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“So, how’d it go last night? What’d I miss? How’s everyone?”
Still sipping her first cup of coffee, Vivi glanced up at her sister, who looked much more awake than Vivi felt.
In fact, her sister looked way too interested in her answer.
Vivi had a feeling she was going to need more coffee for this conversation.
“Everyone’s fine.”
“Good.” A pause. “I miss seeing everyone at the games. Are they playing at home this weekend?”
“No.” She yawned and took another sip of coffee. “They have a game Wednesday.”
“Hmm. Maybe I’ll go to the game. Do you work? We can go together.”
“I work, sorry. You should go, though.”
“Maybe I will. I’ll text Lori, see if she’ll be there.”
Since her sister didn’t need an answer to that question, she didn’t give one.
But apparently, Aly wasn’t finished with this conversation.
“Doing anything tonight?”
And bingo.
But she sure as shit wasn’t going to make this easy on her sister so she ignored, ignored, ignored.
“So, are you gonna be home for dinner?”
And more ignoring. Which was stupid.
“No.”
“You going out?”
“Yep.”
“Anyone I know?”
“Yep.”
Aly huffed out a huge sigh and dumped her cereal bowl in the sink. “You suck, you know that, right?”
Vivi rolled her eyes. “And who the hell told you? He only asked me when he was leaving. How the hell did anyone find out? Did Justin send out a mass text and—”
“No! God, no. Don’t blame this on Justin. You know Derek can’t keep his mouth shut. He texted me last night. Said he was warning me you might have company when I got home. You know how he is. I was gonna blow him off but,” she shrugged, “I was curious. He said you and Justin were talking a lot and that you asked him to stay.”
“I asked him to stay and help me move the furniture.”
Damn it. She should’ve kept her mouth shut because now her sister was staring at her like she knew exactly what had happened.
Which was exactly nothing.
Huffing out a sigh, Vivi shook her head. “Fine. You wanna know what happened? I’ll tell you. He’s got ink and I want to see it. He told me he’d show it to me if I went out with him. So we’re going out tonight. No big deal. Nothing going on. End of story.”
Except it wasn’t the end of the story because there was definitely something going on.
“Okay.” Aly drew out the word to at least five syllables. “That totally makes it sound like there’s nothing going on.”
When Vivi shot her a look, Aly held up her hands in self-defense.
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I think Justin’s a great guy. I just...didn’t know you’d think so too.”
That sounded like a diss. “What? I can’t like nice guys? I’ve dated nice guys.”
Aly’s eyebrows rose. “Name a single guy you’ve dated more than once in the past two years.”
She opened her mouth to respond. And couldn’t.
“Fuck you.” She fake-smiled. “Have a nice day at work.”
Aly rolled her eyes, used to Vivi’s sarcasm.
“Viv, I’m not telling you not to date him. I think he’s a great guy. I think you should date him. I just...”
“Just what?”
Aly sighed. “I just want you to be happy.”
“And happy means having a nice guy to take care of me, right?”
Aly turned to put her mug in the dishwasher before answering. “You know that’s not what I mean. If you like him, date him. But if you’re just looking to scratch an itch, maybe he’s not the right guy.”
Vivi didn’t take offense at her sister’s words. She knew exactly what Aly was saying and why. These teammates were friends. Their girlfriends were friends. For a year or so after their parents had moved to Florida, she and Aly had been kind of isolated. They’d each had their own friends, but mainly they’d had each other.
Now their close circle was expanding and, for the first time in her life, she knew she didn’t want to alienate anyone.
“Shit, I should’ve said no.”
Aly responded by smacking her on the back of the head. “Don’t be an idiot. He’s a sweetheart. You could do with some sweet in your life.”
Scraping her hands through her hair and pushing the length behind her back, she groaned. “That’s the problem. I don’t do nice guys. There’s got to be something wrong with him if he’s into me.”
“Stop that. Right now.”
Aly’s sharp tone snagged Vivi’s full attention and she stared at her sister with wide eyes.
“There is nothing wrong with you. I mean, yeah, you can be a pain in the ass but you’re my sister and I get to say that. You’re also funny, creative, and brilliant so don’t give me that undeserving shit.”
Vivi looked up at her sister with a grin. “I love you too.”
