Page 47 of Don't Puck Up
She pulled back and smiled. “Your cologne is familiar.”
“Oh, really? It’s only a department store one,” I said, brushing off her comment, but Kam wasn’t an idiot. She’d figure me out sooner or later.
She stepped back and checked me out. “You look good. It’s great to see you.”
“You too.” I gestured to her whole body and looked at Chris. “You both do.”
She tugged on my jersey and grinned. “Good to see we’re both supporting our guy.”
“Eh, this old thing?” I smoothed my hands down the front of the jersey I’d bought in Brisbane for the first game I’d watched live. My flippant words were at odds with the care I took of it. It was one of my most prized possessions.
She led us to a sleek but understated black Mercedes and unlocked the doors. The drive to the hole-in-the-wall restaurant was quick, and we found parking on the next block.
“I promise you, you won’t find better fish tacos in San Diego,” Chris said as he watched my gaze ping pong between the two shopfronts on either side of the restaurant.
“I’m game. And if it’s really bad, we can always stop at the bottle-o.”
“The what?”
I pointed to the liquor store next door. “The bottle-o. It’s what we call them.”
“You Australians shorten everything, don’t you?”
“I’m getting used to saying full words now that I’m living here. ‘Servo’ still gets me every time, especially when I’m in a newpart of town and need to ask where to find one. Thank God for navs, or I’d never find anything.”
“What are you asking to find? A servo? What’s that?” Kam asked.
“A service station. You know, a servo?”
Chris barked out a laugh and said, “Guessing a nav is navigation.”
“Exactly.” I grinned. “See? You’re getting the hang of it.”
“Doubtful.” Chris grinned, and I snorted out a laugh.
We walked inside. Chris and Kamirah were greeted like regulars. They didn’t even bother ordering. Chris simply waved at the people at the counter, shrugged his jacket off and placed it on a chair in the corner, then sat down. A few minutes later, the server delivered a platter filled with fish tacos, a pitcher of margaritas, and three plastic cocktail glasses.
“First things first, we should exchange numbers,” I said. Then I realized my mistake. They already had my personal number as V. If I gave them the same one, they’d immediately know it was me. The only other number I had was my business line.
Kam handed me her cell phone with a new contact named LL, and I entered my business number. “I’ll send you a text so you have my number, and I’ll attach Chris’s contact card to it.”
“Thank you,” I said. Then added, “So, how are you both? It’s been a while since we caught up.”
I watched out of the corner of my eye as Chris rolled up the sleeves on his button-down shirt, exposing those sexy forearms of his. I took a bite of the soft taco, trying to distract myself from drooling, and the sweet taste of fresh, flaky fish combined with the spicy tang from the creamy sauce burst on my tongue. I moaned and took another three tacos off the platter.
Kam laughed at my antics and responded, “Oh, you wouldn’t believe us if we told you. We’ve had so much going on.”
I swallowed hard, knowing at least part of what she was speaking about. That was the only part of the secrecy and lies that I liked—the insider knowledge I had on them. But it kind of ruined things for me too. I didn’t want to rob us of that fun get-to-know-you part of a relationship…. Not that I could call tonight the start of a relationship. I desperately wanted it to be, but it was an impossibility.
“I can imagine, with Chris going back to playing,” I replied before I got carried away and lost in my thoughts. “Congrats on the starting lineup, mate. It’s incredible.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty happy to be back.”
We spoke about Chris’s training regime and getting back into travelling. It was hard on Kam with him away so much, and exhausting for Chris, but the way he lit up when he spoke about hockey was everything. He loved it.
They asked me about my filming schedule, and I told them about the movie I had lined up shooting in Vancouver over the summer. I hadn’t been there yet, so I was excited to go.
“The first time we went to Vancouver, we decided to go for a walk in Stanley Park,” Kamirah said. “We went to the aquarium, the rose garden, and saw the giant redwoods. Then Chris tells me he wants to see the totem poles and drags me across the park. Nine miles. I don’t mind exercise, but we walkednine milesin, like, three hours. My feet were killing me, and this one—” She pointed with a thumb over her shoulder at Chris. “—wanted to keep going! ‘There’s a lookout and a beach,’ he said.” She rolled her eyes, but the look of love that passed between them was unmistakable.