Carla looks instantly grateful. “I’m not. I swear. I just…I’m an idiot.”
The final horn, or buzzer or whatever they call it, rings through the building. I turn back to the ice and my eyes instantly find the number eighty-eight as he circles by the bench and then leads his players in a line to shake hands with their opponents, whom they beat 7–5. Tessa and Carla stand and Tessa motions for me to join them. “Let’s get downstairs. There’s no press scrum or anything, so the boys will be out quickly.”
I follow them down the concrete steps and past a security guard into a tunnel on the same level as the ice. This whole thing is so foreign to me, and I feel as out of my comfort zone as Dorothy in Oz. And I’m just about bursting with excitement to see Jude. The tunnel opens up into a wide concrete hallway with doors lining one side. The other women pause and turn to me. Carla smiles brightly, trying to make up for her blunder earlier, I’m sure. “Do you want to come to the locker room with me? We can’t normally be in there, but because it’s a charity game, this time it’s fine. And it’s fun to see Duncan all sweaty and panting when I didn’t cause it.”
Tessa and I both laugh. “Sure. Sounds like fun,” I say.
“I’ll meet you guys in the lounge,” Tessa says and turns to walk the other way down the hall.
“Wait! Aren’t you going to come see Levi all sweaty and panty and stuff?” I ask.
Tessa shifts back and forth on her cute little ankle booties, and her fingers twist together anxiously. “No, I shouldn’t, but enjoy watching Carla climb all over Duncan.”
She smiles, but it seems tight, and then she walks away. I follow Carla and try to mind my own business but I can’t. “Is she fighting with Levi or something?”
“No,” Carla says but doesn’t elaborate.
“I hope not, because I remember she was just getting over some asshole who cheated on her when you guys were starting the shop,” I muse as we follow the curve of the hall, and I start to hear boisterous voices. “She seems really happy with Levi.”
Carla presses her lips together like she’s trying not to say something and then runs a hand through her hair, feathering her bright blue streaks. “Levi and Tessa need to keep their relationship on the down-low right now. Not everyone on the team is in love with their love. It’s a long story and not mine to tell, especially when I have a case of foot-in-mouth today.”
She gives me another embarrassed smile, and I give her a sympathetic one back. “Please stop worrying about what you said earlier. I know Jude has had a colorful romantic history, to say the least.”
Carla opens her mouth like she wants to say something more, but Jude’s voice bounces toward us off the cinder block walls, and I lose the ability to do anything other than find him. He’s standing about ten feet away in hockey pants and nothing else. His dirty-blond hair looks darker because it’s damp with sweat and curling slightly on his forehead. His skin has a glorious sheen to it, and even though I know it’s sweat, I have the irrational urge to lick it. Lick him. Oh man, I’ve got itbad.
He’s talking to a woman with a handheld recording device pointed at him, and he’s gesturing with his hands, one of which is holding a water bottle with the Thunder logo on it. He doesn’t look like he spent most of last night with his head in a toilet, which is good. He glances over her shoulder and his eyes land on mine, and a slow, smoldering smile starts to bloom on his already handsome face.
The reporter notices and turns around. Carla takes my hand and pulls me closer, which is when I realize I’d stopped walking and was just standing there gawking. Jude says, “Thanks, Maria, for coming down to cover this. I’m sure I’ll see you again when the season starts up.”
“But you haven’t told me why you picked ALS,” Maria tells him.
“It’s a debilitating disease that doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves,” he replies. It sounds like a canned response, and it doesn’t help that he isn’t even looking at her; his eyes are still glued to me.
I notice Dixie behind him for the first time, and she’s frowning, but she wipes it off her face quickly as Jude moves past Maria toward me. I hear Dixie say, “Come on, Maria, I’ll get you some time with Levi Casco now.”
“Hey, Sunset.” He winks at me. Carla keeps walking toward the dressing room. “I want to hug you, but I’ve been sweating my ass off.”
“I don’t mind.”
I step close, and he wraps his arms around my waist. His skin is hot and slick, and I’m sure he’s making my shirt damp, but I love the way it feels to be in his arms more than I care about my shirt. I feel calm yet electrified at the same time, and most of all I feel safe. Protected not just from bad things that could happen but bad feelings like the ones that have plagued me since my marriage fell apart—you are not worthy, you are broken, you are unlovable.
He pulls away, but not before pressing his lips to my cheek and whispering, “You look amazing.”
I pull back and glance down at my jeans, simple white T-shirt and cargo jacket. “The only way I could be more dressed down is if I was in pajamas. I didn’t even straighten my hair.”
“Yeah, and I love it.” He takes my hand in his and gives it a squeeze.
“Is Dixie mad at you?” I can’t help but ask.
“Probably. I mean, isn’t she always?” he quips and tugs on my hand. “Come meet the guys. The ones who weren’t at Darby’s barbeque.”
As we walk down the hall, I say, “She frowned when you ended your interview with that reporter. I hope it’s not because I showed up. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Jude’s face grows uncharacteristically serious and he slows. “It’s not you. It’s me. I didn’t tell Maria, the reporter, why I picked ALS as my charity, and it annoys Dixie.”
“Oh,” I say and stop walking, because he’s stopped now too.
He presses his lips together, as if trying not to speak, and then he sighs. “My dad was diagnosed with ALS a couple years ago.”
