Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

BECCA

Well, trending on Twitter and making the front page of several gossip columns was never on my bucket list, Becca thought painfully as she looked up to see photographers outside the store where she was working. Thankfully, when she explained everything to her boss, he let her do inventory in the back… but how much inventory could a sane person do?

Yup. There was no hiding things now. It was all over the news and seemed to be on everyone’s lips, no matter where she went.

The North Texas Coyotes beloved center player, Travis Giroux, was seen getting cozy with a mysterious woman after his injury…

Becca was no longer a mystery by Tuesday night. No, her name, address, and place of business were outed all over social media. She was getting text messages repeatedly asking her about their relationship, most of which she ignored, especially after a girl she graduated high school with nearly ten years ago texted out of the blue, asking for an autograph. People who never talked to her before, or she had forgotten were now coming out of the woodwork asking for favors.

Seriously ?

At that moment, her cell phone beeped – again . She almost didn’t check, but it was time for Travis to be getting out of his practice session. Glancing at it, she saw it was him and simply called instead of replying.

“Hello?”

“Are you busy?”

“Too busy for my girlfriend – never,” he chuckled softly, and she felt a flush of happiness wash over her at his gentle teasing. “I saw our photograph on the screen in the locker room. How are you holding up? It’s a bit much, isn’t it?” he asked, openly guessing.

“You have no idea,” she whispered from the back stockroom in case one of the other employees was listening or decided to ‘sell the scoop’ to make a bit of quick cash. “They are everywhere. In my apartment complex, outside of the store. I am getting text messages from people I graduated high school with. Travis, I’m almost out of milk, which means I need to go to the grocery. Did you know that Amazon delivers groceries now – and I’m considering ordering a gallon of milk. Do you know how crazy that is?”

“I’m so sorry they are bothering you.”

“It not so much of a ‘bother’ – wait, actually, yes, it is. It’s a bother and a shock. I had no clue you were so popular.”

“It might be getting worse, Becca.”

“Why? What happened?”

“My agent just got me an endorsement with a sports drink. I’m gonna be on grocery store shelves, so it’s going to make it really hard for me to hide my face now.”

“Which means more people are going to be snooping…” she sighed in understanding.

“Hey,” he said nervously. “I know we are meeting tonight, but why don’t you reach out to your family and see if we can escape for the weekend? I’d love to meet them, and I could get a hotel room in town.”

“The nearest hotel is twenty or thirty minutes away – but there is a guest room you could use. Are you sure you want to do this because my f amily might tease you mercilessly about dating their kid sister?”

“It makes it easier for both of us to clear the air - especially if we keep talking, you know?” Travis paused, making a slight sound before speaking again. “The reporters aren’t going to run you off – are they? I can hire security guards if they are really bothering you and…”

“Travis, it’s just a surprise – and no, they aren’t running me off.”

“Oh, thank heavens…”

“You almost sound relieved,” she smiled, feeling a small thrill at the rush of relief in his voice.

“I am – and I can’t wait to see you soon.”

“Same here.”

Hanging up the phone, she heard the security door close and slapped her forehead in understanding. Someone had been snooping – and she was right. It was going to be leaked that they were going to see her family or that Travis might be staying in the guest room.

“Greaaaaat…”

Pulling up at Travis’s house was awfully intimidating. He offered to send a car to pick her up, but she declined. It would be a hassle to pick up her car later, plus it might only raise questions.

On the way over, Becca called her sister, Toni, to make sure the guest room was ready for this weekend – knowing she would take it better than Jason would. Her protective brother would probably flip his lid, and she preferred the two men to meet before dropping that bombshell on him. If they got along, it would make things really easy – and if things went south, it might not be necessary at all.

The man at the guard shack at the entrance of the elite subdivision obviously took his position seriously as he waved her forward – and then immediately launched out of his small air-conditioned enclosure, yelling at the vans and cars following her.

“Go on! I’m calling the police…” he hollered before quickly shutting the gates behind her. Thank goodness for GPS, she thought, following the dark winding roads around into the rolling hills that were covered with scrub brush, mesquite trees, and dotted with what looked like mansions. Maybe ‘intimidating’ wasn’t the word.

Terrifying? Humbling?

Feeling out of place?

