Page 21 of From Fling to Ring

LUCY

I enter the chilly hockey stadium and inhale the wintery smell of fresh ice. I came here directly from work, so I’m early, and it’s actually kind of cool to see what the arena looks like before the crowds arrive. It’s so eerily peaceful it’s hard to believe that in forty-five minutes’ time, the place will be packed with fans and all the deafening noise that comes with that.

The only thing I hear right now is the soft roar of the Zamboni machine. It’s making its last few passes to top off the ice before all hell breaks loose and the ferocious sport that is hockey begins to destroy it. My stomach grumbles at the wafting smell of fresh popcorn as food vendors prepare for the night’s crowds, and I realize I’ll be eating my dinner here tonight.

I’m okay with an arena hotdog every once in a while.

Petal, a connoisseur of arena food, would be proud.

I didn’t share this with Tyler, but I felt bad for him, falling asleep on our date. I know he was mortified, and I have no doubt the poor guy was exhausted. In fact, I don’t know how he even lasted through dinner. Petal warned me before he picked me up that the guys had an early morning, and that Rake was headed straight for bed as soon as he finished dinner. She explained that getting in the groove of a new season takes some time, and was amazed Tyler had the stamina to stick out an evening like the one he had planned.

Guess he didn’t have quite the stamina he thought he did.

And then, when he invited me to tonight’s game, he looked so hopeful I’d say yes that I couldn’t turn him down, even though I don’t relish the thought of spending the evening with anyone’s little sister. I do enough babysitting of my sister’s rugrats, thank you. But what the hell, even though I’m far from a hockey lover—in fact, I can barely follow the puck across the ice, that’s how fast it moves—any insights into the person Tyler is will help me understand the alpha playboy type I’m trying to write about.

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I’ve felt for a moment, here and there, a little badly for encouraging him to keep coming around. I don’t think I’m full-on misleading him, and I have certainly kept my cool during the moments where it seems like he might try to take things to another level. Like when he kissed me on my front steps. Hell, my knees were shaking so hard I thought they might buckle on me, that’s how sexy his lips were on mine. But I held it together and said goodnight. I didn’t invite him in. I wasn’t about to do that.

I’m supposed to be resisting his type, not falling into bed with him.

He’s nice enough, truly, and certainly good-looking with that perfect square jaw, mop of messy brown hair, and sky-high height. What woman wouldn’t throw herself at him? Or should I say under him? If the circumstances were different, I’d probably go for it, myself. No, he’s not the kind of man I’d marry, or even the kind I usually go out with, but who am I to turn away the attentions of a hot dude, at least in the short run?

Anyway, all that’s off the table right now. I have a career-defining project gathering steam, and he’s a big part of it. No catching feelings. Absolutely not.

Although it was cute how, when he fell asleep at the symphony, he had the quietest little snore. And, at one point, when his hand fell into my lap, I brushed the back of it with my thumb as if he were a real boyfriend or something.

It was fun to pretend for a moment.

And when I shook him awake, he was so disoriented, all apologies and such. I wasn’t offended that he dozed off, not in the least. In fact, I kind of liked it. It made him seem more human. Which doesn’t help my story when I’m trying to paint him as a cold-hearted cad.

Good grief. What am I doing?

“Lucy?”

I’m yanked out of my thoughts and turn to find a slight young woman with the same dark eyes and mop of hair Tyler has. She’s considerably smaller, but there’s no doubt they’re related.

“I’m Ruby,” she says, extending a hand.

“Hi,” I say, pulling down the spring-loaded seat for her. “When Tyler said I’d be joining his little sister, I was looking for a kid.”

She laughs the same easy way her brother does. “Oh yeah. He’ll never stop calling me his little sister. I’ll be old and gray and using a walker, and I suppose I’ll still be his little sis.”

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Ruby.”

She’s adorable and she honestly can’t be that much younger than I am.

“Are you in school?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I’ve finished two years at State, but I’m taking time off and working in the main public library. I really like it.”

“Oh, I love that building. It’s not the original library, you know. The first one, built in the 1800’s, was where the Asian Art Museum is now.”

Her eyes widen. “No way. You sound like you’ve been here in SF for a long time.”

I nod. “Grew up here, in fact.”

“Wow. Seems like most everyone I meet has moved here from somewhere else. You’re a unicorn, Lucy,” she laughs. “My dad and I moved here after Tyler did. Dad didn’t want to be too far away from him. The funny thing is that, during the season, we hardly see him anyway, unless we come to a game. He gets so busy. Did you know that they can have up to four games a week sometimes?”

I didn’t know that. I guess I thought it was like football. You know, one game a week or something like that. But come to think of it, Petal has told me on numerous occasions how often Rake has away games. I just never did the math.

---