8. I Was Just Going For Impressive
8
I WAS JUST GOING FOR IMPRESSIVE
SETH
I’d looked up the best places to eat in Rome, wanting to find the perfect place to take Kylie. I have no idea why, but I feel a strong need to impress her, something I’ve never experienced with a woman before.
The cab drops us off out the front, and I can tell right away that I’d made the right choice when Kylie comments on how cute the place is, with its red and white checked tablecloths and intimate atmosphere.
A waiter greets us at the door, and I try out some of my basic Italian to let them know we have a reservation.
“ Salve, ho una prenotazione sotto Seth James.”
The waiter nods with a smile, grabs some menus, and leads us towards a table near the window, a sign with my name on it in the centre.
Once we’re seated and he leaves to give us a few minutes, Kylie looks at me with a raised eyebrow. “I didn’t know you could speak Italian?”
“Only very, very basic Italian. One of my buddies at work, Dean, spent some time in Rome, and when I told him we were coming here, he taught Linc and me some of the phrases we might need. Linc has forgotten every word, of course, but I have a good memory for this sort of stuff.” I say with a shrug, grinning at her.
“Well, I have no idea what you said, but it sounded sexy as hell.”
“Wow, sexy, huh? I was just going for impressive.” I reach forward to take one of the glasses of water that the waiter left for us.
She grins at me. “Seth, I highly doubt that is the first time someone has told you that you are sexy. There is no way you have made it this far in life without realising how hot you are.”
I stupidly choose this moment to swallow, and now I’m choking while the water goes down the wrong hole. Once I’ve coughed my way out of sudden death, I take another mouthful while she laughs.
“Look, it may have been mentioned occasionally, but I don’t really run around asking for attention.” I choose not to mention the endorsement contracts I’ve had where my looks have definitely been why I got paid. It just comes with the professional athlete gig, and I hated every second of those photo shoots. “Besides, you’re one to talk. You can’t honestly tell me you aren’t aware of how attractive you are?”
She squirms a little in her seat, but her little smile reveals how she feels about the compliment. “Honestly, my mother raised me to love myself. A few of our friends back home are absolutely stunning, like model-level stunning, but I’ve never been one to compare myself to others. I’m fit. I run, surf when I can, and am always up for a hike and stuff, but I also like food. I will never be a supermodel, but that wasn’t my dream, anyway.”
I’ve spent more than my fair share of time around supermodels; some are even married to my teammates. But I think this is the first time I have ever heard someone say they love themselves. And I can tell she means it. Her confidence is one of the things that drew me to her in the first place, and having her own her identity in front of me like this makes her even more attractive. If we weren’t in the middle of a restaurant right now, I’d be kissing her.
Instead, I settle for reaching across the table and taking her hand. “You are honestly the most intriguing woman I have ever met.”
She smiles at me again, and I can’t ignore the little flutter happening in my chest right now. When Linc forced me on this trip, the last thing I’d expected was to meet a woman so captivating. It’s such a shame she’s from the other side of the world.
The waiter returns and takes our orders, pausing when Kylie reads from the menu to study her.
“You both have different accents. Where are you from?” he asks in a heavy Italian accent.
“He’s Canadian, and I’m Australian,” Kylie answers for us both, and his eyes light up.
“ Ah, bellissima canguro ! I have a sister in Australia, and I would love to visit very much.”
“It is a beautiful country. You should definitely visit your sister sometime,” Kylie replies with a smile.
“What was that you just said? bellissima canguro ? What does that mean?” I ask, curious about the look on his face while he continues to stare at Kylie.
“Oh.” He blushes a little, confirming my suspicions that he was flirting with her. “It means beautiful kangaroo.” He grins at Kylie.
She laughs. “I don’t think I’ve ever been called that before. Thank you.”
He stares at her for a few more beats, and I clear my throat, causing him to jump. He bustles off, and Kylie laughs again.
“That was strange,” she says, and I raise an eyebrow.
“Yeah? Don’t get called beautiful kangaroo all that much?” I ask, and she shakes her head .
