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Chapter 14

Shawn

“T hanks for doing this again. I appreciate your help while I’m gone for the afternoon.” I say to the dog sitter, Arya, whom Soph connected me with for when I need to be gone.

“Oh, don’t mention it. I appreciate you reaching out because it has been so tough finding work ever since I got here from Bangalore.”

“Well, now that Soph hooked you up with helping me out with the dogs. I’ll be sure to connect you to other players that might need some of your help.”

“Thank you so much! Enjoy your day out. It’s beautiful out there today.”

She gestures to the floor-to-ceiling windows in my condo as the sun shines throughout the room.

“I know. It’s bearable heat, so I’m excited to get out there.”

My phone dings, and Lee lets me know she is downstairs. I grab my wallet and some shades and head out. The elevator opens, and I see Lee hunched over Bill’s desk. As I approach them, I overhear him talking to her sweetly.

“I hope you both have a good time. Just remember not to walk and drink coffee at the same time. If I have to watch you spill another double-double in my lobby, I’m will lose it.”

She giggles, and I smile, admiring her tight cutoff denim shorts and a grunge cropped t-shirt from an old The Weeknd concert. Loose waves frame her face, but she pulled the front pieces back with a bright red claw clip. I continue roaming down her long legs when my eye catches her shoes. I do a double take. Get the fuck out of here. I grin as I admire the sneakers that are the cousins of the same shoes on my feet, Nike Dunk Lows, but hers are black, white, and red, and mine are the all black Air Forces. I come up behind her, and Bill smiles over at me.

“Looks like our shoe game is on point for the day,” I say as her head turns to face mine.

She smiles, and I swear it lights up the room a little brighter. Maybe the sun came out from behind a cloud, but whatthefuckever, she did that with her smile.

“The best comfy stylish shoes there are. You ready, B?”

She holds out a foot and shakes it like she is doing the hokey pokey. I see she brought a bag with snacks, and I take it on instinct.

“See, Bill, you're not the only one out here being chivalrous.” Gesturing to her bag, now in my hands.

“Well, thank goodness for that, sweetheart.”

He says over dramatically, and it has me softly cackling. She grabs my free hand and pulls me towards the doors.

“Bye, Bill. Don’t work too hard today.”

He yells back at us, “Don’t eat too much and then get sick. Have fun, kids!”

My left eyebrows kick up as Lee and I lock eyes. She drops her head and giggles. What have I gotten myself into?

* * *

T he fair, the CNE, or The Ex.

Apparently, it can be called multiple things. When we first arrived, I laugh because it’s like half the size of the Texas State Fair I grew up going to, but Lee came prepared to defend the city.

As we hand over our tickets for the Ferris wheel to the ride operator, she is already starting her pitch to sell this place to me.

“I know there isn’t Big Tex and all the weird fried food they come up with in Texas, but just give me five minutes to show you what makes this place so special.”

That’s cute. If only she knew that her being here is what makes this city so special. I catch her scrunching up her nose as the sun tickles it. The softness of her features, the serenity in her green eyes, and the fun, carefree attitude she brings out of me. It feels like something greater than me knew I needed to come here, to find her again, and experience this city.

We sit on the bench seats, and I reach up to put my arm around her so we have more room. As my shirt lifts, I catch Lee’s eye stopping on my black leather belt cinched in around my waist. The ride jerks, and we make our way up and up, coming to a stop near the top of the wheel. I look down at all the rides below me, then up to see the cityscape in front of us.

“Oh, shit!”

Comes out of my mouth before I can even think through what to say.

“Yeah, oh shit! See… the water, the city, the games, the lights, the boats.” She sighs. “The Six stole my heart when I first rode this Ferris wheel with Mimi years ago.”

I look at her, and she almost looks like she could shed some tears, as if she hasn’t done this over a dozen times.

I nudge her arm. “I see what you’re saying. It’s truly something else.”

She continues. “Liam used to ride with Mils behind Mimi and I, and when he stopped at the top like we are now. Then he’d yell as loud as he could, ‘I’m King of the North’ and everyone would start clapping for him.” She laughs. “That was before he became the King of the North.”

I look at her with a smirk. “Oh really, King of the North, eh?”

She looks at me and smiles again.

“Good one, but yeah.”

“I thought that was a Toronto Titans thing. Now it’s a Blades thing?”

I think of the banners around the Titans court that say ‘We are the North’ at practice.

She laughs again, “Oh, it’s a Titans thing, but Liam made it a Liam thing. Just wait till you go to one of his games. He is like a God here. Hockey and number one draft pick for the NHL equals Canadian royalty.”

“Oh, I see. Well I’ll have to work on seeing if I can steal his crown,” I say, as she looks at me mischievously.

“Oh, go for it! The girls and I would love nothing more than to see his ego take a few hits.” She says, waving her hand in front of her, encouraging me.

“I’ll do my best.” I wink back at her.

The ride brings us back around, and we step off. I stop and look around. “What’s next?”

“Log ride, teacups, funnel cakes, and…” she pauses…

“And, what?” I say, looking over at her.

She hesitates but speaks again.

“Wanna play me in a round of Shoot Out?”

I look overly shocked at her and turn up my theatrics.

“Me? Play basketball? It’s like you know me so well. Just be prepared to lose. I’m not above smoking your ass.” I say, walking right up to the line for the game as those around us talk in hushed voices.

“I know my way around some balls, Books.”

She whispers in my ear as she picks up the basketball and spins it on her middle finger.

Well, damn.