Making a right turn and then another right, she turned down a long and winding private driveway and nearly called Travis to make sure she was headed in the right direction – only to see floodlights flip on as a garage door opened in the distance. He walked out of the garage in a Coyotes T-shirt and a pair of running pants.

Casual.

He was dressed casually, and she was so relieved. Having come straight from work, she was still in her uniform polo shirt and didn’t bother going by her apartment only to fight the pesky photographers crowding her once again. As she pulled up, he waved happily and walked toward her driver’s door, opening it.

“Heyyy, Becca. I’m glad you made it. Did Gary-the-Guard give you any trouble? I told him the make of your car and the color, asking him to wave you through.”

“I’m really glad you did,” she smiled, getting out of the vehicle and meeting his eyes. “The ‘convoy’ was following a little closely.” The two stood there awkwardly for a moment before she met his eyes once more and saw a smile bloom on his face.

“Hi,” she whispered nervously.

“I’m so happy to see you,” he admitted and then hesitated, holding out his hand toward the house. “C’mon in, get comfy, kick off your shoes, and relax. Please make yourself at home and let me show you around.”

Nodding, she headed toward the garage door, feeling strange to be simply walking into some strange house, especially since she had no idea wher e to go. Chuckling, she waved him ahead. “You go first. I don’t know if I make a left or a right once I get inside.”

“You’re fine, I promise you,” he smiled – and took her hand instead of taking the lead. They entered the house, and she expected it to be some pristine museum or shrine to the North Texas Coyotes with a framed jersey on the wall. Even if she walked in and saw wall-to-wall marble floors, elaborate tile work, or a Grecian station, and she wouldn’t have been surprised.

This was normal.

Exceedingly normal.

It could have been any suburban kitchen that she was walking into and looked like something you’d see in any model home – not a magazine or one of those episodes of ‘Cribs’ on MTV. There were a few pairs of sneakers kicked off by the door and a few hooks on the wall holding various car keys – including a strangely shaped one.

“What’s that?”

“I used to have a Porsche,” he admitted, his smile fading away. “That’s all that is left of it, and I keep it as a reminder not to screw things up again.”

“What do you mean?”

“I used to be a mess. A young guy with too much money on his hands is a recipe for disaster – and I was one. I wrapped it around a pole, speeding, and nearly killed myself. After that, there was no more drinking or anything when I saw the headlines. It was the wake-up call I needed to make a few changes in my life.”

“I bet it was scary.”

“Intense,” he admitted in a hushed voice before clearing his throat and nodding. “If you want to hang your purse, there’s a hook on the back of the door, or you can put it on the counter. No one will touch it. Gary decided to take his girlfriend to Choctaw Bingo for the weekend to give us a little space. Are you hungry?” he asked and hesitated. “I should probably show you around, or you are welcome to snoop to your heart’s content. There’s nothing to hide here. ”

“I am starving, if that’s okay. Maybe I could help make the macaroni…”

“Becca, I’m honestly a really bad cook,” Travis chuckled nervously. “Gary does most of the cooking. If I follow the box directions carefully, then it’s edible.”

“You already alluded to that,” she smiled. “Please don’t worry about it – and I think we can manage between the two of us.”

“I just didn’t want to give you the wrong idea or mislead you.”

Becca looked at him, seeing the bruising was fading around his nose where he still wore the brace across the bridge of it, and noticed that the stitches were looking pretty good. “You are looking much better than last week. How are your stitches?”

“Itchy,” he admitted and gave her a small smile. “Is it weird that I’m nervous?”

“Not at all,” she chuckled. “I’m nervous, too.” That singular look, that shy smile, and the way they both seemed to be unsure of themselves really hit home with her. She didn’t want things to be anxious between them and wanted this to be the start of something greater. “Then let’s be nervous together and set the water to boiling while you show me around.”

Ten minutes later, they had barely toured the bottom floor when it was time to drain the macaroni. Conversation was much easier between them now as she teased him about the Ritz crackers that he was currently running through a coffee grinder.

“You know that’s for coffee, right?”

“Don’t tell the grinder, and he won’t know.”

“Traaaavis…”

“What? This is my cracker grinder. My coffee grinder is black, and the peppercorn grinder is red. Get it? Red indicates hot things.”

“You have three coffee grinders, and only one grinds coffee. ”

“Yeah, doesn’t everyone?”

