CHAPTER 14
KIERAN
His Monday started at five in the morning with a workout that had left him exhausted and with his head spinning.
But that last one had nothing to do with the way his personal trainer had pushed his muscles to failure.
No, the dizziness was caused by Adrian's incessant questions, who wanted to dissect every second of the previous night.
Kieran knew that his best friend was excited about the possibility of Rila and him getting back together, but he also knew that he peppered him with questions like that just to annoy him.
While the owner of his heart tried to get him out of his mind with her stubbornness, Adrian liked to tease him, using her as a weapon.
What was Rila wearing? How many times did she curse him yesterday? Did she like the pancakes? What was her reaction when she saw the rink? Did she try to throw her skates at your head?
And when the training ended and they each returned to their respective homes, Adrian continued with the questions through messages. It was very difficult to make Kieran lose his cool, but his friend was asking to be called names and have his number blocked.
He had just finished lunch and was packing his suitcase to catch the flight that would take them to the city where his next game would take place when his cell phone beeped.
Kieran had already ignored Adrian's last five messages and was about to do the same with this new one when his eyes glued to the screen.
It wasn't his friend's contact that was flashing on his cell phone, but an unknown number.
Frowning, Kieran dropped his gray sweatpants into the open carry-on suitcase on the bed and grabbed the device from the bedside table.
Unknown number: stop sending me milkshakes.
Four words were enough to make the corner of his lip rise. Fuck yes, she was texting him. The woman who twenty-five days ago flipped him the bird when he said they needed to talk was starting a conversation. He knew this was a big step forward.
Kieran: why should I?
My Rila: because if you don't, I will become diabetic. Stop.
Kieran: once a week then?
He saw three dots appear and disappear on the screen twice before the answer arrived.
My Rila: fine, I'm not gonna be stupid and deny a free milkshake.
And then, a small smile stretched across his lips. That was an opening. A small, very tight opening, but it was still there. And fuck, he'd bend in three to get through that gap if he had to.
My Rila: when is the second date gonna happen?
Kieran: looking forward to going out with me again?
My Rila: I'm looking forward to finishing this soon. Desperate, actually.
The player ran his tongue between his lips and smiled, managing to see her rolling her eyes at him.
Kieran: we're going out next week. When are you free?
Minha Rila: Tuesday or Thursday night.
He had a game on Thursday, so it would have to be the first option. Which was good, because he would have enough time to think about what they would do. He would have eight days to organize everything and see her again.
Kieran: I'll pick you up at the hospital on Tuesday, then.
My Rila: or I can drive and we'll meet there.
Kieran: no, I'll be waiting for you in the same place as yesterday.
My Rila: fine.
With a hint of a smile on his face, he finished organizing his suitcase. He had forty minutes until he had to leave to meet the team at the airport, which was enough time for a nap.
Kieran threw himself onto his back on the king bed and sighed, staring at the plaster ceiling of some color that wasn't exactly white.
He didn't know the name of this color, just as he had no idea what the paint on the walls was called, but the architect and interior designer he hired did a great job on the house.
The entire building was decorated in a modern industrial style, with dark wood, marble, and indirect lighting in every room, and gray, brown and black being the main colors. He loved his home, but he knew he would love it even more when Rila was walking through it with just his uniform on her body.
The image of her with the black and gold fabric stopping in the middle of her thighs, the charcoal-colored strands messy, and her mouth stretched out in a smile made all the blood in his body go to the region below his waist.
He remembered perfectly how those dark eyes were even more beautiful when they sparkled with satisfaction and lust. He could still hear the gasps that Rila let out every time his member buried itself in her and the hoarse moan that escaped when he circled his tongue through her folds.
And now he was completely hard when he should have been napping.
The ringing of his cell phone made his body jolt on the mattress, startled by the sudden noise. And when he saw his mother's name on the screen, Kieran felt like a teenager being caught looking at adult magazines.
He picked up the device and cleared his throat so his voice didn't sound any different, because he knew Sophie Ward would ask what was going on if he didn't sound completely normal.
