Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

TRAVIS

It was two days before Travis was released from the hospital. His face was still bandaged up and a couple of the guys came by to see him, which made him feel a lot less guilty for having been pulled off the rink. Usually when someone got hurt, you got checked, shook it off, and you were back on the ice within minutes or so. Only serious injuries got pulled, but according to the coach and the medic on staff with the team – he was knocked out for over a minute, so they wanted to get him checked for possible brain damage.

That was an eye-opening thought.

Walking down the hallway of the hospital with his uncle and Becca, there was an explosion of flashes in the distance causing him to flinch and immediately turn away. His uncle put his arm around his shoulders, and Becca was right there, clutching his arm and pulling him in the other direction.

“We need another way out,” Becca said quickly to one of the nurses behind the counter of the nursing station. “Davy, can you pull the car around and let’s use another exit so Travis can have some privacy.”

“I could kiss you for that,” Travis blurted out.

“No offense – but don’t,” she chuckled, making his heart turn over in his chest instead of being insulted. He couldn’t blame her. There was a funky taste in his mouth from sleeping, eating, and bleeding. The faster he could get home and use his Waterpik – carefully – the better off he would be.

His face was still covered in gauze in places but thankfully, the swelling was fading away leaving a line of mottled bruises where the puck impacted him. It ran from his right upper lip to his left nostril, perilously making its way toward his eye socket. Thank goodness that wasn’t broken, or they might have been talking surgery to fix that.

Stitches are enough fun to deal with...

“Follow me,” the nurse said quietly, taking them down several hallways, past the pharmacy… and the morgue. Travis swallowed as he saw the sign, once again grateful that it wasn’t worse than it appeared. The nurse continued walking quickly, her shoes squeaking on the pristine floor of the hospital as she continued talking to them.

“If you go out this door, you’ll see a massive pair of dumpsters where we put all the recycling, cardboard, and other things. Follow the ramp which leads out to a docking bay and the helicopter pad. You can pull your vehicle around here, but fair warning – when this door shuts behind you, it locks. I found that out the hard way when I went for a smoke break. I hate to ask this – but could I get your autograph, Mr. Giroux?”

“Sure,” he said simply, seeing Becca’s stunned expression. Even at the hospital, the dentist, the grocery store, or the gas station – he was frequently stopped. This is part of the reason he wanted land, space, and room to feel like he wasn’t being crowded – plus it was a gated community with a guard shack.

Found that out the hard way too, he mused, signing the woman’s cell phone case with a Sharpie marker that she yanked out of the pocket of her scrubs, obviously having planned on asking him for the autograph already. His uncle took off out the door, and the nurse angled her head, listening to an announcement on the intercom system .

“That’s me,” the nurse volunteered, looking at him and completely ignoring Becca.

Man, this was getting awkward quickly.

“Thanks for the help,” Travis muttered, moving to take Becca’s hand pointedly. “We’ll be fine from here.”

“If you need anything, I could give you my number…”

“He’s fine,” Becca said bluntly – and his lip gave a quick burning sensation as the stitches pulled, and his face exploded in a painful grin that he couldn’t contain. He couldn’t help it and saw her move in front of him almost protectively. Oh man, I might actually bust a stitch if she keeps this up, he thought, feeling gloriously happy to see this side of her personality. Instead, he put his arm around Becca’s shoulders and neck in an affectionate hug from behind.

“My girl has this handled. Thanks though,” he said simply and felt Becca stiffen slightly under the sudden contact between them. Maybe he crossed a line, but he was trying to get rid of the woman as gently as possible without pushing away an obvious fan.

The nurse sighed, nodded, and walked away.

“Sorry,” he whispered, releasing her. “I just didn’t want her to get the wrong impression that I was available or something… because I’m certainly not.”

“It’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting you to hug me.”

“I’d like to do it again – but when we have a little privacy.”

“Agreed.”

That was it. A simple statement tossed between them – and her agreement. Travis looked at her, his eyes searching, and saw her shy smile as she met his eyes boldly. There was a recognition, a feeling between them that he would never be able to explain in a million years and couldn’t ignore either.

