34. tallulah
TALLULAH
OFF TRAIL
I was slow to wake up, my body lethargic at such an early hour. Someone was gently rubbing my back. What time was it?
Seven o’clock in the morning?
I blinked in surprise at the clock on the nightstand. It’d been days since Fridge and I had our real end, days of nonstop working on my profile. Everything was blurring together. It was hard to pin things down.
It was Saturday. Which meant I was off from everything to do with the internship. Why was I awake? Rat wanted to know too, she meowed blearily from her place tucked in beside me.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, to see Nick standing in cargo shorts, a t-shirt, baseball cap, and his bright neon backpack—a major eyesore—in hand.
“I thought the hockey team had a breakfast thing?” I said, confused. “Why are you dressed like that?”
“I swapped.”
“Swapped?”
“Yeah. I’m free until the game tonight.”
“Swapped like what?” I scratched Rat behind her ears. “What does swapped mean?”
Nick’s schedule had been getting weirder and weirder.
As far as I understood it, Nick had all of these extra obligations to go to, fancy luncheons, meetings, and additional practices.
He always returned exhausted, usually taking a nap afterwards.
The teammates he lived with weren’t required to go with him. It was just…weird.
“I traded going to the breakfast thing to spend the morning with you,” he explained.
“Really?” I perked up, pleased. Nick specifically changed his schedule to spend more time with me. My lips curved into a teasing smile. “How much did that cost you?”
Something crossed Nick’s face, some shadow I didn’t recognize. I must’ve imagined it, because I blinked, and it was gone. He grinned, matching mine. “I have to spend three hours at a fancy moose-charity dinner thing. It’s a black-tie event. Sure it’ll be lots of fun.”
I blinked at him. “Bud’s Legacy? The charity gala?” Andrew had been talking about nothing but the upcoming event. It’d be where a lot of Olympics special guests would make their entrance. We were required to go too. “Tomasini’s charity gala?”
“Yeah, I guess—”
“You won’t have to see him though, right?” I pushed up out of bed, the concern evident in my voice. “Like, work with him?”
Nick was quick to shake his head. “No, Tallulah. It’s another consultation fee bullshit, sham charity thing. I—uh—probably won’t even see him.”
“Tomasini’s back in Toronto.” I folded my arms over my chest, goosebumps pebbling my skin. There were way too many stories about him. It seemed like every day I heard a new one. “Did you know that?”
“I…heard that. Yeah.”
“He’s not with the Blades though, right?”
Nick was quick to refute. “No, of course not—”
“Isn’t he supposed to be an advisor or something?”
“Never comes around.”
Nick’s answers left my shoulders tense. They were so fast, like they’d been shot out of a cannon. He was impassive too, it was an unsettling combination. Every sentence sounded like a prerecorded message.
There was something off about this.
“Tallulah, think about it,” Nick said, his voice becoming more assured, lighter. “The famous hockey star who’s running the Olympics, his own major companies, and charity bullshit, wouldn’t be focused on the Blades.” He raised his eyebrows. “It’d be a shit business decision.”
“Oh.” I nodded slowly, his words sinking in. “No, you’re right.” A shiver traveled up my spine. “I’m sorry, people at the Olympic facilities keep talking about him. The way they talk about him, he’s so…ominous.”
Nick came to the bed, putting his hands on either side of my hips to crowd me, so close, I could smell his delicious aftershave. “Are you getting up or what? You’re taking me on a date. We’ve been working on your bucket list, so it’s time for mine.”
Rat batted him on the arm, biting him for waking her up so early, and I gazed at him, more confused than ever. I’d been trying, and failing, to get Nick to give me his romantic bucket list. For what, weeks? Now, we were suddenly going on a date?
“The point of a good date is for the other person to plan it. That’s what makes it romantic,” I pointed out. “Which I’ve been trying to do. Which you’ve ignored.”
“I decided we’re actually going hiking.”
“We weren’t going to go hiking? Why not?”
His shrug was easy as he scratched Rat behind her ears. She purred, all transgressions forgotten. “Because you didn’t want to go hiking.”
“Nick.”
“I found the perfect place, so our date’s back on.”
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“Is it in Toronto?”
“Can’t tell ya.”
“How am I supposed to dress?”
“I’ll pick it out.”
Nick and his surprises, Nick and his astounding ability to dodge questions.
I sighed, hands clasped together, my forehead resting on the ends of my fingers.
Fifty more questions bubbled up, and I knew all would go unanswered.
In the end, I wanted to go on a date with him.
His bucket list needed to be checked off too, even if I wasn’t permitted to see it.
“I’m getting up.” I pushed out of bed, heading to the shower. “What am I supposed to put in my backpack?”
“I packed yours. Don’t worry about it.”
I shot him one last perplexed glance and shook my head, leaving for the shower.
For most of our two-hour drive, Nick held my hand. I probed and prodded him, trying to tease the answers out of him, to no fruition. Questions about our upcoming hiking destination were ignored. The farther we drove, the fewer cars we saw, and my curiosity mixed with excitement.
