Page 18 of Breakaway to You

“Yeah, really.” I squeezed his arm lightly and removed my hand. Touching him in a non-work-related way was messing with my head. “I can’t fully understand what you are feeling, but I can understand being scared of an unknown future, of a future that is so different from what you’ve known.”

I didn’t know what he’d been through or what had happened to him to make him feel so alone, and losing my dad wasn’t the same as Zeke retiring, but it was the closest thing I could relate to. My dad had always been there, and the reality that the rest of my life was going to be spent without him had been a scary thing to grasp. Still was, if I was being honest. Sometimes I still found myself reaching for my phone to call him, just to remember all over again that I’d never be able to talk to him again.

His eyes softened. “Thank you.”

I lifted my glass toward him. “If you can forget about my sister’s crush on you, we can call it even,” I said playfully in an attempt to keep things light, which somehow I knew he would appreciate.

A smile slowly spread across his lips as he lifted his glass. “I can forget about your sister’s crush on me.” He tapped his glass gently against mine, his grin turning wicked. “But not yours.” He winked at me and took a drink.

I tried to stop the flush that spread up my neck and to my cheeks, but it was useless. I shook my head at him, smiling as I took my sip, knowing I shouldn’t have been surprised by his comment.

Was it wrong that there was a part of me that was glad he liked that I had a crush on him? Probably. But I couldn’t change that fact. The only thing I could do was ignore it.

Except ignoring Zeke would be impossible. Besides being his physical therapist and that spending time together was inevitable, there was something about him that called out to me, that made me want to get to know the man behind the hockey façade.

And that hadmescared.

For me, there was nothing scarier than falling in love again. Especially with a hockey player.

Chapter8

Zeke

Two weeks after that conversation with Piper in a hotel lobby, we still hadn’t talked about anything personal. We’d gone through the literal motions of our sessions, sticking mostly to pleasantries and hockey-related things. It was as if both of us realized we’d gotten too personal that night and were trying to backpedal. Or maybe that was just me.

I was still grappling with how I’d told her about the fears that haunted me when it came to retiring. I hadn’t voiced any of them out loud before, and it had felt both therapeutic and embarrassing. I had expected her to think I was being a baby about the whole thing, like, Boohoo, your successful NHL career is coming to an end. Not that I would have blamed her—I was sure most people would think that. It was part of the reason I hadn’t said anything to anyone. That and I wasn’t close enough to anyone else to tell them something like that.

Which made it all the more interesting why I had opened up to Piper. I’d even told her about how I had no home or family. Thankfully, she hadn’t asked any follow up questions. Though I had felt safe in talking to her that night, I struggled feeling that same safety now.

My thumb hovered over her number, which I’d pulled up on my phone. I didn’t want to text her. She didn’t even know I had her phone number. I’d had to reach out to Coach to get it. But sitting on my couch with my left leg extended, there was no denying that my knee was swollen.

I’d tweaked it last night during the game and downplayed how badly I’d been hurt. I had hoped that a good night’s sleep would be all I needed. And when I’d been younger, that strategy had worked. But today, I’d woken up to pain and a swollen knee—definitely not better.

Today there was no practice, and no one would be at the arena, including Piper. I debated contacting her about my knee, but I wanted to make sure I’d be able to play hockey as soon as possible.

My thumb finally tapped on her number, and I wrote out a text.

Zeke

Hi, Piper, this is Zeke. Sorry to bother you on your day off. I might have injured my knee more than I originally thought last night. It’s slightly swollen. Any tips on a quick recovery?

I pushed send, feeling both nervous and excited.

Having Piper’s number in my phone, even if it was for medical emergencies, had a happy feeling strumming through me. The idea of being able to text her whenever I wanted seemed dangerous but so very alluring. Knowing I could talk to her at any given moment would be a temptation I hadn’t thought would be there but was feeling all the same.

Piper

Swelling is never a good sign. How much pain are you in?

Of course, she was all business. I’d been crazy to think our texting would be any different.

Zeke

Um, the pain is fairly mild.

Piper

Fairly mild? That description is a first for me. I’m assuming you want to pretend your injury isn’t as bad as it is. On a scale of 1-10, what’s your pain level?

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