CHAPTER 6 DATE DAY #2
Snickers filled the facility as my team looked back at me. Some guys were trying to hold in their chuckles, but all hell broke loose once Zeke stared at me open-mouthed. He opened and closed his jaw, clearly trying to find words. I glared at him. Our trainer told me no talking until tomorrow.
“Fuck! You look so fucking stupid!” Zeke doubled over, still in half his gear. “At least we’ll all get some peace and quiet now.”
I flipped him off and walked to my own locker,
tugging my jersey off. Blood soaked my chest hair.
It had dried into my jersey and pants. Little flecks of blood had even found their way onto my skates.
It was going to be hell to get it all out.
Throwing a towel over my shoulder, I headed to the showers.
I was ready for a hotel bed and then my own bed tomorrow.
“We won,” Chris, our captain, said. He placed a hand on my shoulder. “You took a hook, and it earned us a goal. Will you be able to play next game?”
Nodding, I gave a thumbs up to my captain.
A minor tongue injury was nothing. I could still play with a fucked-up tongue.
The warm water hit my skin, rinsing the blood away to the drain.
The anxiety around my injury lingered, but I’d never admit that out loud.
I wouldn’t admit the fear in possibly being sidelined either.
Scrubbing soap and shampoo over myself, I finished my shower as quickly as possible and then threw my suit on.
Finally, I turned my phone on. It lit up with a dozen notifications. Two texts caught my eye.
Davis: You okay?
Me: Yep. Thanks, man.
But there was one I was way more intrigued by. Aife: That looked like it hurt.
Aife: Are you alright? You never got back onto the ice.
Me: They stitched up my tongue.
My phone lit up fairly quickly.
Aife: Your tongue? Holy crap, TJ. I’ve had stitches but never there.
A smile pulled on my lips as I followed my team out of the door and to the hotel. We’d been texting every day since I got her number, and Aife was witty. She always said things that piqued my curiosity, and I couldn’t wait for our Saturday hang out.
Me: Yeah, shit sucked.
Aife: Ew! Does it hurt?
This woman had so much compassion and empathy.
It truly stunned me. People never asked about my pain, just assumed I was fine because I was a big, bad hockey player.
Me: Like a bitch.
Me: How many stitches have you had? Aife: A lot. Night TJ.
Me: Night, Aife. See you Saturday.
My alarm blared, pulling a groan from my lips.
My eyes hurt, and my whole body hurt worse than the day before.
And my tongue really fucking hurt. It was a lot less swollen, but it was still a little difficult to talk.
None of that mattered though because it was Saturday.
Aife had agreed to spend the entire day with me.
Maybe she was as intrigued by me as I was by her.
I just wanted to get to know her, and I really couldn’t explain why. It went beyond basic attraction.
Sighing, I rolled out of bed and got dressed.
Nerves hit me out of the blue, my shoulders raising to my ears.
This wasn’t a date, but that notion didn’t stop my heart from racing.
I wanted to look good for Aife. I wanted her beautiful eyes on me, and again, I couldn’t explain why.
It was best to play this casual: jeans and a tee shirt.
We weren’t doing anything crazy. Today was just about getting to know her.
With a quick hand through my hair, I left my condo to meet Aife at a small breakfast café.
Her one caveat for hanging out was that she had to spend a few hours working on her paper.
I, of course, easily agreed. I’d sit in silence for hours on end if it meant time with her.
She was doing weird things to me, and part of me didn’t like that.
The last 88 time I started to feel things, I got royally fucked.
However, part of me didn’t care. Davis was always saying I needed more friends.
The café Aife picked was a small but bustling café right off the University of Chicago campus.
I wondered how close she lived to here. Today was supposed to be just lunch, but I’d weaseled a full day simply by milking my tongue injury.
I had to promise myself I wouldn’t overuse her compassion.
Aife was probably too kind for her own good.
“What can I get you?” A man with a blue apron asked.
I stared at the board and made my decision fairly quickly. “Large, black coffee and an egg, cheese, and bacon sandwich, please.” There was a slight lisp to my words, not helped by the stitches on the left side of my tongue.
“Name?”
“TJ.”
He nodded and set off to making my food as I found a spot for Aife and me to sit.
Aife hadn’t arrived, but that was okay. I wanted to see her walk in, to see her beautiful face.
She would hopefully be wearing a smile, and she had a wonderful smile.
It lit up her entire face, eyes crinkling and teeth flashing.
Fuck, I was a goner already. I had to keep these thoughts at bay.
There was still excitement at seeing her though.
The door chimed and the woman running through my mind entered, looking around. When her eyes met mine, she smiled before heading to the counter. Aife placed her order and walked over to me, plopping into her chair.
