We eventually migratedto the bed and have been talking for what feels like hours. The shirt she tempted me with was lost then thrown back on after our last round, but the shorts haven’t left the floor near the door.
“Happy Accident” by Tomberlin plays on my Bluetooth as we face one another on our sides and snack on chips and cookies, since turndown service stopped by.
“Are you still avoiding your dad’s calls?” Violet asks, nibbling on a gooey cookie that draws my attention to her mouth,
I grab another potato chip from the little bag resting between us. “He tried to phone earlier, but I was saved by a photo session. I’ll face him soon. I kind of need to switch gears, you know? In truth, the last few months have been… odd. I always knew I would need to retire, but I hate it, nonetheless. Then buying the team, sure, it’s a thrill, but…”
“You’re trying to fill a void,” she says, finishing my sentence.
My eyes widen slightly because she gets it. “Something like that. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited, but it’s not the same as being on the ice with a timer controlling your adrenaline as you try to score.”
“Have you ever thought that now you get to experience hockey through a different lens? You’ll probably still feel the adrenaline, but now you get to watch a game unfold and go home without a black eye too.”
I flex my jaw side to side, as I’m slightly in awe that Violet analyzes things so clearly. “You read people well,” I compliment.
Violet lies on her back and turns her head to face me as she rests against the pillow. I take the opportunity to grab a stray section of her hair and twirl it around my finger.
“I need to, in my line of work. I have to determine if flowers are needed for a happy or sad occasion. It’s my sixth sense to figure out if a man is buying flowers for his mother, his lover who he is madly in love with, or if he is trying to get out of the doghouse. Then again, when a guy is trying to get out of the doghouse, then it’s obvious.”
I huff a laugh. “How so?”
A near evil smirk spreads on her lips that makes me want to kiss her again. “He tends to ask for the most expensive flowers.”
I nuzzle into her neck while I laugh, as that makes sense.
She giggles and further explains, “If he shows up needing flowers for someone who he truly loves, then he normally has an idea which flowers are her favorite or at least gives me her favorite color to work with. But if the first thing he says to me is that he needs the most expensive flowers, then I know, I just know, and I hate it.”
“What do you do?”
“Lie and actually give him the cheapest flowers but charge full price,” she quips.
It sounds exactly like what she would do.
Her fingers begin to trace lazy patterns on my arm, and damn, I’m not sure when the last time was that I just lay in bed with someone and talked without any thought of the outside world. I’m used to gratification and get out. Instead, time slows, and I’m relaxed while we leave chip crumbs in the bed. We’re in our own bubble.
Violet seems to get more comfortable, sinking into the mattress, and her face tells me that another round of questions will be shot my way, though I don’t mind.
But she surprises me and sighs a relaxing breath. “Hear the rain?”
I try to focus, and despite the subtle music, the sound of pouring rain overtakes the background noise.
“Kind of calming,” I admit.
“It’s only June. I hope this isn’t the indication for the season ahead. It’s the high season in this little town, but I guess off-season for you; opposites connect.”
I nip at her shoulder gently, because that’s what our bodies are doing, following movements without thought. “When I played hockey, I could actually enjoy off-season, would go on vacation even, because I knew hockey training would be waiting for me at the end of the summer. I’m so out of my realm right now.” I gently shake my head in irritation from that fact.
She taps her finger against my bare chest. “You’re not. You’readaptingto your new normal. Where is that confidence that you ooze? Throw it into your new chapter.”
She steals my gaze because the conviction in her voice sounds far too natural.
“The confidence is there, I just seem to let down a wall or two around you.” My voice grows soft and our eyes lock, hers filled with admiration and mine must show a fondness that I’m not used to feeling.
A long moment falls between us until Violet twists her body to look over her shoulder at the clock on the bedside table. “It’s almost midnight.” She begins to stir. “I need to get home.”
I don’t like the idea of her on the road at night in this rain. Hell, I know that’s only partly true. I hate the idea of her leaving.
When her cute little ass is about to slide off the mattress, I quickly grab her arm to stop her. “You don’t need to go.”
