Page 4 of Pucker Up
“Mm-hmm.” Mel’s eyes were glued to the action.
“Let’s give it up for Ace Bailey, who looks like he’s having second thoughts.” The crowd cheered and clapped, chanting for Ace to jump. Gideon had climbed the ladder, but Ace backed up and took a running start. He launched into the air in a beautiful swan dive, that turned into a flip, and somehow ended in a cannonball. A tsunami of water splashed his brother, whose hair hadn’t even gotten wet.
“That was pretty hot.” Mel clapped.
“Pretty stupid if you ask me.” I was trying to hate Ace Bailey, but his over-the-top, clowny antics were winning me over.
“The moment of truth,” Mel whispered as Ace climbed out of the lake. The two brothers waved to the audience, their skin steaming as they made their way to the sauna.
“Get your head out of the gutter.” I grabbed her arm and tugged on Morton’s leash. “Did you get the pictures you need for your boss?
Mel held up her phone. “I took a couple of extras.” Gideon’s dark eyes stared into the depths of my psyche from her screen.
I shook my head. “Come on, stalker. Let’s get in line for the ferry or else we’ll be out here all day.”
We weren’t the first people to have that idea and fell into a long line. I stood on my toes. “The ferry is on its way. Perfect timing.”
The ferry docked and we started to shuffle forward. “I think we will get on this one. Do you want to go for lunch when we get back? I could go for a slice of pizza.” For a tiny woman, Mel was always ready to eat.
My stomach growled in response. “I would love to.”
With visions of pepperoni and mozzarella dancing through my mind, we made our way to the entrance of the ferry.
“Hold on, ladies.” The employee loading the boat held up his hands. “We’re at capacity and we want to make sure that the players can get to their practice on time.”
The employee strung a chain across the line in front of us and all we could do was watch as the line of orange-clad players strutted to the front of the line. “Of course,” I grumbled. “Their practice is way more important than what any of us common people have going on today.”
One of the players raised his eyebrows at me and I swear I saw a smirk on his face.
“It’s not that long of a wait, ma’am. We have extra trips planned today.” The attendant seemed sympathetic.
“It’s fine.” Mel’s eyes sparkled as Gideon Bailey came into view. “Nice work out there.” She held up her hand for a high five, but he walked right past her as though she was part of the landscape.
“What a dick.” I hoped that he heard me.
Filled with the oh-so-important Toronto Tigers, the ferry chugged away to the mainland, leaving Mel and me, and hundreds of other fans, stomping our feet to keep warm. Like all the places I’d lived, Toronto loved hockey and its players. Having a dad for an NHL star and now a coach, meant that I’d only ever lived in places that were crazy about hockey. Players got preferential treatment everywhere, and I hated them for it. “All they do is chase around a puck, and bunnies, and get treated like kings everywhere they go.”
Mel shrugged. “They’re sports stars. It’s like that with football and basketball too.”
“It doesn’t make it right.” I stroked Morton’s ears. “They should have to wait in line like everyone else.”
“Like the lowly commoners,” a low voice said from behind us.
Before I turned, I knew that it was the guy from earlier. The goose bumps on my arms sent a shiver through my body. “Exactly,” I said as I turned.
It was him. He was standing outside of the boundaries of the lineup. “Who do those assholes think they are? Gods?” he said.
There was something comforting in his voice, and I felt like I could actually say what I was thinking. “That Gideon Bailey seems to think he is.”
The man laughed and then pounded on his chest as though he had just choked on something. “He’s the worst of them all. I heard that his brother is the opposite, a cool dude.”
I rolled my eyes. “They’re all like that. And, from what I’ve heard, the only reason that Ace Bailey is on the team is because of his brother.”
The man crossed his arms. “Because of his brother?” Creases lined his forehead.
I’d heard conversations between my father and his management team. The controversy over trading their best players—plural—in order to get Gideon Bailey and his brother were some of the most heated I’d overheard. “That’s just a rumor going around.” It was a well-known fact, so I wasn’t disclosing any insider information.
“Gossip is the Devil’s radio,” the man grumbled and walked away.