“Of course you do.” Aly’s haughty look suited her. “And don’t forget it. And Vivi? Give Justin a chance. He may act shy. But you gotta watch the quiet ones. They usually surprise you.”
*****
“Hey, Justin, we’re gonna go out to dinner later. You in?”
Justin closed his eyes as he undressed after practice. He was tired, his thighs screaming because of the wind sprints, and his arms aching from taking shots.
He wanted to take a hot shower for an hour. Then he wanted to soak in a hot tub for another hour. Then he wanted to eat the contents of his fridge and sleep for a couple hours before he picked up Vivi for their date.
Mostly, though, he just wanted to eat and sleep and spend time with Vivi.
“Not tonight.”
“Oh yeah? Why? You got something better to do?”
Since Derek probably knew exactly what those plans were, Justin didn’t bother to answer, just shot his friend the bird.
Derek snorted. “That’s what I thought. Hey, man, I’m glad to see you finally took my advice and just asked her out.”
Justin tried ignoring him, knowing that probably wouldn’t work. And it didn’t.
“So where’re you taking her?”
“Taking who where?”
Will crashed onto the bench next to Justin, steam still rising from his body as he began to pull off his gear.
“No one and nowhere.”
“Uh-huh.” Will grunted as he tossed his sweater in the bin to be washed. “So you finally asked out Viv. Good. Maybe now you’ll stop moping around.”
Justin sucked in a deep breath and bent down to strip off his socks.
“You finally ask out Viv.” Lad Marchenko nodded from his spot on the opposite bench. “That is good thing. Jake wondered—”
“Jesus Christ, you guys are worse than old women.” Dirk Bennett sat next to Lad and stripped his sweater over his head. “Leave the guy alone. You keep bugging him and he’ll never ask another girl out again. And the poor guy needs to get laid sometime this year.”
As the guys around him laughed and yanked his chain, Justin maintained his silence as he headed for the showers.
No way in hell was he talking about his date. He knew the guys didn’t mean any harm, but he didn’t want to jinx it. He still wasn’t sure she wasn’t going to cancel. But there was no way in hell he’d say that to anyone because that would just make him even more pathetic.
So when Will followed him into the showers, he was prepared for more good-natured busting.
Apparently, the other guys had moved on to another subject and were ragging on Ian for something. Ian might be younger than the rest of the guys but he could give as good as he got. Justin had more important things on his mind.
“You know we’re just messing with you, right? I think it’s great you asked Vivi out. I like her.”
Justin rolled his eyes as he stuck his head under the water. “Thanks, Dad. Glad to know I have your approval.”
Will reached over and smacked Justin on the back of the head. “Hey, you know I’m sensitive about my age. Don’t be a dick.”
Knowing Will was making a joke, Justin didn’t bother to respond.
“But I’m worried about you.”
Justin shot his roommate a frown as he lathered his hair. The length was starting to be a pain in the ass, but he wasn’t getting it cut while he was doing well.
“What are you talking about?”
“You haven’t dated since you and your girlfriend broke up. You never really talked about it so I was never really sure if you were upset or not.”
“You seriously want to talk about my breakup with Ashley?”
Will scrubbed shampoo through his hair. “Sure. If you do.”
Justin shook his head, hiding a grin. “No. I really don’t.”
“Thank God. I don’t want you crying on my shoulder in the shower. That’d be too fucking weird.”
Justin laughed out loud, making a few of the other guys turn and stare. But they all kept their mouths shut and stayed away. Because if Will had singled you out to talk, you didn’t intrude.
The veteran defenseman had become the de facto team leader in the locker room. Before Coach Cary had moved up to the front office, it’d been his job to be the one to make sure the guys had someone to talk to if they needed it.
“I appreciate the thought but if you wanted to talk to me, you could’ve done this at the apartment.”
Will shrugged, letting the water pour over his head to wash out the shampoo. “Yeah, but then no one else would know I talked to you. Maybe they won’t bug you now.”
Okay, that made a little bit of sense. Still...
“Like that’s gonna happen.” Justin snorted. “These dorks are worse gossips than girls.”
“True. But at least they’re not assholes about it. Have a good time tonight.”
Justin couldn’t resist. “I’ll be sure to check in when I get home tonight. Dad.”
“Now you’re just pissing me off.”
