Page 31

"Don’t expect me to go easy on you just because we’re dating now."

James Adler

I’m a happy man. Not because the doctor cleared me this morning to return to practice—with the stipulation that I wear the ugly no-contact canary-yellow jersey, which will definitely earn me some teasing—but because Elizabeth and I are finally dating.

After two years of waiting, she’s finally my girl, and it’s the best feeling in the world.

We’re now walking hand in hand toward Rise & Grind, but I might as well be walking on air.

Everything is brighter, the colors are more vivid, and even the rain was more intense last night.

The crazy thing is, if I wanted to right now, I could stop and kiss Elizabeth’s perfect lips.

In fact, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

I twirl her with one hand, and she giggles as I pin her against a wall, hungry with anticipation.

“James,” she laughs, her giggles growing louder by the second. But when I kiss her, she instantly wraps her arms around my neck, deepening the kiss.

Having Elizabeth’s lips on mine is even better than in my wildest fantasies.

I know, it doesn’t make any sense. But nothing can beat the real deal.

Her lips are softer, tastier, more addictive than I could have ever imagined, and I need my fix.

With one touch, they scorch every inch of my body, sending bolts of electricity sparking through my veins.

It’s the most amazing sensation in the world.

The most intense too. I know I said hugs were sometimes better than kisses, but nothing will ever come close to kissing Elizabeth.

“I knew your lips would taste like cherry,” I say, taking a step back and tucking my thumb under her chin.

She chuckles. “Actually, I also have a strawberry and a raspberry one.”

“Ohh,” I say, placing another kiss on her saccharine lips. “Then I’ll have no choice but to try them all.”

“I think that’s fair.”

Pulling away and taking her hand, I force myself to continue walking. Otherwise, we’ll never move from this spot.

Soon, we step onto Warlington Lane. And it might be November, but I swear, the street looks brighter than ever.

“Top of the morning to you, Susan,” I say, spotting the pharmacist in front of her shop.

“Hi, James. Hi, Beth.” She beams.

Next, I tip my imaginary hat to Mrs. Edibam, who’s arranging the flower display in front of her shop. She just laughs and waves at us.

Elizabeth tenses next to me, so I turn my head to see what’s troubling her. I clench my jaw when I spot Rogers stalking out of Rise & Grind. I tuck her closer to me as we approach the shop.

“What are you doing here, Rogers?” I ask through gritted teeth. This day was too perfect to be true. Of course he had to come and ruin it.

“Actually,” he mutters, stuffing both hands in his pockets, “I came to apologize to Beth.” He turns to her, his eyes pleading. “I’m really sorry for everything. For being a jerk and hurting you.”

He looks sincere enough, but I can’t help balling my fist.

“And I guess I want to apologize to you too, Adler. It was a low blow on my part, hitting you in the back like that.”

I nod, my nostrils flaring slight ly. “Yeah it was.”

“So, you two really are together, huh?” he mumbles, his eyes falling on our entwined hands. “Well, I wish you the best.”

Beth presses her lips, not offering a reply, and he walks away.

“Rogers,” I call out, and he glances back over his shoulder. “You too.”

He frowns, then a small smile pulls at his lips. “Thanks.”

With a grin, I look back toward the shop, preparing to open the door for Elizabeth.

What? Wishing I’d have smashed his head on the pavement instead?

Yeah, a part of me wanted to. But we're hockey players, and there’s a code among us.

We never let our rivalries go too far. Best to leave that to the other sports.

We fight on the ice, and that’s where it stays.

Hockey is built on community and sportsmanship.

Besides, I’ve already won. And he might have helped a little.

“Soo,” I draw out, grinning as I recall Rogers’ words. “What was that really together all about?”

She blushes hard and looks away. “Um, I don't know.”

“Liar. I think you do know,” I say, bringing her toward me and lacing my arms around her waist.

She continues to avoid my gaze, p roving my point. “No I don't,” she says, swallowing hard.

“You want to know what I think?”

She glances up at me. “What?”

“That night when he came to the coffee shop, you told Rogers that you and I were dating.”

Her blush deepens, and I bubble out a laugh.

“I knew it.”

“Fine.” She rolls her eyes. “So?”

“So, that proves what I’ve been claiming all along. That you were already into me back then. Am I wrong?”

She wets her lips, then drops a sweet kiss on mine. “You’re not wrong.”

My heart bursts at her admission, and I can’t suppress my wide grin. See? I knew I wasn’t just being cocky. All this time, she wanted me as much as I wanted her.

Beth Bowen

This afternoon, we’re going to visit Grandma and the other residents at Golden Age. We don’t have a lot of time before visiting hours end, but James is planning to take me to a restaurant nearby afterward, and we really want to tell our elderly friends the news. Cheesy, I know.

We find Grandma in the corridor, and she beams. “What are you two doing here? This is a nice surprise.”

“We were in the neighborhood, and we wanted to see you,” I say, drawing her into a hug. “How are you?”

“Still alive,” she jokes before hugging James.

