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But as I stare across the table, feeling as though an electric current has run through my body and kickstarted my heart, the last thing on my mind is eating.
CHAPTER FIVE
Aiden
I’mnotnormallythekind of guy who frequents the nightlife of downtown Vancouver on a Saturday night. Loaded bars with drunk Canadian’s. Spilled beer and vodka shots everywhere you look. I’m the guy who’s usually slipping outside every chance I get, but these days I can’t even handle the smell of the cigarettes and dope in the designated smoking areas ofThe Bloody Viking.
“This place is certainly…”
“Different?” I say, looking to Vanessa who’s frowning at a weird, bearded man hanging upside down from the bar.
The upturned man has a tube shoved in his mouth by another man in a Viking’s jersey. A group starts chanting as beer flows down the tube and into the hanging man’s mouth. He gulps as quick as he can, his eyes popping behind his reddening face as beer drips down his face.
“Drink! Drink! Drink!”
Vanessa clutches her mouth and looks on with shock. “Oh, it’s revolting…” She turns to me. “Make it stop!”
Her hands move to my thighs and we both laugh. My body burns hot as she looks on in astonishment, gasping as they start pouring a second pint into the funnel attached to the tube.
I stare down at her hands. Her fingers are short and kind of stumpy. Her nails are long, pink and well groomed. Of course I’m already planning what kind of ring I want to buy her, because I’m Aiden Frank and that’s just what I do.
“He’s going to set a record!” A man shouts from behind us.
Vanessa cringes and shifts in the seat so she’s nestled in closer to me. The booth was a great idea. Not only does it demand a private and intimate setting, but it also gives us distance from the raucous crowd. This way, in the dark corner of the bar, I can continue to show Vanessa that notallhockey players are bad news.
The entire bar is watching the display of how low the human race has sunk to find entertainment, and I’m just staring at her. The warmth of her hand tightens around my thigh and I draw another big mouthful of Dutch courage.
The night has gone well. But for me… they always do. I can’t remember the last shitty date I had.
We enjoyed dinner, dessert and I’ve introduced Vanessa to what she claims is her new favorite dessert – Italian affogato. Watching her spoon mounds of sweetened whipped cream had me all kinds of riled up.
The bar breaks out in applause and despite the obvious disgust in the crinkle of her brow, Vanessa is having a great time.
It’s the next part that I always fuck up.
“You hockey fans are a different breed,” Vanessa says, gripping her vodka lime and drawing a sip.
I grin. “You can say that again… This bar is renowned for the uber-fanatic fans of the Vikings. I’m surprised some of my teammates aren’t here, they always get special treatment here, too.”
Vanessa’s lips curl in a smile. “Um, I’m sorry. Did you just sayuber?”
“Ah…” I feel my expression harden as my brows draw together. “Yeah, why?”
She laughs. “Oh, nothing.”
Vanessa has a smile on her face that’s menacing. I twist on the seat and point my shoulder at her, frowning at the playful gleam in her eyes.
“What’s wrong with sayinguber?”
She laughs again and if I wasn’t so confused right now, I could almost allow my heart to melt at the sound.
“Nothing is wrong with it.” She straightens her face and holds back the laughter. “If you still live in twenty-ten.”
She bursts out laughing, her head rolling back so the blond hair fans over the back of the booth. A deep grumble begins to build in my stomach, but it’s quickly extinguished when Vanessa’s hand hits my chest.
“I’m only teasing,” she says, her hand clutching at the firmness of my chest. She trails her hand up until her fingertips pinch my cheeks. “You keep saying uber. It sounds cute on you.”
I can’t do anything except smile.
