“I’m picking her up for dinner at seven tonight,” I reply casually.
The men are silent for a moment, exchanging glances.
Finally, Kane says, “That sounds like a date.”
“Admittedly, it does,” Dax grumbles.
“Sounds like dinner to me,” Bain points out. “There could be any number of reasons for having dinner. It could be business related.”
I try to wipe the smirk off my face as I work on stowing the sweaty workout clothes I’d worn to the arena this morning in my duffel.
“To be clear,” Dax says slowly, leaning against the end of the cubbies and crossing his arms over his chest. “You asked her out on an actual date, and she accepted.”
“Not quite,” I admit. “I got her to agree to dinner to discuss social media with the stipulation that if she agreed to just one dinner, I’d never bother her again.”
“That’s not a date,” Bain says confidently.
“It is to me.” I turn and face him. “Besides… she’s attracted to me.”
Kane snorts. “What does that have to do with anything?”
My head twists his way. “It means that she’s not completely immune to my charms. It means I have something going for me.”
“Physical attraction means nothing in the grand scheme of things,” Tacker says as he comes up behind Kane. He’s already showered and dressed. Lifting an arm up and resting his wrist on top of a cubby, he crosses one leg over the other. “Not saying attraction isn’t important, but the physical part isn’t going to get her past her reservations of going out with you in the first place.”
I’m dubious. I’m pretty sure attraction is the key ingredient in two people hitting it off, and it’s certainly the main reason she caught my attention. Admittedly, her continued refusal to give me the time of day outside of business has me doubly intrigued.
“It’s true,” Bain says with a solemn nod of his head. “How many of us have gone out with someone that was super-hot in all the right ways, and they ended up being annoying, clingy, bitchy, or just plain nasty to be around?”
“Truth,” Kane replies as he and Bain fist bump in solidarity.
I’ll agree with that. I’ve had my share of sneaking out of a girl’s bed to avoid engaging with an awful personality. Bain is right… you can want to fuck someone but not really want to talk to them.
That’s not the case with Emory. I’m totally attracted to her and I can tell she’s attracted to me in return, but I don’t want a one-night stand. I mean… if that’s all she’ll give, I’ll take it, but there’s something about her that goes past the physical.
I need to find out what it is.
Nabbing my duffle, I hitch it over my shoulder. “My brothers,” I say sticking out my fist and moving it left to right for each guy to bump. “Your advice is ever appreciated.”
“Glad we can help,” Dax says.
Tacker nods and adds on. “We’re also going to take bets on whether or not you strike out once you leave.”
I snort, knowing he’s not joking. I’m sure the odds are against me too.
Doesn’t matter. At the moment, I have a date with Emory Holland, and I’m going to do my damndest to score a second one before the night is over.
I head out of the locker room, through the outer ring of the basement level of the arena, and to the stairs that take me up one flight to the player parking lot.
Half of the guys have already cleared out and I enjoy the light breeze that hits me as I step into a perfect November day that’s hovering right at seventy degrees. I head toward my vehicle—a Lamborghini Urus—because I’ve got a thing for nice cars. When I made it to the NHL from the Swedish Hockey League, the amount of money paid to me was overwhelming.
And so very tempting to just spend it all on expensive clothes and fine cars.
Let’s just say I had a few years where I blew through almost every dime I had earned, and my early twenties are a bit of a blur. But since coming to the Vengeance, I’ve settled. I’ve had some amazing role models to pattern myself after, most of all our owner, Dominik. He takes a very active interest in his players and part of joining his team in the expansion draft meant having a very serious conversation about an extended future with the team.
I remember that meeting vividly because I was nervous as hell. But Dominik put me right at ease and even took on a bit of a paternalistic role which included asking me if I was investing my money for retirement.
I was like, “Retirement? I’m going to play hockey forever.”
God, I was such a dumhuvud when I think back to my foolish thinking. Dominik pointed out to me the average span of an NHL career is only five years and I about had a heart attack. I’d been with the Toronto Blazers for four years before coming to the Vengeance and if I was an average statistic, I didn’t have much opportunity left to secure my future with my earnings. Noting my panic, Dominik reminded me I could have many more years left, but that I shouldn’t take them for granted. I left Dominik’s office with a recommendation for a good financial planner, and I’ve since changed my spending habits.