Chapter 9 #3
God, he couldn’t think straight in her presence.
All his good intentions had simply vanished.
But now it was enough. Lilly was…irrelevant to him.
It was about Delfina, who was now standing in front of him, leaning uncertainly against her mother.
Lilly wrapped her arm around her, as if hoping to protect her from all the evil in the world, before saying to her friend, “Daisy, this is Austin. Austin, this is Daisy. Sorry, I meant to get you two earlier.”
Fox ignored her. He was incapable of doing anything but staring at Delfina, his eyes burning.
He hadn’t had enough time to get a good look at her last time and now it was hard to tear his gaze away.
She had dark brown, slightly curly hair – his hair – and was tall for her age.
He’d googled it. He’d googled pretty much everything you’re supposed to know about nine-year-old girls and yet he still had no clue.
Del held Lilly’s hand tightly as she met his gaze…
and shit, she looked nervous, didn’t she?
And his creepy, shocked silence probably didn’t help matters.
“Hey,” he said warmly, swallowing as he slowly crouched in front of her. He was only now realizing how huge he was and he certainly didn’t want to frighten her. “I’m sorry I didn’t react better yesterday. I was just surprised to see you. Nevertheless, I was truly happy to meet you and I still am.”
“Yeah?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes,” he said firmly. “And I’m even happier that you’re here now. Do you like hockey?”
“It’s okay,” she said with the unabashed honesty that only a child could muster. “It doesn’t look that hard to hit a disc. I prefer swimming.”
Fox laughed and glanced up at Lilly, who was also snorting, before he leaned forward conspiratorially and muttered, “You’re right, it isn’t that hard! But it’s a lot of fun. So, you enjoy swimming?”
She nodded seriously. “I’m faster than everyone else!” she whispered loudly.
He smiled broadly. “You know, I have a pool. You should come over for a swim sometime…”
“Really?” Her eyes widened. “I can do somersaults underwater and a handstand too.” She turned and looked up. “Mom, can we go swimming at Mr. Fox’s?”
Mr. Fox… Shit. But yes, he understood that she would need time.
“I don’t see why not,” Lilly replied, her voice as incredibly warm and gentle as he remembered. Completely different from a minute ago.
“Cool,” Delfina replied enthusiastically. “Can Aunt Daisy come too? She always says she needs to exercise more.”
Lilly’s friend sighed. “I prefer lying down to swimming, Del, but it’s nice of you to invite me.”
“You’re welcome to invite friends,” he said with a shrug.
“Oh, and before I forget, I brought you something.” He stood up hesitantly.
“Just a minute.” He stepped back into the locker room, ignoring the curious glances of his teammates, and pulled the souvenir from his locker that he’d taken from a cabinet next to the locker room that morning before hurrying back.
He suddenly felt stupid. Maybe it was a dumb idea, but he’d already retrieved it, so…
“I don’t know if you’ll like it, but I had a collection of these as a kid, so I thought you might like it too.” He carefully handed her the gigantic foam finger in blue and red — the Hawks’ colors.
Delfina opened her mouth in awe and immediately put it on. She had to hold it with her other hand so it wouldn’t slip from her tiny fingers. “Mom, my hand is huge!” she exclaimed excitedly.
“I can see that.” Lilly smiled broadly — and as if on cue, his stomach contracted again.
Her smile had been dangerous back then.
But today, it didn’t interest him in the slightest.
Quickly, he looked away.
“I’m glad you like it. If you wave it, I’ll know exactly where you’re sitting and can wave back.”
“Cool,” she said, beaming…and shit, he felt like a damn hero. Like he’d just solved the energy crisis, or at least reversed global warming.
“Great. I have to get ready now, but…will you wait for me later?”
Lilly avoided his gaze but nodded. “Okay. We’ll just stay in our seats.”
They said goodbye, Del waving her giant foam finger at him, and as he watched them go, his heart felt so heavy and light at the same time that he felt dizzy.
Man, Delfina was a cool kid. His kid.
And she called him Mr. Fox.
Sighing, he rubbed his face and only looked up when he heard footsteps.
Coach Gray approached from the direction in which Lilly, Delfina, and Lilly’s friend had just disappeared. “Was that…?”
“Yes.”
Gray squeezed his shoulder. “I’m truly sorry. I can only imagine. I have daughters, myself. They’re teenagers now, but they used to be younger. So, if you need anything, let me know.”
He nodded. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Gray sighed heavily. “You know…it’s kind of tragic. I know dozens of players who wouldn’t care if they knew nothing about their kids. But it happened to the wrong guy. I hope the mother knows she robbed you of your daughter’s childhood.”
Well, he was just hoping they didn’t end up beating each other up.
And never talked about sex again because that gave his body inappropriate ideas.