Blue Lines (Five for Fighting #2)

by Amber Lynn

  “That being said, care to share what it feels like to be an expectant father? For the ones of us who know our good friend Dylan, we’ve heard some tales recently, but I imagine every situation is different.”

  There were at least four other guys in the room who had kids, so if Doug was so interested in information, he had plenty of options. He’d never been the first one to ask questions on the subject, so Nelson wondered if there was someone Doug had his eye on.

  “That would be an understatement. I’ll say that everything sounds good with the baby, but I don’t know much more than that. We have a doctor’s appointment in a few days, and there’s a chance we’ll figure out the sex then.”

  There were more congratulations and a couple of claps on the back as guys headed to the showers. Nelson wasn’t in a hurry to fight for water, so he continued to take his time stripping down.

  “Hey, I know this is going to come as a shock, but I was hoping you could give me some advice.”

  Doug had moved to the stall next to Nelson when only five or so guys were left in the room. Nelson glanced over at him out of the corner of his eye. The thought that Doug was acting weird had been confirmed by his statement. Doug had never sought out advice from Nelson.

  “And you’re coming to me for it? I can tell you right now that it’s probably not going to be good advice.”

  “I didn’t say it had to be good. I have a situation I’m dealing with.” Doug paused, trying to figure out how to word whatever was on his mind. Since Doug wasn’t known for his restraint when it came to saying anything that crossed that crazy mind of his, it was interesting to witness him struggle with something. “There’s this girl.”

  Nelson nodded. He hadn’t expected Doug coming to him for relationship advice. Nelson wouldn’t have gone to himself for that kind of advice, so Doug was in for a letdown.

  “I really like her, but she seems to be hung up on another guy. Obviously the guy’s a punk for not realizing what’s right in front of him. She claims it’s not like that and she’s cool with what we have going on between us.”

  “Yeah, what exactly do you have going on between you?” Nelson didn’t know why Doug thought he could help, but he needed as much information as he could get before he tried.

  “It’s not too serious. We’ve been seeing each other for a couple weeks now and I kind of like hanging out with her.”

  Nelson didn’t know what the problem was. It didn’t sound like it was much of a relationship, so there wasn’t much more to say than just wait and see how things play out.

  “What are you wanting me to say here, Doug? Why don’t you go ask one of the married guys for advice?”

  “Because they’re happy, and probably think relationships are paved with flowers and gold lockets. I have a feeling you aren’t quite to that point, even with the baby on the way.”

  “That’s an understatement, but I guess I see what you mean.” Asking one of the guys who’d been married five-plus years and always had a smile on his face wouldn’t result in a necessarily realistic answer. “I still don’t know how I can help you. My situation is a little unique, as you said, even with a baby on the way.”

  “But you love the mom, right? I know that isn’t a requirement when it comes to having a baby, but it’s always nice.”

  Nelson ignored the question for a second and grabbed his towel. Guys were coming back from the shower, so it was time to get cleaned up and figure out what he wanted to do with the rest of his day. Annie had to work until six, so he had a few hours to kill.

  He wanted to get dressed and away from Doug before he decided to give the backup goaltender a reason to have to play. Nelson had already warned him that the baby and its mother weren’t something he wanted to discuss, and yet, less than a day later they were talking about them.

  “It’s complicated. I’d do anything for her and can’t think of a life without her, nor do I enjoy the fact that she’s at work while I’m here dealing with you, but whether that’s love or something else, I haven’t figured it out.”

  Doug followed behind him on the way to the showers. It was bad enough Nelson had Helms wanting to be a shadow. Doug deciding it was a good time to become one was over the top, and Nelson had to put a stop to it before everyone decided to start up.

  After hanging his towel up, he picked a shower without an open spot on either side and got to work with the soap. The distance didn’t stop Doug from continuing the conversation. There were six guys between them, and Doug seemed to think that meant he needed to raise his voice so Nelson could hear him.

  “Is there a definition of love that works for every situation?”

  The locker room was not a place for poetic prose about love, and there were a few raised eyebrows at the fact it was even being brought up. Nelson rolled his eyes at them and worked shampoo into his hair.

  “I doubt it, but that doesn’t make it easier to figure out.”

  “No, but from what you described, I’d say you were in love. As much as I like the gal I’ve been seeing, I don’t know that I’m to the point where I want to spend all my time with her, and it sounded like that was what you were getting at with your girl.”

  “Then maybe that’s the answer to your original question.” Nelson was having a little problem remembering if there had ever been a question in Doug’s ramble about his girlfriend liking someone else.

  “What exactly are we talking about? You got a girlfriend, Doug?”

  It was curious that it was Klinger, the backup goaltender and Doug’s closest friend on the team asking the question. Nelson had always thought Doug didn’t pee without John Klinger knowing about it. He hadn’t witnessed anything personally that made the rumor true, but they were closer than two guys competing for the same job usually were.

  “It’s only been a couple weeks, but, yeah, I’m seeing someone.”

  Nelson rinsed the soap from his face and turned so he could see Klinger’s reaction to the statement. For some reason the odd look of surprise, wasn’t surprising. Nelson didn’t know what Doug had gotten himself into, but there was more than likely a reason he was keeping it from his best friend.