Becca knew he was joking by the teasing glint in his eyes as he stood near her in the kitchen where the macaroni was almost done boiling. The butter, milk, and shredded cheese were waiting on the counter, making this feel so exceedingly normal.

“Nooo,” she drawled, laughing easily. “In fact, a lot of people don’t even own a coffee grinder because we buy it already pulverized or in K-cups or pods.”

“Sacrilege! We’re done…” he mocked dramatically, laying a hand on his chest and chuckling.

“I should be saying that,” she taunted, looking at his smile. “You beat me to it – Mr. Three Grinders…”

“Sounds like jealousy to me.”

“I assure you it’s not.”

“You know what you need?”

“A coffee grinder?”

“Besides that,” Travis laughed easily. “You need to relax, and I really liked seeing my number on you. Do you want a T-shirt, so you don’t have to worry about getting something on your work uniform?”

“Are you trying to get me out of my clothes on the first date?”

“Old me would have said ‘yes’ – but ‘current me’ is selfishly trying to get you into my T-shirt so I feel better about myself. Do you know how humbling and tough it is to have this gorgeous girl that you really like, here and alone, and I’m not able to kiss her? I swear, it’s crushing a part of my soul, so I was merely trying to patch it with something tiny to inflate my ego.”

“Gimme the T-shirt,” she chuckled, completely flattered and touched by his words. “But I’m changing in the bathroom and keeping it.”

“Done.”

Travis took off across the living room toward the stairs and then trotted up them like it was nothing, whereas she would have probably been winded or put her arms under her chest to keep them from bouncin g. When Travis first noticed her Transformers T-shirt, she assumed it was because the characters were across her chest before he started naming them off. That’s how she knew he was being genuine and nice, and she liked a nice guy.

As he came back down the stairs, she was straining the macaroni in the sink and glanced up through the steamy cloud wafting up from the sink – only to crack a smile at his appearance before laughing. He was wearing a T-shirt over the one he’d been wearing moments ago with an arrow pointed upward that said ‘Lucky Guy’… only to see him unfurl the other shirt, obviously intended for her.

And she stopped laughing as she stared at him in disbelief. She thought the ‘Lucky Guy’ shirt was referring to the puck hitting him last week, but that wasn’t the case. The other T-shirt didn’t have his number on it or any markings of the Coyotes team, but instead had bold lettering all over the front, inside of a pink heart, that said ‘Some Lucky Guy Adores Me’…

“Look what I f-found,” he said casually, but his voice cracked, giving him away. His warm eyes held hers, and one side of his mouth curled upward in a nervous, yet shy smile that was honestly the most endearing thing she had ever seeing in her entire life.

“What is this?”

“A new wash rag?”

“Travis, be serious…”

“It’s a cotton T-shirt.”

“ Traaaavis …”

“Fine,” he grumbled playfully, trying to sound grumpy. “Maybe it’s just a corny not-so-vague hint that your boyfriend really likes you more than you know. Now, are you gonna put it on or what?”

“You got those made… for us?” she whispered, stunned.

“I’m sure not giving it to my uncle.”

“Oh my gosh,” she laughed nervously, laying one hand over her heart and the other covering her surprised mouth. This was the sweetest, silliest, most adorable thing anyone had ever done for her – and it was ten times better than the roses, necklace, or any other treats that had mysteriously appeared at her house from Travis. “Heck yes, I’m putting it on!”

“That’s my girl,” he chuckled, walking over to her. “Arms up.”

She obediently did so, almost in a weirdly romantic fashion, and chuckled as the shirt was baggy on her, even over her work shirt. He frowned, looked at her, then at the collar, before rolling his eyes. “Wrong size. I’m sorry…”

“It’s perfect.”

“You’re not mad?”

“Heck no – are you kidding? I’m going to sleep in this thing every single night,” she admitted emotionally, looking up at him. “Thank you.”

“Can I say something awful?”

“Sure.”

“I hate my busted lip and how sore the stitches are – because I really want to kiss you right now.”

“How about a hug and you can save the kiss for when you get your stitches removed,” she suggested softly, smiling at him. “Or…?”

“I like the ‘or’ option already,” he chuckled throatily, his half-lidded gaze holding hers.

