Page 92 of Body Checked By the Defenseman

“I didn’t say,” I reply.

She growls, “You’re so frustrating.”

I laugh and we turn on some music and enjoy the ride. It’s a sunny spring evening and everything is going as planned.

We are a couple hours into the drive when Ruby sees the sign for Saugatuck.

“We’re going back?” she asks excitedly.

“Yes, I thought we could use a few days to relax.”

That’s not all I have planned though.

We finally arrive to the marina and I pull into a spot where Shane told me I should park.

“We’re going back to Shane’s boat?” she asks, and her blue eyes are glowing, which means I’ve done good.

“Yes,” I confirm.

She squeals.

“Do we get to have sex on that big bed this time?” she asks.

“We’ll be sleeping on the boat for three nights,” I inform her.

“Wow, that is. . .wow.”

I wheel our suitcases toward the boat. First, I get the suitcases settled and then I help Ruby aboard.

“How about we get our stuff settled in the room and then we take her for a spin?” I ask her.

“It’s getting dark,” she notes.

“We won’t go far, but the marina and town are beautiful at night,” I say.

“Sure, I’d love that,” she agrees. After unpacking our things below deck, we get changed into warmer clothes. I also slip something into my pocket, but she doesn’t notice.

When we head back to the deck, there is a table set and our food has arrived. We also have our own personal server. Shane helped me set everything up with one of the fancier restaurants in town.

Ruby gasps.

“What is going on?” she asks.

“That’s our dinner,” I tell her.

The table is set with fancy dishes and a black table cloth with a white one over it. There are fake candles and a bouquet of flowers on the table. The flowers are periwinkle blue irises. I told her I wanted this moment to be memorable, and I’ve tried to think of every little detail.

The waiter pulls out a fancy cushioned chair for Ruby to sit and I take a seat at the table too.

“I’m just happy the weather has held up or we would be doing this below deck.” I chuckle.

The waiter serves us our appetizer. I got Ruby the goat cheese salad and I took a simple Caesar salad. Ruby and I are talking about the day and how surreal it was to finish college. The waiter sets out our main course, which is steak, grilled vegetables and a squash puree.

“You must have spent a fortune on all this,” Ruby mentions.

“It’ll be okay. Remember, I’ll be playing in the NHL soon,” I remind.

“I can’t believe the moment is finally here. I actually wanted to tell you, but I was so busy. One of the companies I applied to in Jersey got back to me. I interviewed and they want me,” she cheers.

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