Empty Net

by Toni Aleo

  After finishing their lunch, Lucas and Tate made their way up stairs. It had been a long day after a sleepless night. But there was no way Tate was able to sleep last night when he still could feel Audrey’s lips on his. He spent most the night playing his piano. When he had to wake up early for practice he was hoping to take a nap. But Lucas needed his help, so here he was, banging a piece of wood with a hammer.

  For a monstrosity of a closet.

  “Does she really have this many shoes?” Tate asked, glancing over at his friend.

  Lucas looked up and shrugged his shoulders, “She’s your friend apparently, shouldn’t you know that?”

  Tate chuckled, “Let me have it man, don’t hold back.”

  Lucas shook his head, “I have nothing to say, should I?”

  Tate shook his head, picking up another board, “What can I say Luc? I’m attracted to her.”

  “Of course you are; she’s gorgeous. But didn’t you think you should have told me?” Lucas said one hand on his chest, “I’m your best friend, that’s the sister I never had.”

  “I’ve been waiting for the moment to tell you. How did you even know?” Tate said since they had only interacted for 5 minutes down stairs.

  Lucas scoffed, “The sparks were flying, dude! She would smile and you would go all starry eyed while she would bat her eyes at you. It was honestly disgusting.”

  Tate laughed, “Whatever, it wasn’t like that at all.”

  “Yes it was. It makes me wonder why you never even mention her… hold the fuck up!” Lucas yelled, causing Tate to drop his board, thankfully not on his foot. “Is she the runaway lay?”

  Tate froze.

  He told Lucas everything, but if he told him yes, then that would be putting Audrey’s business out there, but if he said no, then Lucas would think that Tate is trying to two time Audrey.

  Shit.

  “No comment.”

  “Odder, fess up dude, before I knock you in the back of the head with a board,” Lucas warned.

  Tate laughed, turning to see Lucas holding a bottle of water, not a board, “What board?” he teased.

  “Whichever one I decide to pick up, now answer me.”

  Tate shrugged his shoulder, looking up at the ceiling, hoping this didn’t back fire on him, “Yeah, she is, but don’t tell Fallon.”

  Lucas’ mouth dropped as he shook his head, “I won’t, but shit dude.”

  “Good, I don’t want anything to come between us, she has already friend-zoned me,” Tate complained.

  “Dude, that sucks.” Lucas said simply before picking up a board.

  Tate stood there stunned, Lucas always had the answer, “No help huh?”

  Lucas laughed, “Hell no, if you think I’m going to give you tips on picking up my little sister, you’ve obviously been hit too many times in the head with the puck.”

  Tate couldn’t help but laugh, “So much for loyalty.”

  “Oh I have loyalty, but it stops when it comes to Aiden, Fallon, and Audrey. Sorry bud, you’re on your own,” he said. He then started to bang a nail into the board before turning back to Tate, a wicked grin on his face, “But you hurt her, you die. You know that, right?”

  “Very much so.”

  ~*~

  Tate should have known that Swamp People was going to be bad ass just by the ‘Viewer Discretion Warning.’

  Audrey had the best taste in TV shows, and he was grateful for the chance to watch them with her. Her commentary was so funny; it made the show 10 times better. When she started impersonating the people on the show in their thick Louisiana accents, Tate almost fell off the couch laughing. She was crazy funny. She even made Alligator cupcakes to go with the show. Tate inhaled half of them before he enjoyed the amazing chicken dumplings she prepared.

  She was one hell of a cook.

  “Best show ever,” Tate said, licking frosting off his fingers.

  “Uh, duh! Told ya!” she giggled, leaning against the back of her couch, a cupcake in her hand. She had changed from earlier that day. Now she was wearing a yellow jump suit. She had a lazy cute look going, and it did it for Tate. His hands itched to pull that zipper down and find out what she had underneath. Her hair was down in a mess of curls and he wanted to tangle his fingers in it while kissing her senseless. He just wanted to touch her, and not in the friendship way either. He wanted to grab hold of her and have his wicked way with her.