“Stay still,” she whispered, leaning up on her toes and gently dropping an innocent peck on the corner of his mouth. “How’s that?”

“Proof that I’m an ungrateful turd,” he muttered in a hushed whisper, looking at her with such longing. “It’s sweet and didn’t hurt, so I’m grateful for that – but when I kiss you, it’s going to be quite different.”

“You promise?”

Her husky voice hung in the air as they gazed at each other. She saw his warm gaze ignite with those two simple words as he swallowed. His hands, where they rested on her hips, now had his fingers digging into her waist, clutching her.

“Cross my heart, Becca.”

She laid a hand over his chest, smiling up at him – and he placed one of his o ver her hand, holding it close. Forget having worked on her feet for ten hours today, she realized silently. She could cheerfully stand here in Travis’ arms forever, just like this.

“Let’s finish the macaroni, and why don’t you show me your collection of ‘nerdy stuff’ that you are so secretive about.”

Welp, Travis wasn’t lying, Becca thought silently.

The first floor of the house was exceedingly normal and casual. Leather couch, wooden end tables, simple painting over the mantel, nothing outlandish. The second floor was a little different.

She had never seen so many collectibles, statues, old toys, and gadgets in her life. The man obviously had a boy trapped inside of him with an obvious addiction to Toys R Us and movies. As they went up the stairs, the first thing she saw was a pinball machine and a Pac-Man game cabinet.

“Oooh very nice,” she began, turning to look at him and pointing at the unit – only to hesitate as she saw the theater room in the distance and a doorway with frosted glass that said, ‘Man Cave.’ “You watch movies here?”

“All the time,” he admitted, smiling nervously at her. “It helps my brain relax before a game. I get really anxious thinking about plays, how I can get more weight into a certain shot, what I could do differently this time around, and other things, and yeah, I’m a huge movie buff.”

“Same,” she volunteered. “Do you have a favorite one?”

“I like the Alien series, Resident Evil series, and the newer Star Trek movies. Chris Pine makes a fantastic Captain Kirk,” he gushed and then caught himself, causing her to laugh knowingly.

“Don’t hold back – I like the new McCoy guy, but I don’t remember his name.”

“Karl Urban.”

“Ahh,” she said simply, putting her hand in his. “And what’s in the ‘Man Cave’?”

“Probably where you dump me,” he muttered under his breath as he rubbed his shaggy head, pulling her forward. Before she could comment, he pushed open the glass doorway. Becca just stood there, stunned.

She had no words.

The ‘cave’ had to be the size of her entire apartment, and every wall was lined with glass shelves backlit with LED lights. There were statues of different characters, figures, and creatures behind the glass, and each one looked to be a foot tall – along with different Star Wars helmets. There was a cardboard stand up in the corner of Han Solo about to fire his gun from one of the movies, and a complete life-size Stormtrooper uniform was on display in another corner, making her wonder if he wore it.

There was a massive table in the center of the room, laden with toys. The man had a plastic aircraft carrier about seven feet long with all sorts of G.I. Joe figures on it, airplanes, weapons, etc. He obviously put a lot of care into this room because it was carefully tended. There was a small tote near the table with a compressed air can to remove dust along with some microfiber towels and other things .

“Wow…” she said simply.

“You hate it.”

“No, it’s just… a lot,” she began and walked toward one of the glass cases, looking around. “Is this from Sideshow collectibles?”

“Yeah,” Travis uttered, sounding amazed as he walked up beside her. “I love their stuff, and it’s good quality. They have a couple of anime maquettes that really caught my eye, and I have them on display in my… uh, wait. How did you know?”

“I have the Rey and Ben Solo fight scene on my dresser,” she admitted, looking up at his shocked face and smiling. “I’m a huge Reylo fiend and really loved that scene in the movie.”

“That’s not a cheap piece,” he smiled. “You must be a huge fan.”

“Very.”

“You don’t think this is… strange?”

“Different,” she shrugged. “But who am I to pick what you should like or dislike when it’s your home. If it makes you happy and brings you joy, then what is the difference? If you had a room full of paintings, then I would think, ‘Hmm, he likes artwork.’ This tells me you like movie memorabilia and things from your childhood.”

