by Toni Aleo
“I did, she’s gorgeous.”
“She takes after her uncle, right baby girl?” He scooped the baby up, kissing her loudly on the cheeks.
“You’re niece?” Elli asked as she turned off her camera. Then she looked at the two of them together and she could see the family resemblance: same blue eyes, dark as night hair. The baby pushed on his glasses, causing him to laugh as he put them back on his face. All the Sports Center guys made fun of his glasses. They were big and black, geeky looking, but Elli loved them. She thought he was geektastic in them. “So Grace is your sister?” she said when she found her voice again. Being as close as she was to him was making it hard for her to breathe.
“My twin sister.”
“Wow, I didn’t know, she didn’t mention it.”
“I doubt she talks about me a lot,” he said with a laugh as the baby tried to get down. “Alright, alright, calm down Amelia, go on, baby,” he patted her on the butt as she waddled away. “She’s a busy one. Do you have any kids?”
“Oh no, just a lot of nieces and nephews.” He smiled as he looked over at her, his blue eyes set just on her. They stood there staring at each other before his eyes raked over her body, making her nervous.
“It’s a beautiful party,” Elli said breathlessly.
“Yeah, like always, Grace outdid herself.”
“She did, this is really nice of you, though, having this for the team.”
“Yeah, I’ve done it the past three years, since I became captain, Wavier did it before me.” Elli nodded, he smiled, and she blushed. God, she was an idiot.
“Wavier was a good captain.”
“He was. I miss his crazy ass,” Shea said with a big smile “So you follow hockey?”
“Oh, yes, I love it. I have glass seats right beside the penalty box. I go to every home game.”
“Do you now?”
“Yup, I’m a big fan.”
“That’s awesome. Is that how you got into sports photography?”
“Yeah, I always bring my camera with me to all the games and take pictures, but when I got the opportunity to shoot for y’all, I jumped on it.”
“You did a great job. I saw my pictures this morning actually.”
“Oh, thank you.”
He already saw them? She just sent them in yesterday!
“Have you lived in Tennessee your whole life?”
“Um, yeah, why?”
“Your accent is really thick.”
She blushed a little as she smiled, “I’m a Southern belle. What can I say?” he laughed and of course Elli continued to blush. “And you are a Yankee through and through?”
“Oh, yes, guilty as charged. My mother always teases me, saying one day I’ll be saying y’all instead of you guys.” Elli let out a giggle and Shea just grinned at her, so she bit her lip, looking away.
“So, um-“
“What kind of camera do you use?” he asked looking down at the camera that was hanging around her neck.
“A Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III”
“Cool, I just bought a Cannon Rebel. Maybe you could show me how to use it? I bought it to take pictures of things when I’m on the road and of Amelia and Ryan, my sister’s son.”
“Oh, okay, sure.”
“Awesome. So how about tomorrow afternoon? We could meet for coffee and go to the park; the park is beautiful right now.”
What? Wait? Huh?!?
“Oh, tomorrow?”
“Yeah, are you busy?”
“No, not at all, Sunday’s are my off day.”
“Okay, so spend it with me”
Elli just looked up at him. He was so blunt, so direct. Holy shit! Was Shea Adler asking her out on a date?
“I don’t know,” she said, looking around for something to pull her from this conversation. She was getting butterflies and it was making her nauseous.
“Come on, it’s coffee and taking pictures. You like coffee, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Okay, and you love to take pictures, right?”
“Yes,” she said with a smile.
“So do them with me.”
Elli couldn’t speak, so she just nodded, which made Shea grin bigger. “Awesome. I’ll meet you at the park at one. What kind of coffee do you like?”
“Starbucks’ caramel mocha.”
He smiled big and she couldn’t help herself. She smiled right back at him.
“That’s my drink, too, so I’ll see you tomorrow in front of the Parthenon?”
“Sure,” she answered
“Alright, Ms. Fisher, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He leaned over, kissing her cheek softly, causing all the air to rush out of Elli. He smiled at her before walking away, leaving her standing there looking like an idiot.
What the hell just happened!?
When Elli got home that night, after letting Adler out the back, she called Harper.
“Hey, how’d it go?”
“Good, the party was beautiful. How was the wedding?”
“Great, did you see Shea?”
“Yeah, did you check on the studio?”
“I did, its good, did you talk to him?” Harper asked. Elli was about to bust, so she took a deep breath then basically screamed out the news.
“He asked me out for coffee and to teach him to use his camera and I said yes!”
“What?”
“I know! I can’t believe it either!”
“No! It ain’t that I don’t believe it; it’s that you said yes! I’m so proud!”
“I know, I don’t think it’s a date, but it’s going to be just me and him!”
“That’s a date, babe! Coffee, too? Oh yeah, total date!”
“He kissed my cheek!”
“OH MY GOD!”
“I know!”
“This is huge!”
“I don’t know. I’m not really his type.”
“What do you mean?”
“He dates skinny blondes.”
