AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They’re going to announce what company gets the contract in a few days. I’ll know then,” she tells her mom on the phone. “Yeah, dinner tomorrow sounds good. Ok, see you then.”
Then she hangs up her cell phone.
I’m nearly to her when she begins to slip on the ice she didn’t see.
Every instinct honed on the ice kicks in. I can't let her fall.
She lets out a small yelp as she slips. I reach her just in time and wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her tight against my body to assist me in my center of gravity to stabilize us both. We both narrowly avoid eating shit as I keep my feet from sliding out from under me.
Years of walking and skating on ice has me at an advantage over most.
Her left hand grips my jacket while her right hand, still clutching her cellphone, presses against my chest.
“Whoa, you ok?” I ask, my grip still tight around her waist.
“Yeah… I think so?” she says, her breathing a little labored from nearly taking a tumble and her eyes wide as if a little startled to see anyone else out here.
I release her once she seems stable enough but I stay close in case she slips again.
She smooths her hands over her tight, black dress.
From what I can see, she has an hourglass shape under that tent of a jacket she’s wearing.
“Thank you,” she says, looking up at me.
The parking lot is dark, but standing just under the overhead lights, her eyes almost look violet in color and catch my attention. I’m mesmerized by the deep blue/purple hue as they peer up at me through a thick frame of black lashes, complementing her warm olive skin. I've seen these eyes somewhere before. Maybe on someone famous, but I can't quite place it.
“What are you doing out here this late? The game ended nearly two hours ago. I figured I was the last one here, besides the clean-up crew,” I say, searching her eyes.
Before she can answer, one of my assistant coaches walks past me.
“Great game, Haynes. Your defensemen played their asses off. That’s what we need on the ice next week.”
“Happy to give you the good D whenever you want it coach,” I say back, not breaking eye contact with the woman standing in front of me.
Though I play center-forward, I’m the captain of the team. This means I’m still responsible for every player on my team and the outcome of the game.
“Smart ass.” He chuckles as he heads past us toward his car.
“You’re a player?” she asks. Her eyes furrow as if she doesn’t believe it.
Unlike Amelia’s, this woman’s eyebrows move.
That’s oddly reassuring.
Another reassuring trait is that she isn’t a jersey jumper.
She doesn’t even know whose jersey she’s wearing.
“Yeah, you were at the hockey game tonight, right?”
“I was, yes, but here for research. Sorry… I didn’t pay all that much attention to the game.”
Should I be insulted that I wasn’t entertaining enough to catch her attention? The fans all seemed pleased so it couldn’t have been that boring.
“Research for what?”
“The Hawkeyes party planning contract.”
