Chapter Eight
Iwonder how Ellie is doing back in Atlanta. I hate to admit it, but she’s been on my mind a lot.
And she’s certainly starred in a few of my fantasies.
I could always text her, but that might be weird. I have no real reason to, and when we exchanged phone numbers, it was only in case one of us really needed to reach the other.
It wasn’t for the purpose of checking in.
Though we had a pleasant-enough evening watching the movie, we’re not yet friends or anything.
So yeah, it’d be really strange for me to text her.
That’s why I won’t.
But I really want to.
Shit, this has got to stop.
Not just because I shouldn’t be thinking this way, but more so due to the fact that my line is about to hit the ice.
Yeah, I’m in the middle of a game!
It’s the final leg of our three-game road trip, and we’re playing the Boston Bruins.
We won one of our previous matchups and lost the other.
This game, though, is looking promising. We’re up 4–2 midway through the third period. One more goal would be good insurance.
So let’s do this.
I fly off the bench and over the boards with my linemates, Arden and Hayden. Our more stay-at-home defenseman shoots the puck into the Bruins’ zone. All of us start chasing after it, but Arden gets to it first.
So does a Bruin, however, so now he and Arden are battling for the puck in the corner.
Though I have a guy covering me pretty well, I somehow manage to position myself in front of the Bruins’ net.
My opponent tries to bump me away, but I’m strong on my skates and hold steady.
Arden comes up with the puck and passes it to me. Though that defenseman is all over my ass, I manage to get off a clean shot.
And…I score!
We’re up 5–2 now, and there are only about eight minutes left in the period. Still, anything can happen, so our coach has us tighten up to a much more defensive style of play.
The strategy works, and we win the game.
Two out of three road game wins is respectable. We earned four out of six possible points.
Not bad.
It’s been a good run, but I’m ready to go home.
When I leave the arena with Arden and Finn, we stop out on the sidewalk to decide whether to go back to the hotel our team is staying in or grab a bite to eat.
Since the crisp New England autumn air is really whipping around us, I pull the collar of the long trench coat I have on over my suit up and around the sides of my neck.
There, that’s better.
Jerking my chin to an Italian restaurant that’s right across the street, I say, “I’m fucking starving, so I vote for food.”
Finn is in total agreement, but Arden tells us, “Actually, you guys go ahead. I think I’m going to head back to the hotel and turn in.”
“Okay, old man,” I tease.
We all love poking fun at Arden since he turned thirty. In actuality, though, I know he wants to go back to his room and FaceTime with Willow. It’s been several days now that we’ve been on the road, so I’m sure he’s missing her.
Kind of like how I’m missing Ellie.
Okay, it’s not quite the same, as my longing to get back and see Ellie is more about wanting to get to know her better.
Only as a friend, of course.
That’s what I keep telling myself, anyway.
Finn laughs and says something else about Arden getting old.
Our friend snorts. “Ah, fuck off, you two. You’re right behind me. Only three more years and you’ll both be thirty as well.”
“Shit, he has a point,” Finn says.
Chuckling, I reply, “Great. We can all ship off to the retirement home together.”
Arden, playing along, starts to back away.
Pointing at us, he says, “Just know I play a mean game of bingo, boys. Better brush up on your skills.”
I snort. “Fuck bingo. We’ll be playing cards, like we do on the team plane.”
Finn, his expression turning serious, says, “Now, wait just a minute. Can we bet on bingo? If so, let’s not rule it out.”
Laughing and turning away, Arden waves goodbye and throws out over his shoulder, “Finn, you can bet on anything in this life. Haven’t you figured that out by now?”
Shit, he’s right.
If he only knew that Finn and I have a current wager on his baby sister.
Yeah, I think we’ll keep that one to ourselves.
As Arden turns a corner and walks out of view, Finn and I cross over to the restaurant.
