“Oh, I so love it when they win!” Tina does a little celebratory wiggle on the couch beside me. “I like it more when we’re in the arena, but oh well. This will have to do.”
I smile. “Yeah, watching from a penthouse overlooking the ocean is such a hardship.”
"As nice as the ocean views are, I prefer looking at sexy, sweaty men up close and personal," she replies airily, and my mouth forms an O. Tina waves a hand at me. "Oh, stop being such a killjoy. There is nothing wrong with me looking."
“Whatever you pervy old lady,” I mutter, and she laughs as I get up off the couch to refill my tea. Jayden texted me before the game and asked me to wait up for him. He usually only got home from games after eleven, and I hadn’t been sleeping great, so tea was a must.
I’m in the kitchen with my back to the TV refilling my gorgeous tea cup that Jeremiah gave me when Tina speaks again. “Oh look! They’re doing a post-game interview with your man.”
I glance over my shoulder, expecting to see Jayden's face on the TV. But it's Jeremiah standing next to the announcer. I turn all the way around, the teapot still in my hand. "That's not—"
“Shut up. I know you like him,” Tina cuts me off.
Jeremiah has his helmet off. His thick hair is damp, but he must have run a hand through it because it's tousled and not crushed from his helmet. He's got a crease on his face, on his cheek by his ear, from the strap of his helmet, and there's trickles of perspiration on his brow and at his temples. The announcer asks a question. Somehow I fail to hear it. All my senses are fixated on the way Jeremiah pulls his lips into his mouth before he answers and the way the tip of his tongue is visible for just a millisecond.
“The Saints have a heck of a defense, and our offense is pretty equally matched. I knew this was going to be a physical game, and despite taking a few hits, the shoulder feels good. I expect a little achiness in the morning, but it was worth it for the win.”
The announcer looks baffled. He asks something else about a specific moment in the third period where he blocked a shot and stole the puck. Jeremiah answers him without stumbling over his words or making a silly joke. The announcer finally says, “You are in a serious mood tonight, Wall. I don’t think we’ve ever seen this side of you. I thought concussions were supposed to be damaging.”
Tina and I both hiss out our disapproval at that flip comment. But this announcer is known to be a bit of a douche. He’s the color commentator. They don’t assign The Wall one of their serious ones. Jeremiah shrugs but looks him dead in the eyes and says, “Yeah, well, people grow and change. You should try it sometime buddy.”
“Ohhh! I can feel the flames from that burn…” Tina howls, and I smile as Jeremiah claps the guy on the shoulder and walks off.
Tina turns off the TV and twists on the couch so we can make eye contact. "You wanna put down that teapot, and we can talk about it?"
I look at the pot in my hands and then turn and put it back down on the counter, picking up my teacup and walking back into the living room. Tina watches me with a smug, knowing stare. "I'm not judging. In fact, I'm actually kind of proud of you."
“You have got to be joking.”
“You did something for yourself. Or someone, I guess is more accurate. Hannah, it’s been decades since you put your wants and needs first, and I’m proud you finally did,” Tina leans in and squeezes my arm. “And judging by the way you blushed so much I thought you had a skin condition when we watched the game with him, I think you liked it.”
“Whether I liked it or not isn’t important.”
Tina lets out a groan. The type of groan I used to let out when Jayden was a teenager and getting on my last nerve. When she looks at me again, her eyes are stern. “Hannah, my God you have to stop punishing yourself. You say you might still want more kids. You say you want to get married one day. You say you want that life you gave up to raise your kid. Well, you are young enough to have all that. With him if you want to try it.”
“What? No! Tina, no. I couldn’t.”
“Let’s pretend for a minute,” Tina starts, her long, salt-n-pepper hair falling over her shoulder as she leans in. “You never got pregnant.”
“I don’t regret getting pregnant.”
“I said let’s pretend,” Tina repeats sternly. I sigh, and she ignores it and continues. “You never got pregnant. You graduated high school, went to college, got a degree or two. Then you traveled. You maybe lived in Europe for a year or two. You worked in corporate America. Then you moved here anyway, because you got a good job offer, and you wanted to spend time with your incredibly fabulous, widowed Tia.”
I smile at that part of this fictional scenario. She winks at me. “And you know what? You’ve been so focused on your career and fabulous life, you wake up at thirty-six, unattached. But then one day, you meet some cute, professional hockey player. He’s young, but he’s charming and looks incredible giving sweaty interviews after games.”
I drop my head and shake it ruefully. “Oh my God… where is this going?”
“He’s interested in you. He wants the same things as you. A relationship. Something that could become serious. Maybe marriage. Maybe kids. All the maybes you want, he wants. And you like him. He makes you smile and blush,” Tina goes on, and then she squeezes my arm again and whispers. “And he’s good in bed. Right? I mean give me something to go with here.”
I laugh. “Yes. He is… exquisite in bed.”
“I knew it! I envy you darling,” Tina sighs dreamily and then focuses on me again. “Would you consider dating him then? If you didn’t have a son on his team, close to his age, could you see how you guys might work?”
“Yes. I mean, even though I’d still have some reservations, I would take the chance,” I admit. “Because I would have nothing to lose. But I do have something to lose. And it would be my son’s respect. And this would be… he might be the laughing stock of the league.”
“Jayden is a superstar. He can handle it.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know if I can do it,” I whisper and put my teacup down on the coffee table. Everything inside me feels upside down, so I’m not adding tea to that.
My phone starts to ring. It’s on the coffee table next to my teacup, and I lean over at the same time Tina does to see a number that’s not stored in my phone. No name. I wouldn’t normally answer an unknown number, but with Jayden still not home, I don’t want to ignore it. It could be something to do with him.
“Hello?”
“Hey gorgeous,” the voice on the other end fills me with a feeling of contentment with just two words. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to tell you something.”
“How did you get my number?” I ask. I hope that doesn’t sound irritated or cold. I’m just shocked.
“Jayden gave it to me,” Jeremiah says. “And I promise I won’t harass you, but I need to tell you one thing. Then I’ll let you go.”
Let me go. It feels like he’s talking about more than just ending this call, and the idea makes my heart feel like it’s wrapped in barbed wire. I hate it.
“I don’t mind you have my number,” I tell him as I settle deeper into the couch, angling my body away from Tina, who is watching me with the same intensity she watches Dancing with the Stars. “What’s going on?”
I get up from the couch and walk to my bedroom, ignoring the dismayed moan Tina is making. Jeremiah takes a deep breath. “I need to talk to you about Coach E.”