Chapter Eleven

Danica

T he cool air burns my lungs as I take a deep breath, wrapping my jacket more tightly around me and settling onto the bench. Loud chatter and cheering fill the large space, excitement palpable as it thrums through the air, and I glance around at the smattering of red and gold filling our small section while the rest of the arena is a sea of blue, silver, and black. Jonathan settles beside me, reaching out to squeeze my hand in reassurance. I glance down to where our fingers connect, surprised to find that I am trembling slightly. Huh. I didn’t even realize. But there he goes again, reading me like an open book.

Squeezing his fingers gently in return, I direct my gaze back to the ice. We deliberately arrived late to the game, not wanting to be here during the team announcements as everyone made their way onto the ice. It’s bad enough having to see him play, but to have to watch as he skates out, to the sound of thousands of adoring fans and puck bunnies calling his name? I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

It’s about halfway through the first period and the Sabretooths have the puck with the score still 0-0. I watch their team glide quickly across the ice, passing back and forth in a complicated maneuver before one of their players is checked into the boards by Bash’s teammate. The puck is passed and Bash quickly takes charge, skating towards the goal on the far end of the rink.

“Go, go, go!” Jumping up, I surprise myself by loudly cheering along with the smattering of Edmonton Dragon’s fans while the rest of the crowd groans as the buzzer sounds at Bash's goal. “Yes! Go Bash!” I throw a fist in the air, continuing to cheer him on. Bash circles back around the ice, deliberately skating to the section where our seats are. The show-off got us rink-side seats, and he pulls up to an abrupt stop on the other side of the plexiglass, now facing me.

With a wink, Bash throws a kiss in my direction, and I swear that I can hear the audible gasp and swooning of several lovestruck fans in the rows behind me. I just roll my eyes, unmoved by his usual flirtatious antics. As I retake my seat, Jonathan drapes his arm causally across my shoulder and throws a nod in Bash’s direction.

Bash and Jonathan know each other well through Finn, as Jonathan is literally Finn’s number two with the company, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Finn’s company is like his baby, and he keeps everything close to the chest, so I am not entirely sure what the backstory is on how they met, but Jonathan earned his trust over the years, enough so to enlist Jonathan’s help by stepping back from his busy schedule a bit to play bodyguard and personal trainer to me.

We are past that point in our friendship now, and Jonathan doesn’t feel the need to babysit me anymore, but we keep up with our weekly training and sparring sessions, with the occasional fuck thrown in for good measure. Between my hectic schedule with the sports center and Jonathan’s crazy schedule doing whatever the hell he does as VP and COO, our lives have both been too busy to commit to dating in any official capacity, and we fell into our routine mostly out of convenience.

I have to say, it’s nice not having to troll dating apps and worry about opening up to someone new with my history. Jonathan knows me, knows my triggers, and has helped me work through a lot of things over the years. I trust him enough to let myself be vulnerable and open with my needs. And in return, he trusts me with the heavy weight he carries on his shoulders. We make a pretty damn good team, he and I.

As I am sitting here with his arm draped over my shoulder, a look passing between Bash and Jonathan that I can’t quite decipher, another player skates up behind Bash, bumping into his side. The player throws a cocky grin at Bash and I can tell the exact moment when he registers the situation, entire body going rigid as he slowly turns to see who Bash is flirting with. Our eyes connect, and I feel the electricity pass through me like a current, rippling through my body and making my pulse speed up in a way that I have not felt in seven years. My breath hitches as his eyes widen in shock and jaw drops open. There he is, Theodore “Slick” Giovanni, star defenseman for the Sabretooths, my Hoodie Guy .

It feels like minutes of us just staring at one another, oblivious of the crowd and game happening around us, when in reality it’s mere seconds, before I feel a firm squeeze on my shoulder in reassurance as Jonathan pulls me closer into his side, and the spell is broken. I can see Theo’s eyes narrow as they focus on the possessive hand that is holding me before he throws a glare at my friend, turning back to the ice, bumping roughly into Bash, and skating off. For his part, Bash throws me a sheepish look before quickly turning back to the game himself.