Page 51 of Nodus Tollens
Sighing, I closed my eyes briefly. I should have known she wouldn’t just sit in her seat and let nature run its course. Of course not. She wanted to speed this whole process along, even if it embarrassed the hell out of me. Though I knew she had good intentions, she wasn’t going to leave this place until Hayes and I confessed our undying love for each other, which was completely ridiculous. She thinks just because I agreed to go to his game, I was secretly head over heels for the man. Since Kate and I had met, she’d never known me to be with a guy. Now that I was showing the slightest interest in someone, she has these unrealistic expectations as if I should just jump headfirst into a relationship with Hayes when, only a couple days ago, I didn’t want anything to do with him. She was a hopeless romantic, and since she wasn’t involved in her own love story, she had to help me with mine.
“First off, I won’t be cheering him on. Second, I doubt he will even notice that I’m here.”
“You sure about that?” She chuckled as her eyes caught onto something in front of her.
“Yes, I’m sure. He probably assumed I wasn’t coming.”
Before she could respond, a crashing thud against the glass in front of us caused my whole body to flinch from the sound. My hand immediately flew to my racing heart, and when I finally lifted my stare and focused on what made that awful noise, a cheerful face was peering down at me in disbelief.
My eyes doubled in size as I took in my persistent hockey player, who was broadcasting the biggest smile known to man, and he was staring right at me. Taking in his appearance, my mouth almost dropped when I realized just how good he looked in all his gear. Even his stance was making my stomach flutter as he easily held a hockey stick in both gloved hands.
Now I understood why Kate found hockey players so irresistible. I wasn’t amused by men, but seeing Hayes like this made me feel some type of way.
I watched as his mouth moved, but over the blaring music that I swear wasn’t playing seconds ago, I couldn’t decipher what he was saying. Maybe I was in shock or just plain nervous because I just sat there staring at him. He must have liked my reaction because he smiled even wider at my silence. I didn’t care, though. I was too busy taking every bit of him in and memorizing it for later. Under his helmet, I noticed some blonde locks peeking out. Despite how big and macho he looked in all his gear, I found his hair so damn adorable. Everything about him was adorable.
Then as the seconds passed with us just staring, he must have realized that I wouldn’t be able to hear him, so removing a hand from his stick, he lifted it up slowly, and that’s when my heart completely melted in my chest. Giving me a short wave with his glove-adorned hand, he whispered under his breath, “Hi.”
“Oh my god.” Kate mumbled to herself as she watched Hayes and I’s exchange as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Even I was completely gone at that moment, so transfixed and captivated by the real, human gesture he so charmingly gave me.
He moved himself a bit closer to the glass, and when he did, he took me in closely, lingering on the jersey I was wearing, then slowly dragged his stare back up to my face with his eyes filled with heat. My throat felt dry and cracked, but I somehow summoned the courage to move my lips.
“Hi.” I responded back with a shy smile that appeared without thought.
Surprise flashed in his eyes. He appeared in a daze at the sight of one of my rare smiles. His stare reminded me of one you would find in someone looking at a sunset, filled with awe and wonderment. It was like we were in our own little world, even though there were now crowds of fans flooding the glass where Hayes stood watching me like I was the only one in the stands. His name was being shouted left and right, but he wasn’t acknowledging anyone but me, and for some reason, it made me feel so fortunate. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have his attention, and I’d be a fool to say I didn’t want that feeling to last forever.
Then as his mouth began to move again, out of nowhere, another player skated right up to him and wrapped his arm around his shoulder, causing Hayes to lose his concentration on me. The annoyance in Hayes was blatant as he glowered at the other player who was speaking to him with a cheeky grin across his face.
“Holy shit. Holy shit.” Kate mumbled beside me and scrambled around to get herself looking more presentable as she shook her dark curls and sat with her breasts jutting out. “That’s fucking Hendricks right in front of us now, Wren.”
As if both Hayes and Hendricks heard her, they both peered over at us at the same time. While Hayes brought his eyes back to mine, Hendricks glanced at me with blatant intrigue, then shifted his stare onto Kate, who completely froze when he did. I knew she was freaking out on the inside. She had to be when the man of her dreams was currently in front of her, staring at her like she was his next meal. Though I was skeptical of his intentions, I couldn’t help but feel happy for her.
As he kept his stare on Kate’s widened eyes, he grinned knowingly and gave her a playful wink before skating off into the distance.
Kate then liquified into a puddle next to me. Her chest heaving wildly and her lip trapped between her teeth, I knew she was completely done for.
Hendricks, you better watch out because you woke the beast inside her, and she’s not going to quit until she gets you.
My gaze went back over to Hayes, and as if someone was trying to get his attention from behind him, he spun his head around and nodded at whoever was talking to him. I had a feeling that he had to go back to doing whatever hockey players do before a game, and a part of me was slightly relieved. Emotions were intense right now, and I needed a breather. Especially when my heart was dangerously beating at a high rate that needed to be lowered.
Finally, as he captured my eyes once again, he nodded his head, signaling he had to go back, but not before giving me a blinding smile that wreaked havoc on my lower parts. I was so flustered I couldn’t even formulate a thought, but once I got part of my brain back, I waved awkwardly and mumbled “Bye.”
With one final grin, he moved that perfect mouth of his in the word “bye”, kicked off his feet, and vanished into the sea of skating players.
There were no words exchanged between Kate and I for minutes. I think we were both still processing what had happened and letting ourselves cool down from the potency of it.
“That was…” I started to say when she interrupted and finished what I was about to say but with a different word.
“Fucking amazing.” She sighed in incredulity.
Chuckling, I shook my head and nodded.
“Yeah, fucking amazing.” I repeated, although what I felt was way more than just that. It was life-changing. An epiphany of sorts, and with a small smile, I shrunk lower in my seat and found Hayes.
* * *
I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life. I’ve never witnessed something so addictive and thrilling where I found myself so engrossed in the game that I was watching on the edge of my seat. There was no dull moment in hockey. Every second was filled with excitement as fans went nuts, coaches shouted, and players slammed into each other with so much force it knocked them right onto their asses. With the score 4-2, Vipers ahead, everyone in the stands were rising to their feet whenever one of our players had the puck. Though I wasn’t standing like the rest, I felt a strong urge to. Especially whenever I saw Hayes with the puck.
God, Hayes…
