He stares at me for a solid ten seconds, and I think maybe his brain has short-circuited before flipping us over again and swallowing my echoing laugh. “Do I think I can get you off again? Baby, you must not know who you’re talking to. I—ah!”
I can see flames erupting from the corner of my eye just before he practically jumps off me in his haste to stop the fire. Except I’m not sure he knowshowto put one out, and I didn’t exactly tell him where the fire extinguisher was before we started cooking. He’s running around frantically when I grab the lid to the pan.
“Calm down, babe. It’s just a little pan fire,” I say as I calmly place a lid over the open flames, effectively putting them out. “Although I think we are going to have to get creative with our main dish tonight since the gnocchi is ruin–”
Teddy pulls me into his arms and crashes his lips to mine, cutting off my tale of disappointment. His kiss is searing. Just like the man himself, it’s soft on the surface, but there’s a promise of darkness lingering inside. The deeper I dig, the less concerned I am about being burned.
Chapter 10
“I’ll never gettired of seeing them do their warm-ups,” Nonna sighs wistfully, sipping her gin and tonic and munching on a pretzel in our family’s box.
She’s never been shy about why she enjoys coming to my brothers’ games. Although she’s proud of her grandchildren and all their success, the testosterone in the building is what keeps her from missing a single match. That, and the pretzels that she swears taste better from the snack stand here than anywhere else.
Mama snorts into her glass of wine, arguing that she knows too much about hockey players to ogle them the same way. “I don’t know how you still enjoy it, Teresa. For me, looking at every man on the ice out there is thinking of how all that unwashed hockey gear smells! Don’t you remember when Niccolò left his gear in the kitchen while we were gone for a week on vacation? We had to fumigate the house! In the corner by the table, I swear I can still smell it…”
Listening to their back-and-forth on whether the specimens on the ice are eye candy, I firmly agree with Nonna. Even knowing how disgusting they are after a match, something about all the testosterone has always piqued my interest. Not that Gabri and Nikki have ever let a single one of their teammates around me.
The new goalie catches Nonna’s and Mama’s attention as he warms up next to the backup goalie everyone calls Pretzel. I met him once when he happened to be volunteering at the hospital while I was there. As soon as he figured out who I was, he scampered off to another ward mumbling about “the safety of his favorite appendage,” whatever that means.
As soon as I got boobs and the first man catcalled me in the street, my brothers made it clear that I was out of bounds to their teammates. The tone was set early when a member of their college team hit on me when I was still in high school. I don’t know what happened to the guy, but he never played another hockey match and was unenrolled from the school. Since then, I’ve given up on trying to get to know any of the players even though most of the guys are married or have girlfriends and have no romantic interest in me.
For a long time, I wanted to be mad about them trying to make decisions about who I was allowed to date, and I told Gabri one night, when I was fifteen, that I was going to date an entire harem of hockey players, and there was nothing he could do about it. He and I have never been as close as Leo and I, or even Nikki and I. Not because I don’t love him. It’s just that his natural quietness and the fact that he got into the business with Papa earlier made it harder to bond. When I made my threat, though, I think he spoke to me more in one sitting than he ever has before.
“Piccolina…why do you antagonize us with this?”
“I’m not a tiny girl. You know I hate that almost as much as Papa calling me‘little potato.’ And I antagonize you because I don’t see what the big deal is! You and Nikki play hockey, and so does Leo! You’re all good guys, so you should want me to date someone like you!”
I’ve never forgotten how Gabri’s eyes darkened at that moment. He’s always serious and often harsh, but I haven’t seen such steel resolve since. His hand on my shoulder squeezed tightly enough to almost hurt before he stopped.
“Elia, a man like Nikki or me is the last person on earth who you should want to date.”
“But I—”
“Hockey players don’t want what’s best for you. They only want one thing, and it’s something that you have to guard as if it affects the future of this family. Because it does. Your safety is the most important thing to us all, and none of the buffoons I play with would have the slightest idea what it takes to protect you. They wouldn’t have the guts to do it. I want you to be safe and cherished by someone capable, tesoro.”
“I still think—”
“It’s also the only thing we have for ourselves, Elia. Niccolò and I spend a lot of time on the business. More than you, or Nonna, or even Mama understand. We’ve sacrificed a lot of sleep and other aspects of our lives to help Papa the way he deserves and still play. Being on the ice with my teammates is the only thing that brings me peace. Out here, with the business, my mind always has a million things going at once. But working as a team, skating until my legs and lungs burn…I feel free, even if I know it’s a facade. I think Niccolò feels the same way. If I had to worry about how my teammate was treating you, it would make it much less peaceful for me. Please. If for no other reason, please do this for me.”
I’m sure Gabri knew that his uncharacteristic earnestness was his best chance to pluck at my teenage heartstrings, and it worked. I stayed their number one fan, hardly missing games and dutifully following stats and records with Mama and Papa. But I didn’t take his advice about the “one thing I needed to guard,” luckily. He and Nikki might have eyes and ears everywhere, but a high school girl is a crafty beast.
Thinking ofthatsends my mind straight to Teddy.I wonder if he likes hockey. He doesn’t seem super sporty even though he’s so muscley. I wonder what he likes to do when he’s not working with computers?He told me he’d be busy tonight before our date, but I still miss texting him.
Before I can get lost in inappropriate thoughts about our last date, the lights go down, and the pregame video starts. I’ve seen a lot of these across the country since we’ve always traveled at least a few times a year to make the away games into mini vacations, and ours is the best. Projections make the ice look like it’s an ocean, with the rolling waves eventually parting at center ice to reveal our team skating in a tight circle, menacing and waiting for the visiting team to skate out to resounding boos.
Finally, the Rising Tide’s hype music starts as the starting line is read. No matter how many times I see them play, watching my brothers skate proudly onto the line near center ice as the crowd goes wild never gets old.
“Number 34, Nikkkkkkiiiiiii Sannnntorrrriiiiiiiiiiiii!”The arena announcer always growls out Nikki’s name, and it drives Mama crazy that he doesn’t use the name she gave him professionally.
“Eighteen hours I was in labor with your ungrateful brother, and the beautiful nameIchose, my father’s name, he ignores!”
I roll my eyes, knowing it’s no use arguing with her. She’ll get over it when Gabri is announced.
“Number 12, Theodore Williams!”
That must be the new goalie. I’ve heard my brothers say “Williams” a few times lately, but I had no idea who they were talking about. Apparently, the trade came out of nowhere, but he’s fitting in with the team’s playoff plans well.
“And last but not least, your captain, number 8, Gabriele Sannnntorrrriiiiiiiiiiiii!”
