by Naomi Niles
At first Cynthia delved into information about her very successful career as a doctor in Boston. She was being fast tracked up the ladder, which pleased me no end. Then we had a short discussion about my time at college, and I told her in more detail than I did mom about my course.
“It sounds really great,” she told me genuinely. “You’re doing really well.”
“So,” I changed my tone of voice to something a little cheekier, “tell me what else is going on with you in other areas of your life. How’s Derek?”
I might not have liked him very much, but she did, and that was all that mattered. He hadn't ever done anything to make me not like him, he was just so…dull. Too boring for my fun-loving sister, at any rate. It could have just been a case of opposites attract, but I didn’t get that vibe from them at all. I wasn’t convinced that it would last forever, which made it easier to tolerate him. At least his banking career meant that he couldn’t get enough time off to join us for Christmas – everything would have been so much worse if I didn’t get my sister to myself.
“I don’t know,” she told me, rolling her eyes. “I’m getting so fed up with him. He’s so boring. And not just in person, but in the sack too.”
“Oh God, really?” I laughed, trying to imagine that. I couldn’t picture Derek even being naked, never mind…well, anything else. “What are you gonna do?”
“I think I’m gonna break up with him when I get back to Boston. Maybe even before.” She sounded so decided, which caused me to narrow my eyes suspiciously.
“Why are you suddenly so sure that’s what you want to do?” I asked curiously. “You normally dither over things forever.”
“Well, you probably know that I went to the hockey game with dad today, right?” She smirked to herself, which caused me to sit up straighter on the bed. I was finally about to find out the answer to the mystery that had been plaguing me.
“Yeah, what the hell is that about?” I exclaimed, needing to know right away.
“Marek Jones,” she swooned dramatically. “He’s the hottest guy that I’ve ever seen. He plays, so of course I had to go!”
I grabbed my laptop quickly, needing to see this guy for myself. If he had my sister so twisted up in knots, then he had to be a serious hottie. I waited for his picture to load, and she continued to chat about the game, sounding like a freaking hockey expert. What the fuck was going on with her? Was Derek really that bad?Actually, I didn’t even need to ask that. If this Marek fantasy was going to get him out of her life, then I was all for him.
“Woah,” I gasped, impressed as I finally saw him. “Yeah, he’s cute.”
He had quite a cute, preppy look – not my type at all – but I could appreciate his hotness from someone else’s perspective. I shot a glance towards Cynthia, witnessing her flush with excitement at the mere sight of him.
“Ooh, check out Miles Richardson, too – he’s just your type.”
As this guy’s picture loaded, I actually felt my heart do a fluttery dance. He wasn’t exactly what I could consider ‘my type,’ but my God he was gorgeous. He had dark-brown hair, sparkling, blue eyes, and cheek bones to die for. There was a sexy scar running down his left cheek, which had me feeling a weird feeling deep inside. I traced my finger down it on the photograph for a second, completely forgetting myself.
Then there was his body…wow. He was built big and muscular, like a hockey player, and I couldn’t help but picture him holding me tightly, kissing me, seducing me.
“He’s hot, right?” Cynthia exclaimed excitedly, bouncing up and down like an excitable bunny.
“Totally.You will have to take me to one of the games!”
“Oh my God, you will love it, for sure.” She laughed loudly. “You need to get him into bed;he will show you a good time!” She was starting to get hysterical, which was rubbing off on me. “Maybe I should get rid of Derek now and hook up with Marek too.What a load of fun that would be! Both of us with hockey players!”
Kim’s words about finding a sportsman filled my mind, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself. The idea was certainly appealing, I wasn’t denying that, but I just wasn’t totally sure that I was ready for it. I wasn’t going to put the idea to one side anyway, I would certainly consider it.
“I don’t know about that,” I replied a little cautiously. “But it definitely will be fun.” All of my fears about being home for Christmas flooded from my mind. If I took Kim’s advice and I only focused on the positives, this really could be a fun few weeks after all. “Come on, let’s go and get some cookies and hot chocolate. I really need to get in the mood for Christmas now. You can tell me what you’ve brought everyone.”
I wasn’t prepared at all, so I needed to know what my much more prepared sister had gotten ready, but she didn’t seem too keen to talk about it. It was as if her mind was completely distracted.
“Are you okay?” I asked her, really concerned. “Is it this mess with Derek?”
“I’m not sad about breaking up with him,” she nodded sadly. “It’s just gonna be a bit strange without him in my life anymore. It has been quite a while.”
“But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” I reminded her. “Don’t forget how long I’ve been single!” She knew the entire story of my disastrous love life, so she never normally tried to push me, but I could tell from the sparkle in her eyes that this time was going to be different. This time, she had a plan in her mind, and she intended to make that happen, no matter what.
Oh God.It looks like I’m about to learn a lot more about hockey!
Chapter5
Miles – Two Days Later – Sunday
One of the best things about living in Minnesota was the endless supply of ice. It didn’t matter when I wanted to skate; there was always the opportunity to do so. In our town, there was a huge lake in the middle that froze over in winter and would always become the focal point of the town, and it was one of my favorite spots of all time. It was where I’d found my love for skating, so it was always going to special to me.
