Kissing might be nice.
“I need to upgrade to the kissing plan,” I say, the words oozing from my mouth as I drift into my dreams.
nine
Noah
To allow Paisley privacy to rest, we tiptoe outside to the patio, where there are two padded lawn sofas with a gas firepit in the middle. It’s wonderful to have time to sit and do nothing as we joke around, and I lose track of time. We are finishing a pizza when Paisley pads outside in her socks, her flannel blanket wrapped around her like a taco.
Sophie spots her first, her forehead creasing as if she’s astonished to see her walking upright. “How are you feeling?”
“Like a zombie. I don’t even remember coming here.” Paisley blinks, and motions to the pizza. “Any chance I can grab a slice?”
“Go ahead and help yourself. That might help you feel more coherent.” Sophie nods to the side table that’s stacked with pizza delivery. “Axl ordered, so everything has lots of meat and nothing green.”
Using her good arm, Paisley slowly peels out a slice from the first box and takes a bite while standing. She’s sure never shy about eating.
“I almost think you had a reaction to your meds.” Axl’s expression is neutral. “There is no reason you should have been that out of it, unless they gave you the wrong dosage.”
“You could be a lightweight,” Sophie adds. “That’s how I am. I never need more than one baby Aspirin.”
“Yep, you are a cheap date.” Axl’s lips turn up as he teases her.
She ignores him and motions to the empty seat on the sofa next to me. “Take a seat,” she tells Paisley.
I’m unusually quiet as I watch her. It’s clear by the way she wobbles forward that she’s still feeling the effects of her medicine, but it doesn’t seem to be as bad as before. At least she’s no longer slurring her words. It’s hard to forget about the random stuff she blurted out. Like, she talked about kissing the whole drive home. I doubt she remembers saying that, but it left a few ideas in my head. Now I have an even deeper awareness of her nearness. As soon as she plops down next to me, I have to bounce my leg.
Sophie leans casually to engage Paisley. “How is your article going?”
Paisley’s lashes lower like she forgot she is awake before springing wide. “I got it done under the deadline right before we left this morning, and that’s about all I care about.”
“How does that work with your internship?” Axl chimes in. “Are you leaving Mapleton or did Tight ol’ Bill offer you a job?”
Paisley shakes her head. “I would love a full-time job offer, but nothing yet.”
“Well, if you don’t get a job offer, it’s nothing against you.” Her soft scent pulls me closer, and I place my arm on the back of the sofa. “Bill has this thing where he won’t hire interns. He likes people to have more experience.”
“Nah,” Axl mouths off. “He’s cheap and wants another free intern.”
“With some things, but you have to remember that she isn’t Bill’s intern in the first place.” I nod, not the least offended for Bill, because it’s absolutely true. Even though Bill is rich, he’s always been aware of every penny he spends, which is part of the reason he’s rich. Not to mention that Paisley was never his employee in the first place, so he won’t feel any sense of loyalty to keep her around.
“You can’t deny we have the lowest salaries in the AHL.” Axl’s already finished his pizza, and he’s leaning forward, warming his hands near the fire. It’s hypnotic to watch the flame swirl around, as it cackles and sparks.
“We are also in last place, so there’s that.” Most of the time I agree with the guys, but as far as salaries go, it’s a math problem. Ticket sales bring in income, and while we keep losing, people aren’t buying. “Here’s the thing.” I never planned on being Bill’s cheerleader, but having lived with him for the last year, I have seen a side to him the rest of the guys miss out on. I focus on Paisley as I do my best to clarify again why she likely won’t be getting a job offer. “It’s a long story, but Bill never wanted to own a hockey team. He wanted to play, and he had the talent and the chance to play in the NHL. He only made it a year before he blew out his back. That should have been the end of it, but he blames his injury solely on one person—Blake Anton—an ex-teammate who he swears sabotaged him. They always had a rivalry.”
Paisley jerks back, her eyes spring open, and I pause as she appears to wobble in her seat. “Are you okay?” I place my hand on her shoulder, rationalizing that it’s just the meds.
“Ah, yeah. I’m totally fine.” Her eyes grow wider yet, but she is silent.
I continue, “It’s been years of back and forth, as they faced off for many board positions and even real estate. He’ll never admit it out loud, but I suspect Granite Ice was one of the schemes he cooked up to get ahead of Blake. Starting an AHL team mighthave been going too far because he didn’t do it properly to raise capital. It’s been a huge drain on his bank account, but you have to hand it to him because he doesn’t give up. None of the rivalry makes sense to me. Yeah, he’s annoying at times, but aside from being my boss, he’s also my stepdad and he’s been really good to my mom and me.”
Paisley’s jaw drops so low it looks as if it lost a hinge.
Sophie and Axl both stare at me, as this isn’t the first time they got a mouthful from me about Bill. After a long beat of silence that Paisley makes no attempt to break, Sophie speaks up. “It doesn’t matter. You get to play hockey.”
The conversation breaks into side conversations when Sophie tells Paisley about her new shoes. Eventually Axl and Sophie disappear inside and off to bed, leaving Paisley, who is fully rested from her nap, and me alone.
“How are you feeling?” I reposition myself again, as I can’t seem to get comfortable with her so close to me. It’s like my body knows she’s there, sparking this magnetic pulse. I want to reach out and hold her, but that’s clearly skipping a step.