“Maybe he’s moved on to curvy brunettes! Now you listen to me Eleanor Fisher, do not go freaking yourself out or talking yourself down. You are beautiful! He asked you out! You can do this!”
“I can do this,” Elli repeated, but didn’t believe the words at all.
“You can. Now, what are you going to wear?”
“I don’t know. What if it’s not a date and I dress up and he comes in shorts and tee?”
“He probably will, but still I’m thinking the khaki shorts you have, the ones that tie, and that really bright Kelly green shirt you have, you know the one that shows off the girls.”
“I wear that to the club!”
“Oh, yeah, true, okay what about-“
For the rest of the night, Elli stayed on the phone with Harper, picking out something to wear for the date she still didn’t believe she had, trying to get her nerves under wraps.
It didn’t work.
Chapter 3
Shea sat on a blanket in front of the Parthenon waiting for Elli. Again, it was a beautiful day, and he was thankful for it, since this date would not work if it was raining or cloudy. A drink carrier sat beside him, holding their drinks, while his camera sat beside it. He had bought the camera a couple months ago and was glad he didn’t give it away like he was going to, since he didn’t know how to use it. But that was all about to change. Elli was gonna teach him, if she ever arrived. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, checking the time again. She wasn’t late, but, like always, he was early. His excitement was causing him to have butterflies; he couldn’t wait to get to know her, to find out what made Elli tick.
Last night, after the party, Grace couldn’t stop talking about Elli and it made Shea happy to know that Grace liked her so much, because if his sister didn’t like the girl then there was no sense in even trying to carry on a relationship with them. Not as if he’d ever wanted to.
But that was changing.
“Hey, Shea.”
He didn’t even hear her come up, but wh
en he turned to look at her, his tongue almost fell out of his mouth. She was wearing shorts, and his eyes went up and down her legs. God, she had beautiful legs. He got up, smiling down at her.
“Hey Elli, didn’t hear you come up.” She smiled sweetly at him. She had her camera hanging around her neck and she was wearing a little pink shirt with a cardigan over it. Her hair was pulled to the side, curls falling down her shoulders with a pink bow holding her bangs out of the way. She was spectacular.
“Am I late?” she asked, nervously. She was flushed, her cheeks so pink against her pale skin.
“No, not at all,” he said with a grin as he handed her coffee, “I’m just always early.” She smiled and sat down beside him, taking a drink of her coffee.
“Mmm.” With that sound, his eyes went straight to her mouth. Such a beautiful mouth she had: she had a cupids bow, with bright pink lips, she wasn’t wearing lipstick, just lip gloss. “Thank you, it’s wonderful,” she said. He tore his gaze from her lips, looking in her eyes. How did someone’s eyes get so green?
“You’re welcome,” he answered, taking a good hearty drink of his coffee without taking his eyes off her. “So how did the pictures come out last night?”
“Great. I got one of Amelia, oh my stars, beautiful! Her eyes are so bright in the picture. I emailed it to Grace so she could see.”
“Awesome, she probably emailed me, but I’m so bad about that kind of stuff.”
“Bad about what?”
“Checking emails, sending emails, invoices, crap like that, that’s why I have an assistant, i.e., my sister.”
Elli giggled before giving him a pointed look. “By the way, Mr. Adler, my fee was only five hundred.”
Shea gave her a forgiving smile and of course she smiled back at him. He knew his smile was lethal when it came to women, but for the first time, he actually wanted to make this female smile.
“Maybe I thought that fee was too small. You were at the party the whole time.”
“So? I know my fee. I’ve been doing this a while.”
Perfect opening for him.
“How long?” he asked.
“I’ve been taking pictures for forever, but I’ve had my business for the past seven years.”
“Seven years? So how old were you when you started?”
“Twenty one.”
She was only a year younger than him. “So you’re twenty eight?”
“Twenty seven, my birthday is in a few months.”
“Cool, what did you do before that?”
“Went to school.”
“What school?”
“What, trying to see if I’m qualified to teach you?” She said with a grin. He smiled.
“Nah, I know you are qualified. I looked at your stuff online. I’m just making conversation.” A small smile crossed her lips as she looked down at her cup, messing with the straw.
“Oh, well, I went to the Art Institute. Did you go to school?”
“I did, I went to U of M in Boston.”
“Did you grow up in Boston?”
“I did, and you grew up here.”
“Yup, Southern to the core.”
He smiled and nodded, she was so easy to talk too.
“What did you go to school for?” Elli asked in her charming thick accent.
“To play hockey.” She smiled as he laughed, “I got a scholarship to play, then I got drafted to the NHL.”
“Did you graduate with anything?”
“Nope, I only went for hockey, that’s all I wanted to do.”
“What happens when you retire?”
“I become a coach. I want to teach kids how to play.”
“Kids? Not adults?”
“Nah, adults are drama queens. I love kids.” She laughed and he laughed along with her. Leaning back on his forearms, the sun was hitting him in the face, he felt warm inside and out. It was a beautiful day with a beautiful girl. “Have you always wanted to be a photographer?”
She hesitated before saying, “Yeah, I guess. I love what I do.”