The only problem was to get some peace, I had to wear a mask over my face. I didn’t mind spending time with the public, but sometimes the fans got a bit too intense and all I wanted was to be me. Sometimes I just needed some time alone, to enjoy being the Miles I was before the fame.
“Yo, dude,” I felt a hand clapping around my back, and I span around to see my best friend Sean there. He wasn’t an ice hockey player, but he loved the game and he was a pretty good skater too. I met Sean when I went to college briefly – before I dropped out to pursue my real passion – and he quickly became a good friend of mine. He was shorter than me, with red hair and freckles, but he got a lot more female attention than I did, even despite my fame.
Maybe it was because of his parent’s endless cash and the fact that he didn’t even need a job to get by in life, or maybe it was his outgoing personality. Whatever it was, he drew people to him, and it kept them there. I hadn't met anyone that didn’t like Sean yet, and I honestly didn’t think that I ever would.
“Hey, Sean, how are you?” I grinned at my friend, watching his eyes flicker over the rink – probably looking to see if there is any talent around.He loved girls more than anyone I knew. “How are the stocks?” I knew nothing about the financial world, but I did know that Sean occasionally invested for fun. He had plenty of money to do that with, so it really didn’t matter whether he won or lost.
“Yeah, yeah, same old,” he replied evasively, not even really caring. “Good game the other night! Cracking shot at the end. Everyone in the crowd went fucking mental.”
“Thanks, man,” I grabbed onto him and swung him around, causing us both to burst out into laughter. “It’s good to see you.” I really did appreciate his friendship in my life – especially since we had more in common than just the game. It gave me an outsider perspective on just about anything – he was the one person that I could actually speak to when shit went down with Hailey. He was the only person whose advice I could
always trust.
We mucked about for a while, feeling almost like idiotic teenagers all over again, which lightened my mood endlessly. I had been feeling good ever since I’d put the whole mess with Hailey to bed, and I was glad to be able to share my happy mood with my friend. We always returned to kid mode around one another anyway!
Unfortunately, in that, Sean ended up pushing me smack bang into a young boy, almost causing me to knock him to the ground.
“Oh God, I’m sorry,” I grabbed his arm right away, preventing him from tumbling hard onto the ice. That hurt like hell; I knew that from my own experiences. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” the young guy replied, staring at me hard, looking intently at my face. “Are you Miles Richardson?”
I smiled to myself, seeing that up close, my disguise wasn’t quite as good as I’d first assumed. “I am, and who are you?”
“I’m Lucas,” he replied excitedly. “I’m eight, and I go to your old school. We all love you there; you should come in and visit one day. We’d love a talk from you.” I got requests like this all the time, but I usually just brushed them off as something that I didn’t have time for. This time, however, in front of a super fan, I actually considered it. Maybe I could actually inspire some kids to do something sporty with their lives too.
“Speak to your teacher about it, and maybe I could set something up,” I promised, actually meaning it. “That would be cool.”
“Can I take a picture with you?” he asked shyly, and his cute face was too much for me to resist, so I did what I promised myself I wouldn’t, and I revealed my face for him. “All my friends love you, so they will be jealous!”
Sean took the picture while I posed a little awkwardly for an image, knowing that I probably looked ridiculous. I didn’t feel like I was a very photogenic at all – if I had the choice, I wouldn’t have any pictures at all, but of course that wasn’t really up to me.
“Can I skate with you a while?” Lucas asked. “I would love to see how you do it.”
“Course you can,” Sean talked over me. “I’ll show you some tricks that I know too,” he shot the kid a smile. “I might not be a famous hockey player, but I am a better skater than this loser, just you wait and see!”
Overall, he was wrong, but he did know how to do a lot of cool tricks, which impressed Lucas no end. We all had a great time for a short while, until the kid’s mom called him away.
“Thanks for that,” he gushed at us both. “That was awesome.”
“See you soon, kid,” I high fived him happily. This was the sort of fan that I enjoyed, one who actually respected me for the game rather than just my fame status.
“Come on,” Sean pulled me backwards. “I’m starving; let’s go and get a burger.”
The mere mention of food had my stomach rumbling, and so I nodded happily. “We can go to Nobby’s store down the street.”
What I wasn’t expecting when I suggested us going to a place that we both knew well and loved, was to stumble across Nobby playing the game again on the big screen. My face flushed brightly with embarrassment as all eyes turned to face me.
“Hey, here he is, the man of the hour!” Nobby cheered, and everyone joined in. “Congrats.That was an awesome game.”
I waved shyly, but kept my eyes faced downwards. I didn’t feel like I deserved so much celebration for simply playing the game that I loved for a living. It felt like a bonus enough that I adored my job.Everyone’s admiration was almost too much to bear.
“Don’t be so humble,” Nobby joked as we reached the counter. “That just makes everyone love you more.”
“Stop mooning over this prick,” Sean laughed loudly, taking the focus off of me. “Let’s get some fucking burgers. Oh and chips. And I need a coke too.”