  “You did,” he agreed as she tucked her legs behind her.

  “Tomorrow is Survivor, we should watch that. You’ll love it.”

  “Sounds good, this time, my house though, I’ll get food for us.”

  Audrey laughed, “Can’t cook?”

  Tate laughed along, “Nope, but I am good at picking up something.”

  “It works,” she said with a grin, leaning her head against the back of the couch, yawning.

  He smiled over at her and asked, “Are you tired, want me to leave?”

  “No, not at all. Well I’m tired, but I don’t want you to leave.”

  Good.

  “I’m surprised you’re up, I heard you playing at 2 in the morning,” she said, bringing his attention to her.

  Tate nodded, “Yeah, remember, I have problems sleeping at night.”

  “You really should get that checked out,” she suggested, taking a sip of her sweet tea.

  “I know, I should,” he agreed.

  It had gotten out of hand lately. But no remedy seemed to work. Every time he was deep in sleep, he would see his parents’ and Matilda’s bodies on the slabs in the morgue back home. It had been a year and a half since the car crash but the image was still burned in his mind. He hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in months. In a way, he was sort of used to it. He usually slept during the day and it didn’t make sense to him why sleeping during the day was easier, but it was. The only reason he could come up with was that he had identified the bodies at 11:26 pm, on a Wednesday night. It was a hot, musty night when Tate had escaped the walls of the morgue to promptly puke his brains out on the sidewalk outside.

  It was the worst night of his life.

  Not wanting to think of that, he glanced over at Audrey, “I thought of something, no one knows.”

  Audrey sat up quickly, joy on her face as she bounced, “Oh do tell, good sir!”

  Tate laughed leaning back against the couch, “I have to sing ‘We are the Champions’ every time I get in goal before the puck drops.”

  “The whole song?!”

  Tate laughed, “Yup, I time it perfectly to make sure I get it all in. No one knows that I do it, and probably think I’m an ass when they tell me good luck and I don’t say anything back because I’m singing in my head.”

  Audrey was in a fit of laughter as she shook her head, “That is epic!”

  Tate nodded, “It helps. I get in this mindset that no one can beat me.”

  “And they can’t, not the amazing, highest ranked, rookie goalie in the history of ever! You are amazing from what I have heard and seen,” she gushed, smacking his arm.

  Even though he knew it was wrong, he couldn’t help himself. Tate put on his killer smile, showing all his teeth, even his gap, and asked, “Been doing research on me?”

  He was flirting. This friend shit was stupid. They had chemistry, damn it!

  “Oh hush, and stop flirting with me!” Audrey said, red as a tomato, as she looked away and drank her tea.

  “Can’t help it. You are gorgeous, baby.”

  Still red as ever, Audrey shook her head, looking away, “You really know how to make a girl blush, huh?”

  Tate smiled, moving slightly to hide his hard on. When she had that color on her, looking so bashful and playful, Tate was sure the temperature in the room was 1000 degrees.

  “So anyways!” she yelled, laughing while still not making eye contact, “change the subject, please.”

  Tate laughed, “I don’t know if I should, I like this red color on you.”

  “Tate! Quit!” Audrey giggled
as she got up and cleaned up their mess, “I’m gonna kick you out of here, if you don’t quit.”

  “Liar,” Tate accused before helping her, “I think you like it.”

  Audrey laughed, “You caught me. Damn!”

  Tate chuckled, handing her the plates he had picked up, “I knew it.”

  “Haha,” Audrey said with a cheeky smile, “So, anyways, again.” Tate continued to laugh as she washed dishes before going on, “Question.”

  They had been doing that all night. She would ask a question and then he would. He had learned that she didn’t like avocados or tomatoes when that was his favorite thing on a salad. She hated going to the hardware store, and could have killed Lucas for making her go. He also hated going but that was because Lucas looked at everything in the store. She loved cake stands, glitter, and anything pink. They loved the same kind of music, and enjoyed almost all the same movies, except Tate thought horror movies were stupid while she thought they were amazing.