— Hi, mom — he answered — Is everything okay?
— Hi, honey. Yes, don't worry, we're fine — her cheerful voice echoed through the speaker, her Canadian accent becoming more evident to his ears now that he had been living in the United States for a while.
Kieran tried to call his family at least once every two weeks because he knew if he didn't, there was a good chance his mother would show up in Boston when he wasn't expecting.
— Do you need anything? Do you want me to send more money?
Now that he had a million-dollar contract, he could help his parents and make them financially comfortable.
Of course, at first they were stubborn and refused to touch the money that the player sent monthly, but Kieran managed to convince them by saying that he had nothing to do with the entire amount he received.
That was the least he could do for them.
His parents always did everything so they could have a good life, so that nothing was needed at home.
Kieran saw his mom waking up at four in the morning to prepare dishes for the bakery where she had worked for years, and his father arriving late at night after spending the day in the carpentry shop.
They exhausted themselves daily and still found time to do some family activities, like picnics at the municipal skating rink.
And because he saw them working and working and working, Kieran did his best to fend for himself, not wanting them to worry about him in the middle of their exhausting routine.
So he learned to take public transportation on his own earlier than any other kid in his class, didn't ask for help with his homework, and when he needed new equipment, he managed to get a job during the summer vacation and scrape together as much as he could.
When Kieran wasn't skating or studying, he was helping his parents with their respective jobs.
It was in his father's carpentry shop that he made his own hockey stick, which now hung on his bedroom wall. It was from his mother that he learned how to do the basics in the kitchen and not turn an egg into charcoal.
— No, don't even think about it, we're fine. I'm calling because I miss you.
He frowned at the information.
—Mom, we talked five days ago.
— Can't a mother miss her son? — Sophie puffed on the other end of the line and he raised his eyebrows, knowing she wasn't telling the truth.
— Yes, but a son can also tell when his mom is stalling. Just tell me what happened.
Kieran exhaled heavily and scratched the beard on one side of his jaw, pushing himself up so that he was sitting with his back against the dark, padded headboard.
— I heard that my son finally went after the love of his life.
Adrian, that son of a bitch with a big mouth. Of course he would tell her, he knew she was worried about the fact that Kieran never dated again after Rila. A few women passed by his bed, but he never let them stay for long and he certainly didn't talk to his mother about them.
None of them would have his heart because it was with Rila this whole time.
— The pancakes were for her — it wasn't a question, of course his mother knew.
When he was sixteen, she sat him down for an extremely awkward conversation about sex, and when he thought the torture was finally over, she brought up Rila.
Sophie saw them together at the lake through the kitchen windows and knew what was happening, she could see how Kieran's eyes followed Rila all the time and how they sparkled with every loud laugh she gave. She wanted him to be careful, not because Rila was his bosses’ daughter or anything like that, but because she didn't want to see him in love with someone who lived almost four thousand miles away.
She should have said it sooner, because by the time the message arrived, Kieran was already a goner.
And his mom was the first person he called six years ago, when he was completely destroyed. When he arrived in Vancouver on Christmas morning, his mother was waiting for him with warm French toast and a comforting hug.
— Well, I'm sure they turned out great, but, honey, I don't think just a few pancakes will be enough to bring Rila Hill back to you.
— I have a plan — Kieran would make her remember what they had while creating new memories of them. And his plan was working.
Yes, she made him take her back to the hospital because she didn't want him to know where she lived. She had also practically jumped out of the car before he could even press the handbrake button. And the goodbye kiss certainly didn't happen.
He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to dip his fingers through the black strands and pull her toward his mouth. He wanted those soft lips he dreamed of every night against his. He wanted to taste her again.
Instead, all he got was a “your mom's pancakes are better, but thanks” before she closed the door and disappeared into the MedHarbor parking lot.
But, she did send that message. She had approached him of her own free will, and that was all he needed to know that his plan was working. And now he needed to organize the other date that would take place in nine days.
— Mom, there's something else I need to ask you.