Page 12 of Use Me

“Nope.” He shook his head. “I was never drafted. I used to be pissed because that was my dream, but now I don’t get beat up for a living.”

“They do fight a lot, huh?” I chuckled. I knew fighting was technically okay in hockey, I’d just never seen one before. But Rhys was making me want to watch a game.

“Yeah, they do.”

“Have you ever met this Roenick guy?”

Rhys frowned a little. “Nah. He was traded way before I decided to become a sportscaster.”

“He has to play for visiting teams though, right?”

“He retired back in ’09, and I never got the chance.”

“Last call,” the bartender said to Rhys.

Rhys turned to me. “Want one more?”

I smiled. “I’m good. I should head home.” I hadn’t realized how late it was. Now, all of a sudden, it was two in the morning.

“I’ll walk you.”

“Thanks.”

Rhys paid the tab, including my first glass of wine, while I shrugged on my leather jacket. After he put his coat on, we stepped out into the fall air. It had stopped raining.

“Sucks your game was canceled tonight.”

“Yeah, but if it hadn’t been,” he said as we began to walk in the direction of my condo, “I wouldn’t have walked in on my cheating girlfriend, and I wouldn’t have met you.”

I could feel the heat hit my cheeks. “This is true, but I wish we would have met under different circumstances.”

“I don’t,” he stated. “Then I wouldn’t have gotten to be your fake boyfriend for a few hours.”

I laughed. “Thank you again for that.”

“Anytime, Cupcake.”

“Cupcake?” I laughed.

“Yeah.”

“Why cupcake?”

“Because I want to lick and eat you.” I tripped over the imaginary bump in the sidewalk, stumbling slightly in my heels. “You okay there?”

“First time walking in heels,” I joked. Then I looked up and realized we were at my building. “This is me.”

Rhys looked at the building and then across the street before looking back at me. “No shit?”

“Yeah.” I nodded.

“I live in that building.” He pointed to the one across the street.

“Really?”

“Crazy, huh?”

“Yeah. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime then?”