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“No, no!” I take his arm without thinking, then let go. “I just meant I understand how hard it can be on an athlete like you. Hockey is where you put so much of yourself. An injury for you is like if a writer had to put their brain on pause for six months, or something. It would be torture. Anyway,” I say quickly because it suddenly feels awkward. “I’ll be out of your hair by Christmas. Or shortly after. I promise.”
Jesse hesitates, like I said something wrong, but then he closes his mouth and nods. “Alright, then.”
I look down at my feet, which are swimming in his massive snow boots. “You know,” I say. “I wonder if we should go shoe shopping before we head back.”
Jesse looks like I just asked if he wants to swing by the dentist for a root canal. He slowly nods his head. “Yeah. Sure. Let’s get you some shoes, too.”
6
JESSE
After three hours of being around town with Andi, buying her panties, a bra, a dress, shoes, then going back because she forgot she’d need socks, and then her realizing it was December and she should maybe pick up a winter jacket, I’m fucking exhausted.
Exhausted, but fighting the odd impulse to smile as we head back inside the cabin. I’m surprised to see the place is empty. Nolan and Liam’s cars are gone from out front and nobody’s home when we come inside.
“Where are they?” Andi asks. She’s clad in the green dress and gray wool leggings we bought, new boots, and a puffy fur-collared jacket. I’m also unfortunately aware that she’s wearing hot pink panties beneath it all and a white, cotton bra. I know this because the pack of underwear came with three colors. Pink, black, and white. When she came out of the dressing room, the pink ones were missing, because of course they were.
I check the time and set my things down on the stop and drop by the door. It’s a carved wood bear holding a shelf. My dad loved shit like that, and the cabin is full of similar items. “Team meeting, I think. They have a game in two days. Coach was okay with them staying in Frosty Harbor if the guys were willing to travel into the city for meetings with the rest of the team.”
“Oh. I guess that explains why Jake couldn’t make it until later today. He probably had to go to the meeting first.”
“He probably is. He requested this meeting off and the coach already granted it for your…” I trail off, thinking about the crumpled wedding dress Andi didn’t seem to care about fetching from the back seat of my truck when we arrived.
Andi smiles. “It’s okay.” She flops down on one of the big leather armchairs and crosses her thighs. “You can go to the meeting, if you’re supposed to be there.”
“I don’t need to go,” I say, pointing to my shoulder. “I’m out for the season. My job is rehab and staying in shape. No point for me to go gameplan.” I don’t mention the guilt eating at me for missing them. Sure, I don’t have to go to avoid being cut or fined. But I should be going. Andi’s right, after all. The guys treat me like a captain, and what kind of captain stays home and watches his brothers go to war from his TV on the couch? I make a quiet promise to do better from here on out.
“That has to be hard,” Andi says.
I feel a temptation to open up about it and admit that yes, next to things ending with Sarah, the injury has been one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through. I’m aware that makes me one lucky bastard, but it is what it is. “It’s fine,” I say instead.
She works her lips to the side, considering me. Her eyes always seem to dance with playful energy. “Wanna help me figure out how I’m going to pay you back?”
For a split second, I’m not sure if she’s implying something completely different with her question. My eyes fall to her thighs–endless lengths of wool-clad, well-shaped leg. I drag my gaze up to her face and the shape of her full, upturned lips and the seductive tilt of her eyes. And then reality slaps some sense into me.
She’s talking about making money, dumbass. “Well,” I say, drumming my fingers on the counter as I think about it. “I could ask around.”
“Can I come?”
“What?”
“With you. To ask around. What else am I going to do? Sit here in your cool cabin? Snoop through your room for ideas about what awesome hockey nickname I can give you?”
“You’re still trying to think of a nickname for me?”
“Of course. I already got one for Nolan and Maddox.”
I grin. “What did you come up with?”
“Nolan is the goalie, right?”
I nod.
“Okay, good. Because he’s ‘Goalie Gourmet.’ Do you like it?”
I chuckle. “Yeah. He’d like that one, too.”
“And Maddox can be ‘Mojo Maddox’. Because he’s into all that superstitious stuff, right?”