He offers her a warm smile. “Hi, Lois.”

We follow her back to her friend group’s usual table, where they’re—of course—playing poker. We greet everyone, and they talk us into a game.

As usual, James puts on a show, shuffling the cards with finesse. “Are you guys ready?”

“Boy, we’ve been playing poker since before you were born,” Bill grunts, shaking his head, and we all laugh.

“Fair enough. Elizabeth,” he says, glancing toward me. “Don’t expect me to go easy on you just because we’re dating now.”

Even among the crowd of octogenarians, James’ bombshell drops hard, and they all gasp.

“You are dating?” Esther asks, eyes darting between the two of us. “That’s fantastic.”

“Took you long enough,” Grandma chuckles, placing her hand over mine.

“Grandma!” I exclaim with a laugh. Really! Was everyone waiting on me to finally cave? Because it certainly seems so.

“And you,” she continu es, eyes narrowing on James. “Don’t break my granddaughter’s heart, or you’ll be answering to me.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He nods vigorously, then shoots me a wink, clearly unfazed by my grandma’s threats.

Granted, she’s probably not that scary to him.

But even still, there’s a determination and a sincerity in his eyes.

I don’t know how I didn’t notice it from the beginning.

“Although she’s more likely to break mine. ”

He smirks at me, and I just shake my head.

We play a few rounds, but before long, it’s already time to go. We say goodbye, and I excuse myself to use the restrooms. As I step back into the foyer, my bag hooks on a doorknob, and some of the contents of my bag fall to the floor. I crouch down to pick them up.

“Here,” someone says, handing me my favorite night cream.

“Thanks.” I lift my head to see Janice grinning at me.

She gives me a knowing look. “It’s a good one. I’ve been using it my whole life.”

I blink back, surprised. “Oh, really! I love it too. Glad to know it really makes a difference.”

“It does.” She gestures to her skin. “Just look at my face. Not a lot of wrinkles for an eighty-two-year-old, right?”

My smile widens as I nod, placing the rest of my stuff in my bag. “Definitely not. You look great.”

As I stand up and wave her goodbye, I bite my lip. Now, I have to find Grandma, ASAP.

After I track her down, I spill the beans on Janice’s big secret.

Grandma is still highly suspicious of her youthful neighbor despite my explanation, so I leave her to ruminate on it.

With that settled, we can finally go to the restaurant.

We stroll hand in hand, as if we’ve been dating for months, but in a way, that’s how I’ve always felt with James.

Comfortable. I just needed a little push, that’s all.

We approach the restaurant, and a couple of women stop dead in their tracks when they spot us—well, James.

“Oh my gosh, you’re James Adler. We’re huge Raptors fans,” the shortest one gushes. “It’s so crazy to meet you here.”

“Hi,” James says with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

She agitates her hands, her beaming smile stretching across her face. “Can we take a picture together?”

He casts me a glance, and I nod, taking a step back.

“Absolutely,” he says, grabbing one of their phones and taking a selfie with them.

“Can we also get a hug?” her friend asks, blushing.

He hugs them both in turn, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little weird. True, he’s not giving them the same hug he reserves for me, but I don’ t know if I’ll ever get used to seeing my man with other women in his arms. Maybe with time.

“That was weird, right?” James says once they’re gone.

I shrug. “What do you mean? Isn’t that a pretty standard fan interaction for you?”

He frowns. “Yeah. But I don’t know. Now it feels different, somehow. It’s the hug. Maybe I should switch to fist bumps instead. They’ll call me, James ‘The Fist’—nah. James ‘The Bump’ Adler?” He winces. “We’ll work on the name.”

I laugh. “Yeah.”

“Or maybe, for once, they’ll give me a nickname based on my actual game. How crazy would that be?” he says with a chuckle. “The scorer? Crab, no. It’s already taken. Or why not The Chaser? That works pretty well.”

I shoot him a smile. I love it when he rambles like that. “It’s perfect.”

“Then it’s settled,” he says, taking me into his arms and holding me close. “Because the only woman I want in my arms is you.”

“I like the sound of that, but I don’t want you to change your entire behavior around your fans for me.” I nuzzle my face into his chest. “Even if it’s a little weird, it’s your public persona. I know you don’t see thos e women the way you see me.”

“Absolutely not,” he reassures me, caressing my cheek with the back of his hand. “There are things I’ll only ever do with you. Like the delicious kisses, the hand holding, the—”

“Wait, wait. Rewind a bit.” I grin. “What was the first one?”

He smiles, tightening his grip around me. “Delicious kisses?”

“Yes.” I nod eagerly. “Can I see what that looks like, please?”

His eyes shine. “Absolutely.”

He brushes his hands over my shoulders and up my neck, stopping when he's holding my face. We lock eyes, and everything glows brighter around us. I graze my fingertips over the light stubble of his jaw, and his lips capture mine in a delicious kiss that melts my heart into a puddle. If there’s one thing I can count on with my boyfriend, it’s his ability to deliver on all of his promises.