Page 4

Chapter 4

Cyn

I take a sip of my latte, the foam tickling my upper lip. Across the table, Sophie leans forward, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Okay, spill," she demands. "I need all the juicy details about your night with the mystery man. You barely told us anything the next day."

I can't help but grin, memories of Vegas flooding back. "It was...unexpected. In the best way."

Sophie claps her hands. "I knew it! But God, Cyn, we were so worried when we couldn't find you."

"I'm sorry about that," I say, remembering how horrible it was. "I still can’t believe I lost my phone."

"We looked for you everywhere in the Excelsior. And for hours. I don’t know how we could have missed each other," Sophie continues. "I thought maybe you'd been kidnapped by Elvis impersonators or something."

I laugh. "Not quite. Though Garrett did serenade me with a bit of 'Viva Las Vegas'."

"He sings too? Damn girl, you hit the jackpot!"

I snort loudly. "No, he doesn’t. I’m completely fucking with you."

"I still can’t believe we found each other the next morning getting coffee," Sophie says, taking a sip of her mocha. “I was so relieved. If that hadn’t happened, you may still be in Vegas, wandering around in those pink slippers.”

The thought makes me howl with laughter. “I can’t believe I walked all over the casino in those things the night before looking for you guys.

Sophie snorts. "You’re just a classy girl."

“And I missed out on so much of the fun! I love bachelorette parties! I wanted to make you wear a veil and force you to drink out of penis straws.”

“Well, instead you had your very own penis straw,” she jokes, raising her eyebrows.

“And, oh my God, girl. It was quite the straw,” I exclaim.

"Ha! No more stalling," Sophie says, reaching across to squeeze my hand. "Tell me everything. And don't skimp on any of the details!"

I take a deep breath, wondering where to begin. How he spilled beer on me? How sweet he was to insist on buying me dinner? How huge his cock was?

"Well," I start, "it all began with him spilling his drink down my back. I thought it was this other asshole who was hitting on me so I whipped around like I was going to take his head off, but it was Garrett. And he was so apologetic."

Sophie smiles while she fiddles with the enormous engagement rock on her finger.

I went on to tell her the whole story, not leaving out anything. As best friends, we never hold back from each other.

I finished with,“And his nickname evidently is Huge, and he definitely lives up to it.”

“Damn, babe, that’s quite the story,” Sophie replies, looking all dreamy-eyed. She’s such a romantic. “Do you think you’ll see him again?”

I frown. “We didn’t exchange numbers and I don’t even know where he lives. We really didn’t share any personal information with each other. I don’t even think I ever told him my last name.”

“Well, that sucks,” Sophie says, frowning.

“I was in such a hurry to get back to you all after I ran up to his room to give him his coffee and to let him know I found you. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Do you know his last name? Have you tried to look him up?”

“I have but there are too many Garrett Hughes out there. Hughes is such a common last name,” I sigh. “I suppose it will just have to be an amazing memory and nothing else.”

“Garrett Hughes?” Sophie asks. “That name sounds familiar…but I don’t know why.”

“He’s older but so hot. I’m not sure how you would know him though.”

“Did you happen to take any pictures?”

“No, girl, but I wish I did. Would love to have a few of that impressive cock.”

I push through the doors of the Chicago Blades training facility, my mind still lingering on the Vegas memories I shared with Sophie. The familiar chill of the arena hits me, grounding me back in reality.

"Don’t forget the big meeting today, Cyn," Jake, one of the players, calls out as he jogs past.

"Thanks for the reminder, Jake," I call back, smoothing down my navy polo.

There are just a few minutes before the meeting starts and I pop into the restroom to put on a fresh layer of lip gloss. I think about the trip to the restroom in Vegas when I left without my phone. I still can’t believe I did that. Thankfully, I was able to replace my phone the next day, though I’m now five hundred dollars poorer.

The conference room is buzzing when I enter. I scan the faces, nodding at some of the players. My eyes land on Coach Martinez, who's grinning like he's just won the Stanley Cup.

"Alright, everyone, settle down," he booms. "I’ve got some exciting news. We've got a new addition to our coaching staff."

My heart rate picks up. New hire? That's unexpected. We usually hear about something like this before it actually happens.

As Coach waits for the guys to settle down so he can finish his announcement, I wonder who it might be. I didn’t know they were even looking for anyone. But, this group of players seems to be running Coach ragged so it makes sense he’d need to hire an additional coach to help.

"I'd like you all to welcome our new assistant coach..."

The door opens.

My world stops.

"Garrett Hughes!" Coach booms.

There he is. Garrett. My Garrett. From Vegas. Here. In Chicago. Coaching the Blades. What the actual fuck.

My breath catches. My pulse thunders in my ears.

Garrett's eyes sweep the room, landing on me for a moment. I see the flash of recognition, quickly masked.

"Thanks, everyone," he says, his deep voice causing me to have flashbacks of our night together. "I'm thrilled to be here."

As Garrett speaks, his voice is deep and smooth, commanding the attention of the room. The slight rasp in his voice adds to his rugged charm, making him seem even more confident and alluring.

I can't move. Can't breathe. This can't be happening.

Coach Martinez's voice snaps me back. "Garrett Hughes is a retired NHL player, as most of you know. He actually played with the Vipers the year they won the Cup.”

Garrett smiles broadly, standing confidently looking at all of us.

“He’s an old buddy of mine and I dragged him out of retirement to come help me coach you hooligans," Coach Martinez continues.

“That’s not exactly true,” Garrett starts. “Coach didn’t have to drag me. I was bored out of my mind in retirement and happily said yes to moving to Chicago. I’m thrilled to be here and look forward to working with all of you.”

Garrett’s eyes land briefly on me as he says that and I quickly look away.

I swallow hard. I cannot believe this is happening.

Adam catches my eye and mouths, “Are you alright?”

I smile and nod, realizing that I must look as shocked as I feel right now. Adam is another physical therapist for the Blades, and we have become great friends since I started six months ago.

The meeting continues and Coach talks about upcoming events and other pressing issues but I barely hear anything he says. All I can think about is Garrett Hughes and our night together.

I sneak glances at him, but look away quickly, terrified that he’ll catch me.

Garrett stands tall, his broad chest filling out his dress shirt perfectly. His hair is neatly styled, giving him a distinguished look. His eyes are a chocolatey brown, and my heart beats faster thinking about looking deeply into them.

The memory of kissing Garrett floods my mind and I can almost taste his lips on mine. I remember the feel of his strong, muscular arms wrapped around me as he held me close.

I can’t help but look at him again and this time he’s looking right at me, but he quickly turns his head. There's no hint of our steamy night in Vegas. He's the picture of professionalism.

I dig my nails into my palms, willing my face to remain impassive. My mind races. Will he come talk to me after the meeting? And won’t everyone want to know why we know each other?

Coach Martinez claps Garrett on the back. "Hughes here is going to revolutionize our offensive strategy."

Garrett smiles, all business. "I've got some ideas I'm eager to implement."

The meeting continues, but I barely hear a word. I'm too busy trying to figure out what my next move is.

When the meeting ends, I hang back, half-hoping Garrett will approach me. He doesn't. He's deep in conversation with the other coaches, gesturing animatedly about something.

I slip out of the room, my head spinning. In the hallway, I lean against the wall, trying to calm my mind.

"You okay, Cyn?" Jake asks, passing by.

I force a smile. "Yeah, just...processing all the new information."

As I walk to my office, I can't help but wonder: Is Garrett pretending not to know me? Or was he just too busy getting to know the other coaches? What if he regrets our night together?

I close my office door, sinking into my chair. One thing's for sure: this season just got a whole lot more complicated.