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“We should say goodbye, then.” My father looks down, trying not to laugh.
“That would be good.” I nod, keeping my hands in my pockets. He walks over to my mother and Keely, as Keely looks up at me. Her face fills with a huge smile as she walks over to me.
“Hey,” she says, going in for a hug. I take one hand out of my pocket and hug her, waiting to see if my pulse speeds up. But nothing happens. Not one thing happens like it did in that parking garage. I feel nothing. My pulse doesn’t speed up. My hands don’t itch to touch her face. My arms don’t ache to hold her. Nothing is there.
“Hey,” I say, “thanks for coming.”
“Of course,” she says, “it was so much fun.”
Before I can say anything else to her, my family comes over, and everyone says goodbye, leaving just the two of us in the suite. “We should get going,” I urge, turning and walking out of the suite with her. “Where are you parked?” I ask as we walk down the empty hallway.
“The second floor,” she answers, so I walk over to the escalator and go down one floor and follow the signs toward the parking garage. “It’s crazy how full this place was not an hour ago, and now it’s like a ghost town.” She laughs.
“Yeah.” I look around, seeing she is not wrong. A couple of security guards are still on duty, but other than that, everyone has slowly left.
“It was so much fun,” she gushes again. “Thank you again for asking me to come.”
“You’re welcome.” I inhale as we stop at her car.
“Do you want to maybe get something to eat?” She holds her purse in both her hands in front of her.
I point behind me. “I should get home.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she says, and I want to kick myself for being such an asshole, “of course.”
“I’m sorry, Keely,” I tell her softly, knowing at that moment Zoey was right. I was an asshole to even ask her to come. “I should have told you I’m not really looking for anything right now.” I swear as soon as I say those words, Koda’s face flashes right before me. “It’s just that?—”
Keely just smirks at me, and one of her hands comes up to hold my arm. “You don’t have to say more.”
“Ugh,” I groan out loud, making her laugh. “I feel like such an asshole.”
“Well, I’m sorry to break it to you, but you aren’t an asshole.” She squeezes my arm before letting me go. “I had the best time, and your family is amazing.”
“They have their moments.” I chuckle as she turns and walks to her car.
“See you around, Christopher,” she says right before she gets into her car. I watch her drive away before turning and making my way to my truck.
Instead of driving straight home, I do a detour and pass by Koda’s house. Her SUV is in the driveway, so I know she’s home.
I’m usually wired after every game, but this is different on a whole other level. I don’t even want to think about why. I fall asleep a little after three o’clock, waking at seven and trying but failing to fall back asleep.
Even when I walk into the Sunday family lunch, I’m very cranky. I look around, seeing it’s just the nine of us. When the hockey season starts, the family lunch looks different every weekend, unlike during the summer when it’s all of us. “You look tired,” my mother observes when I lean down to kiss her cheek.
“Yeah, I feel tired,” I admit to her when the doorbell rings. I look over my shoulder at the door opened by my uncle Matthew, who claps his hands.
“Look at these beauties.” He leans down, picking up someone and kissing their cheek. The open door blocks whoever is there. The minute she squeals, I know who it is. It’s as if the blood freezes in my veins, but my heart warms at the same time.
He puts her down as she looks around until her eyes find mine, and she bolts toward me. “Uncle Chrissy,” she cries as she leaps into my arms, knowing full well I’ll catch her each time.
“Hey, pretty girl,” I greet, bringing her to me. My eyes are at the door as I watch Matthew bend and kiss Rain and then see Koda walk in. I swear on everything I have that everything leaves my body. She smiles at something he says as she turns to the side to hug my aunt, who is there to greet her. She wears black jeans with a white shirt tucked in and what looks like an army jacket crop top, but the sleeves flare out at the wrists. Her hair is loose and looks like it did last night when I almost fucking kissed her. Luckily for me, Luna squirms out of my arms to go see my father, who has called her over.
“Uncle Christopher.” Rain comes over to me right away. I bend and pick her up, just like I did Luna. “I brought my puck,” she says, and I shake my head.
“For what?” I shriek, ignoring the pull to look back over at Koda. My heart beats faster and faster as I try not to listen to her voice that seems to be coming closer and closer to me.
“So you can sign it.” She turns in my arms. “Mommy, can I have my puck?” She frees herself from my arms, going to her mother, who now stands very close to me but not close enough. I lift the hat off my head to keep my hands busy from touching her. Or leaning into her to kiss her cheek, or to slide my arms around her shoulders while I pull her to me.
“Sorry,” she mumbles as she opens her purse and hands her the puck with a silver Sharpie. “I told her you could sign it another time.”
