Chapter Two #3
It made him feel weird, kind of achy, but light at the same time. He rubbed his hand over his sternum, at a loss. He’d never felt this before, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh along with her, or hang up the phone and forget he’d ever walked into her clinic.
She cleared her throat. “That was terrible.” Her voice still held an amused note that fascinated him for some reason. “I’d even go so far as to say it was a borderline dad joke.”
He laughed, although there was a rusty edge to the sound, especially when compared to the musicality in her laugh. “I’ll have to take your word for that, since I don’t actually have any kids.”
She cleared her throat again, obviously in an effort to compose herself, maybe get the conversation back on track.
He could imagine her sitting at her desk, her posture perfect, hair in that professional bun.
His fingers twitched, almost aching to pull the pins from her hair, so he could sift through the silky strands.
Pull her toward him, so he could kiss her, see if she tasted as sweet as he imagined.
“Anyway, first off I wanted to let you know that I reached out to your surgeon and the team’s doctors and therapists.” The amusement had faded from her voice. She was back to business.
Head in the game, Sadler. Right. He spun around and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror hanging over the console. He needed a shave. “Okay.”
“They all basically said the same things you said in my office. That, yes, you have been cleared for training, and that they all think you’re wanting to push yourself too hard.”
He closed his eyes and sank onto the edge of the bed. She was going to turn him down.
Not ready for the inevitable, he changed tactics. Maybe he could use their shared history to his advantage. Lean on the nostalgia. Dirty, yes, but he was desperate. “How do we know each other? I don’t remember you.”
There was beat of silence. She was on to him, was going to ignore the question.
“Honestly, I’m not surprised.” She sighed and the sound made his ribs squeeze. What was with that? “It was a long time ago.”
“How long are we talking?”
“Umm, high school.”
Holy shit. He definitely hadn’t been expecting that. While it did give him a better timeline to go on, he still got nothing. “Sorry, I’m still drawing a blank.” Unless… No way. It couldn’t be. Then, again, maybe? “Hold on a minute. Are you telling me that you’re Alexandra Bridger?”
“One and the same.”
The confession left him stunned. Alexandra Bridger.
His biology tutor from senior year. His junior hockey league schedule meant he’d missed a lot of classes, and although the school district bundled work together for him, it was a lot for someone who wasn’t academically inclined.
For the life of him, he’d been unable wrap his head around the biology stuff.
His counselor had set him up with Alexandra, who’d only been a sophomore, but was in accelerated classes. “Umm, wow.”
“Yeah, I’ve changed a bit.”
That was an understatement. Alexandra Bridger had been a bit of a mousey thing.
Quiet and bookish, with glasses and a retainer.
Pretty much the entire nerd cliché, all in one package.
But she’d been sweet and nice and super smart.
Not to mention an awesome tutor. She’d not only helped him pass the class, but he’d gotten his best grade ever.
And now he hadn’t said anything in a really long time, and was totally looking like a fool.
“Yeah, you have.” Jesus, what a fucking stupid thing to say. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand. “I mean… that totally came out wrong… I didn’t… shit…”
“Breathe, Nick, it’s okay.” Her voice was calm, but authoritative. He found himself obeying without a second thought. Nope, definitely not the meek little mouse he once knew.
“Wow, Alexandra. How have you been?” And there he was, back to being a dipshit. Could he be any more of a fucking idiot?
“It’s been… interesting. But, as you can see, I’ve managed to finally get things figured out.
” There was weird note in her voice, but over the cell connection he couldn’t quite decipher it.
Not that he was very good at that stuff, even face to face.
“Anyway, after much deliberation, if you’re still interested, I’d like to take you on as a client. ”
He leaped to his feet. His heart damn near burst out of his chest, although he had no idea why.
Not that it mattered. All that mattered was that she was willing, which meant the faster they got started, the faster he got back in the lineup, and the faster he won the championship. “Great. When can we start?”
“Come by the clinic on Monday at 9:00am. We can go over the schedule and discuss your training, as well as payment and fees.”
Damn, it was only Friday. Which was fine. He could deal. “Great. I’ll see you then.”
She said goodbye and he hung up, tossing his phone back on the console. And then he let out a whoop and thrust his fist in the air. The whole thing was cheesy as fuck, but he didn’t care.
This was the year, he could feel it, deep inside. Everything was coming together. Soon, he’d be a champion and then no one, no one could tell him he wasn’t good enough.