Sebastian had a late-afternoon practice and a team meeting so he told me to swing by here and hang with Shayne until he was done. She somehow roped me into spending the time taking her yoga class and now she’s making me drink this kale goop . She takes the dirty blender and starts to rinse it under the faucet in the sink. “You need some good food in you. When was the last time you had something green?”
“I prefer having things that are blond, brunette and redheaded,” I joke and she laughs. But then she frowns and reaches across the bar and presses down on both my shoulders with the palms of her hands. I feel them drop a couple inches. “There. Much better. You shouldn’t look so tense after a yoga class, buddy.”
“Sorry. It’s not you or the class. I’m just still annoyed by this woman,” I mutter and sip my smoothie. I hate to say it, but it’s actually not bad. It’s got a limey pineapple taste despite all the green leaves she threw in the blender. When I look up from my cup she’s staring at me in amusement with one eyebrow cocked.
“A woman has gotten under your skin?”
“She gets under my skin like it’s her job.” I frown and sip more of the oddly tasty drink.
She leans her elbows on the counter between us and says in a rapt whisper. “Tell me more.”
“It’s not like that,” I warn her because she’s looking at me like this is some missed love connection and it’s not. “I mean she’s hot and everything, but we couldn’t be more different. We honestly have nothing in common, which is normally not a deal breaker, but she’s an exception.”
Shayne lets out a huff and I give her a sheepish smile. “What? You know me, I don’t have to like someone for my dick to want to be inside them. But trust me, even he is annoyed by this woman.”
I point down at my pants.
Shayne’s eyes follow my pointed finger and then snap up. “Men are ridiculous. Anyway who is this woman?”
“Just some woman I keep running into,” I reply vaguely.
Shayne, luckily, doesn’t push for more information. “Why doesn’t she like you? You’re adorable and charming.”
“And don’t forget the captivating French accent,ma belle,” I add.
She laughs. “Oh I can’t forget that. I fell victim to that sucker myself.”
“Sebastian learned everything he knows from me,” I tell her.
“And remember, I hated him too in the beginning,” Shayne replies. “Well, at least I wanted to. Desperately. And look at us now.”
She waves her left hand at me. Her big diamond ring glints in the glow of the lights above us. I almost choke on the green stuff in my mouth. “Shay, kiddo. Trust me. That’s not the ending here. Not with her or anyone. Not for me.”
Shayne looks honestly devastated for a second and then it turns to disbelief. “Come on, Alex, it’s just me and you. I saw how happy you were for Seb and I when we got engaged. And how happy you were for Jordan and Jessie at their wedding. I won’t tell your hockey buddies but admit it. You love love.”
“I do love love,” I say and dare to take another quick sip of my drink. “It makes my friends happy. I want you all to be happy, even if that means you take away my wingmen one by one.”
“Ha. Ha,” she says, rolling her eyes. “So why not get your own piece of happiness?”
“My happiness isn’t a picket fence, two-point-five kids and a hybrid,” I explain flatly. “I’m not wired that way.”
“Are your parents still married?”
I get that wave of darkness that envelops me when someone brings up my family…it’s like being in the ocean in the pitch black of night and being hit with this cold, dark wave out of nowhere. I hate it. It’s so empty and all consuming. My shoulders must have risen again because she reaches over and presses them down gently with her palms again. She thinks she knows why and gives me a soft smile. “It’s okay. I get it. My parents were not exactly the shining example of how to have a happy, well-adjusted relationship.” She pats my hand. Shayne’s dad is an ex-NHL player who cheated on her mom throughout his career. “But if I can get over all my relationship issues and be madly, completely, head over heels in love with a hockey player, you can eventually settle down too. I promise. In fact, I would bet money on it.”
“You would lose.” I give her a wink to soften the firmness of my words. I wish I had her faith. I wish the darkness that swirled inside me could be lightened.
“Did your parents ever come to Seattle when you played here?” She starts to wipe down the bar top with a damp cloth.
“I’m not in contact with my family.” I offer a half-truth
Her eyes soften again. “I’ve been there too. Still am there I guess since I haven’t talked to my dad in months. I haven’t even told him I’m engaged. I assume my mother has.”
She takes a deep breath and releases it heavy and slow. “Family doesn’t have to be blood.” I say what I’ve told myself for decades because she looks like she needs to hear it too.
She smiles. “Truth.”
Her eyes move up to the clock on the wall and she drops the rag in the sink and starts to untie her apron. “Shift is over. Let’s go meet Seb for dinner. He should be done with his team meeting by now.”
