“You need us for anything else?” Luka asked Jason.
“No, I’ve got it from here.”
“Then I think we should leave you guys to hash this out alone.” With his hand on Aubrey’s lower back, he turned to me before they walked away. “I understand the instinct to judge someone else for another person’s mistakes. I did the same thing with Aubrey when we were first starting out because I’d been hurt by an ex. It was Jason who made me see reason back then, so I guess it’s my turn to repay the favor now.”
Aubrey flashed me an encouraging smile, like she knew what Luka was about to tell me and it was going to be good.
“Jason’s my best friend for a reason. He’s a standup guy who goes more than the extra mile for the people in his life, and with the way he’s been acting for the past nine months I have no doubts you’re a person he wants in his life. Badly.”
I cocked my head to the side as I considered what he’d said. “How has he been acting?”
“Fuck,” Jason grumbled, his cheeks turning slightly pink. It only made me more curious about what Luka was going to say next.
“Like a guy who doesn’t even realize there are other women in the world.”
Luka’s response wasn’t what I was expecting. I was flat-out shocked, so much so that I wasn’t quite sure I could believe what he was telling me. But even while I was doubtful, I was also hopeful. Because if it was true, then I wasn’t the only one who’d spent the last nine months wishing that night had gone differently. But I didn’t allow any of the hope I was feeling to bleed into my tone when I spoke. I wasn’t ready to give that much away. Not yet.
“I find that very hard to believe.”
“Of course you do,” Jason drawled. “And for some fucking reason, it just makes me want you even more.”
“I know you don’t really know us, but Luka isn’t just saying that because Jason’s his best friend and he’s trying to be a good wingman,” Aubrey piped in. “Woman to woman, I can vouch for Jason’s behavior since that night at the bar, too. I haven’t seen him go out on a date in all that time. He’s shot me down each and every time I’ve tried fixing him up with someone. And the guys have been giving him a hard time about not hooking up with any of the puck bunnies who throw themselves at the players on the team.”
“Blech.” I involuntarily gagged at the thought of all the women who must make passes at Jason just because he was a professional athlete. Aubrey laughed as Luka led her away from us.
“Well, that was embarrassing.” The color in his cheeks had deepened to a ruddy red. It was cute, and combining that cuteness with his ridiculous good looks made him even more attractive.
I beamed up at him, finally letting the hope blossom in my chest until it felt like a swarm of butterflies had taken flight in my belly. “But also enlightening.”
“And completely worth it if you’ll let me take you to dinner. Tomorrow night?”
“I—”
He didn’t let me finish. “C’mon. After all that, you’re not going to say no to me, are you?”
“I wasn’t going to say no,” I laughed. “Well, not exactly anyway. I was going to ask if you drove to the party because I didn’t. Maybe you could give me a ride home, and we could talk?”
“Hold that thought,” he blurted out before he darted away. I watched as he scanned the room, spotted Alec, and headed in his direction. They talked for a moment, and then Alec nodded before pulling his keys out of his pocket and handing them to Jason.
“Okay, we can head out,” he said as soon as he made it back to me. I didn’t answer because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say about how he’d commandeered a car so he could give me a ride home. “Unless you still have maid of honor stuff you need to do? I figured you were done since Josie already left, but I can wait if you aren’t ready to leave yet.”
“Nope, there isn’t anything else for me to do. Andrew’s staff has all the cleanup covered. I just need to get my purse,” I offered softly.
He followed me, his hand on my lower back, as I headed to Andrew’s office and grabbed my stuff. It was such a simple gesture, but it gave me goosebumps. It had been so long since I’d felt his touch, and I couldn’t help but wonder how much better it would feel without the layer of clothing between our skin.
“Where to?” he asked after we found Alec’s car and got settled inside.
“I’m on Hubbard, in the River North area not too far from the Merchandise Mart.”
“Gotcha.” He pulled a quick U-turn and headed towards my apartment.
We rode in silence, while I searched for something safe to say.
“You want to tell me about those guys, and the hard lessons they taught you?”
Just like that, Jason blew safe out of the water and went straight for a difficult topic.
“Not really.”
“It cost me nine months of having no idea how to contact you. I think I deserve to know at least some of it.”
It was a fair point. Tough, but fair.
“You’re exactly my type. I’ve always been drawn to athletic guys. Hot ones who excel at their chosen sport.”
“You think I’m hot?”
“Um, yeah,” I sputtered. “Me and pretty much every other woman out there.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
There went that adorable blush again. It was definitely something to explore—later, after I’d gotten through my embarrassing dating history.
“You keep on not being sure. It’s fine by me because not a single one of my ex-boyfriends would have ever passed up the chance to use their looks to get attention from as many women as possible. And hot plus athlete meant they got a shit ton of it. My first serious boyfriend, back in college, thought his football scholarship and good looks meant I should count myself lucky to have him in my life. Josie liked to call him ‘the douche’ which should have been a sign that he wasn’t good enough for me way before I finally realized it. By the time I had enough and dumped him, the damage had been done. I wasn’t very trusting with guys and the rest of my relationships were just as bad. I was on a break from men altogether when I met you that night, after walking in on my last boyfriend fucking my next-door neighbor in my bed six months earlier. Enough was enough, and I was done with it all.”
