Page 14 of Final Score

“They have?” I ask, wondering what he’s up to. “Why are you here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’m here to kidnap you. We’re going on a date.” Jenner pushes past me and into the apartment, uninvited taking it all in. “You have a nice place.” He says. I’d given him my address and phone number when we started fake dating, but I never thought he’d show up unannounced. I shouldn’t be surprised.

Fallon walks into the foyer, cash in hand. She stops dead in her tracks when she see’s Jenner. “What do we owe for the pleasure of your presence today?”

“I’m stealing your roommate for the evening and taking her on a proper date.”

“Awesome!” Fallon answers, giving Jenner a once over. “Don’t be rude, Kat. Thank the man for the flowers and go get ready.”

“I told you I couldn’t go out tonight. I have to study.”

“You can study tomorrow. Besides, by the looks of it, you need an escape. And it’ll break my heart if you say no.” Jenner’s bottom lip juts out as he flashes his green eyes in my direction. Damn puppy dog look. It’ll get me every time.

“You don’t want to be responsible for a broken heart, Kat.” Fallon answers.

“The flowers are beautiful.” I respond, taking them from Jenner’s outstretched hand. “Give me twenty minutes to get ready, and then we can go.”

My day had drastically taken a turn. Passing by the mirror in the hallway, I glance at my reflection. My hair is in knots on the top of my head, I have no makeup on my face, and I can’t remember if I even brushed my teeth this morning.

Fuck. How in the world am I supposed to get ready in twenty minutes?! For a DATE with Jenner Blackwell!

“Take your time!” Jenner calls, answering the door as our food delivery finally arrives. He shoves Fallon’s hand away, pulling out his wallet instead, paying for what will now be her dinner instead of mine. She protests, but I hear his muffled reply. “It’s the least I can do for kidnapping your best friend, changing your evening plans, and making you eat alone.”

That was sweet. Who is he? I think as I take my hair down, brushing out the tangles. This is not the arrogant man I’m used to.

Our first official date. God, that was terrifying. Jenner had taken me to a Mexican restaurant downtown, since I hadn’t gotten to eat the food, I’d ordered at home before we found ourselves at the Seattle Aquarium. We had been the last one’s allowed entry, the aquarium only staying open for another hour.

Jenner teased me relentlessly as we strolled through the exhibits.

“So, you want to have my cute little hockey babies, huh? I hate to break it to you love, but we’ll have to wait a few years before that. A baby at the moment doesn’t go well with my five-year plan.”

I punched him in the arm. It turned out that I had accidentally butt dialed him this afternoon, and he’d overheard my entire embarrassing conversation with Fallon. I was mortified.

“That conversation was private.”

“Really? I think you called me on purpose. I think you wanted me to hear just how much you like me. You just don’t want to admit it.”

“Nope.” I answer, inspecting a tank full of coral and brightly colored fish. “What’s your five-year plan?” I ask, desperate to change the subject to something else.

“My five-year plan consists of graduating college and getting drafted straight to the NHL. I don’t care what team I play for, just that I make it there, ya know? You don’t make as much in your rookie years as you do later on, but it would be more than enough to buy the finer things in life. A nice house, expensive car. Who knows, maybe find a nice girl, and settle down. What’s yours?”

“I don’t have one.”

“You don’t have a plan for your future?” Jenner asks, his face contorting with a million questions.

“Nope. Life is too short. I’ve learned not to plan too far in advance. You don’t know what’s going to happen. All your plans could change in an instant and then all the hoping and dreaming you’d done would be for nothing.” It was a heavy answer to a simple question, but it was an honest one.

“That makes sense.” I watched as Jenner chose his next words carefully. “You never talk about it. The past. I hope you know I’m always here if you ever need to. Your dad was a good man.”

Guilt washed over me as I took in his sincere expression. There was no hidden meaning or agenda behind his words, just genuine care. Not talking about it was a self-defense mechanism to protect myself from memories that were far too painful to think about.

“I appreciate that. Thank you. I don’t talk about it because it’s still too fresh. Too painful.” I answered. “When mom and I moved here, we packed away a lot of his things. Except for one. His truck. Well, it’s my truck now, I guess. Driving it every day helps. It makes me feel closer to him in a way. Some days, it’s the only thing that keeps me sane.”

“Grief is a powerful thing. We all have to cope with it, and it sounds like you’ve found a good one.”

We moved out of the dimly lit exhibit down the hall to another much brighter space. I’m not ashamed to say I squealed like a kid in a candy store.

“What?” Jenner asked, reading the sign above the exhibit that said Marine Animals. The Aquarium had dedicated an entire exhibit to different species seals and otters.