“Boyfriends and girlfriends hug,” Becca said simply in a hushed voice. “They celebrate things they have in common, find joy in the differences, and… and I like this, what we have beginning.”

“Don’t ever stop,” he uttered quietly, not holding back. “If something ev er feels ‘off’ or ‘wrong,’ feel free to club me upside the head – just avoid the nose and my lip.”

And he felt a flutter in his chest as she giggled softly, laying a hand on his chest like it was something they had always done. He picked her hand up off his chest and laid it on his cheek before chuckling.

“That’s the one spot that doesn’t hurt.”

“It’s my favorite spot so far,” she offered, smiling gently as her eyes melted, meeting his.

“Stop that,” he whispered longingly. “I want our first kiss to be free of stitches or rancid morning breath.”

“Guess you need to get better soon, then.”

“No kidding.”

Travis jumped slightly as he heard a muffled honk. Without a word, he grabbed Becca’s hand, and they hurried out the doorway – only to see a news station’s van coming around the corner.

“Geez, they are relentless,” she growled as he tugged her forward, opening the door and ordering her in the back seat of his Blazer. The moment that the door was shut, his uncle was putting the SUV into reverse to try to get away from them.

“Duck your head,” Becca ordered, pushing his head downward – and he put it directly in her lap, using her leg for a pillow as gingerly as possible… only to marvel as she leaned over him, protectively.

“GET AWAY FROM THE CAR!” Davy was hollering, refusing to roll down the tinted windows as a few aggressive people came right up to the vehicle, banging on the glass. “GET BACK!”

“Just go,” Travis muttered. “Ease up slowly, and they’ll back away.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yup. Happens all the time when I’m downtown and trying to leave the parking garage.”

“You need a bodyguard, boy…”

“I have you, Uncle Davy,” Travis joked – but realized that his uncle was se rious. The reporters, the fans, all of it, was getting to be a bit much.

“Maybe I just need to buy like fifty acres out in the country and hide.”

“Don’t let my brother hear you say that,” Becca joked. “How do you think my family ended up out in the middle of nowhere.”

“He’s only kidding, Miss Becca,” Davy volunteered distractedly, letting the car ease forward just as Travis suggested.

But was he? Was he kidding?

Because it was starting to sound slightly appealing – especially if he could commute, his body wouldn’t hold up forever, and there was nothing wrong with playing ‘the long game’ and planning ahead for the day when he couldn’t play eventually. Even if he got traded off next season, if he owned property, he would always own it. Property was the one thing that didn’t expire or simply vanish.

“Yup,” Travis said simply, placating his uncle for the moment. If he changed something up, he would need to make sure that it worked for everyone because his uncle had been exceedingly good to him over the years. And Becca… well, it might be a little too soon to plan for things like this when he still owed her that macaroni and cheese.

“Miss Becca, where’s your car parked, sweetie?” Davy said suddenly, setting off warning bells in Travis’s head.

“I’m in the parking garage in the distance and…”

“Uh, she can come home with us.”

“Travis, you need to rest…”

“I can rest with you there. We can hang out and talk or…”

“I have to get to work too. I’ve already taken a few days off,” Becca said softly, moving to hold his hand. “Here, you can sit up now, I think we’re clear of them for a few minutes.”

Travis sat up immediately and looked at her, not really ready to say ‘bye’ because, the last few days, he had slept quite a bit due to the pain medication. None of this was anything ‘date-like,’ allowing them to get to know each other… and before he could protest, she smiled at him.

“How about next Friday night, we have that macaroni and cheese you promised me. You’ll probably be feeling much better.”

And Travis sighed, conceding defeat because she was right.

“Next Friday?”

“Yes – and we can continue to talk, text, and figure this out.”

“You got it,” he said quietly, leaning forward to gingerly press a kiss to her cheek as she shied away slightly, looking at him.

“You’re worried about your breath – and I’ve not showered in two days. You don’t sniff me, and I won’t sniff you,” she chuckled nervously – and heard Davy join in, reminding him they had company.

“Fair enough,” he agreed. “Text me when you get home, okay?”

“Will do.”

“And thank you, Becca, for being here. I really appreciated it.”

“It’s what girlfriends do, remember?” she teased softly, smiling at him. “See ya.”

“Bye.”