"Alex isn't even back in the country yet," Ryan replied. "I'm good for now."
"For now. That dummy has been partying all summer with hot Russian women, caviar, and vodka. You know once he's back here, he's going into beast mode again."
Ryan knew very well. There was something about Alex Orlov, the team's Russian defenseman who went by the nickname "Birdie." Every season, he would show up at training camp a little overweight after splurging on the finer things in his home country. Then he would buckle down, hit the gym for ten days, eat only plain chicken and broccoli, and be chiseled and ready for the start of the season. It was unreal.
"Yeah, yeah," he said. "I'll work on my shot."
He waved to the trainer and his teammate and left with his training plan from Andy in hand.
Heading back to the locker room was a quiet walk. There were only a handful of guys who had decided to come back and get some extra training done before they had to officially report in for the season. So while there were guys like Logan and Andy around, it still felt a little quiet. The calm before the storm.
Ryan started to wonder if that was what his relationship with Lucy was like right now. The calm before the storm. He liked her, he really liked her. He liked the way she made him feel when he was around her. She didn't act like he was an idiot and even encouraged him to read books, which was something he would've never predicted he would be doing when he packed up his locker in May and took a flight home to Canada.
That seemed like such a long time ago now. Like he had been a different person living a different life back then, at least when it came to women. But Lucy had changed all of that.
That's probably why he was doubting himself now and why he felt like maybe Logan was right. Was he really smart enough to be dating a lawyer like Lucy Evans? She never made him feel like he was dumb or anything, but there were those moments when she inadvertently made him feel immature or young. It was crazy really, to be honest. He was almost twenty-two years old and she was thirty. Their age difference wasn't that big. And yet, there were times when he was with her and felt like that difference was a canyon between them.
He didn't mind it. He liked it, in fact. It made Lucy so much different — and so much better — than other women he had dated before. But he wasn't sure Lucy felt the same way. There were times — just little moments or little glimpses — when he felt like it was still an issue for her. Yesterday, she mentioned that she had to go to dinner in a few nights with her work colleagues. He asked what she wanted him to wear, assuming he was going to be her date. But she just waved him off, gave some explanation about how it was just for work people and not their spouses or significant others. It felt like an excuse, like she was brushing him off, and it wasn't the real reason she didn't want to take him as her date.
And this just proved the bigger problem he had with all of it. He knew she was probably telling the truth and wasn't allowed a plus-one to a work dinner. So why was he even questioning it? Sure, he hadn't been with Lucy for that long considering the summer hiatus in their relationship. Hell, he wasn't really sure if he was even dating Lucy anyway. He took her out to brunch once, but that was with Andy and Sydney. And there were a few nights when they ordered dinner and talked and then did other more enjoyable activities. But those weren't real dates.
So what the hellwasgoing on between them? How would they, or really anyone else, define their relationship?
And was Logan right? Was Ryan not smart enough to date a lawyer? Some of his teammates went to college to play for a top-tier college team while getting an education. He went straight from grade 12 to minor-league hockey. And he wasn't joking when he told Lucy this summer that he chose easy classes in school so he could focus less on studying and more on hockey.
Maybe Logan wasn't joking. Maybe Ryan really was out of his league. But every time he thought about that, he saw Lucy's face. Lucy's body. Lucy's dark hair flowing over her shoulder and skimming her breasts. Lucy on that kitchen counter at the cottage those months ago.
He couldn't worry about Logan's opinion or anyone else's for that matter. He had something with Lucy and he would have to figure out exactly what that something was later. But he sure as hell wasn't going to let his teammates or his trainer or anyone else define his relationship with the hot attorney.