This is the first I’ve had any real alone time with him. It always seems like someone is around, usually Arden. I sure as hell can’t express my real thoughts on Ellie in front of him.
But I can to Finn.
So, as we reach the entrance of the restaurant, I stop and say, “By the way, speaking of bets and all that, you weren’t fucking kidding about Arden’s sister.”
Laughing, he says, “She’s beautiful, right?”
I nod. “Stunning.”
“And that body?” he asks, raising a brow.
“Exquisite.”
“Told you so,” he gloats.
What can I say?
He sure the fuck did.
But that doesn’t mean I’m losing the wager.
I tell him as much, and he says, “We’ll see about that. I think you’d better get that Range Rover detailed and ready for me.”
I chortle, “You wish. You’ll be eating your words when I’m cruising around in your Escalade.”
That makes him laugh. “You’re delusional, man.” Opening the restaurant door, he says, “Time will tell, but until then, let’s fucking eat.”
I can’t argue with that.
We head into what turns out to be an old-style Italian eatery. I like it—the place has charm. It’s not all that busy, which is great, but we still ask for a seat in the back.
The hostess leads us to a nice private booth in a far-away corner. We take off our coats and sit down across from each other.
After a beat, a waiter comes over with menus and two glasses of ice water.
We thank him as he hands us the menus and places the waters on the table.
After he leaves, we peruse our options.
“What are you thinking about getting?” I ask Finn.
“Hmm, let me see.” He taps the menu. “This Delmonico steak with a side of pasta sounds good.”
“It does,” I agree. “In fact, I think that’s what I’m getting.”
“Yeah, me too,” he says with finality.
When the waiter returns, we both order the steak and pasta.
Once he’s out of sight, Finn asks me how the first night with Ellie went.
Chuckling, he says, “You didn’t hook up with her and lose our bet already, did you? You could just be holding out on me.”
“Yeah, right, dickhead.” I roll my eyes at him. “No, nothing like that happened. Not even close. Our night was purely platonic. We watched a movie and then sat and chilled for a while.”
He nods. “Sounds nice. And hey, by the way, I’m just giving you a hard time. I know nothing happened. You have more willpower than to lose our bet on the first night.”
“Gee, thanks,” I mutter.
Ignoring my sarcasm, he asks, “So, is Ellie cool? I’m guessing if she’s anything like Arden, she’s pretty awesome.”
Our dinner salads arrive, so we wait until the waiter leaves again to continue our conversation.
When he’s out of earshot, I plunge my fork into my salad and nod. “Yeah, she’s great. She’s easy to be around. We hit it off right away.”
“Any flirting?” he asks.
I have to be honest, so, after I finish my bite of salad, I share, “Yeah, she’s a fucking huge flirt. But I think that’s just who she is. She likes to joke around a lot too.”
“Just who she is, huh?” Finn asks. He takes a sip of water, looking doubtful. Setting his glass down, he says, “Maybe she’s attracted to you, Nils. And that’s why she was flirting.”
Uh-oh, what if he’s right?
’Cause God knows I’m attracted to her.
Since I don’t even want to entertain the implications of us both being attracted to each other, I shake my head and insist, “Nah, like I said, it’s just who she is.”
Finn snorts, then says, “Okay, so I have an idea.”
“Uh-oh, what?”
I’m leery, as you never know what this guy might come up with.
Sure enough, he says, “Maybe when we have an opportunity, we should put it to a test. If Ellie flirts with me, then we’ll know that’s just how she is with everybody. But if not…” He cocks his head and raises a brow that says more than words ever could.
Great. Just great.
But since I know I’m right—I hope—I stab a tomato wedge with more force than necessary and say, “Yeah, sure. When you finally meet her, we’ll see how she is with you.”
Ugh.
I don’t like this.
Why does the thought of Ellie flirting with Finn bother me so much?
It shouldn’t, not at all, but it does.
So, what does that say about me and how I feel about her?
Nothing I care to think about right now.