AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So, you just had to come to my arena and make me look bad?” Chase jokes, staring first at Ollie and then at me.
“I think you’re the one who made us look bad,” I counter. “The puck sure as hell didn’t see the back of the net tonight when I had it.” I roll my neck around a couple of times. “And thanks for that shot against the boards.”
He chuckles, probably picturing when he checked me against the wall late in the second period.
“Was that payback for something?”
“Nope.” He smirks. “That was pure adrenaline. You come into my house, you’re gonna pay for it. Former teammate or not.”
“I’ll send you the bill for my chiropractor later,” I quip, relaxing into the easy atmosphere.
“How’s it going with the team here?” Ollie asks Chase.
“It’s okay.” He lowers his voice and glances around the place, but we’re isolated in the back. I doubt anyone can hear us. “We need a couple of solid forwards before we’ll be contenders for the cup, in my opinion. We’re too inconsistent with scoring.” Chase glances over at me. “Tell me you’re hating Chicago and you want another move.”
“Hey,” Ollie warns good-naturedly, “we’re here for dinner, not for you to steal Anderson from our team.”
“I hate to break it to you, Matthews, but I’m loving the Hawks. The only thing that would make it better is if you were up there with us,” I say.
“I wish,” Oakley groans before Chase can. “I’d love to be in Chicago right now.”
“You basically live there half the time already.” Chase smirks, slinging his arm across her shoulders.
Oakley leans into him. “Only because you’re on the road so much. And Mads and Ollie are there …” I detect the longing in her voice. “It would be perfect if we were all together.”
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that, Oak,” Ollie says.
He and his sister have always been close. I think he’d like having her in the same city as much as she’d enjoy being there.
“What are you doing for work?” I ask Oakley.
“PR for independent authors,” she answers. I guess Oakley and Mads went into the same field after graduating from Sinclair. “It’s all online, so I can work from anywhere.”
“That’s convenient,” I say.
Oakley always did love to read. There were many nights back when we were together where I was watching some sporting event on television while she had a book in hand right next to me on the couch.
She nods. “It is.” She glances over at Chase. “It’ll make it easier if he ever gets traded. I can go anywhere.”
Chase lifts their connected hands to his mouth, kissing the back of hers. “And it makes it easier for you to go with me to away games, even though you haven’t been. You need to start traveling with me more often.”
She smiles over at him, straightening his collar affectionately with her free hand. “We can look at your schedule together when we get home.”
Chase leans over and kisses her cheek.
“All right,” Ollie says good naturedly. “Settle down.”
I chuckle, glad to see that Chase and Oakley are still just as obsessed with each other as they were when they first got together. Somehow, it makes it easier on my ego, knowing they were meant to be. I’m genuinely happy for them. I couldn’t say that for a long time.
Watching them together now has me feeling uncharacteristically sentimental. I start picturing Doe. Kissing her under a starry sky. The way her body felt pressed against mine. Her face framed by my hands …
My attention is pulled back to the present when the waitress appears. I order a steak, and we talk more hockey while we’re waiting on our food. The food is great, and the conversation flows easily. I find that I’m disappointed when the meal is finished and we’re rising to leave.
“We can drop you off at your hotel,” Chase offers.
“Okay,” Ollie accepts.
“I had to park down the block,” he explains.
