Page 76 of Body Shot

“You can reciprocate when I come home after a long road trip or a particularly grueling game or practice. You can rub my shoulders if I’m sorer than usual. Or make my favorite dinner. It’s give and take, but right now, things are new, so we’re easing into all that. It’s not a competition. And since I know this is your first real relationship, I’m taking the lead.”

Yup.

I am head over heels for this guy.

TWENTY-SEVEN

Anders

Sayinggoodbye on Sunday is much harder than I’d expected. I’d known I would miss her, but she and Hana had a tearful goodbye at breakfast that brought the reality of the next month or so to the forefront.

And now it’s our turn.

Hana isn’t leaving until tomorrow, so we planned an early breakfast at Johan and Sloane’s house, which had been fun up until the end when the girls all started to cry. I wasn’t teary, but it was a stark reminder that Claudia and I were saying a similar goodbye in a few hours. I told myself I had to be strong, because I figured she’d cry, but I hadn’t been expecting a visceral reaction to her tears.

I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight to my chest. “Shh. Don’t cry. It’s only twenty-six days.”

“That’s twenty-five too many!”

“I know, baby, but you’re going to be busy with work and I’ll be traveling a lot anyway, so even if you lived here, we’d only see each other about half those days.”

“I’m sorry I’m being a big baby.”

“Don’t be sorry.” I press soft kisses on her hair, her temple, the side of her face. In a selfish, macho way, her tears kind of make me happy because it means she’s going to miss me just as much as I’m going to miss her. I know that’s kind of a dickish thing to feel, and I hate seeing her cry, but it gives me hope for our future.

It’s early days, but what I feel for her is too strong to assume it’s going to burn out. We have something special, something that makes me realize I’m ready to settle down. And I’ve never felt that way about anyone before. I’ve never had trouble being faithful to a woman I was involved with, but this goes way beyond monogamy. She’s exactly the kind of woman I can envision spending the rest of my life with, and I’m already mentally making plans for us.

The road trip to Philly.

Thanksgiving.

Christmas.

Going somewhere for the All-Star break.

Moving in together.

I’m getting way ahead of myself, but I can’t seem to help it.

There will be a lot of logistics to sort through for us to be together, but I’m determined to work through them if she’s willing.

Unfortunately, this four-week separation will be the first hurdle.

After that, it will hopefully get easier.

She’s checked in her bag, but hasn’t yet gone through security, and we’re rapidly running out of time. I don’t want to remind her she has to go, but I know she’ll be upset if she has to call out on her first day of work because I made her miss her flight.

“It’s time, baby.”

“I know.” She lifts her head and digs a tissue out of her pocket, dabbing her eyes.

“Twenty-six days,” I repeat, lifting her chin and forcing her to look at me.

“And then it’s only a few days,” she says miserably.

“Yes, but I looked at the schedule and we have two full days off for Thanksgiving, so if you wanted me to, I could come to Philly and then meet the team in Minnesota on Friday. That’s a travel day so I wouldn’t necessarily need to travelwiththe team.”

Her face brightens. “That sounds awesome.”

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