Page 20

tyler

Her forgiveness was one thing to be thankful for. I'd spilled the most terrifying part of my childhood to her, and she hadn't run away screaming. I'd expected some revulsion, at least. Instead, tender and sweet Halle had greeted me. She'd taken me into her arms and held me there until my chest stopped heaving and I was relaxed. Then we'd sat back down and enjoyed a perfectly normal breakfast. The bond was back. I would accept even the smallest strand of connection between us. We still hadn't talked about Kirby, but I figured that would happen in due time. I'd let her bring it up first.

I had a game the next night, but now Halle and I had basically a whole day to reconcile more. I had a specific plan in mind. I'd wanted to do this with her for awhile, and now I finally had a chance to put my ideas into action. Only if she said yes to the date.

My heart beat as I sat down next to her on the couch. I was tentative to broach the subject. It was only a few hours after our talk. Would she be willing to go out with me? Would she want to deal with me more than she had to? I could help myself. I needed to know.

"Hey Halls?" Her perfect eyes blinked up at me. The sight melted my heart.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go out tonight? With me?"

"Um. Yeah, sure. Where do you want to go?"

"I kinda had an idea already. It's a surprise though. You'll just have to trust me." My smile was wry at the irony of my words. Halle didn't return the favor as strongly.

"Ok. But...can you give me some idea of what it is? So I know what to wear."

"I'm taking you on a date. A proper one. Fancy. All the bells and whistles. Get ready, Halle Finch. I'm gonna knock your socks off with my date planning." That earned a genuine smile from her. Making the girl I loved happy would never get old. I winked in Halle's direction before hopping back over the couch and off to my room. Right before I opened the door, I called back to her. "Be ready at five." I caught the faint sounds of her angelic laughter.

"I will."

&&&

I was dressed by the time Halle disappeared into my bathroom to get ready. Another twenty minutes passed before she emerged. I was sitting on the couch still, scrolling through my phone. I had a protein shake sitting on the coffee table, and was currently guzzling some from the shaker. I almost spit the drink out when I saw her.

Halle was beautiful all the time. She could pull off anything. I'd seen her in sweatpants, and casual clothing like jeans. Hell, I'd even seen her in a bikini on multiple occasions. But this was different.

She was dressed in a tight royal blue dress. The shimmery material wasn't too revealing, but it was enough to make my heart thump. Her feet were daintily placed inside matte black heels. The added height accentuated her longer legs. She looked stunning. As much as I enjoyed the dress on her, I could tell she wasn't completely confident in it.

"What's wrong?" I asked her tentatively.

"What? Oh...nothing." She flashed me a fake smile. Her light eyes flashed over my attire. She relaxed slightly. I didn't completely believe her, but I didn't want to push for information. Instead, I held out one arm for her to take. She wrapped herself in a tan trench coat before accepting my arm.

"Good. Because you look stunning right now." Even through the layer of makeup coating her face, I could see the blush that crept up her cheeks.

"And you look like you're most at home in dress clothes. Did I ever mention how much I liked the all-black tux from Vegas?"

"No, I don't believe you did." She laughed genuinely, leaning into my side. I caught a whiff of a new perfume I hadn't smelled before. The scent was sweet and captivating. I wanted to lean in and bathe in its enticing grasp. Halle didn't let that happen.

"Come on. You promised me a date, now I'm excited for one." She pouted before dragging me to the door. "Are you driving? Or are we taking an Uber or something?"

"I never showed you! I got my own car. I think you'll like it." Her interest was peaked. I was the one to drag her forward now. We walked until we reached the area where the apartment renters parked. We passed Kirby's car, advancing a few more spots before we reached mine. I hit the unlock button from my pocket, not pulling the key fob out yet. Halle's eyebrows shot up.

"You got a Benz?"

"Yup. 2020 S Class. V8 and twin-turbocharged."

"I have no idea what that means." Halle's voice was small as she walked towards the car. "I'm afraid to touch it." I laughed.

"It's a starter car." She spluttered.

"Starter car my ass. How could you possibly upgrade from this?" I smirked at her disbelief.

"Bugatti? Rolls Royce?"

"Do you even have enough for one of those?" Her confusion was obvious.

"Easily." I raised an eyebrow at her. Did she not know what the contract was? "I'm assuming you didn't keep up with the contract updates from this summer."

"Um...was I supposed to?" I shook my head.

"Nah. Doesn't matter now."

"Not fair! What are you making now? More than last year, right?" I shook my finger at her.

"Not polite to ask about salaries on a date, ya know."

"I could just look it up." I faked a heavy sigh.

"Fine, fine. Get in the car first. You should probably be sitting for this anyway." She followed my instructions, sliding into the passenger seat. I did the same, comfortably finding my place on the driver's side.

"Ok, spill buddy." I gave her a look. It earned me a giggle.

"Buckle up, this might make you loose your mind. I signed for an eight year eighty nine million dollar agreement. Might get more based on my play each year." I dared to look over at Halle. She was gaping at me.

