Page 14 of Keeping You

She spins and faces me, and when she sees me, she stops in her tracks. I grin as she pulls out her headphones.

I take a step towards her and pass her the bouquet. “For you,” I say.

She looks at them for a second, and I swear I see the start of a blush tinge her cheeks as she tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear and grabs them from me tentatively.

She clears her throat before saying, “Um, thanks.”

I move to the kitchen, reach to the back of one of the cabinets, and pull down a vase for her. When I turn back to her, she’s still staring at the flowers. I leave the kitchen and move into my room, grabbing some clothes before hopping into the shower.

When I come out of the bathroom, Hannah is cutting the stems of the flowers and arranging them in the vase as she smiles to herself. Her eyes flick to me for a second, and the smile stays on her face.

Another small victory.

Usually when she sees me, whatever expression she’s wearing turns neutral or into a scowl. I settle onto the couch and turn on the TV and switch it to Carolina vs Philadelphia playoff hockey game. Hannah sits on the other end of the couch, with her legs curled under her and her Kindle in hand.

We sit in peaceful silence until it’s time to leave for my game. I grab my bag and sticks from my office before meeting Hannahat the front door, Kindle still in her hand. The drive to the rink is silent except for the music that plays through the stereo. Hannah faces the passenger door as she reads. I sneak glances at her, watching her subtle facial expressions as she reads. I enjoy seeing how engrossed in her book she is.

Pulling into the parking lot, I find a spot way in the back and park. I round the car quickly and help Hannah out before I watch her make her way to the front door. It sucks having to stand here and watch her and not be able to walk right beside her.

Once she’s inside, I grab my bag and stick out of the trunk and head inside. We are the last ones here. When I step inside, I see the whole group standing in a circle. Josh has his arm wrapped around his wife, Olivia, who is wearing their baby girl, Cate. Caleb is holding his little girl, Charlie, while his girlfriend, Bailey, leans into his side. Hannah has joined Zoey and Eliza beside Liv. Matt is talking to Josh about the Carolina game today when I walk up beside him.

After a few minutes, we all make our way to the rink. The girls find their usual spots on the bleachers while we head into the dressing room.

“So, I guess congratulations are in order,” Josh says as he claps Caleb on the back.

“Thanks, man,” Caleb says.

“What happened?” I ask.

“Caleb popped the question to Bailey,” Josh says.

“I win!” I holler before turning to him and saying, “But congrats, man, that’s awesome.” When Caleb and Bailey first met, I told him he’d marry her and he said they weren’t even dating, but I could tell that his sorry ass was falling for her and her daughter.

“Yeah, yeah, you win. I’m marrying Bailey,” Caleb says as he shakes his head, but there’s still a soft smile on his face.

“When did this happen?” I ask.

“Saturday.”

“You didn’t say anything when you picked me up from the airport on Sunday,” I say.

“Yeah, well, there were other things that had my attention,” he says as his eyes flick to my left hand where my wedding ring still sits. Thankfully, no one else notices.

We all change quickly before heading out onto the ice. Hockey has always been a part of me. At the age of five, my dad put me into a program. I loved it. I played all the way through high school. It was my saving grace when everything went down my senior year. Without hockey, I’m not sure I’d be where I am right now. When I got to university, I joined the intramural team, not wanting to take time away from my studies.

Tonight’s game moves quickly, and we win 5-2. Our usual Saturday ritual is group dinner upstairs. We all change quickly and Luke, Nick, and Sam also decide to join us tonight. We all take our bags to our vehicles before heading upstairs to join the girls. Josh and Caleb beeline it to their girls, and I notice that Luke moves straight to Hannah. I grit my teeth but don’t say anything as he sits beside her. I take the seat across from her, watching them interact.

We order, and I watch as she laughs at his jokes and gives him small smiles. I grip my glass so tightly, I fear it might break. Our food is delivered, and that puts a hold on Luke’s flirting. I try to listen as Bailey tells us about how her and Caleb got engaged, but my attention is stuck on Hannah.

As soon as Luke is done eating, he’s back to flirting with Hannah. Rage climbs through me. When he reaches forward and tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear, I’ve had it.

“Luke, I highly recommend you remove your hand from my wife if you’d like to keep it.”

His eyes widen as his hand drops to his side and Hannah glares at me. The entire table has gone silent, and everyone’s eyes are on me.

“You said you wouldn’t say anything,” Hannah hisses.

“And I respected that until you let him touch you.”

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