*****
Vivi changed her outfit twice.
From jeans and a t-shirt to black pants and a white blouse.
And told herself she was an idiot both times.
Staring at the mirror, she shook her head. “You look like a waiter.”
She’d thought wearing something other than jeans and a t-shirt would be better. She just didn’t know for what.
“Jesus, it’s just a date. Just another guy.”
Except...he wasn’t just another guy.
Justin was a nice guy. Not that the guys she dated weren’t nice. Well, most of them had been nice.
But Justin was in another league of nice. First of all, she wasn’t sure she’d ever heard him swear harder than “damn” or “hell.”
For some of the other guys on the team, swearing was an Olympic sport. Not that they were dicks about it, but an f-bomb was not an unusual occurrence with them.
Not with Justin. First of all, the guy didn’t talk as much as the others. Again, not a bad thing. Just...different. He didn’t talk shit and he didn’t run at the mouth.
Justin was different in a whole lot of ways from other guys she’d dated.
If she were here, Aly would tell her that was a good thing. Her sister rarely liked the men she dated. Which was why Vivi didn’t bother to introduce her sister to them anymore. Of course, that would also mean she would’ve had to have a date in the past year to have met them. Which she hadn’t.
Hookups did not make a date.
But tonight, she had an actual date with a nice guy.
And she totally didn’t want to look like a waiter.
“Grr.”
Half an hour later, when Justin rang the doorbell at six o’clock exactly, she was back in black jeans but she’d borrowed a flowy purple top from her sister’s closet that matched the purple shade in her hair exactly.
Her wardrobe consisted mostly of black and white. Maybe it was time to take a hint from Aly.
And you’re stalling.
Shoving her feet into low-heeled ankle boots, she headed down the stairs toward the front door. The tall, dark shadow framed in the frosted window of the door made her heart pound a little faster.
It was an unusual feeling.
As she opened the door, her lips curved into a smile that widened when he smiled back.
Damn, the man was adorable. And so damn hot. How those two things made sense together was a mystery, but damn it, they worked for him.
Standing still, he looked taller than usual. Probably because he was standing up straight for a change. She’d noticed how he tended to hunch when he walked. Probably because he was taller than most everyone else. Taller than her by at least half a foot.
She really liked that. Which was weird because for years, she hadn’t because of fucking Jamie. Her asshole ex had never physically hurt her but after they’d broken up, she’d realized how he’d used his size against her in other ways.
She didn’t think this man would ever use his height to intimidate. Which was such a stupid thing to believe considering what he did for a living.
He needed that height to intimidate opponents on the ice.
“Hey.”
“Hey. Wow, you look great.”
Her smile widened as his gaze swept down then back up to meet hers. And when he smiled, her heart pounded against her ribs like it was trying to escape her chest.
“Not that you don’t all the rest of the time but... You’re beautiful, Vivi.”
Coming from another man, that might’ve sounded stupid. Other guys she’d dated would’ve grunted something about her looking nice, if they’d said anything. Most of them would’ve slapped her on the ass as she walked out the door to show their appreciation.
Yes, she’d dated some assholes.
Justin wasn’t an asshole. They hadn’t even gone on their first date and she knew that for a fact.
“Thank you. You clean up pretty well yourself.”
He was wearing a pair of jeans that fit him like a glove, showing off the strong muscles in his thighs, and the dark green Henley he wore magnified the width of his shoulders and chest.
His smile could light up a room. She realized that the other times he’d smiled at her before, he’d only held her gaze for a few seconds before looking away.
She had the almost overwhelming urge to sink her hands into the shaggy length of his gorgeous, golden brown hair and tug him close enough to kiss.
Would he kiss her back?
Honestly, he didn’t seem like the kind of guy to just shove her up against a wall and kiss the hell out of her. Another reason why she was internally shaking her head at herself.
This guy is way too nice for you.
To an outsider, that would sound like she was dissing herself. But honestly, it was true. Ask any of her friends or her family and they’d tell you how Vivi dated a certain kind guy. The kind who weren’t meant for lasting relationships. What could she say? She had a type.
Justin was definitely not her type.
And yet...
When he smiled at her, like he was now, with that hint of a blush on his cheeks, she wanted him to be her type.
So what changed?
