Page 62 of An Irresistible Force (Vancouver Vice)

Jes gave me a skeptical look. “Yeah, but it’s not like she changes heads. What are you, blind?”

Maybe I was. Everything about Amanda looked better tonight. Her hair, her face, and especially her body. We headed off to get drinks, and eventually the women rejoined us. Dori had bid on some weekend vacation package, and she was all excited.

“You fly to Tofino, stay at the Inn there, and get a spa package. There’s a fabulous restaurant in town I read about—Wolf in the Fog.”

“What kind of restaurant name is that?” Jes shook his head. “I can see that we’ll be going whether we win or not.”

Dori laughed and hugged him. “Thanks, babe. There are surfing lessons too. Another sport that you can be good at while I fall flat on my face. At least I’ll be in the water.”

I felt a hand on my back.

“Chris! What are you doing here?”

The voice was low and familiar and sent a chill down my spine. I turned and faced a tall brunette in a glittery dress that dipped low in the front and barely covered a spectacular pair of tits. Every guy in the room was probably hoping they would slip out, but I was already very familiar with them. Big and firm with puffy nipples that got all pointy when you sucked on them. My cock raised its head—like a hunting dog on a familiar scent.

“Oh hello, Julie.”

She kissed both my cheeks in that faux-European way and pressed those tits into me. “How long has it been? I see you’re still as gorgeous as ever.”

There are mistakes you make in your life—mostly when you’re young. But you grow up. Unfortunately some of those mistakes can come back to haunt you later. Julie was one of my mistakes. In my second season, I met Julie at a club downtown. She was with a big group of her girlfriends, and when this beautiful woman asked me to dance, all my buddies were envious. We danced a lot, and then we retreated to the men’s room where she gave me an incredible blowjob. The night had ended up in a hotel room where we had fucked our brains out. In the morning, she told me that she was engaged and that her fiancé’s family owned the engineering firm that was building the Millionaires’ new arena.

Sleeping with her once was a mistake. But it was probably one that I could have sloughed off, even if the team would not have been happy if her fiancé got pissed off. It was continuing to sneak around and see her that was a bigger mistake. The sex was hot and nasty, and there was no question that our physical connection was a fucking tsunami.

But my biggest mistake was falling in love with her. It was partly timing. After a great rookie season where I even got some Calder hype, my sophomore slump was more like a deep pit of total shit. I couldn’t buy a goal, and my confidence was shot. Julie was beautiful, hot, and elusive, which only made me want her more. She was five years older than me and very sure of herself. I was obsessed with her. I got it in my head that if I had her on my side everything would be right again.

Maybe I should have thanked her for the brutal way she finally dumped me. Certainly, we were taking way too many chances and if Stanley—her rich, clueless fiancé—had found out what was happening, even Julie’s beauty and charm would have not been enough to save the wedding. But when I got sent down to the AHL and I had to leave Vancouver, I went to plead with her. I told her I loved her, and given what was happening between us—she had to care for me too.

Julie had shaken her head. “You’re a stud, baby, and I could fuck you for days. But you’ve got no money, no future, and no connections. I need more than you can ever offer me.” Then she kicked me out of her apartment. I was pissed, and that was good. At least I had some emotion and grit to channel into my hockey. But I stayed unhappy—and in the minors—for the rest of the season.

That summer, I went back to Winnipeg to lick my wounds and sulk. I knew the exact day in June she was getting married, and I debated calling her right up until the night before. Finally, my parents kicked my butt and told me to get back to work on my hockey. So I did. I worked on my physical and mental game until I was ready for training camp. Julie never motivated me, except for realizing that I needed to focus better on hockey and less on my personal life. But when I finally signed a big contract, I thought about her. That if she had faith in me, she could have had it all too. Maybe that wouldn’t have been enough for her anyway.

I had been haunted by memories of Julie, but I wasn’t truly over her until she called me up out of the blue. She’d been married a year and a half, and maybe she was bored or maybe she had seen me playing. But she wanted to get together “to talk.” I debated for a long time. It was almost sweet to have her come back to me like that. Then I went to the mall and got my cellphone company to change my number. I deleted her contact info and washed my hands of her. I felt like we brought out the worst in each other—the cheating, shitty sides of ourselves.

Of course, we had run into each other a few times over the past decade. But it was always in social settings and never alone. I was over her; there was no question about that. However, seeing her tonight made me remember all the worst things about myself. She made me feel like shit on a night when I was trying to impress people.

Julie must have been almost forty now, but she still looked as beautiful as ever. She was giving me an appraising once-over, and then she noticed Amanda.

“And who is this, Chris?” She stared at Amanda and her upper lip curled slightly. I felt instantly protective and moved closer. Julie could be such a bitch.

“Oh sorry. Julie Quimby, Amanda Richardson.”

Amanda smiled. “Quimby? I think you’re responsible for the generous donation of the Bahamian vacation.”

Julie smiled and nodded. “Yes, that’s my husband and I. But how did you know? I don’t think I’ve seen you on any committees before—ever.”

“Guilty. But my mother is the chair of the gala, so I’ve done my share of envelope-stuffing behind the scenes.”

Julie’s eyes widened. “Oh, your mother is Jeannie Richardson? She’s such a inspiration for us all.” I noticed a new respect in her voice. Money always turned her crank.

“I know. Her schedule exhausts me.” Amanda’s completely normal tone calmed me.

“How do you and Chris—” She paused and looked up at me. “—know each other?”

“We work together. I work for the Vancouver Vice hockey team, and Chris is consulting with us.”

“Really? How handy. And he has to work overtime too.”

Amanda’s laugh sounded genuine, but I heard tones of her steely work voice when she spoke. “Chris is another generous donor to the auction. It’s my privilege to accompany him tonight. Now, if you’ll excuse us, there are so many people here who have asked to meet him.” She tucked her arm through mine and steered us towards a large group.

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