Page 37 of The Trauma Response
“I mean, they’re all right. I just know her from Brokedown and hanging out with Evan, is all.” Cai shrugs but he’s left out key information.
“It seems like you know them personally? Like, better than acquaintances? Hanging out implies some degree of friendship.” I wipe mustard from my mouth and dig deeper.
Cai glances at me again. “Yeah, I know them all okay. Some better than others, like Evan Calloway and Aiden Doyle are friends of mine. The rest I know in passing.”
“Are you serious right now? You really know themall?”I ask, somehow even more impressed with my friend’s connections. As if being close enough to a billionaire to get me a sweet job isn’t enough, he’s acquaintances with the entire Denver Dragons hockey team.
“Yeah, sure. Like I said before, Chantelle’s dad is the coach and they hang out at Brokedown all the time. Plus, I have that side job supervising the pyrotechnics when they have a mascot show. Ruby the Dragon is Aiden’s wife. Anyway, who is your favorite player?”
“Well, that’s fun. You’ve really done amazing things the past ten years, Cai,” I admit. I always knew he’d be great at whatever he decided to do, even if he didn’t know what it was when we graduated high school.
“Thank you, but you didn’t answer my question. Who is your favorite player? I’ll try not to be jealous when you tell me who you most want to meet,” he teases. His eyes sparkle and he nods toward the ice.
“Obviously, I need to meet the guy who plays my favorite position to watch.” I roll my eyes as if this is even a real question. Ofcourse,I need to meet Evander Calloway. After his epic and very public romance with Greer Morgan, I’ve been dying to get his autograph…and his wife’s.
Cai chuckles and shrugs. “And who is that? I’m not a mind reader, Whits.” He sinks deeper into the seat beside me, getting more comfortable.
“You don’t know my favorite hockey position? Are you kidding me right now? You know my favorite color, my teenage celebrity crush, who really wrecked Dad’s golf cart, and that I’m afraid of cats but you don’t know my favorite hockey position?”
He pops a few kernels of popcorn in his mouth and shakes his head.
“Are youseriousright now?”
Cai’s laughter is deep and rumbling. “No, I really don’t know. You gotta help me out, beautiful.”
“Cai! I woreyour jerseyto every single game you and Jax played!”
“That tells me nothing. Adrianna Franklin wore your brother’s jersey. Does that mean right wing was her favorite?”
“No, it wasn’t. She didn’t care. She wore it because she was dating my brother, goofball.”
“Okay, fair enough, but I always thought you wore mine to be nice and support your brother’s best friend.”
He really, truly had no clue. None whatsoever. Zip, zero, zilch clue that I liked him back then, even though I wore that jerseyreligiouslyin a pathetic attempt to get his attention. “You thought I woreyourjersey to be supportive of my brother’s best friend?”
“Sure.” He takes another handful of popcorn and waits for my reply. “You were always nice to me.”
I grin. I can’t help it. He’s so clueless and adorable. “Sure. If that’s the way you want to see it, absolutely that’s why I wore it. Anyway, goalie is my favorite. Score me an autograph from Calloway, and I’ll love you forever.”
I sit back in my seat and bite off the end of a hot dog.
“Wait, what do you mean byif that’s the way I want to see it?”Cai sits forward and narrows his eyes on me.
“Oh, nothing at all. Just that I can’t believe you didn’t figure out you played my favorite position back then. Goalies are hot and mysterious. Kinda attracted to that look.”
Cai blinks and I continue to eat my hot dog like I didn’t just admit I thought he was hot and mysterious—and still is because let’s be honest, the biker look is just as attractive. And mysterious. And, yeah, very intriguing.
“You wore my jersey because you like goaltenders?” Poor guy is working overtime trying to decide if I likedhimor his position. I’m not telling. Not yet. I’m enjoying the cute and confused puppy expressions way too much to give him the details right now. Not to mention, I’m so nervous I could puke up every bite of food he has so graciously provided for me.
“Mmm hmm,” I hum.
Cai continues staring at me, working through this conundrum. I’m not giving him any more information, mostly because he’s too adorable trying to figure me out. We watch the second period and enjoy our food, but I know he’s still thinking about my comments. Every so often, he looks my way, enough that I have to excuse myself and rush to the restroom during the second intermission. He can’t ask me clarifying questions if I’m in the ladies’ room, and I can compose myself.
Every muscle in my body wants to throw me right into his arms again while I profess my still-burning attraction to him. The only problem is, I’m not sure if he still feels the same way about me, or sees me as his old friend’s big sister. A friend he wants to reconnect with, spend time with,flirtwith.
I splash my face with water and head back down to our seats just as the third period begins. Cai shouts at the ref and cheers for his favorite team while urging me to do the same. When there are only two minutes left on the clock, Cai nudges me.
“While you were hiding in the bathroom, I got two lounge passes from Finchley Doyle, Aiden’s wife. Wanna go up and meet Calloway after the game?” He grins. “I promise I won’t tell him you have a crush on him.”