I wasn’t certain how I expected him to respond to what I’d just told him, but what he replied with certainly wasn’t it. “At least he didn’t climb out the bedroom window in the middle of the night, with you sleeping in bed, so he could go fuck her in a car in the parking lot.”
“That’s a weirdly specific example.”
Jason chuckled and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but it’s a real life scenario. That’s what the ex that Luka mentioned did to him.”
“Wow.”
“Sometimes people do shitty things, and not just hot, male athletes.”
“I know,” I sighed. “At least in my head, I do. But my heart was beat up pretty badly, and it makes it hard to trust guys that fit into a certain category.”
“And you think I’m like them? One of those guys that fits into that category?”
“At first, yeah, I did,” I admitted. “If I’d been able to, I never would have even talked to you at all that night.”
“You made that damn obvious when you did your best to ignore me.”
It was clear he’d been irritated about it back then, and maybe still. I felt badly about it, especially now that I knew I’d misjudged the situation so badly that night. I wanted to make it better, so I decided to be honest about what had been going through my mind. “Even while I was focused on my meeting, my attention kept drifting towards you.”
“I am pretty irresistible, if I do say so myself.” He was too damn cute as he joked around, lightening the mood while he glanced at me with a grin on his face and a twinkle in those blue eyes of his. Apparently, my little admission had done gone a long way. I didn’t let it stop me from sharing more, though.
“You really were. When I’d walked into
that bar, the very last thing on my mind was meeting a guy. I was months into my dating hiatus and nothing had tempted me to change my mind about it. Until you.” Although he was driving, it felt as though one hundred percent of Jason’s attention was on me as I talked. “I didn’t want to like you, didn’t want to fall victim to the attraction between us. But by the time I pushed the bathroom door open to walk back out to you, I’d decided to give you my phone number.”
“Then you saw me with Aubrey, assumed the worst, and put me back into that damn box with all the losers who’ve fucked you over.”
“Yup.” There was no use trying to deny it since that’s exactly what had happened.
“And now? Do you get that I’m not like them? That I’m not going to fuck you over?”
“I feel like you don’t plan to be an asshat like all my ex-boyfriends, but I’m still a little wary. You’re young, Jason, and I don’t know that we’re necessarily looking for the same things from a relationship. Even if we do, there’s no denying that you have plenty of opportunities with other women because you play hockey. With my history, that’s going to be hard for me to deal with.”
“I’ve spent nine months thinking about you. How devoted do you think I’ll be if I actually have you, the real thing, in my life?”
Wow. Just wow. The wall I’d built around my heart cracked a little bit at those words, but he wasn’t done yet.
“I’ve had no problem avoiding all the puck bunnies who couldn’t give a shit which guy is in their bed as long as they have a dick and carry a stick. With you in my bed, it’ll be even easier.”
“In bed, huh? We haven’t even gone on a date yet.”
“That’s easily fixed,” he replied as he pulled up to the curb in front of my apartment building. “What time should I pick you up for dinner tomorrow night?”
“I want to say yes.”
I put my index finger over his lips when they opened, figuring he thought I was saying no for a different reason.
“And I’m going to agree to the date with you, but tomorrow night won’t work for me. I have a crazy week ahead of me. Work is insane since Valentine’s Day is this coming weekend and most of my clients are in the hospitality industry. Plus, there’s a bunch of last minute stuff I need to do to help Josie get ready for the wedding.”
“You have to eat, right?”
“Yeah, it’s something I tend to do at least three times a day.”
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Give me your number. I’ll send you mine, and you can text me whenever you have some free time. As long as I’m not at practice, I’ll meet you wherever works for you. Hopefully, your only free time won’t be tomorrow, Tuesday, or Thursday evening since we have games those nights. But at least they’re at home, so I could squeeze in breakfast if that works for you.”
He was being so damn sweet. How could I do anything but give him my number? So that’s what I did. Then I hightailed it out of there before I did something stupid, like crawl into his lap and kiss the shit out of him.
3
Jason
When Cecily walked away from me on Saturday night, I’d been determined to wait for her to reach out to me. I didn’t want to be the one to make the first move, not after it was me who’d approached her at Josie and Andrew’s party. By the time Monday evening rolled around, almost a full forty-eight hours later, I decided that was just my pride talking. She’d warned me how busy this week was going to be for her. After waiting nine months to find her, it was fucking ridiculous for me to let my ego get in the way—even if it stung a little that the only text she’d sent me was a quick reply to say thanks when I’d sent her my number before I’d driven away from her building.
Shoving my hurt pride to the side, I yanked my phone out of my pocket, pulled up her contact information, hit the button to send her a text… and then I stared at the screen for a good ten minutes. I had no idea what I wanted to say. Before I met Cecily, I’d had no problem with approaching women. I’d been damn good at it. Confident of myself. But with her, it was all different. As though there was more at stake because she wasn’t easily replaceable, as evidenced by my dry spell over the last nine months. I didn’t want to mess this up, but I also knew I had to be myself. Thinking back to that fateful night when we first met and the line I’d used to gain her attention, an idea popped into my head.