  “That’s awesome, dude. We need to set up a double date. Gracie’s always trying to find someone to set you up with, and she won’t believe me if I tell her.”

  Nelson wasn’t sure who Gracie was, since Klinger had brought three different women to recent team get-togethers. He assumed she was the cute blond at the one earlier in the month, since he hadn’t seen him with anyone else since then.

  “I’ll ask her if she’s up for that. She’s shy when it comes to being seen out in public, which is why I haven’t told anyone yet.”

  “And she thinks hooking up with you is a good idea?” Klinger asked as he stepped out from underneath the water and made his way over to his towel.

  “I know it’s shocking, but for some reason she thinks I can keep a secret. Anyway, I have a feeling it’s going to be a short relationship.”

  Nelson wasn’t sure what to make of the look Doug gave him as he spoke, so he minded his own business and hurried to get out of there. The man had come to him asking for advice, but in the end it sounded like he already knew how things were going to turn out.

  After Nelson was dressed in his khaki pants and a navy dress shirt, he grabbed his keys and wallet so he could head up to see if Dylan wanted to grab lunch. Their try at breakfast without Casey and Katie hadn’t worked out, so he wanted to see if they could give it another go.

  On his way out the door, Doug stopped him and held out his hand to shake. The gesture wasn’t expected, but Nelson went along with it. When their hands embraced, Doug pulled Nelson in and gave him a smack on the back.

  “I forgot to mention that your goal was great last night. If you can keep that up, I’ll have to stop telling people you’re the worst defenseman on the team.”

  There were a few chuckles in the room, but Nelson wasn’t laughing. He hadn’t been watching the goaltender drills closely, b
ut Doug had to have taken a few pucks to the head.

  “That’s the goal, I suppose,” Nelson replied as he stepped back and tried to read Doug. There was a look of expectation on his face, but Nelson didn’t know what he thought was supposed to happen after the weird man hug.

  Doug didn’t say anything else, so once Nelson extricated himself, he turned around and left. Dylan had always been good about figuring out what was going on with his teammates, a trait that was helpful when you were a captain. Nelson hoped he’d have a little insight about Doug, because Nelson couldn’t read between the lines to save himself.

  Once he made it to the elevator, he hit the top floor and waited for the doors to close. He’d timed it so he was alone, not that any of the other guys were going anywhere other than the parking lot or underground garage.

  After a few seconds, there was an overpowering smell in the small elevator. Whoever had been in there before him had clearly attempted to drown themselves in a vat of cologne. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it was something that smelled halfway decent, but it reminded Nelson of what his eighty-year-old grandpa wore. Maybe that wasn’t it, but it was a familiar smell.

  As soon as the door opened, Nelson took a deep breath and started walking towards Dylan’s office. The smell seemed to linger, and he worried it had been burned into his nostrils.

  Knocking on Dylan’s open door, he made it to the chair in front of his desk before his friend had a chance to acknowledge his presence. Nelson’s mind had turned to trying to pinpoint the smell, since the more he thought about it, the less he thought it was the same thing his grandpa wore.

  “There are very few days I regret not being able to play anymore, but today isn’t one of them.”

  “Yeah, well, I was thinking about having my kidney removed so I could get out of it too.” Nelson thought about making himself at home by propping his feet up on Dylan’s desk, but decided against it. Dylan probably wouldn’t have minded, but Casey’s dad was more than likely around, and that man scared the crap out of Nelson.

  “So, I heard you got to hear the baby last night.” Dylan had looked up to see Nelson enter, but had been working on something on his laptop, so he finished typing before moving it off to the side.

  “I assume that means Annie has spoken to Casey, and you don’t have her apartment bugged.”

  “Affirmative. Before I tell you what she shared, I have to ask. Why in the world do you smell like you broke into Doug’s vault of cologne? I’ve been telling him for years that stuff is horrible, so please tell me he didn’t con you into wearing it.”

  That explained why it was a familiar scent, but not why Nelson’s brain was telling him there was something more to it. He lifted up his arm to see if Doug had enough of the crap on to pass it along from their quick hug thing. Sure enough, it was him and not just the air in the elevator.

  “There’s something wrong with that guy. He decided we needed to become bros or something today. First, he was asking for relationship advice, and then congratulated me for my goal last night with a bro hug. I have no idea what’s going on, but I think I need to go home and do laundry.”

  Dylan raised his eyebrow, and looked just as confused as Nelson felt. “Doug wanted relationship advice from you?”

  Nelson nodded. “I didn’t understand it either. Do you think we can go grab some lunch? I’m starving after burning at least a million calories, and I’d like to get your opinion on some other things.”

  Dylan agreed, but first he had to stop in Casey’s office and promise to bring her back a cheesesteak sandwich and order of onion rings. Dylan drove to a spot close by, and on the way there, Nelson tried to focus on why he was stuck on the smell. There was something he was missing, and whenever that happened he remained focused until he figured out what it was.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Annie wasn’t having a good day at work. It wasn’t as stressful as her first day, but she had back-to-back meetings most of the day, which she despised. There was even a meeting over her lunch hour, so she had to eat a sandwich in between taking notes. She knew when she took the job as a graphic designer for one of the biggest ad agencies in the city that it meant meetings were going to become a way of life, but that didn’t mean she had to like them.

