Page 20 of Light It Up Red
Really? Any reason in particular? Would it have anything to do with a certain player? Maybe someone with the number nine on his back?
Me:
Gotta go. I’ll let you know when I’m in Nashville.
Harper:
See you soon, babes.
I drop my phone into my bag as a new to-do list runs through my head. I need to book a flight, a hotel, find tickets. And, most importantly, I have to find a cousin to come with me because we don’t travel alone. Ever. It’s like an unwritten family rule.
I could ask Alessandro. My brother would probably be the safest bet. But he would also be the biggest cockblock out of everyone. Tilly, my Zio Romeo’s daughter, isn’t an option. She’s the good girl of the family and won’t go anywhere without telling the oldies what she’s doing and why. Then there’s Lorenzo and Enzo, my Zio Matteo’s oldest sons. They’re liabilities. Trouble just seems to find them wherever they go while my Zio Luca’s kids, Dante and Orlando, are too young. Which leaves me with Aurora. That’s a hard no. I refuse to be responsible for that wild card. I let out a loud, irritated sigh. Alessandro it is.
Travis stops the car. “Waffle house?” I ask him while looking out the window.
“Everyone likes waffles.” He shrugs.
“True.”
“I can take you somewhere else?” He seems unsure of himself all of a sudden.
“Nope, this is good.” I smile as I open the door and jump out. Travis meets me in front of the car, and his hand finds mine again.
Is it normal to be comfortable with someone after such a short time? It’s an odd feeling, a sense that I know him, and yet my brain is telling me I don’t know a damn thing about the guy.
We sit down and a waitress is over at our table before we have a chance to pick up a menu. “Can I get you a drink to start with?” she asks, while looking directly at Travis.
“I’ll have a coffee, black,” he says, then turns to me. “What do you want, babe?”
“Orange juice, please,” I reply, though the girl’s eyes have yet to flick in my direction.
“I’ll be right back with your drinks and to take your order,” she says.
“Must be hard being you,” I mutter to Travis.
“Why?”
“Having women put themselves out there without you even having to blink.”
“Are you jealous?” He laughs. “Because if I’m not mistaken, the two guys sitting three tables to our right and one row back are giving you more than a once-over right now.”
I glance at the guys in question and smile before returning my attention to Travis. “They’re probably just fans of yours.” I shrug.
“Sure they are, babe.” He shakes his head. “What do you feel like having?”
“Waffles,” I deadpan.
“Think we are at the right place then.” He chuckles.
Talking to Travis comes easy. It’s not forced. I’m not sitting here trying to come up with a million things to ask him like I usually would be doing with anyone else.
“Do you get nervous before a game?”
“Not really. It’s more like I get pumped. I can feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Being out on the ice, that’s what I live for,” he says. It’s endearing how his face lights up whenever he talks about hockey.
“I think it’s amazing that you’ve found something you love so much and that you get paid to do it.”
“What about you? What do you do when you’re not being the Valentino Princess?” he asks me with a grin, and I roll my eyes.