“Ah, no, that was definitely a first. These Italian men really do like to flirt.”
“That surprises me,” I say, and she cocks her head to the side, running her eyes over me.
“What surprises you?”
“That you don’t have men falling at your feet wherever you go.”
She blinks at me for a moment. “Wow… That was smooth. You are full of surprises, Mr.”
“So are you, bellissima canguro. ”
She tips her head back and laughs, and I could happily spend forever making her laugh like that.
Once we finish dinner, we decide to explore the new neighbourhood rather than take a cab straight back to the hotel. We’re in a quieter area now, away from all the well-known landmarks, and it’s nice not to be surrounded by other tourists for a change.
Grabbing some gelato, we find a bench to sit on in a local park and people-watch while we continue talking.
“So, what’s your plan for after the tour? Are you guys heading straight home or doing more travelling?” Kylie asks, taking a scoop of her mango gelato.
I watch, captivated, while she delicately puts the spoon in her mouth, marvelling that something so innocent could be so damn sexy.
“I think we’re staying in London for a few days and then heading home. I left the planning up to Linc. But we have to be back at work in a few weeks.” I’ve been avoiding thinking about going back.
The trip has so far had the desired effect that Linc, my coach and my therapist had hoped for. I haven’t been thinking quite so much about the pressure from the fans and the press about the end of last season. And I know a large part of that has been because of the very distracting woman sitting next to me.
“We’re in London for four nights before we head home. I’d wanted to explore Scotland or Ireland, but Tara needs to get back to work. I quit my job before we came, so I guess I’ll have to work out what I want to do once we get back.” She says it casually, but when she stares down at her cup of gelato, I wonder if maybe she’s not as carefree as she tries to appear.
“Do you have something you enjoy doing that you could find a job in?” I ask, and she shrugs.
“Nothing that I feel particularly passionate about. I can help Will out a little with his accounts stuff for a while cause he’s just started his own electrician business. But I don’t see myself staying in that line of work for long. I get bored in an office, but things like retail and working in the food industry also don’t appeal either.” She takes another mouthful of gelato before looking over at me. “What about you? Did you always know you wanted to be a physiotherapist?”
I freeze for a moment. So far, I’ve managed not to outright lie to anyone about what I do for work, just letting everyone think I work behind-the-scenes without going into any detail. But I’m not ready to tell Kylie that I’m the captain of my team and one of the highest-paid players in the NHL. The anonymity that I’ve had on this trip has been refreshing, and although I’m sure she won’t care, I just can’t do it.
“I’ve been active my whole life, so I knew I wanted to continue working with athletes as a career. Studying sports medicine was an obvious choice for me.” There. Not quite a lie.
I still feel guilty, though. But not guilty enough to lay all my truths bare.
Kylie sighs. “I envy that. Must be nice to have something you enjoy so much.”
Do I still enjoy playing hockey? Until this last season, I would have confidently said yes when asked that question. Now… I’m not so sure. My life has always revolved around the game, almost a little too much, but after the stress of the past few months and dealing with the expectations from the team and the fans, I’m just happy to have time away.
I shrug while the thoughts roll around in my head, deciding to change the subject to something less fraught. “So, you mentioned you surf?”
“Yeah, with my brother Will. We don’t live super close to the beach like when we were kids, but we try to go at least once a month. I love it.” Her smile transforms her entire face while she speaks animatedly with her hands. “There is just something so peaceful when I’m on the water. The rocking motions of the waves, the beauty of the beach first thing in the morning. And sometimes there are dolphins… It’s just my happy place.”
“I’m sure people have asked you this a thousand times, but don’t you worry about sharks?” I ask, reaching into my limited knowledge about Australia.
She smirks. “You know, you’re actually the only person on the tour who hasn’t asked me about the scary Australian wildlife. Yeah, I’ve seen sharks, but I just let them do their thing. Most of our wildlife just want to be left alone. But you guys have got bears and mountain lions and shit!”
“I can promise you, I have yet to see a bear or mountain lion. So you’re living far more on the edge than me.”
She tilts her head to the side as she regards me. “I guess you’re not big on taking risks, huh?”
