“It is.” She slants me a look. “You were right.”
“What’s that?” I cup my ear. “What did you say?”
She punches my shoulder and I laugh.
We pass by the playground with toddler swings and a play structure where a few kids are running around. Then Nikki abruptly turns away from me and beelines over to a fence.
“Hey, where are you…” I trail off as she stops and stares into the off-leash dog park.
I follow her. There are a few dogs running around, and a small one staying near its owner. A guy throws a tennis ball and two golden retrievers bound after it.
“Look at those dogs,” Nikki says wistfully. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“That little guy is shy.” She points at the smaller white dog. I think it’s a terrier. “He’s so cute.”
“Or she.”
“True.” Her smile is soft and the most genuine smile I’ve seen since I showed up at her place.
“You like dogs?”
“I love them. I wish I could have one, but I’m away too much.”
“I think big stars who travel a lot have dogs.”
“Bigger stars than me. Richer stars than me.”
“Oh, come on. You’re huge now.”
She shrugs. “I don’t feel like it.”
“What would make you feel like you’ve made it?”
She’s silent for a few seconds, then says, “A Grammy.”
“Ah, right. A Grammy for you, a Stanley Cup for me.”
“Would that make you feel you’ve made it?” She turns her head to look at me.
I think about it. Over the last year, the Stanley Cup dream took second spot behind my dreams of her. Having her. I’m not going to tell her that after her rejection, though. “Well. Making it to the NHL was a big goal for me, and I’ve done that. And yeah, everyone wants to win the cup. Be the champion team. But lots of great players never actually do. Because hockey is such a team sport. You can’t win it on your own.”
“Hmm. That’s true.”
“Whereas you… you’ll get your Grammy all on your own.”
She tilts her head and leans on the fence. “That’s not totally true. I have a team I work with, too.”
“Right. But it’s not quite the same.”
“Yeah. But also… I’m learning that a lot of success is very… out of my control. There’s a lot of luck and timing involved.”
“I guess so.” I hadn’t really thought of that. “And I suppose that’s true of hockey as well. Sometimes things happen that are out of our control—getting traded, getting hurt… no matter how hard you work, or how talented you are, other things can impact your career.”
Our eyes meet and she dips her chin. “Yes.”
There’s that connection again, that feeling I had the first time I met her that something joins us, some kind of invisible elastic band of understanding. My eyes drop to her lickable mouth and she notices that, her eyes flickering, lips parting. We stare at each other with focused intensity, heat pulsing between us, and my mind fills with every filthy memory of that night in Vegas. My presumptuous cock stirs in my jeans.Not now, buddy.