She had no idea. And she didn’t really care because, right now, she was going on a first date with a nice guy. Her first real date in months.
“You ready to head out?” He nodded toward his truck, parked at the curb.
“Sure. Let me just get my coat.”
He stepped inside when she turned around to grab her coat off the chair where she’d set it.
And was charmed all over again when he held it for her so she could slip her arms into it.
Oh, this guy had moves.
Or maybe you just dated assholes.
“So where did you decide we’re going?”
He opened the door for her to slip through then walked out and watched while she locked it.
“Have you ever been to Lititz?”
“Is that a restaurant?” Walking her to the car, he opened the passenger door and waited for her to hop in.
“No, it’s a town. But they have a really cool restaurant called Joboy’s. Their beer is amazing and their food is good. If you don’t mind driving a half hour or so.”
His lips curved again. “Not a problem. I like to drive and I like the company. Win-win.”
Her mouth dried and her stomach tightened.
Oh wow. She was in serious trouble.
*****
Vivi’s laughter rang out and Justin’s fingers wrapped tighter around the steering wheel.
Dinner had been too short. And he’d enjoyed every minute. Hopefully, Viv had too. She’d smiled and laughed all night so he kind of figured she had. The woman had an awesome laugh, low and husky, and it made his dick hard and his stomach tighten into a ball.
And when she spoke, his body reacted like she’d put her hands on him. All over him. Like he wanted her to. And she talked. Not too much, and not all about herself. And he didn’t think it was to cover up his silence.
His former girlfriend accused him on never talking to her. Which was bull. When he had something to say, he said it. Apparently, he hadn’t said enough to Ashley.
He didn’t seem to have that problem with Viv. Things just flowed naturally with her. She didn’t expect him to fill every silence, and their conversation wasn’t awkward.
Which was a huge deal because he always seemed to have awkward conversations with women.
“So, Justin. Are you going to take me back to my place and show me your ink or what?”
Vivi was turned in her seat to face him as he drove. They’d almost arrived back at her place and this was the first she’d mentioned his ink. He’d been waiting for her to ask since he’d picked her up. Had been kind of surprised that she hadn’t bugged him about it during dinner.
He’d been thinking about it a lot.
“If that’s what you want, yeah.”
She didn’t say anything else and he slid her a glance to check her expression.
She just continued to stare at him until a few seconds later, she said, “It is what I want. But only if you don’t mind. Is there a reason you don’t want me to? I mean, I’d totally respect your decision either way. For some, their art is personal, kinda sacred, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.” He took a breath and considered his next words carefully. “My brother... He’s really creative. He’s amazing, actually.”
“Did he do your art?”
Justin nodded. “Yeah. Bryan. He’s got a gift. But...”
His amazingly talented brother was also deeply troubled.
Vivi didn’t push him to continue. Ashley would have.
You really need to stop comparing these women.
“His artwork is museum-quality,” he continued. “The kind that gets sold at auction for a shit-ton of money. But Bryan would never sell anything he created to a gallery or a museum. But he’ll give it away to family and friends without blinking.”
“Sounds like a great guy.”
“He is. He’s amazing.” When he wasn’t sunk in a depression so deep he couldn’t get out of bed for days. “And the art he makes for people’s bodies is just as stunning. But Bryan always says when he does art for someone else, it becomes theirs. It’s no longer his so he doesn’t have a say in what they do with it.”
“Is that why you don’t want to show me your ink?”
He shook his head as he slid her another glance. “No. It’s just...I don’t show it off. It’s just stuff that means something to me.”
“Hey, I will totally understand if you don’t want to show a total stranger your body. Seriously, I’m not trying to make you do something you don’t want to do.”
He saw her shake her head out of the corner of his eye.
“I didn’t mean to make you uncomforta—”
“You don’t make me uncomfortable, Viv. At least, not like that.”
A few seconds of silence before she spoke again and he knew she’d understood exactly what he was saying.
“How do I make you uncomfortable?”
Moment of truth. Don’t blow it.
“You make me want to lose myself in you.”
She fell silent again and this time he couldn’t tell if he’d shocked her or turned her off. Either way, he wanted to take the words back as soon as they’d left his mouth. They seemed so...stupid.