"Don't say that number out loud again, I fear we might be robbed. I can sense the vandals now." She sat back, her eyes still wide. "That much? That's ridiculous! How the hell...are you that good?"

"Damn, thanks. The general manager thinks I am. Would be nice if you did too." I teased her. She huffed.

"I didn't mean it like that. Get driving. I'm anxious to see where Mr. Money takes me."

I obliged. The silky purr of the engine kicked in. A smile danced onto my face at the sound. I plugged in the directions onto the screen. When I tapped go, the soft voice of the GPS broke into the car. Without looking down, I motioned at the radio.

"You can connect your phone and play something."

She immediately took the offer. In a second, a song I'd never heard before filtered out. I frowned, trying to figure out the artist. Halle explained for me.

"It's Frank Ocean. My whole soul and heart." She feigned a swoon.

Listening to the song made sense. It was...her. It was completely smooth in places, but sharp and rough in others. It was abrasive and angry, then slick and sweet. It was Halle. The songs made me appreciate her more. It gave me an insight to a girl who I realized I barely knew. We hadn't ever talked about trivial things like this. I made a mental note to ask about this kind of stuff more.

After four more songs from the same artist, we'd arrived at the designated restaurant. I pulled into the small lot, glad it wasn't full yet. The restaurant had opened half an hour ago, but I'd already made a reservation. Some of the other guys came here with their girlfriends, so I wasn't worried about service or food. They'd all raged about the place. Halle was still oblivious to where we were.

"It's called the Oriole. Kaner and Amanda's favorite place. Sometimes Jon and Lindsey come here too."

I opened the car door for Halle, offering my hand to help her out. I almost lost my breath seeing her fully again.

"If I do say so myself, you very much fit the part of upscale dining...and the car. You blend right in like you've been doing this your whole life." She flirtatiously flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Maybe I have. You don't know a damn thing about me." She wasn't wrong. I held out my hand for her to take again.

"About that. We really should get to know each other before we dive right into this." She sighed slightly.

"I know. We'll get there."

We approached the rotating doors together. I let Halle move ahead of me into the glass. Only one word crossed my mind as I watched her sashay forward. Sexy. Animalistic thought, but I couldn't help myself. I'd been waiting for this kind of night for months. Younger concussed me would be drifting behind her like a heart struck puppy. At least I had some decency to suppress my expressions. It still didn't hide my overwhelming urge to press her against a wall and kiss her ravishingly. I shook the daunting idea from my head. Not yet, Tyler. Control yourself. You need to rebuild before you dive into that.

Halle was waiting for me inside with an amused expression on her face.

"You ok? You look like you stepped in something gross." I blushed.

"Exact opposite of that." I stepped forward to the hostess at the desk. "Six p.m. reservation for Dewalt please." She nodded, tapping away at an iPad screen. I tensed slightly when I felt a light touch on my forearm. Seeing Halle's small hands holding my arm gently relaxed me.

"Table for two, right?" The hostess looked between Halle and I.

"Yes."

"Ok, right this way."

Once she'd seated us, she planted two menus and a wine list on the table.

"Any wines to start you two off?" The woman looked at us expectantly. I opened my mouth to respond, but Halle beat me to it.

"No thank you. No wine tonight. Two waters please." I made a face at her once the hostess had left. Halle rolled her eyes.

"What? We're both underage, and you don't drink."

"Who said—" I started to protest.

"It's common sense. Everyone knows McDavid and Crosby don't drink in public. You're basically both of them combined. Of course you don't drink." I was surprised she knew that.

"Well yeah...Even if I want to, after Monday I'll only have one year to wait." Halle's eyes shot up to meet mine.

"Your birthday is Monday?" I shrugged it off.

"Yeah. I might go out to dinner with the guys. Nothing big. We'll be in Colorado to play the Avs anyway."

"Oh." Halle deflated. "I wish you'd told me sooner. I would've bought you a birthday present."

"I hardly expected you to...considering." We danced around the subject of our estrangement. I changed the subject quickly. "So Miss 'You-Don't-Know-A-Damn-Thing-About-Me,' tell me something I should know about you."

"I was kidding about that. You know a lot about me already."

"Then start from the beginning."

"Like...how far beginning?"

"Tell me how your parents met."

"Oh wow...you won't believe this story. My mom was on a graduation trip from high school, and my dad was down in Rio with some college buddies. They went on a scuba diving trip together because my mom's college friend was a diver and knew the group my dad was in. They hit it out off and found out they'd be going to the same college. As soon as my mom got out of college, my dad proposed and the rest was history." Halle had a wistful look in her eye.

"That's cool. I'd return a sappy story but I don't know how my parents met." I spread my hands and shrugged.

"That's fine. You don't have to talk about...about them, if you don't want to." I shrugged again.

"Damage is done, right? I'll answer what can." I paused as the waitress delivered our waters. After we'd ordered, I returned to asking questions. "Ok, earliest memory. Go."

"Um...I think it's actually hockey related. My mom always brought me to this pond so I could watch my brothers and my dad skate around. I remember he took his shoes off to put his skates on. I thought the shoes were skates, so I stuck my feet in and tried to shuffle across the ice. My mom had a heart attack when she saw me bowling off towards my big brothers." Halle laughed lightly, reimagining the scene. "I had to be,like, three or four."