  “Shoot,” he said with a grin, leaning against the island.

  Audrey turned for the sink and smiled, “Where do you see yourself in a year?”

  “A year?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s a short amount of time.”

  “Humor me!”

  Tate laughed, nodding his head as he thought. “I guess I hope to still be playing with the Assassins. I have a meeting with Eleanor Adler about that in a couple weeks,” he said. He was nervous, but his agent was pretty confident that they were going to sign him as a regular, not an interim goalie. “I would like to be married or at least have a girlfriend.”

  “So early? You don’t want to live life as a single hockey player? I heard it's all the rage,” she said with a giggle.

  Shaking his head, he said, “It really isn’t, and no, I don’t. My dad got married early, and it worked for him. I want that. I want the wife and the kids, early. I don’t want to wait.”

  Tate couldn’t help but notice Audrey’s hands pause before reaching up into her hair, pulling it into a pony tail. Her mouth was slightly parted and her eyes were wide as she said, “You want kids?”

  Tate asserted, “Oh yeah, a lot of them.”

  “Early?”

  “Yeah, why? You don’t want children?”

  Surely that wasn’t true. She loved kids; he had seen her with all kinds of kids. She was spectacular with them.

  Audrey swallowed loudly, shrugging her shoulders, “Of course I do, I’m just surprised you do, being so young and all.”

  Tate watched her for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t think age matters. It’s all about what you want and what makes you happy. I don’t want to be some single hockey player with no one to share my accomplishments or triumphs with. I want that person who will be there with me through thick and thin, who will love me all the time.”

  Audrey looked up at him, and Tate noticed the sadness in her eyes, “I do too. So let’s hope we both find that person huh? I know you’ll find yours and she’ll be one hell of a lucky woman.”

  Tate’s brows came together, confused. Was he missing something?

  “So hey, I’m more tired than I thought, I’m gonna go to bed.”

  What? What the hell just happened?!

  And why did he feel that her walls were back up?

  Shit!

  Chapter 13

  Sweat coursed down Audrey’s back and it wasn’t the happy sweat she liked either. It was the sweat from the four miles of her run that she had already completed. Her feet hurt, she couldn’t breathe, and she was pretty sure she was never baking another cupcake in her life.

  Goodness me.

  Pushing herself, she rounded the corner and headed into Centennial Park. It was cold as shit out, but Audrey was burning up. She could see the fog bubble of her hot breath as she pushed herself a little harder.

  Only two more miles.

  She would blame Tate for this. The guy could eat a whole platter of cupcakes and feel like a billion bucks. Tate could win hockey games, wear the same size jeans, be a happy little cupcake eating guy, while Audrey put on a pair of her favorite black and red tights and saw the dreaded cellulite.

  Hence the morning torture, she was putting herself through.

  Not only did she hate working out, because it’s gross but she hated it because it always made her think more than she liked. For example, Audrey had rethought all of her and Tate’s interactions for the past two weeks: Every conversation, every touch, every glance, everything. She couldn’t help it. She had to understand why she still wanted him even though she was aware that he wanted kids and she couldn’t give them to him. Was she really that selfish?

  She couldn’t be though; she had always been very considerate and caring of other people. She helped Fallon out countless times. Helped Piper whenever she needed something. Hell, she would do just about anything for anyone. Even with guys, she would give her heart every time in every way possible. She was just that way. She was pretty sure if someone asked for her soul to get a slice of pie, she would do it. Maybe she cared too much. But that’s just who she was. So why wouldn’t she give up this guy when she couldn’t give him everything he wanted? She knew she was crazy for thinking about the future like this so early in the relationship, but that’s what she wanted. She didn’t want another round in bed. She wanted her Happily Ever After.

  Hating herself for being borderline psychotic, she turned the corner, picking up the speed. Her chest was burning and she wanted to stop but all she could think of was Tate running his hands down her thighs and saying ‘What the hell is this bumpy stuff on your legs?’

