Page 20 of Cross Check My Heart
Me:
lol I had the same thought. I don’t think so though, I think he just… wants to spend time with me now that I’m here? Idk said he was excited about an announcement he has tomorrow.
Paige:
Call me after. I need to know all the details.
Paige:
How was your night with Dom???????
Me:
One night turned into the entire weekend. So… good ;)
As soon as I send the text, Paige is calling me for a video chat. Answering while I lay back in my bed, I fill her in on all the details from this weekend.
Three o’clock on Monday rolls around faster than expected. I had spent the morning finishing up the chapters that I needed to send to Sam for editing. Dad had sent me a text this morning for the restaurant to meet him at and asked if five o’clock was okay. Knowing it will take me nowhere near two hours to get ready, I move slowly while picking out my outfit and doing my little bit of makeup. I decided at the last minute to turn on the sports channel and watch whatever news my dad was so excited about releasing at the press conference.
My brothers had paid attention to sports news, so they kept up with his career after he left. I only followed along until I went to college. For the first few months of college, I hadn’t thought twice about the fact that my school was focused around three sports. Football, Hockey, and Soccer.
The first time we went out to one of the main bars in town, Paige and I had started chatting it up with a couple hot guys. At the time, it hadn’t occurred to me to not use my last name when introducing myself. So, when I had unknowingly introduced myself to the captain of the Hockey team as Lilly Matthews, he immediately asked if my dad wastheCoach James Matthews. For the rest of the time we were there, it was all abouthow freaking amazingmy dad is. One girl had even joined in the conversation, telling me that“he’s so fucking hot”and then stated she would do him. Which isnota statement anyone wants to hear when talking about her father.
So it wasn’t that much of a shocker when I stopped telling people my last name during my freshman year of college. It also shouldn’t be that much of a shocker that I avoid sports bars at all costs. Although, it didn’t stop me from keeping track of my father’s career on the down low.
I figure that since I’m living here, and since I had a blast at the watch party on Friday, catching up on the sports news won’t upset me like it used to. I’m an adult and can appreciate the effort my dad is putting in, but I refuse to get my hopes up when it comes to having an actual relationship with him.
I find the channel and turn the volume up. If I listen in and happen to hear whatever it is he’s excited about then that’s great. If not, then I can ask him about it over dinner and claim to not know anything about the sports channel. It’s not like he’ll know the difference.
As I sift through my closet for an outfit, my thoughts drift to Dom again. We had exchanged numbers, but we hadn’t talked since he left last night. I had almost messaged him after I got off the phone with Paige, but it was ten o’clock at night and I didn’t want to distract him since he said he was starting at his new job today. Deciding to not overthink it and just go with the flow like we had all weekend, I send him a message.
Me:
Hope you had a good first day, Domy :)
Throwing my phone on the bench in the closet, I reach for a new black sundress that I have been waiting for a reason to wear. It’s a simple dress with spaghetti straps that cross in the back, tight on the chest with a V-neck collar that flows until just above my knees. Throw in a simple pair of sandals and it’s as dressy as I can get without needing advice from Paige.
Leaving the closet, I go to drape the dress on my bed, then move to go to the bathroom, the sight of my dad on the television makes me stop dead in my tracks.
Anytime I did check up on him, it was just news articles that had one to two pictures at most. So, seeing him on TV makes me pause. He looks like it’s where he’s meant to be, surrounded by reporters and his team standing off behind him in a show of support. Going through all of my teenage years without him around, I never understood how he could pick them over being with us. Seeing him now though, as people watch him and listen on bated breath while he talks, even I’m captured by what he’s saying.
As he talks about the team’s stats from last season and the lineup this year, I don’t move from my spot standing in front of my TV.
“Now, for the exciting part of today. After circumstances changed and a last-minute trade agreement crossed my desk that I could not pass up. It is with great pleasure that we welcome Dominik Mikelson to the team as one of our new Defensemen.
My arms fall to my side, heart falling to the pit of my stomach as I watch Dom on the TV walk across the stage to accept my dad’s extended hand.
My heart hasn’t stopped pounding as I pace my front entryway, waiting to hear any sign of Dom across the hallway. Emotions I don’t fully understand have been running through me as I try to get a grip on the fact that my first ever one-night stand is, not only a hockey player, but plays for my dad’s team.
I should have asked him what he did for work. Should have just sucked it up and texted him about it instead of trying to wait until whenever I saw him next.
The sound of someone in the hallway has me reaching forward to yank it open. Dom stands outside of his door, half turned in shock with a wide smile on his face as he takes me in.
“Holy shit. You look beautiful.”
Stepping toward him and ignoring his compliment, I stop in front of him and glare up. Crossing my arms, I don’t miss his gaze dropping to my exposed cleavage, but I force myself to stay focused realizing I came out here without a plan. Just knowing that I needed to talk to him.
His smile falls as he takes in my stance.
