Page 57

Chapter Forty-Three

Jordan

Seeing Alex during my day at work helps it go by faster, which is why I’m hating on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Well, most of them. Today is Thursday and Alex randomly drops by with a coffee and a donut for me, which makes me happier than I can explain.

Things with us have been going great. Not at all awkward like I was worried about, but that may be because we’re still in our own little bubble. Though I’m happy to see him, I get a little nervous that he may kiss me here. Or do something else that will make what we’re doing obvious.

“So how’s your day going?” he asks as I bite into my donut.

“Slow as fuck.”

He smirks. “You miss me, don’t you? ”

I shake my head, but give in. “Maybe a little.”

There’s a knock on my door and I look up to see my next client, Lewis.

“See you later?” Alex says with a smile as he walks backwards toward the door.

“Later.”

He walks by Lewis on his way out the door, giving him a friendly smile.

“Holy shit. Was that Alex Brewer from the Reading Rioters?” Lewis whispers under his breath to me.

He plays hockey for his high school. I hear he has a lot of potential, which is why he’s here at Sharks.

He’s going to get the best treatment so he can get back to the game and one day make it to the NHL.

I huff out a laugh. “Yeah, it was.”

He peaks back out the door, watching Alex walk away. So I do what any nice person would do, and hurry into the hall.

“Alex,” I whisper-shout, wanting him to hear me but not wanting to be so loud that I disturb other clients.

“What the hell are you doing?” Lewis whispers nervously as Alex turns around.

“You got a minute?” I ask him.

His brow furrows but he walks back to us. Lewis’s cheeks turn a bright shade of red.

“This is Lewis,” I say, putting my hand on Lewis’s shoulder. “He’s a defenseman for Hunt High. ”

“No shit,” Alex says. “You any good?”

“Uh…”

“He’s good,” I say, patting him on the back. “And he’s a fan. Figured I’d introduce you.”

“Hell yeah. I love meeting fans.” Alex grins at the kid, offering out his hand. Lewis shakes it, his cheeks still bright.

“Sucks you got hurt,” Lewis says awkwardly.

“Yeah.” Alex shoves his hands into his pockets. “But Jordan over here has been doing his best to get me back on the ice.”

“You think you’ll be back this season?”

“If I have any say in it, he sure will,” I add.

Alex only grins wider.

Lewis looks like he wants to talk to Alex but is completely star struck and doesn’t know where to begin. So, I say, “You okay giving him an autograph?”

Lewis’s eyes go wide. “That would be so cool. Everyone on the team will be so jealous.”

Alex chuckles as we head into my office, and he grabs an index card, writing a note for the kid and then signing it.

“How about a selfie?” Alex asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Are you serious?” Lewis looks like he’s about to jump out of his skin, but is pulling out his phone at the same time .

“Dead serious,” Alex says. “This way, your teammates will know the signature is legit.”

Lewis holds out his phone and Alex gets beside him, putting his arm around him, and smiles. They take a couple photos. A few normal ones and a few goofy ones where Alex is sticking his tongue out and Lewis is cracking up.

“Now you’ll be the coolest kid in the school,” Alex says.

“Whoa, this is so cool. Seriously, thank you.”

“It’s no problem.”

I watch their interaction as they talk about hockey for a few moments. Alex is good with kids. Or maybe it’s just the love of hockey that has him feeling so easy. Either way, I like seeing him like this, in his element.

Alex leaves a few minutes later, and I get started with Lewis’s session. For the next thirty minutes, all he does is go on about how awesome it was to meet Alex and that one day he hopes to play on the same team as him. It could happen, since Lewis is already seventeen.

When my day is done, I notice a missed call from Maggie.

I sigh as I stare at the notification. I still haven’t called her, which makes me even more of a bigger piece of shit than I thought I was in the first place.

Not only a piece of shit, but a pussy, too.

It’s why I won’t call her. I’m scared. Not that I’d admit that out loud to anyone, but that little voice in my head keeps repeating it .

Maggie stays with me. She deals with my shit.

What if I ruin this with her and things get fucked up with Alex?

I’ll be alone. And as much as I say I like to be alone, I don’t.

Not entirely anyway. I like my space, but I like knowing I have someone.

Sure, I have Austen, but the guy is barely around because he’s living his own life.

I haven’t seen him in a few weeks, and I’m not sure he even knows his brother is living with me.

Which is kind of fucked up since Austen is my best friend.

I wait to call Maggie back until I’m outside, in my truck—that I worked my ass off to fix. I appreciate Alex letting me use his car, but fuck that fancy shit. There’s no way in fuck I can drive a BMW on the regular. It’s so not my style.

“Hey, honey,” Maggie greets when she answers.

“Hey.”

“So, I was hoping we could go out for dinner tomorrow night. We haven’t been out in a while.”

“Yeah, sure,” I say without thinking. Because if I think about it, I’m going to feel like a dick. I can’t keep blowing her off, and it’s not that I’m going to play this game with both of them forever, but… just a little longer.

Alex hasn’t said anything about Maggie, so he probably doesn’t care.

I’ll talk to her eventually. Maybe after dinner.

Maybe this could be a goodbye dinner? I’ll have the conversation at the end of the night, and then I won’t have to see her any more or talk to her.

I’ll end things on a good note. It’s not a bad idea.

Traffic is ridiculous for a Thursday. There’s never this much when I’m heading home. It adds an extra half hour to my commute. I guess there was an accident, and they had to shut down the highway to clear it out.

When I get home, dinner is waiting for me.

I could really get used to this. Hell, I think I already have.

The house smells delicious, and the food looks great.

“You know, you don’t have to cook for me every day,” I say as I hang my keys up.

“And miss that look on your face? No way.”

My hands go around his waist, and I kiss him while pulling him closer. He’s warm and feels so good against me. When I pull back, he’s smiling.

“What?” I ask.

He shrugs, his hands coming up around my neck. “I like this.”

“Funny. I was thinking the same thing.”He leans in to kiss me again. “Please let’s eat. I’m starving.”

I roll my eyes and we head to the table to eat dinner.

I consider telling him about the date I have with Maggie tomorrow but everything is so perfect right now that I don’t want to ruin it.

I’ll tell him in the morning. Or better yet, maybe I’ll just tell him when it’s done—after I break up with her.