  Ah, the horror!

  “I’m surprised you don’t run in heels.”

  Audrey quickly glanced over and saw Tate grinning at her. Crap! She was sweaty and not the fun sexy sweaty either! But, she didn’t have time to freak out about her awful appearance, because at that moment, her face was introduced to a pole and her butt and head got acquainted with the ground.

  “Shit! Audrey! Are you okay?”

  Audrey fell back onto the concrete holding her head. She felt like she had run into a steel wall. The coldness from the sidewalk was helping but not much.

  “Ow…my head hurts,” she moaned, pressing her hand against the swollen spot as it pounded underneath her hand.

  “Um yeah, I bet it does, you ran dead into that pole,” Tate informed her.

  “Damn pole came out of nowhere,” she muttered. Tate chuckled as he moved her hand out of the way to reveal a bump. She opened her eyes, and came face and face with him. For the love of God! He was hot even with sweat dripping from his face and breathing heavily. Damn it! She probably looked like a stout pig!

  “Man, Audrey, you got a nasty bruise coming in. Are you sure you’re okay? Can you see me?”

  She scoffed, “Yes, Tate, your face is only inches from mine.”

  Tate paused, looking from her aching head to her eyes. His eyes were light and soft, playful. When he tilted his head to the side looking all sexy and yummy, she swore she didn’t care how bad her head hurt.

  Because she was going to ravish Tate Odder in Centennial Park.

  “Tate, please get your face out of mine before I ravish you in the middle of this park,” she muttered.

  If Audrey had shocked Tate by her statement, she couldn’t tell. His face broke into a big grin, while not moving an inch, “Are you sure you are okay?”

  Audrey laughed, “Move you big lug, and help me up.”

  Tate chuckled, moving only slightly to help her up, but even in sitting position, his face was right there. Coming close to her, Tate made a show of examining her head, lightly touching her now growing lump. That touch was not helping her inappropriate thoughts about having sex in a park. She was pretty sure he was doing it so he could stay close to her. And she didn’t mind, really. She liked him that close.

  “Tate, your face is still by mine.”

  He smiled, pushing his tongue against his teeth as he looked d
eep into her eyes, “I am calling your bluff.”

  “For goodness sakes,” she complained, standing up slowly, “You really know how to make a girl crazy.”

  Tate continued to grin, watching her as she fixed her clothes and rubbed her butt. She looked up to see that he had a beanie holding his hair back. His shirt was drenched in sweat, and he had running pants on.

  “Cupcakes catching up on you, too?” Audrey teased.

  Tate laughed as he nodded, “Yup, this is my pre-workout, before the intense workout with the guys.”

  “Sheesh, eff all that. I’ll stick to my 6 mile run,” she said, her hands resting on her head.

  “Well I’m done. I was running back to the Sportsplex when I saw you. Thought I would come over and say hi, make sure we are still on for tonight.”

  Audrey nodded, causing her head to hurt slightly, “Yup, 7 o’clock?”

  “Sounds good, I’ll have dinner there and ready.”

  “Cool school, I got two more miles, so I’ll see you,” she said, walking away from him.

  “Wait,” Tate said, stopping her in her tracks. He had that sexy wicked grin on his face, the one he wore while stripping her clothes off during their night together. Audrey felt like she couldn’t breathe when he pinned her with that grin. It felt like her heart was beating in overtime, while her body felt like it was going to explode with want. Audrey was pretty sure that if she was wearing panties, they would have flown off.

  “Yeah?” she basically groaned out.

  “What happening to ravishing me in the middle of the park?”

  Audrey smiled, “That was my head injury talking.”

  Tate laughed, “Well then, instead of telling you to miss the poles, please, hit at least three more. Maybe then, you’ll kiss me again.”

  When his face brightened with excitement, Audrey rolled her eyes, and shook her head as she walked away, “Goodbye, Tate Ooooodder.”