He really wasn’t good at this male-female stuff. Never had been. His parents were quiet, soft-spoken, and genuinely nice people. They didn’t swear, they didn’t yell. They always led with a smile and, unless you really pissed them off, they never got angry. Only his brother Bryan managed to make them lose their shit.
Most everyone who knew Justin and his parents said he was a chip off the block. He accepted that for the compliment it was.
And while that attitude worked for him on the ice, it didn’t work so well with women.
His former girlfriend had loved him but she’d still gotten angry with him when he wouldn’t argue with her. About anything. She’d accused him of not caring enough to get angry. Which was probably true about some things.
Vivi was passionate about everything, which he really liked about her. He’d loved listening to her talk tonight. Yeah, he’d tried to hold up his end of the conversation but honestly, he could’ve listened to her talk all night and been happy.
He couldn’t understand what she—
“I think that might be the most amazing thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
Her voice had a low, hushed quality that knotted his gut even tighter.
He stole another glance and found her staring at him with wide eyes.
“Is that good or bad?”
“That’s very, very good.”
He smiled. “Glad to hear it.”
“If you come in when we get back to the house,” her voice had a low rasp to it, “I’ll tell you more good things.”
Still grinning when they pulled up to her house a few minutes later, he got out of the truck and got to the other side before she could open her door. He opened it for her and held out a hand to help her out. His truck was higher than a normal car, and shorter people needed a hand getting in and out.
Really, though, he just wanted an excuse to hold her hand.
She took his and let him help her down. But she didn’t release him right away. Instead, she kept hold of his hand as they walked to the door.
“Aly’s probably already in bed. You want a beer?”
Her smile was flirty and hot and, if he was different, he might have leaned in and tried to kiss her. But that wasn’t him. He was a firm believer that anticipation made things better.
So he didn’t.
“Sure, thanks. We’ve got practice tomorrow but it’s not past my bedtime yet.”
She released his hand to open the door and he stuck it in his jeans pocket so he couldn’t reach to take her hand back. Even though he wanted to.
“I know you guys have a pretty strict training schedule during the season. I know Will does. I guess you’ve got to be pretty dedicated to get ahead.”
He followed her through the door and waited for her to close it behind him before he answered.
“If you’re not dedicated, what’s the point?”
She nodded as she stared up at him, her lips curved in a way that made him want to bite them.
That was another thing about Viv. She made him want to do things to her he’d never done with anyone else. He wasn’t a virgin, but he didn’t have the same track record as most of his friends. He’d had sex with three girls in his life. The last was the girl he thought he was going to marry.
Since he’d broken up with Ashley, the only girl he’d even thought about having sex with was Viv. And he thought about it a lot.
He was also a realist. He knew he wasn’t Vivi’s type. Not by a long shot. He’d been shocked as hell when she’d agreed to go out with him.
And now she stood in front of him, staring at him like she wanted him to kiss her.
He wanted to. It’d be so easy to lean down, put his mouth over hers, and kiss her until neither of them could breathe.
“Dedication is a good thing,” she finally said. “I wish I had more.”
She turned with a wry smile and headed for the kitchen.
Justin frowned as he followed her. “Why do you say that?”
She didn’t answer as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out two beer bottles. After she handed one to him, she opened hers and took a sip before she spoke again.
“Because maybe I’d know what I want to do with my life.” She shrugged as she took another sip. “Look at you. You’ve made it to this level in your career by skill and determination. That’s amazing. A lot of people don’t get this far. But you did.”
He heard something in her voice that didn’t jive with the confident woman he believed her to be.
“Hockey’s the only thing I know. I’ve played since I was five. If I hadn’t been able to play professionally, maybe I would’ve gone to college. My grades were good enough, but I knew if I went pro, I’d be earning money instead of spending it. Most of my pay gets banked so if I want to go to college after, I can. If I don’t make it up in a few years, I still have options. And I don’t have a huge student loan waiting to be paid off. I can save enough now to pay for college later. Or not. Maybe I’ll just find something I like to do and do that.”
“You sound like you’ve got it all figured out. That’s amazing.”
“Not really. I have no idea what I’d go to college for. I wasn’t really into anything other than hockey in school.”
“If your passion’s hockey, why would you need to worry about anything else?”
Smiling, he nodded. “I like the way you think.”