Once we had our food, we slid into a booth seat where we could talk with a little more privacy, and we delved into our lives a little deeper, talking about anything and everything.
Well, Sean told me in great, graphic detail about the latest girl he’d slept with, causing me to cringe and rejoice for him in equal measures. He hadn't grown up in Minnesota, and had obviously been an awkward child, so he hadn't had much luck with the ladies… back then anyway. That had all changed when he arrived here, and to be fair to him, he was taking full advantage of that. Because he was always so upfront with his intentions, and he was so likable too, he didn’t ever seem to get hurt or do the hurting. It was admirable really.
“So are you going to see her again?” I couldn’t help but ask, already knowing that he was likely on to the next girl.
“Of course,” he joked. “Didn’t you hear that story? That chick was amazing. She might even be the one that I take to the next level. She might be the one I make my girlfriend.”
“How romantic,” I joked dryly, but I was still a little shocked too. I’d never heard of Sean thinking about anyone in serious terms, so there really did have to be something about this one.
Maybe he was finally ready to move on, to grow up.
“But anyway, what about you?” He knew that he was stepping on dangerous territory, but we were close enough for him not too care. He was the one person who would tackle me on anything, and I really respected him for it. “Is there anyone new in your life?”
“Nah,” I shook my head sadly. “But I’m starting to think that it might just be time.”
“Finally!” Sean rolled his eyes at me. “Fucking hell, you’ve been needing a new woman in your life for a very long time. That fucking bitch doesn’t deserve any more of your time or heartbreak.”
“I know, I understand that,” I grinned at him. “Maybe we’ll both have new women by Christmas!”
“I’ll raise a glass to that!”
It was only a joke, but it did get me thinking. Maybe I could find someone to spend the Christmas holidays with. That would certainly be nice!
“We will have to go out a few nights, see what talent we can spot for you.”
I nodded, not liking to say that there was no way I would be meeting anyone else on a night out drinking. I might have been ready to move on, but that was a little too much for me. I just could never imagine meeting the love of my life out on a night drinking. I didn’t know how it would happen,but that didn’t feel right. “Sounds fun. It would be nice to get out there and have a laugh.”At least that much was true. I needed some fun for sure. “You’ll have to bring your new girlfriend out,” I teased. “I can’t wait to meet the woman who might have tamed Sean Hamilton!”
“Ah, she is beautiful,” he mused. “Like a brunette goddess.Even you’ll fall in love with her!”
“You don’t have to worry about me, but keep her away from the rest of the team,” I half joked. “You know that lot are animals.”
The problem with those guys was the fact that while they had respect for one another’s girlfriends, that bond didn’t hold out to anyone else. They kind of had the attitude that it wasn’t them in a relationship, so they weren’t doing anything wrong. I didn’t agree with it, but it wasn’t exactly up to me whatever anyone else did – as long as it never interfered with the game. That was all I could ever have a go at anyone about. Sure. there had been one occasion where a media story was created, but the coach got that all shut down pretty quickly.
“True,” Sean nodded a little too seriously. “They can be pretty bad. But I’m not too worried. I think Ally really likes me.”
Wow, there really was something to this. The more we spoke, the more serious he became about her. If the infamous playboy Seanwas considering settling down, then we were all moving on and growing up. It wouldn’t be long before people I knew were actually thinking about marriage and babies, and all of that. As scary as that would be, it was kind of exciting too. To be thinking about the future in a new and positive way – that was what I needed after all that I’d been through.
I just needed to make sure that when everyone else started to progress with their lives, I wasn’t going to get left behind.
Chapter 6
Danielle – Sunday
When I told Cynthia that I needed to go shopping, my sister jumped on it almost too excitedly. I tried to explain that it was merely for essential items, and that it wasn’t going to be fun, but she was well away by then, planning a trip to every damn store in town.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like shopping, but I loved buying summery clothes, not massive coats and wooly sweaters. Who the hell enjoyed buying those?
“Come on,” she tugged on my arm, checking the list she had created for herself (a list for crying out loud!). “Let’s go in here.”
I trailed behind her, already feeling less than enthusiastic about this. I hadn't had enough coffee to get me through this just yet, and I couldn’t wait for lunch to get a much needed caffeine boost.
I watched in amazement as Cynthia raced through the racks, grabbing things that she thought would suit me, while I stood back like an idiot. My older sister had always had something of a controlling side, which meant she had domineered somewhat during our childhood, but this was something else, even for her.
I didn’t have the strength to argue though, so I simply took the items from her and strolled into the dressing room while she sat outside.
“So,” I started, as I tugged a red, knitted cardigan on. “Did you manage to speak to Derek?” I knew that she had been planning to phone him the previous day, but we hadn't actually discussed it yet. I figured she would be too emotional up until now, where she seemed too distracted to care.
“I did actually,” there was a definite relief in her voice. “He took it really well. I think he might have been expecting it for a while now. I think we’re gonna be okay, and we might even be friends.”
“Hmmm,” I replied skeptically. I wasn’t so sure that ever being friends with an ex was a good idea, but this certainly wasn’t the time or place to tell her that much. “Well that’s good, so you can start having some fun now. Start enjoying Christmas.”