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“Hey, Hayden.” Pushing off the wall, she walks over to where I’m standing. “Can we talk for a minute?”
“Um, I guess, sure.” I gesture to the wall she was leaning against. “Let’s go back over there. It’ll be more private.”
She nods. “Okay.”
I don’t know what this chick wants from me, but I’ll give her a few minutes. I have time to kill right now anyway. Maybe she wants some sort of closure. Despite her knifing me in the back, I’m willing to at least give her that.
Once we’re a good ways away from the locker room, even farther down from where she was originally standing, she leans back against the wall like she was doing before.
“So,” she begins, reaching out with the toe of her boot to touch the tip of my left dress shoe. “How have you been?”
I take a step back.
I’m not here for small talk or to play footsie.
Ignoring her question, I ask dryly, “Kristi, what do you want?”
“Okay, fine,” she huffs. “Play it that way.”
I blow out a breath. “Look, I’m not playing anything. I’m done with games. I’m actually seeing someone now, so if you can just tell me why you called me out here, that’d be great.”
I’m not about to tell her who I’m dating. That’s Addison’s decision on when, or if, she wants Kristi to know. Not to mention, we’re still keeping our relationship quiet. This chick would shout it from the rooftops just to be the first to announce it to the hockey world.
Rolling her big brown eyes at me, she grumbles, “Wow, you’re not much fun anymore, are you?”
“Kristi, I’m losing patience.”
I’m about to turn around and head back into the locker room, but then she says something I thought I’d never hear. “Look, Hayden, I’m sorry. I just wanted to tell you that in person. That’s why I wanted to see you. I hope you and whoever you’re dating are happy.”
“We are,” I confirm. “And thank you for apologizing.”
It doesn’t change the situation, but it’s nice to know she has some sense of remorse.
Softly, she murmurs, “I wish things had worked out differently for us.”
I remind her, “That was never in the cards, not for us. It was just a short, fun time. You knew that. I never made any promises, and you told me you were cool with casual.”
“I know,” she confesses, pushing away from the wall. “And I was. But then I guess I wasn’t. Hey, a girl can dream, right?”
I don’t even know how to respond to that, and I’m sure it shows.
Scoffing, she says, “It doesn’t matter, not anymore. I’m seeing someone too.”
“That’s good, Kristi. I’m glad for you. Anyway…” I glance toward the locker room. “I better get back in there.”
She sighs. “Okay. But before you go, can I ask you for a favor?”
I’m reticent, but concede, “Um, okay.”
“Can I have a hug, Hayden?”
“Oh, Kristi, I don’t know.”
“Just a little one,” she pleads. “Like a final goodbye.”
Ah, hell, I did say to myself that I’d give her some closure. I guess this is her way of saying farewell.
So, reluctantly, I lean forward and give her a loose hug, patting her on the back.
