, but he’s still smiling at me.
My hands fly around his neck and I hold tight as I say, “Never.” I give him a big smile back.
“Say I’m the best hockey player you’ve ever seen,” he says, blue eyes sparkling under the twinkle lights.
“I’m sorry, but you are not Gordie Howe. I can’t possibly lie to you like that,” he twirls me, arms tight around my middle and I can’t help but laugh and smile. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been this happy.