“Simpler times,” he admitted quietly. “I can escape mentally from people hounding me, worrying about if I’m going to get traded or suddenly fall out of favor with the public. I mean, it’s always something when your pay is tied to the whim of the people,” he paused and looked deep in thought, his profile concerned as he swallowed audibly before continuing. “Right now, they think I’m the bee’s knees, and I read all these posts talking about my hair, my smile, and calling me ‘the golden boy of hockey’ – but that could have changed during the last game. People are fickle, but here I can hide. I can be around what makes me happy or mentally escape in a movie for two hours to get a little peace from my brain working overtime.”

“That’s beautiful – and incredibly smart,” she whispered, looking up at him with admiration.

“You don’t think I’m crazy? ”

“I think you are probably brighter than any of us for finding a little bit of joy within your own personal space that brings solace to your soul. Some people don’t know where to look, while others have to run away to get that relief from the everyday pressures.”

“Like when you left home?”

It was a simple question, spoken without malice, but she could hear the unspoken request in his tone, his voice. He wanted to know more about her and why she left her childhood hometown, her family, and everything behind – and he had a right to know if they were going to build on this relationship that was beginning between them. It wasn’t fair to toss him in blindly before they went to see her siblings, nor was it fair to him to wonder if she would pick up and leave here, too.

“I love them, you know?” she began softly, needing to reassure him and preface the reason that probably wouldn’t make sense to anyone but her. “I really do – and I wish things were different. I would go back home in a heartbeat, living a simple life away from all the chaos of living in the big city.”

“What changed?”

“I think I did,” she admitted and felt his hand touch her shoulder blade as they stood together. “It was so hard after my mother passed away from breast cancer – but then seven years later, my father died. A family of five different personalities, different dreams, different mourning styles was clustered under one roof, and none of us knew how to cope.”

“I can believe that,” he acknowledged softly. “It’s hard to lose a parent – much less two.”

“Jason, the oldest, was trying to be everything to us – protector, dad, cook, ranch hand, accountant, everything…” she breathed, tearing up and closing her eyes for a moment. “And it’s killing him, the stress. I can see it. When I was living there, he wasn’t sleeping, wasn’t laughing anymore. He was always getting angry and wouldn’t let any of us help, so I left. He’s stubborn like that but with a heart of gold. ”

“I’m sorry…”

“And Toni, my sister, she wouldn’t let him talk to us like that – so she was yelling at him,” Becca chuckled softly, feeling tears sting her eyes, remembering the arguments. “Matthew was lashing out in his own way, and poor Luke – he got so quiet and would hide from everyone, wanting to be alone.”

“And it worked for him, so you did the same?” Travis guessed, and she nodded.

“I moved out, took the first job I could find along with the cheapest apartment – and I’ve been there ever since. I have the freedom to do my own thing, I don’t have to answer to anyone, and I like being able to develop my own ideas without having someone shoot them down.”

“Like what kind of ideas?”

“You’ll think I’m crazy…” she laughed nervously and looked up to see his warm eyes watching her with such tenderness that her heart skipped a beat. Could Travis really be this wonderful?

“We’re standing near a U.S.S. Flagg that nearly covers a ping pong table. Which one of us is slightly crazy?” he chuckled. “Tell me - and never hide who you are.”

“I always wanted to have a bed and breakfast out in the country,” she admitted. “Just some little place where strangers could come and go, say hello, and I could have my own haven.”

“That’s a beautiful idea.”

“Ideas, rainbows, and hiding from reality – that’s me,” she shrugged feeling almost raw at sharing her innermost thoughts and feelings with someone else. “Can we talk about something else? Something that will make me laugh or get my mind off of things?”

“How about a little Reylo?” he teased, pulling her into his arms and hugging her. Becca went easily, just needing to feel comforted and welcomed, giving her time to put all those brutal memories away in her mind. Those had been some really tough fights between the siblings, and she was glad things were slightly better now .

“We don’t tease about my Reylo addiction…” she whispered, burying her face against his shoulder as he sighed.

“No one is teasing you about it – and we can start from A Force Awakens and watch all the way through to The Last Jedi if you don’t have to be anywhere anytime soon.”

“I’m completely yours,” she laughed, hugging him tighter.

“Gosh, I hope so,” he said hoarsely, holding her close and resting his cheek against her hair. “I really hope so, Becca.”