Page 48 of The Coach

Inhaling deeply, I smile at the woman across from me and relax into my chair. Her Christmas red dress hangs off her shoulders, a part of the dress I didn’t know about until I’d taken off her wool coat.

Her hair is down in spirals, and her lips are painted to match her dress. I can’t wait to smear it off of her later.

“This is really nice.” She lets her gaze wander around the restaurant, taking in the enclosed patio and the twinkling lights above. “How did we get lucky enough for private seating?”

I take a sip of the water in front of me, smooth down my tie with my other hand. “I called in some favors.”

Thankfully, the owner of this restaurant was a hockey fan. I had done some research after Thanksgiving to find a place where Mick and I could have an actual date, just the two of us, and not one where we have to hide ourselves from the world.

Thanksgiving had been a pleasant holiday spent with my parents. It was usually just the three of us and my mom’s parents, but Devon and Robin joined us this year since they didn’t feel like they could go home so soon after moving here. Something about not wanting to put their kids through so many plane rides so close together.

It had been really nice to have them there with their kids, bringing life to our holiday again.

When I was a kid, all the aunts and uncles and cousins came, too. But now that they all had their own lives, their own families, they didn’t have the time to get together like they once did.

I respected it, but it made for a lonely holiday.

And I had missed Mick, too.

I had sat there at the table, watching my grandparents together, my parents sharing looks, and Devon and Robin sharing responsibilities for their kids, and I felt like my right arm was missing without my partner there, too.

I’ve never felt that way before. I’ve had the odd girlfriend here or there, but no one I wanted to invite home for holidays. Mick… I want her there for it all.

Next year. Next year she would be with me, or I with her, and we would do this together. She would work full time, and I would coach, and everyone who was important to us would know about us.

The waiter comes over, and we order our dinners. I smile at Mick, who laughs and jokes with the server, making all of us relax.

“So,” she starts, resting one arm on top of the other on the table and leaning forward. I picture her at the bar where we met, sitting there watching hockey and sipping a beer like it’s her job. “What prompted such a fancy night out?”

I lean forward, too, smiling at her. “You deserve it. You got through midterms, survived Thanksgiving with all of my players.” She rolls her eyes at the mention, and I had to admit, when she told me that half the hockey team had been at her house for dinner, I’d been jealous. “Plus, we’ve officially been going out for two months.”

Her eyes widen. “Two months? Has it really been that long already?”

“I know, I’m so much fun you didn’t even notice.” She snorts at me and covers her mouth with her hand. I feel my cheeks twitch as my grin widens. “But it has. Two amazing months.”

“Well.” She looks to her glass and then back to me, raising it toward me. “To two months.”

“And many more to come.”

We tap our glasses, each taking a sip, and her eyes watch me, study me. Her lips still pulled in a slight smile, she says, “You mean it, don’t you?”

I frown, readjusting in my seat and looking across from her. “What?”

“The many months to come thing,” she says, waving her hand around. “You really mean it.”

“Of course,” I reply, thinking over my words. “I’ve been pretty honest with you about that, haven’t I?”

“No, yes, you have,” she fumbles, running a finger along the table edge. “I just…” She hums in her throat. “I’m not used to men saying what they mean. I’m not used to them wanting to actually… commit.”

“That’s because you haven’t dated men before,” I tell her, blunt honesty being the only way I know how to communicate. “You’ve dated college boys. When I was in college, I wouldn’t have been so forthcoming with you. If we’d met in college, I would have probably been a fucking idiot about it. I would have lost any right to be yours.” I shake my head when I think of how dumb I really was in college.

“Thankfully, someone is looking out for me and made sure my head was on right before you came into my life.”

She smiles at me and says, “You were a stupid college boy, huh?”

“The dumbest.”

Mick laughs, and I chuckle along with her. “Well, at least you’re honest.”

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