Hot Talker – by Rhian Cahill #3
“If you can. Tomorrow works, too.” Morning skate won’t be an issue, and I’ll rearrange my afternoon workouts if I have to.
“Okay. I can meet you for dinner today.”
“Great! Frankie’s at six?”
“Yes. Six is good.”
“Perfect. See you then, beautiful.” I spin on my heel, a grin stretching my lips, but I only manage a few steps when she calls me back.
“Hey, Kallan?”
Stopping, I turn to face her, terrified she’s going to tell me she’s joking and doesn’t want to meet me for dinner. “Yeah.”
“It’s Haven.”
“Haven?”
She smiles. “My name. It’s Haven Wilton.”
“Haven.” It feels sweet and perfect. “I like it.”
She laughs. “Well, that’s good. It’s the only one I’ve got.”
“It’s a great name for a great girl.”
“How do you know I’m great?”
“You work in one of my two favorite places.”
“The library?”
“Yes. The only place I like more is being in my skates on ice.” I don’t add I think the library just stepped up a notch. I don’t want to scare her off. “See you at six. Tonight. At Frankie’s.”
She offers me a shy smile. “I’ll be there.”
“And maybe, after dinner, you can show me where to get ice cream. If you want.”
“I know just the place.”
We stare at each other, both smiling, for a minute before a man enters the row with a chattering toddler startling us from our daze.
Laughing, I say, “See you later, Haven.”
“See you.”
I give her another big smile before turning and heading toward the front of the building. I don’t stop until I’m out under the midmorning sun and half a block down the street.
But when I do, I spin around and look back. The smile still plastered on my face.
“Haven. Haven Wilton.” A rush of air leaves my chest. “ Haven .”
It’s a beautiful name.
A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.
And I cannot wait to sit across from her listening to her tell me everything there is to know about her.
HAVEN
I’m so nervous I’m chewing my thumb nail.
It’s something I haven’t done in at least six months.
It’s a habit I started when I came home from school to find all Mom’s things gone. A habit I thought I broke.
Apparently being asked out by a professional hockey player is enough to ramp up my anxiety. Not that this is anything like the fear I felt when Mom disappeared.
No. A date with a hot guy has me nervous in a completely different way. A tummy flipping, toe curling, heart pounding kind of way.
Being early isn’t helping settle my nerves, either. A few minutes isn’t much, but I had to take my time and the long way from the bus stop. If I hadn’t strolled around the block, looking in windows of shops I can never afford to step inside, a few minutes would be ten or fifteen.
Still, even a few minutes seems a lot. It’s why I’m down the street from Frankie’s. I didn’t want to wait out front and appear too eager—or easy.
“Whatcha doing?”
“Argh!” Whipping around I stumble over my feet and drop my bag. Scrambling to pick it up, I grab the handle and straighten, coming face to face with the man I’m supposed to meet.
“Shit. I scared you. Again.” His big hand curls over my shoulder, his knees bending to bring our eyes level. “You okay?”
“Um, yeah, I’m okay. Wasn’t expecting you to sneak up on me.”
“I didn’t sneak up. I called your name a couple of times.”
“Oh.” Was I so caught up in my head I didn’t hear him?
It’s possible. Mom always accused me of ignoring her. She wasn’t wrong but I didn’t think I did it with anyone else. And I definitely don’t want to ignore Kallan.
“Yeah, I’ve been here a while. Didn’t want to be late and risk you thinking I wasn’t coming. You might have left.”
His grin holds a tremble, and I wonder if he’s as nervous about tonight as I am. I offer him a smile.
“Same. Early, I mean. I hate being late. I’ve missed dates before because I’ve been late.”
“If a man didn’t hang around and wait for you, he’s an idiot, and contrary to how I appeared earlier today, I am not an idiot. I’d wait for at least an hour for you to show up.”
His words make me feel better. If we’re both eager and nervous about tonight it makes things more even. Especially when he’s so successful and I’m still working out my life. But I don’t want to dwell on our differences right now.
“Well, you don’t have to wait any longer. I’m here now.”
“Good.” His hand slides down my arm until our palms meet, then he threads our fingers together. “Come on. Let’s go get burgers.”
Trying to hold back the thrill that zips through me as Kallan leads us down the sidewalk, I match my steps to his as best I can. But his legs are long, and mine are not.
“Oh, shit. Sorry.” He shoots me a sheepish grin as he slows his pace. “If you can’t tell, I’m excited to spend time with you.”
“It’s okay. Your legs are way longer than mine. I’m used to rushing to keep up with everyone.”
