“I’m Aiden,” I say in case she didn’t figure that out earlier.
“So your admirer said. Saige.” Her heels hang off her fingers.
“Nice to meet you.”
“You too.”
Sometimes as a professional athlete, you can tend to think people know who you are but with Saige… I’m not sure if she does. If she does, she hasn’t given it away.
“So, Saige, don’t you think your date is going to miss you?”
We walk along the perfectly manicured lawn toward where I think the orchard exists.
“You didn’t much care about my date when you asked me to join you. Why don’t we just not talk about him?”
“Does that mean I’m right and you don’t have one?”
Under the moonlight, I catch her rolling her eyes.
“Let’s see, your date is off the table… how about your job?”
She shrugs. “I’m a social media manager.”
I laugh. “You manage other people’s social media accounts?”
She playfully shoves me. “I do.”
“Why can’t they do it themselves or dare I even suggest they just not have a social media presence if they don’t want to handle it themselves?”
The hell if I’ll ever get one. Of course, there was that douchebag who pretended to be me for a while, so Joran made me sign up for some accounts to claim my username. Accounts I never use.
“It helps my clients.”
“And who are your clients?”
“Professionals, athletes, and people who need to have a public persona but prefer privacy.”
“How do you keep anything private when social media is involved?”
She stops for a moment and turns to me. “You sound bitter. What is it that you do, Aiden?”
I’m enjoying her company. Her comebacks and the hint of attitude she has—it might all turn off the minute she finds out I’m a professional hockey player. “Nothing that requires me to have a social media manager. I hate everything there is to do with social media.”
“I agree, it can be addictive and annoying, but to defend myself a little bit, I think of it like I’m helping my clients have a life. I mean, being a professional athlete takes a lot of time away from their lives, so if I can take a little off their plate so they can spend time with the people they care about and be present in the moment with them while at the same time keep their fans happy, it’s a win-win.”
I blow out a breath. “When you put it like that, I get it.”
“Whoa, did you just say I was right?”
I point ahead of us. The orchard has to be there. “No, I did not.”
“You did. Admit it.” She gives my rib a poke with her finger.
I cover the area like she hurt me. As if she could. “Come on. It’s over there.”
“I think we went the wrong way.”
“Well, I guess we’ll see.” I shrug.
We walk the path toward where I think I see trees, but five minutes later we arrive there and nothing. Damn, I thought for sure I was right.
“Maybe it doesn’t exist?”
She makes an annoying buzzing sound like I’m on a game show and gave the wrong answer. “Time to try my way. But can we walk along the ocean?” Before I can answer, she walks toward the shore.
I follow her, admiring the way the moonlight shines over her body and take a moment to appreciate her ass in the short champagne-colored sequin dress she’s wearing. She tiptoes her way in and backtracks with a yelp from the temperature of the water.
As much as I hate to admit it myself, I really do hope she’s not here with a date.
“Are you afraid of the water?” she asks.
I blink out of my thoughts of a what-if scenario. It’s not feasible anyway. I’ve tried and failed at plenty of relationships since I hit the professional level. Even in college, it was impossible. The women always became jealous and self-conscious.
I slip off my shoes and stuff my socks inside, rolling up the bottoms of my pants. “Your screech from the temperature had me thinking you’d change your mind.” I join her near the edge and the water runs over my feet. It’s fucking cold, but I’m not telling her that. I clench my jaw and take it like a man.
“Look at you, mister tough guy.” She points and laughs.
“I’m fine.”
“Really? That jaw of yours is pretty tight.” Her fingers go after my ribs. “Are you ticklish?”
Fuck yeah, I am and the minute she’s able to get her hands on my ribs, I squirm to get away, trying to mask my reaction. She’s so close that the soft breeze floats her perfume right past my nostrils. Her laughter is infectious but still, I run away from her and the cold water.
After I’m on safe ground, she bends over in a fit of laughter. “Why do men have to act so tough?” She walks, kicking the water up in the air. I’m not sure what it is about her. Maybe the carefreeness to kick around the ocean in a fancy dress or the way she calls me out on my shit, but whatever it is, I’m here for it.
“Hey, I’m from Wisconsin, I was raised not to show emotions.” Not really. My mom always told me I could cry. It was my grandfather who said I couldn’t.
“Wisconsin? Farm boy? Did you have to wake up early and milk the cows?”
Typical stereotypes of my hometown state.
“We’re the other Wisconsinites. We own a bar and serve a fish fry every Friday and brats every Sunday.”
“Ah,” she says and nods knowingly.
“Are you a Floridian?”
She glances over at me. She was stunning inside the mansion, but out in the wild with the moonlight cast down upon her, she’s breathtaking. “Nope. I’m from Idaho.”
“Oh, so you like potatoes?”
She rolls her eyes again. “Hardy har, farm boy.”
“What brought you to Florida?”
She shrugs. “I stupidly followed a boy.”
“Who’s not the same person as your date tonight?”
She giggles and knocks her shoulder against mine. “Absolutely not.”
“Sorry,” I offer.
“For what? Are you the guy who got me down here only to cheat on me?”
“No, but guys are jackasses. I guess I’m apologizing for the male species as a whole.”
“What about you? Girlfriend?”
“Hey now, if I had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t be here with you. I’m not a douche like your ex.”
She stops for a second and stares at me. “What’s with you? You don’t seem to fit in up there.” She nods to the house.
This seems like a good moment, so I step forward, closer to her and cup her cheek. “I told you, I’m here for work. And I’m having way too much fun with you to ever entertain going back in there.”
“Aiden,” she says, stepping back. “I’m here with someone.”
“Really?” I whisper, lowering my hand from her cheek.
“Yeah, really. And I’m having a great time with you too, but that wouldn’t be fair to him.”
I step back, the moment over.
Her gaze shifts up and she points. “There it is! I was right.”
She jogs down the beach and up to rows of trees with orange globes shining under the moon.
Hell, I know she’s with someone, but it’s been so long since I enjoyed my time with someone like I am right now. I guess I’ll have to deal with being friend zoned. If anything, it keeps me out of that damn party. I follow her to the orange orchard, hoping we get lost for a little while longer.