I think for a moment before answering. My job itself is a risk every time I step onto the ice, but outside of hockey, I guess she’s right. I’ve never taken many risks.
“Well, it’s not like I jump out of planes or anything like that regularly. Or rub shoulders with sharks… But I’ve never really been in a position where I’ve had to.”
“Do you think you would jump out of a plane if you were given the option?” she asks, sounding far more interested than I was expecting.
“Um… I’m not sure,” I reply, eyeing her with caution.
There’s a gleam in her eye that I’m suddenly a little scared of. “Well, we could do it together in Austria. Tara won’t do it, but I kind of want to. It could be fun to do together.” She looks so excited, and my heart races a little.
I’d noticed there were options for several activities in Austria, but I hadn’t thought about actually taking part in any of them. But now I have this beautiful, carefree woman asking me to step outside my comfort zone with her.
So, against everything I ever thought about myself, I’m stunned when the words “sure, why not” come out of my mouth.
What on earth am I getting myself into with this woman? I have no idea, but I’m a little excited to find out.
We catch a cab back to our hotel, and even though we have an early start tomorrow to drive to Venice, I’m still not ready to say goodbye to Kylie. We’ve chatted about everything and nothing for hours, and I can’t recall the last time I talked this much.
Hand in hand, I walk her to her door, aware that Tara is likely waiting for her inside. That doesn’t stop me from pressing her back against the door, bringing my lips to hers in what starts out as a chaste kiss. But when she fists my shirt and pulls me closer, deepening the kiss, I soon become lost in the sensation of her lips against mine, and her hand tightens on my shirt. I slide my hands down her sides and grip her hips, swiping my tongue across her lips softly, and she opens her mouth to me with a moan. She releases my shirt and slides her hand up, coiling her fingers in the hair at the back of my neck.
“Ack, get a room. No one wants to see that.”
We break apart to see one of the other Australian girls glaring at us from the end of the hall when she steps out of the elevator. I can feel myself blush, but Kylie just laughs.
“Nice, Georgia. Jealousy looks great on you,” Kylie replies with a grin, and Georgia stomps off towards her room.
Once Georgia is gone, Kylie turns to look back at me. “She has been eye-fucking you every chance she gets and has made it more than clear that she can’t understand why you’re interested in me.”
This is all complete news to me, and I frown down at her. “That’s ridiculous.”
Kylie shrugs. “I don’t care. Girls like that are just bitter. It’s their problem, not mine.”
“Well, good, because I am very, very interested in you. I actually didn’t even know her name,” I admit, and she laughs again while pulling me closer.
“Funny, I’m very, very interested in you, too.” She presses her lips back to mine.
We pick right back up where we left off after our rude interruption, and within minutes, I’m breathless. She’s pressed right up against my chest, and her hands slide up my back, making their way up under my shirt. I glide my palms along the top of her jeans, my fingers caressing the soft skin peeking out from where her top has ridden up, and she gasps against my mouth, shivering a little.
“We probably need to either go somewhere a bit more private or call it a night. Because this is fast moving away from a PG rating,” I say, and she groans a little before pulling away.
“As much as I really want to take the first option, I promised myself that I wouldn’t jump straight into bed with anyone on this trip,” she says, looking up at me.
She seems nervous, so I nod and kiss her forehead. She closes her eyes, lets out a little sigh, and leans into me a little more.
“Good night, bellissima canguro ,” I whisper in her ear, and I feel her shake with silent laughter.
“I see I have a new nickname?” she asks, tipping her head back to look up at me .
“Ha ha, no. I just like calling you bellissima. Because you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
She holds my gaze for the longest time, her eyes shining. “Good night, Seth,” she whispers, stretching up onto her tip toes to kiss me softly on the cheek before pushing down on the door handle behind her and backing into the room.
She blows me a kiss, and I touch my fingers to my lips with a smile.
Once the door is closed, I stay where I am for a moment, just processing everything. This woman has consumed my brain for the past twenty-four hours, and I’m beginning to realise I’m fast becoming addicted to making her smile.