Her smile brightened. “Glad to hear it. So...since you think I’m so smart...have you given my offer any more thought?”
He took another sip, stalling for time to consider his answer, but she continued before he could.
“I’m not trying to push you to do something you don’t want to do. If you don’t, just tell me. I’ll be totally fine with whatever you decide. I’d just...love to photograph your art.”
He’d given her request a lot of thought and he’d pretty much decided he’d let her do whatever she wanted because she was seriously into it. Vivi wasn’t some puck bunny trying to flatter him to get into his pants. She seemed honestly interested. Maybe more interested in his art than in him.
Which was bullshit. She’d seemed totally into their conversation at dinner. She’d held up most of the conversation because he wasn’t much of a talker.
But he could listen to her for hours. She could recite a roster and he’d get hard.
Finally, he nodded, knowing he never would’ve turned her down. She wanted the shirt off his back? He’d give it to her.
Her smile broadened until her eyes were only glints of turquoise.
“Really? That’s so awesome! Thank you.”
He shrugged, took another sip of beer, and hoped like hell she didn’t see his hard-on pressing against his jeans.
“Sure. So, ah, when do you want to, ah, do this?”
Her smile turned up the heat and he had to swallow hard.
“Well, I’d love to get you to strip right now but I’m thinking that might be pushing it. And I don’t have my equipment set up. I need do some lighting tests and figure out where to do them—Why are you grinning at me like that?”
“Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as interested in my ink as you are.”
Her smile softened a little, got kind of shy. Or maybe he was seeing something that wasn’t there, because Vivi wasn’t shy.
“It’s just something I’ve always been into. My dad has some ink but he’s old school. When I started getting mine...” She shrugged. “I mean, he didn’t tell me not to. He just kind of made it seem like girls weren’t supposed to have tattoos, you know? Like guys wouldn’t like it if I did.”
“I do think people can have too much ink. If it’s not thought out right, you know?”
“Absolutely. Some people just keep covering their skin with no thought to aesthetics and then it’s just a mess. I always have a plan before I get more. It’s why I don’t have a lot. It has to be perfect and fit in the spot it’s going.”
“You and my brother would get along like you’ve known each other all your lives.”
Setting her beer on the counter, she leaned back against the edge and put her hands behind her.
“What’s he like?”
He had to think about what to say for a few seconds. People who didn’t know Bryan the way he did thought he was the life of any party. Except he wasn’t always. And when he wasn’t, their parents had to lock up the knives and the alcohol and any prescription drugs in the house.
His family didn’t talk about it with anyone. That was how his family handled the situation. No questions. No explanations. No worrying their grandparents. No pitying looks from aunts and uncles. No awkward silences from friends.
Hell, his parents barely discussed the situation with him. And when they did talk about it, it was short and to the point. Then they didn’t discuss it again until Bryan had another “incident.”
“He’s so freaking creative, it’s almost scary. He can work on a project for days and he forgets to eat and shower and, you know, be human. Then he comes out of his studio and he’s on a high for a couple of weeks. Until he finds something else to obsess over.”
Justin watched Vivi’s expression as he spoke, saw her realize where he was going with this.
“Does he still live at home with your parents?”
It wasn’t the question he thought she was going to ask and it threw him off for a second. “Yeah. I’m not sure... I don’t know that he’d want to live on his own.”
Which was better than saying he didn’t think Bryan would ever be able to live on his own.
“That’s gotta be tough on him and your parents.”
“I’ve never heard my parents complain. Not once. At least not to me.”
“I’m pretty sure my parents couldn’t wait to get me out of the house. Only problem was, they had to move to Florida to get away.”
Her laughter held no trace of anger or sadness. She seemed genuinely amused.
“You and Aly seem to get along well.”
“Absolutely. I mean, sure, we get on each other’s nerves.” Her lips curved again. “But we know each other so well. She knows if I’m working not to open the door five times an hour and tell me I need to eat. She also knows that I’m a grown woman and I can take care of myself. And that when I rag her about having a stick up her ass, she knows I mean it with love.”
Damn, he really wanted to kiss her. Watching her talk made him want to more than he wanted to score the winning goal in a championship game.
He also knew he could totally fuck it up if he pressed for more.
Not that he didn’t want more. He did. He wanted a hell of a lot more.
He really sucked at dating.