"That's adorable. What about—"

"Not so fast. You tell yours." I hesitated. I didn't want to actually tell the earliest memory. It wasn't positive and cute. Halle read my hesitation with ease. "If you want to." The gentle reminder relaxed me. I nodded.

"I do. It was...my mom just screaming at me for something stupid. I probably spilled a drink or something. Maybe I was a stupid bratty kid and drew on the wall. Who knows." Halle's eyes had softened.

"But you didn't deserve it. Moms aren't supposed to yell at stupid stuff. Stupid stuff happens every day. When it does, you handle things calmly. You don't scream. No matter how bad things get, you don't take it out on your kid. That's not parenting."

"And that's why you'll make an amazing mom one day." My words obviously stunned her for a moment. I was expecting a cheeky reply, but none came.

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course."

"I...I've never really thought about that kind of stuff." I shook my head, completely in disbelief of her. There was so much about her that was fascinating.

"Ok, talking about kids...what was it like growing up with three siblings?"

"Kinda crazy, honestly. For the longest time it was just three of us, then Hannah came along. But we all tried every sport possible. It was also mayhem with jerseys and cleats and skates everywhere. I was a soccer and lacrosse girl. My brothers did hockey and everything else possible. Mason, the older one, literally won an award for having been on most varsity teams over four years. We were the Finch kids, good at everything." Her voice was wistful. "Then we all grew up and now it's just Hannah." We paused as the waitress arrived with our salads. Halle's eyes eagerly lit up at the sight of the greenery. After she'd taken a few bites, she spoke again. "Do you ever wish you had siblings."

"Meh. Not really. I didn't miss it like you'd think. I think it would've been better if I knew how to live with others, but I'm getting the hang of it by now. So now, I don't wish I did." Halle narrowed her eyes at me.

"Interesting. I'm not sure if I'd give up siblings. They're a bunch of shitheads, but they're all my best friends. I was always closest with my mom though. First girl and all. I think Hannah's replacing me now, though. She gets spoiled by them." Halle's eyes immediately lit up as she remembered something. "Oh! Did you know Hannah is starting to like the Flames? Can you believe that? She's a little betrayer in more way than one." I smiled at the thought of a mini Halle running around with a Chucky jersey.

"I have a good friend on the Flames. I could get her a signed jersey, if you want." Halle blinked at me.

"Who?" She tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"Matthew Tkachuk." I flipped my phone out, finding the picture from Vegas. I pointed out the curly-haired imp that had his arm thrown around me. Halle pointed at the other figures in the picture.

"Who's this one?"

"Quinn Hughes. He plays for the Canucks. And that one is Mitch Marner. He plays for the Maple Leafs."

"Oh, I remember him! I'll always hate the leafs, ya know." I chuckled.

"Yeah. Me too. That one is Elias Pettersson. He's on Canucks too. And the tiny one is Sebastian Aho. He's a Canes player. You might even see him walking around Durham every once and awhile." Halle took another look at the tinier Fin.

"Can't say I have. But you did play him, so many that's where I recognize him from."

We lapsed into a silence as we finished our salads. The slight tension between us was dissipating quickly. I was grateful. By the time our main course arrived, we were both comfortable with each other again. Halle held up a finger before I lifted my fork.

"Hold on, model boy. Let me take a picture." She angled herself so that her dish was in the picture as well. I didn't knew whether to smile or glower. I opted to smile. Halle stuck her tongue out at me.

"Thank you for the teeth. I like when you smile. It looks good on you." I tried to ignore how my cheeks were reddening.

"Anything for you." Now it was her turn to blush.

I took two bites of my food. It was good, but the portions were nowhere near satisfactory to what I normally ate. Halle was enjoying the food much more than I was. I finished the dish before she did, but she was also talking enthusiastically to me between bites. Finally, I cut her off.

"Hang on, chatterbox." I pulled a piece of paper from my pocket. "Hold out your hand. And close your eyes." Halle did so, scrunching her nose in an adorable way. I planted the slip on her hand. She opened her eyes when she felt the edges poking her.

"A ticket? For the game tomorrow?" Her excitement was obvious.

"Yes. It's for the box where all the wives and girlfriends go. I mean...if you don't mind dealing with all them." I was immediately apprehensive.

"It's awesome. I've been wanted to meet some other people for awhile. I'm out a best friend, anyway." I rose an eyebrow. It was the first I was hearing of it. Like before, I would push her about it. It seemed like the mentioned passing wasn't so bothersome to her.

"I think you'll like Dylan's girlfriend, Tayler. She's from Toronto. Her and Brinksy's girl are pretty cool. I'm not sure if Lyndsey will be there tomorrow, but Tayler will."

"I didn't bring your jerseys..." Halle looked troubled. I waved her off.

"I'll get you one. Don't worry. Yours are outdated anyway." She smiled at me.

"Thank Ty. I can't wait to watch you play."

Those words melted my heart.