Page 75 of Unmasking Love
"Danielle, Coach Bradford's wife, was giving me some notes."
He laughs. "That's awesome. Yeah, I like to stay high. I'm tall so I can cut off angles if I'm a little further out of the net. Sometimes it catches me, if the guy makes a last minute pass, but I'm also pretty good at poke checking those out of the way."
"Interesting." I say to hide the fact that what he just said makes little sense to me.
"You'll learn," he says quietly into my ear. "I'm looking forward to teaching you."
My cheeks flame as he leads us to the car.
“Danielle said she’d get me a pass for the family suite if I wanted it.”
“Do you want to come to the game tonight? I’m not playing but it would still be fun to have you there. I already talked to the ticket team about tomorrow night, I got you seats behind the net.”
“Thank you, remind me to text Wes about it later and see if he can join me. And, I dunno about tonight. Do you think I should come?”
“What would you do if you didn’t go?” He challenges. I rub my palms against my jeans while I think about my options. I could get ahead on work. I could bake. I could just lounge around. Take a bath. Switch out my summer for my winter clothes. Watch the game from home.
“I don’t have any specific plans.” I tell him.
“Well, don’t just come to the game because you’ve got nothing better to do. Why don’t you watch from home tonight, maybe while baking something, and then I’ll come over after.”
“To stay over? Can you do that? Is it bad to sleep on a different bed before your game tomorrow?”
“We travel for half our games so we’re in hotel beds forty plus nights of the year. I even try to sleep on the plane. I’ll manage. Granted, I didn’t lay on it long last night but I think your bed is comfortable enough.”
The sweat that was accumulating on my palms breaks out across my body with the memory of us together last night. Aiden must notice because he reaches up and brushes his knuckles across my cheek. It’s tender, whisper soft, and causes chills to follow in the wake of the heatwave that just rolled across my skin.
“Can you come have lunch and a nap with me? I can drop you off at your house before I head to the arena later.”
“Yes. I’d love that.”
He smiles as he focuses on the road and I stare at his profile. Aiden isinvitingme into his routine. He’s adjusting to include me. Our relationship had virtually no build up. Or maybe the foundation was settled before a relationship with Aiden wasn’t even on my mind.
I’ve been in many other relationships. It has always followed the same sequence. First, there was the meet moment, then casual dating and most of our conversation outside of the dates was logistical, for getting to the dates.
Aiden and I were talking everyday about our lives. He was sharing about his job, his teammates. I talked about work and baking and, gosh, I think I spent a half an hour one night telling him about the Heartmark Channel competition show for finding the actor who would star in their Christmas movie.
I bite back a smile remembering the way he actually talked with me about it. He asked questions. He even put me on speaker so he could go and look at the different contestants. We laughed together and his dry, quiet teasing was laced with affection.
Maybe this is moving too fast. Maybe this got intense too quickly. Maybe I’m not being careful and letting myself get swept up in him.
Or maybe this is how it’s supposed to feel.
Chapter 21
Aiden
"And in net...
It'sgamedaymorningand I awake with Harper curled into my side. Her breathing is even and sweet and I don't want to disrupt her.
I was worried after overtime and a shootout last night she’d be asleep when I finally got to her place. Instead, she opened the door and held it while I brought my bike inside the entry. Then she wrapped her arms around my neck and I felt the chill of the outside air evaporate in her warm embrace.
Upstairs she had a postgame snack for me, orange slices and some mixed nuts. She asked me questions about the game. I asked her about her evening. And then she led me to the bedroom where we didn’t exactly go to sleep.
The sunrise light is trickling in through the window and my spirit rises with it. Gameday, when I know I’m playing, is usually met with anxious energy. Today though, I’m feeling optimistic and the credit goes to Harper.
I’ve added her into my life and everything feels lighter. Practice is easier. My routine doesn’t feel draining. I have something to look forward to.