“So, Justin. Are you going to show me your ink? Or have you talked yourself out of it? And is there anything I can do to help you make the right decision?”
Damn, that smile of hers... Seriously, he wanted to grab her and drag her against him and kiss her. He’d ask first, of course, because he couldn’t not ask. But if she said yes...
“I’m going to, yeah.”
Her smile deepened. “So, when would work for you? I have to work tomorrow night and you have a game Wednesday and you leave Thursday for games, right? When will you be back?”
“Sunday. Probably around noon.”
“Do you want to come over for dinner Sunday? I’m not a bad cook. I’ve picked up a few tricks working in restaurants all these years.”
“Yeah. Sure, that sounds great. Thanks. I won’t be able to stay too late though, ’cause we have practice the next morning.”
Could you be any more of a dork?
“No problem. You have games Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, don’t you?”
She must have checked their schedule. He liked that.
Trying not to grin like an idiot, he nodded. “Yeah. One in Toronto and two in Hartford.”
“And you guys travel by bus, right? That must suck.”
“You get used to it.”
She shook her head, a slight smile on her lips. “Not a lot fazes you, does it?”
His brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you just kind of roll with whatever comes along. At least, that’s how it seems. You’re just so...mellow.”
He had to laugh. “Seriously? That’s how you see me?”
“Absolutely. You’re totally the most mellow person I know. Why? How do you see yourself?”
He took another sip of beer and thought about his answer. “On the ice? Or off?”
Her head cocked to the side. “Is there a difference?”
“Yeah. I’m a different person on skates. On ice, I’m totally in control. I know what I need to do and I go after it. Off the ice...” He shrugged. “I blend into the background. And I’m okay with that.”
She looked confused, like she had no idea what he was talking about. “You don’t blend into the background, Justin. People notice you because of how chill you are. I think that’s why you and Derek get along so well. You’re such opposites, and opposites attract.”
He started to grin and couldn’t stop at the idea that Derek was attracted to him in any way. Except...she wasn’t wrong.
He shrugged it off, like he did everything else. “Derek’s a good guy. He’s fun to be around.”
“Why do you say that like you think you’re not?”
“I don’t mean it like that.”
“I like to be around you.”
Heat rose, making his cheeks burn. And when she smiled, he knew his cheeks were bright red.
He forced himself to speak. “I like being around you, too.”
And her smile got a little sexier. “Glad to hear it.”
They stood and stared at each other, smiling for several long seconds until finally, he had to look away.
“So, Sunday. I’ll text you and let you know when I’ll be back.”
“Why don’t we just say be here around five and if that doesn’t work, you can text me? And maybe you wanna wear a shirt that buttons down the front.”
Damn, the way she said that made him think about stripping off her clothes, one piece at a time. She could do whatever she wanted with his as long as she made them disappear fast.
He nodded, not sure how he should answer that. Not even sure she wanted an answer because it hadn’t been a question.
“You want me to bring anything?” When her smiled widened, he knew he blushed even harder. “For dinner.”
Her eyes glinted as she said, “Nope. Just you.”
Nodding, he finished off his beer and realized they’d been standing in the kitchen the entire time they’d been talking and he hadn’t really noticed. He would’ve stood there all night and just listened to her talk, but he had to get up for practice tomorrow. He had a job he got paid to do.
Setting his empty bottle on the counter, he straightened. “Then I’ll see you next Sunday.”
She looked like she might say something else but after a few long seconds, she nodded, set her own bottle on the counter, and walked him to the door.
After he slipped on his coat, he opened the door but turned before he walked out.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Her smile was so sweet, he wanted to taste it. But this was their first date.
And he was a huge believer in anticipation making things better.
But she looked up at him with that smile and he couldn’t help himself.
Leaning down, he pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.
He heard her suck in a quick breath, as if she was startled. And when he pulled away, her smile had softened and the look in her eyes was one he couldn’t quite figure out.
“Go back inside. It’s cold. Night, Viv.”
She didn’t. Not until she said, “You’re dangerous, Mr. Perry. Is it okay if I text you this week?”
His turn to smile. “Absolutely.”
“Then I’ll talk to you soon. Night, Justin.”
He turned and walked to his car before he did something stupid like walk back into the house and ask her if he could kiss her again, this time all over.