“You’re good at what you do.”
“Thank you, that means a lot.” He nodded, sipping on his coffee.
“Are you an only child?”
“Oh, no, I have two older brothers and an older sister.”
“So you’re the baby?” he said with a teasing smile.
“Yes, and they remind me of that every day, it seems,” she said with a sad smile. Okay, family, touchy subject.
“You mentioned nieces and nephews yesterday?” Elli lit up, smiling full on. He had never seen anything so beautiful. Not even Amelia was as beautiful as her smile. It lit up her whole face, her eyes glazed over with happiness and that’s when he vowed that he wanted to make her smile like that every day.
“Oh, yes. I have three nephews and three nieces.”
“Wow, that’s a lot of kids.”
“Yeah, they are amazing. I love them so much.”
“You can tell by the way your face lights up.” She blushed, looking down at her hands.
“I’m their favorite. I take them once a month and we go out and have a day to ourselves. We love it.”
“Sounds awesome.”
“Do you spend a lot of time with Amelia and Ryan?”
“When I can, but they are both really young, so you know, they make me nervous and I doubt Grace would let me leave with them.”
“Are you not responsible?” she said with a laugh. He smiled.
“I am, but they are so little, so precious, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to them.” Elli smiled big at him again, turning towards him, crossing her legs as she looked up at him. Their legs were almost touching; he could feel the heat from her. He could smell her, something mango, maybe her shampoo.
“I feel the same about mine.”
Shea nodded, looking out over the park. “So do your parents live in state?”
Elli nodded as she said “They live in Clarksville, all my family is there. Except my sister, she lives in downtown Nashville.”
“Do you stay downtown, too? Isn’t your studio there?”
“West end, and no, I live forty minutes from here, in Sweetbriar.”
“Oh, I haven’t heard of that town.”
“It’s an old farm town. I found my house there and had to have it.”
“That’s cool. I live over in Harding Place, in a condo.”
“Cool, I sometimes wanna live in town because when I am stupid tired after work I hate driving forty minutes home, but I love my house, so does my dog.”
“What kind of dog you have?”
“A forty pound pug.”
“Jesus Christ!” She almost fell over laughing, which made him laugh, too, she was so pretty.
“He’s a fatty, but I love him.”
“I want a dog, but I don’t ever have time for one. I’m traveling a lot.”
“Yeah, the life of a hockey player.”
“Yeah, are you coming to opening game?”
“Of course. I don’t miss games.”
“Awesome, I’ll look for you.” Her cheeks turned red, as she looked anywhere but at him. Since she wasn’t looking him in the eye, he looked down at his hands. “So, does your husband come to the games with you?” She whipped her head up, looking at him like he was crazy.
“I’m not married.”
“Oh, a boyfriend?”
“No, I’m single.”
“Good.”
She was still looking at him, making him nervous. Maybe that was a little to direct.
“Does your wife come to the games?”
“There is no one in my life, just me.”
“Must be lonely,” she said. He gave her a thoughtful look.
“It can be,” he said with a shrug, because he wasn’t all that lonely. He could get any girl he wanted in bed, but no one had ever really mattered.
“So, anyways, your camera, ready for a lesson?” She asked, smacking her hands together, with a nervous
giggle.
“Absolutely,” he said, even though Shea didn’t want to learn a thing about the camera, just about Elli.
Shea was a fast learner. He caught on to everything Elli taught him and when he did something wrong, he grinned widely at her, causing her to grin even bigger. It was so easy to talk to him, between his jokes, his smiles, and the way his eyes just settled on Elli. It was so easy, as if they had known each other their whole life.
“Hey, look at this one!” he called over to her; he was over by the flower gardens, while she finished her coffee and snacked on the pretzels she had bought. She stood up and came over to him. She leaned over to him, looking over his arm to the viewfinder. The picture was of her, with the flower garden in front of her. It was actually a good picture of her and she never thought pictures of her were good.
“Wow, Shea, that’s good.”
“I got a pretty amazing teacher. I’ll hook you up,” he said with a wink as he wandered off towards a duck. She watched him with a smile on her face. While it was a pretty interesting to watch a grown man chase a duck, she couldn’t help wondering why this was so easy. She had never met a man that was so easy to talk to and get along with. He made her nervous, of course, but it was fine after a moment.
Probably cause they are meant to be friends.
Yeah, that’s it. So she needed to get this notion out of her head that he liked her. It would never happen. He was Shea Adler, leading defensemen of the NHL, captain of the Assassins, the most gorgeous man she had ever met. When her heart started to ache, she rolled her eyes. What was she expecting? True love?
Please, it’s Shea Adler, you are Eleanor Fisher, no man of that stature or that pedigree would want you.
“Hey, you okay?” She looked over to Shea; he was standing beside her, his camera in hand.
“Fine, you done?”
“I am, I got some good shoots. I’m excited to go on the road and take pictures now.”
“Awesome, my job is done then,” she said with a clap of her hands “So you’ll have to email me when you’re on the road, show me what you get.”