Page 10 of Heat It Up (Off the Ice)
She smiles and I become mesmerized by the way her pink-glossed lips curve up. “Okay. We’ll talk about something else. Where are you from?” She gestures at the coffee shop at the corner.
“Minneapolis.”
“Really? Me too.”
I pull open the door to let her in and we’re instantly greeted by the strong smell of coffee. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since moving here, Finns live for their coffee and they live for it strong.
We order our drinks and find a quiet spot to sit next to the window. No one pays attention to us, unlike back home. It used to be hard going anywhere without being mobbed after I signed with the Bears. People would recognize me and want my autograph or a photo with me or they had tons of questions about the team. As flattering as the attention was, I don’t miss it.
“What were you doing in Minneapolis before you came here?” she asks.
“I was working in the marketing department for the Minnesota Bears. It was only an internship at the time, but they offered me a full-time position.”
“And they let you take the summer off to come here? Wow, they must be a great organization to let you do that.”
I take a sip of my coffee, stalling. Why should it matter what Sofia thinks about the truth? She’s not my parents.
“I turned the position down. As much as I love hockey, I didn’t love working in marketing. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize thisbeforeI majored in it in college.”
She visibly cringes. “What made you decide to study marketing?”
“My father felt I would have more career opportunities if I studied law, accounting, or marketing.” He thought it would be a good idea in case my NHL career didn’t work out. How right he was on that.
She tilts her head to the side. She’s flirting but I don’t think she realizes it, which makes her nothing like the girls I’m used to. “What did you want to study?”
“I love physics. I was the president of my physics club in high school.” I chuckle. “I was a bit of a geek.” Which made things challenging at first. The jocks didn’t know what to make of me, and neither did the science geeks.
“How come you didn’t study physics? Or biomechanics? I took a biomechanics course in college last semester. You would’ve liked it. You could’ve combined your love of physics with your love of hockey.”
I sip my coffee. “I thought about it, but I would’ve needed to go on to grad school if I wanted to end up in something related to either of those. But if I had known that working in marketing would bore me, I’d have majored in something else.” I wasn’t against the idea of going to grad school, and I would have if hockey hadn’t been my life. I would have majored in physics, despite what my father had said, but the course load would’ve been too much since I was also playing on the collegiate team. And I needed to play on the team if I had wanted to be drafted by a NHL team.
“So what do you want to do with your life?”
“I’m not sure yet. Maybe coach.” Unfortunately, it’s not the most stable position, especially at the high levels where I’d prefer to work. If your team doesn’t do well, the head coach is often the first to go.
Sofia studies her mug, deep in thought.
“Once you’re an athletic trainer, is there a particular sport you want to work with?” I ask.
She pulls her gaze from her mug, blinks the thought away. And damn if I don’t want to get into her head and discover what she was thinking.
“Once you’re a trainer, is there a particular sport you want to work with?” I repeat.
“I’m not sure yet. I have a clinical practicum this fall with a high school, and I’ll be working with their different athletic teams. Maybe I’ll know after that.” She worries her lip again. “Can I ask you something? Well, it’s more like I need help with something.”
“Help with what?”
Her teeth go back to chewing on her lower lip. Lucky teeth. More than anything, I want to suck that lip in my mouth and taste her. But something tells me that’s not part of what she’s going to ask me.
“Well, you see.” The words stumble from her mouth. “My grandmother’s trying to set me up with her friend’s grandson. I’m not interested. I mean, he seems like a nice guy, but I don’t need the complication of a relationship.”
I know what she means, but it doesn’t stop me from asking the next question. “Is there something wrong with being in a relationship? Does it even have to be one? Why don’t you just date him and have fun?”
“Because then I might develop feelings for him.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
Her gaze returns to her mug. “The worst.”