“You don’t have to rush for me. I’ll slow down.” His smile turns into a scowl. “And if people want to spend time with you, they should meet you, not expect you to meet them or drag you along.”
“Oh.” His words, his consideration, have my eyes filling with tears, my throat constricting.
“I mean, sure, you should meet me too, because every relationship should be a two-way street, but, like you pointed out, our physical differences don’t make that possible, so in this case, I’ll do more meeting.”
His words. God. When was the last time someone was considerate of me?
Not Mom, or anyone else in my life. Although Mrs. C has helped me since I found myself on my own, but this seems different.
“How long have you worked at the library?”
Kallan’s question pulls me from my thoughts. “Officially since I was eighteen. But I worked for free from the first day I walked through the doors.”
“Oh? How’d you do that?”
“I re-shelved the books people left out on tables or chairs. Would you believe some people even leave them on the floor!”
“So, you’re a book lover.”
“Yes. You can learn so much from them, go to so many places.”
“You mentioned you don’t have a high school diploma. Can I ask why?”
“Ah, yeah, I guess it isn’t really a secret. I was in my final year of school when I came home to find my mom had disappeared. I had to drop out of school to get a job so I could pay rent, or I would have been homeless.”
“She’s missing?”
The concern in his voice has me rushing out, “Oh, not like that. She left. Took off with her boyfriend.”
“She left you?”
We’re in front of Frankie’s now, and while I’m okay with talking about myself, the depressing circumstances of how I came to be living on my own right after my eighteenth birthday doesn’t seem like good date conversation.
“Yes, she did. But I’m okay.” And I am. Life has been less stressful, and I no longer have to worry about who might walk in on me in the shower.
“Hmm…” Kallan pulls the door to Frankie’s open. “After you.”
“Thanks.” I step inside and take a deep breath. I don’t come here often—can’t afford to—but nothing beats the smell of juicy meat patties and onion cooking. “You are going to love the burgers here.”
“You aren’t the only one to recommend this place. It’s on the list of restaurants the Rogues org gave me.”
“They gave you a list of places to eat?”
“Yes. Along with important places.” He shoots me a grin. “Like libraries.”
“Let’s grab that table over there.” I point at the one in the back corner. It’s a little two-seater squished into a tight spot just beside the door to the kitchen.
“Lead the way, beautiful.”
I glance back quickly to see Kallan grinning at me. He called me beautiful earlier today and it’s hard to work out if he’s saying it because he thinks it or if it’s just what he says to women.
I’m trying not to judge him by others, but it’s hard.
The men Mom had around were, at the least jerks, at the most, creepy as fuck.
And the boys I went to school with didn’t leave me with a good impression of my contemporaries.
The ones in my class at the community college aren’t much better, either.
It seems as though I’ve been surrounded by poor examples of the opposite sex my whole life.
“Hey, you okay? Where’d you go?” Kallan stares at me from across the table.
“Oh. Sorry!” I yank out my seat and sit. “I was lost in thought.”
“Not good ones from the look on your face. Want to talk about it?” he asks as he lowers into his seat.
“No, it’s okay.” I wrack my brain for anything that might appease him. “Just trying to remember what was on my shopping list.”
He gives me a look that says he doesn’t believe me but lets it go and asks, “So which burger do you recommend?”
“The Big Red. It’s the biggest though, so you better be hungry.” I pick up the menu and browse the list. “ Oh .”
“What?”
“The menu has changed.” I frown. “The Big Red isn’t on here anymore.”
“Okay, see if you can find a similar one and we’ll get it. We’ll pick one other and split them so we can try two of the twenty burgers they offer.”
“Share?”
One of Kallan’s eyebrow arches. “You’re not one of those people who can’t share food are you?”
“No. But I’ve never had enough to share before.”
The second the words leave my mouth I want to take them back. I know Kallan is out of my league, but I don’t want to point out our differences.
For one night, I want to pretend I’m the kind of girl a guy like him would go out with.
I’m not delusional, I know this is my only shot at spending time with him. Especially once he finds out I barely have enough money in my purse to pay for my half of our meal.
KALLAN
I can’t take my eyes off Haven. I can’t deny I find her attractive—sexy—but the fact she isn’t afraid to enjoy a good meal makes her sexier. And don’t get me started on the way she lets the juice and sauce from her burger run down her chin and fingers…
Yeah, I want to lick that up.
I want to lick her up.
I’ve felt desire before. My focus might be firmly on hockey and being the best goalie I can be, but I’m not immune to the needs of my body, or the occasional female who piques my interest. I haven’t ignored either.
Except my desire for Haven is on a whole different level.