Me: What do you get when you mix an English class with alcohol?
I set my phone on the couch cushion next to me and grabbed the remote to turn on the television. I flipped through the stations, but didn’t find anything I wanted to watch. As I pulled up the pay-per-view movie listings, my phone dinged with a notification.
Cecily: A failing grade?
Me: Tequila Mockingbird
Me: But your answer works, too.
Cecily: LOL, you’re a funny drink joke guy.
Me: A guy’s got to do what he’s got to do to grab your attention.
Cecily: Yeah, sorry about that. It’s been a crazy couple of days.
Me: I get it. You warned me.
I chuckled as I typed my reply since I’d just been worrying about not hearing from her. It was easier to sound nonchalant about it in a text, especially after I’d gotten her to respond. If we’d been talking, I might not have been able to hide what I’d been feeling earlier.
Cecily: I did, but I still feel bad.
Me: Bad enough to eat dinner with me tonight?
I watched the little dots in the conversation thread as she typed in her response. It felt like it took forever before it popped up.
Cecily: I’m headed into a meeting in Wrigleyville. Want to meet somewhere nearby? In about an hour?
“Fuck yeah,” I breathed out, filled with an overwhelming sense of triumph. Getting Cecily to agree to a date felt about as good as winning a big game.
Me: Sure, that works for me. Any preference for where?
Cecily: Nope, you pick and let me know where. Walking into my meeting now so I need to turn off my phone.
I wracked my brain for a date-night worthy place to meet up with her as I strode into the bedroom to change. My gym shorts and T-shirt were fine for hanging out around here, but it was fucking cold outside. Well, that and I didn’t want to look like I’d just walked out of the gym for my first date with Cecily. As I pulled a navy blue cable-knit sweater over my head, it hit me.
Me: Guthrie’s Tavern on Addison. See you soon.
I made a quick call to the Giordano’s closest to Guthrie’s to place a carryout order. It would take them about forty-five minutes to bake the pizzas, so I’d be able to pick them up on my way to meet Cecily. Guthrie’s had a kick-ass beer menu, but their food menu was extremely limited. It was small enough that they actually kept a coffee can full of menus for other places on hand so their customers could have food delivered while they were there. It was kind of strange, but true. They were a fun place to hang out for a while, though, and they offered the perfect chance for us to get to know each other.
When I was ready to go, I called down to let the valet know I’d need my car—a major perk for where I lived—and headed for the elevator. It took me about twenty minutes to make it to Giordano’s, and it was another ten while I waited for our order. By the time I snagged a spot to park on Addison, it had been a little more than an hour since Cecily had said she’d meet me.
I climbed out of my car and headed to the passenger side door to grab our food.
“Nice wheels.”
Turning quickly, I found her standing on the sidewalk, a few feet away from me. She was wrapped up in a hunter green coat that fell from her neck to just under her knees, and her calves were covered by a pair of stiletto, black leather boots. Even bundled all up, she looked hot as fuck with a riot of red hair spilling from a matching green knit cap. Her cheeks were flushed, most likely from the cold, and her hands were tucked into her pockets as she smiled at me.
“Thanks. You’ll have to let me take you for a ride in her sometime.”
“Maybe you’ll let me drive her?”
I’d never let anyone drive my matte grey Audi RS 7 before. It was a gift from my parents when I got signed by the Cavaliers, their way of showing me they supported my decision to play hockey before settling into a career with the family business. It was one hell of a way to go about it, too. With a turbocharged five-hundred and sixty horsepower V8 engine plus all-wheel drive with sport differential, it drove like a sports car but was also perfect for Chicago winters. It had plenty of leg room, which was good considering who my friends were, and the trunk was big enough to hold my hockey bag without any problems. The RS 7 wasn’t just my car—she was my baby.
“Umm, yeah. Sure. Why not?”
“Try to sound a little more enthusiastic, why don’t you?”
I might not be eager to let Cecily drive my car, but I’d do it anyway if that’s what it took to spend more time with her. Not that she needed to know it quite yet. Turning away, I grabbed the pizzas from the front seat, shut the door, and locked up the car.
“You’re crazy,” she laughed, her eyes scanning the stack of pizza boxes in my hands. “You could feed at least a dozen people with those.”
I shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what kind of toppings you liked, so I decided to get a variety.”
She held the door open for me, waving me in when I tried to use my shoulder so she could go ahead of me.
“You can’t really go wrong with Giordano’s. It’s my favorite pizza place.”
“Mine, too.” I flashed her a grin as we made our way over to an open table in a corner of the bar, removing our coats, hats, and gloves to set them down on one of the two empty chairs. “Look at that. We’ve already got something in common.”
“Yeah, but you had a one in three chance on favorite pizza joints.”
“Giordano’s, Lou’s, or Gino’s,” we said in unison, laughing together at the end.
Checked Into Love (Bachelorette Party Book 2) Page 3