“You’re getting up to get our orders.” She stuck her tongue out at me.
“I’ve got an injury.” I purposefully made my lisp sound worse.
Aife snorted. “To your tongue, not legs.” Her eyes trailed to my jean-clad thighs as she said the word. She bit her bottom lip, staring at them for a moment before tracking her eyes back up to me.
Before I could respond, the waiter called my name then hers. Shooting her a joking glare, I grabbed our food and sat back down. My stomach growled greedily at the smell of eggs. This was no surprise; I was frankly always hungry.
“Well, don’t hesitate to dig in.” Aife grinned as she bit into her everything bagel.
Following her lead, I dug into my food. Food was a happy place for me.
So much so, I had learned to cook so I could make my own delicious meals.
Plus, it allowed me to have a hobby outside of hockey.
There was nothing quite like perfecting a really difficult dish… well, outside of a perfect slapshot.
When we were done eating, I started to nurse my coffee. Mornings were usually rough for me, but caffeine made it better. I peered over my cup at Aife. She had a gentle smile on her face as she polished off her bagel and fruit cup. She dabbed her mouth with a napkin and then leaned on her arm.
“How’s the tongue?”
“Definitely better,” I said softly. “Such a dumb injury.”
“It’s really not the worst injury though, right?”
“Sure, not the worst. But, you’ve got to admit it’s truly a dumb way to hurt yourself.” I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, I’ve had worse. This one is just embarrassing. Do you hear this lisp?”
“It’s not that bad of a lisp.” Aife giggled. “If it makes you feel better, I broke my thumb in a one car garage while in a mosh pit.”
She said it so casually, but there was so much to unpack in that statement. Where did I start? What was the thing I wanted to know the most? I leaned forward, palming my coffee cup.
“Yeah, you’re going to need to expand on that comment.” I took a sip of my coffee, avoiding the left part of my tongue. The heat burned the bit area, but caffeine was a must.
“Back in my junior/senior year of college, my best friend invited me to a concert. Mind you, I was a little skeptical when she said it was in a garage. We were under the impression that it was a punk rock show. Turns out it was death metal.”
Aife nodded nonchalantly. “That was the day I learned to always have fists while in the pits.”
Quirking an eyebrow at her, I took in her words. I wanted to keep asking questions. Talking wasn’t really my thing, but Aife seemed to bring it out in me. “You mosh frequently?” I leaned back in the chair, finishing up the last of my coffee.
She pointed at a skull with wings on her arm, a clear Deathbat tattoo. “I like metal.” She shrugged after her statement, a pink hue hitting her cheeks. The flush highlighted her freckles, and I couldn’t help the stare.
“Apparently enough to tattoo Avenged Sevenfold on you.” A small laugh escaped me. I pushed up my shirt to reveal my Slipknot tattoo. “I also like metal.”
Her beautiful smile lit up her face. “I see that.
Favorite song?” She leaned forward, a glint in her eyes.
“This is probably a little cliché but it’s ‘Before I Forget.’ What’s yours?” I asked, taking a sip of my second cup of coffee.
“Of Slipknot’s? ‘The Devil and I.’ Of Avenged?
Either ‘Dancing Dead’ or ‘MIA.’”
“Yeah, ‘MIA’ is a fantastic song. I love the lyrics. I can’t believe you broke your thumb though.” I smirked at her. Another blush lit her face as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ears.
Aife snorted as a laugh also bubbled out of her.
“Oh, it gets worse, TJ. Literally a month later, I broke my other thumb playing indoor soccer.”
“How?” I nearly spit my coffee out. “Are you accident prone? I feel like based on these stories, you’re a little accident prone.” I placed a hand on the table near hers. It was like I needed to touch her, but I wouldn’t just yet, not without her okay.
“I didn’t see the wall,” she said quietly. “And I’m not really accident prone… well, maybe.” There was humor in her voice, but a hint of sadness. I didn’t do sad well so I decided to tease her instead.
More laughter spilled out of me. “How do you miss a wall, Aife? Don’t feel bad, darling. I’ve broken quite a number of bones. My nose has been reset so many times; I don’t think it could take another break. And mine are usually for dumb reasons.”
I took another sip of my wonderful caffeine.
“I broke my nose one time falling on the ice, and it wasn’t even my first time on ice! Zeke still won’t let me live that one down.”
We spent the next hour talking about random injuries we had received before heading out to walk in the park near the café.
Despite it being October, the weather wasn’t too terrible, just a little chilly.
Aife pulled her jacket a little tighter as we trekked through the park.
Her cheeks were a little pink, and it only made her prettier.
She was truly beautiful, especially on the inside.
I was drawn to her and had to clench my hands to not pull her against me.
“Hey, TJ.”