We pulled over, and Nick stretched a paper map out on the hood of the car, a compass sitting at the top left corner.
“Ooo, a compass?” I nudged his shoulder. “Sexy.”
With a grin, he nodded towards the trees intertwined beside the road. “Where we’re going, there’s no service. No apps to ask for directions. I don’t like relying on my GPS in case something happens. It’s good to know the layout beforehand.”
“We’re going in there?”
“Uh-huh.”
“There—there’s no trail?”
“Yep. No real trail.” He began to take supplies out of his bag, double-checking everything. “That’s why we have a PLB.”
“PLB?”
“Emergency device to send signals to search and rescue,” he said, flashing a squat bright-orange walkie-talkie thing. “We have water, lunch, bear spray, first-aid kit, oh—arms up.” Nick sprayed me down with sunscreen, bug spray, and fitted a baseball cap over my braid. “No scalp burn.”
Nick’s constant checks made me bite back a smile. I felt so taken care of. “Thank you.”
“Let’s see your bag—”
“Oh, uh—”
Nick gazed in disbelief. “Tallulah? Why do you have books?”
“We’re going to a secret meadow, aren’t we?” I blushed. “I thought we could read there? I brought your book?”
The book he hadn’t started yet.
Nick grimaced. “It’s a forty-five-minute hike—”
“I can carry them—”
“No, you can’t. Tallulah, that forty-five minutes is optimistic. We’ll be hiking in a rough northeast direction. Most likely it’ll take us an hour—” He sighed, pulling out the books. “I’ll carry them.”
“We don’t have to take them—”
“No, it’s fine.” He readjusted my backpack, checking the straps and tightening others. “Of course you brought books.” He tugged on my braid, grinning. “Nerd.”
“Two books makes me a nerd?” I said, mock-appalled. “I shudder to think of your grades.”
“Oh, they’re fucking terrible,” he laughed. “I only do enough to play hockey—”
“Please. Stop.” I groaned. “That won’t fly when we get back to Marrs.
I’ll—” My words stumbled to a stop, the meaning catching up to me.
It slipped out naturally, this fantasy that I’d push him to do his homework when we returned to college.
Like…Nick and I would continue seeing each other in Houston.
What would that even look like?
My heart pattered as daydreams manifested.
Sneaking out with Nick after hours, bringing him to my apartment off campus.
We’d have to be quiet, inconspicuous. Neither of us wanted Fridge to find out, and I was sure Nick wouldn’t want his teammates to find out that he was sleeping with his friend’s ex.
For the first time, I really considered it.
Could I do some secret thing with Nick?
Actually…I could.
If I could have Nick all to myself, it didn’t matter if we had to sneak around. My feelings for him were tangled up like a ball of knotted string. I wanted him. That wouldn’t change, here or in Houston.
Which meant I had to tell Nick. How was I supposed to do that? Explain that I wanted to break one of our established rules and keep this going?
“Are you ready?” Nick asked, his voice soft.
His hand was outstretched for mine, giving me the option. A subtle offer that I could still back out of the hike and it’d be fine. We didn’t have to do this.
I gazed into the tight-knit trees that obscured the view inside. The outdoors definitely wasn’t for me. Would never be. And yet, here I was, hiking gear on. I wanted to check off Nick’s bucket list. I wanted to do things for him, to make him happy.
With a nod, I took his hand, and he led me into the forest.
Nervous energy bubbled inside as we left the road. I didn’t want to slow Nick down or ruin his hike. My sneakers sank into the spongy moss, the underbrush ready to give way. Nick reached back to steady me properly.
I swallowed. “I’m sorry—”
“Don’t say sorry,” he said easily. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Relief tamped out the nervousness. Nick was so patient with my pace, always there, never straying more than five feet away from me.
The view itself was incredible. We were walking down a rough cliff’s edge of a rocky hillside, looking into the lush valley below, full of greenery, alive with bird songs. It was very pretty.
The makeshift walking trail suddenly ended in front of us. My steps faltered. “Do we have to find a new…?”
Nick got down on his haunches so quickly, there was only a flash of the muscles tensing in his arms. He slipped over, and there was a thump when his shoes met the ground again, on another makeshift trail below ours.
My ears burned. “Oh.”
“Lean down,” he told me.
“Like, um, scoot down?” I said nervously. “How far is it?”
“No, lean down, Tallulah.”
“I—um—” I leaned down on my haunches too, shuffling to the edge when Nick put his hands on my waist. One second, I was on the edge, and the next I wasn’t. The air whisked around me, as Nick brought me down to him. I stumbled on my feet, grabbing for him, pulse racing in my veins.
Nick smirked. “Nice blush.”
“Nice trail,” I managed, flushed. “Pick one that doesn’t end next time.”
“Why would I when I can keep grabbing you?”
I made a scoffing sound, but I didn’t mean it.
The two of us settled into an easier walk and I reached for his hand, weaving his fingers through mine. He glanced down at me, his lips curving for one of his beautiful smiles.