  In her opinion, she just needed the general concept and to be allowed some creative freedom. She was finding there were some clients who wanted to practically stand over her shoulder as she worked. It was an adjustment she was still getting used to after working for a small local newspaper back home.

  She valued her education and her first job, but there were times she thought they did little to prepare her for how things were in the real world. She still pinched herself because she didn’t think she was the most qualified out of what had to be dozens of people who’d applied for the job.

  “So, Annie, who’s the guy?” With the question being asked, it wasn’t surprising that the office gossip Lani asked. Hearing the nasally voice made Annie cringe.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What guy?” Annie took a seat at her desk, glad she had thirty minutes before the next meeting. It wasn’t a lot of time, but it would give her a few minutes to start working on the logo redesign she’d been tasked with after her last meeting.

  Her desk had gotten a little chaotic during the day, as she dropped off notes and early drawings to get to the next day. Usually the metal desk they assigned to her was clear of clutter. Annie didn’t even keep personal items on it, which made Lani’s question about a guy odd.

  “The guy who sent you these.”

  A vase of red roses appeared in front of Annie’s face. Lani hurried to put them down on Annie’s desk before she started in on further questioning, or at least repeating the original question.

  “So who is he?”

  Annie ignored her and logged onto her computer. She’d carried her laptop with her, so sometimes she typed up her notes, but most of the time she preferred to draw out what was on her mind before transferring it to the computer. That fact aside, she was curious about who sent the roses, but at the same time terrified to check.

  “I’m guessing you read the card, so maybe you can tell me who they’re from.”

  It would’ve only taken a second to look over at the white card she’d noticed herself, but it was probably even faster for Lani to spill the details. Whoever the flowers were from wasn’t going to hear the end of complaining from Annie in a while. Lani was sure to tell anyone she could find to listen, and there were only two names Annie could think of being on the card, neither of which she was prepared to deal with the public’s opinion on the matter.

  If they were from Nels, then anyone who had seen her and Doug eating together had a chance of coming out of the woodwork and claiming she was cheating on Nelson. If they were from Doug, Nelson would hear she’d at the very least gone behind his back and got in touch with his teammate. Neither option sounded good.

  “Obviously that was the first place I looked, but all it said was ‘Thinking of you’ and it has some hearts drawn on it. It looks to me like it’s handwritten, but it’s hard to tell. I’ve never seen a guy with that nice of handwriting.”

  Annie glanced over to verify her words. The card was simple, just white with the black words and red hearts. For a second she thought the hearts were part of the card design, but the ink wasn’t evenly pressed on the card and they weren’t the best depictions of hearts. She hadn’t seen Doug’s handwriting, but she knew it wasn’t Nelson’s. Like Lani indicated, it was probably too neat to be Doug’s too, but the hearts could’ve been from anyone.

  “Well, if the card doesn’t say, I have no idea who they’re from.” Annie turned back to her computer and pretended the roses didn’t exist. She could have sent a couple texts to find out who they were from. She didn’t think that knowledge would change anything right then, so work remained her focus.

  Lani wasn’t quite ready to let it go. “You’ve got to have an idea who’d send them, right? Is it an
anniversary or something? I’m pretty sure your birthday is in March, so it isn’t that. I can’t remember the last time anyone got flowers around here.”

  Annie didn’t know what the lack of flowers for other people had to do with anything, but she’d learned it was better to ignore Lani than engage. Other than trying to figure out Annie’s life story the first day, there hadn’t been anything interesting enough in Annie’s world to get Lani going. Evidently, the flowers meant more to her than they did Annie.

  “Come on. Don’t clam up on me. Is it a secret affair?” The last words were said in a harsh whisper.

  “No, there isn’t an affair. Secret or otherwise.” Even though she didn’t want to keep Lani interested in finding out more, she couldn’t have rumors of a secret affair getting around.

  Annie had decided to keep her personal life as private as she could at work, and that meant she didn’t think anyone knew about her best friend. As fun as it would’ve been to spend the day looking at pictures of Nelson, she’d left most of their best photos in a storage unit back in Oshawa. She had enough on her phone if she ever felt the need for a fix, which didn’t happen often since they lived close to each other.

  “Then who’s sending you roses? You’re hiding something, Annie Lake, and I’m going to figure out what. It’s probably better that you just come clean now.”

  It sounded like a threat to Annie, but not one she took seriously. Lani was an okay designer, and if she had any skills at getting to the bottom of things on her own, she’d be a detective or a reporter, or something else of that nature.

  Annie glanced over at the tall, thin woman. They were practically the exact opposite of each other. Whereas Annie was short, pale and had black hair, Lani was tall, tanned and blond. She also had curves in all the right places, which her tight black skirt and matching blazer showed off.

  Annie had thought from the very first day that Lani had a thing for one of the guys who kept track of the money coming in and going out. Somehow the top button of whatever she was wearing managed to always be undone when he was around, which was currently the state of the maroon blouse under the blazer.