Page 10 of Something Like That

He closed his eyes and sank onto the edge of the bed. She was going to turn him down.

Not ready for the inevitable, he changed tactics. Maybe he could use their shared history to his advantage. Lean on the nostalgia. Dirty, yes, but he was desperate. “How do we know each other? I don’t remember you.”

There was beat of silence. She was on to him, was going to ignore the question.

“Honestly, I’m not surprised.” She sighed and the sound made his ribs squeeze. What was with that? “It was a long time ago.”

“How long are we talking?”

“Umm, high school.”

Holy shit. He definitely hadn’t been expecting that. While it did give him a better timeline to go on, he still got nothing. “Sorry, I’m still drawing a blank.” Unless… No way. It couldn’t be. Then, again, maybe? “Hold on a minute. Are you telling me that you’re Alexandra Bridger?”

“One and the same.”

The confession left him stunned. Alexandra Bridger. His biology tutor from senior year. His junior hockey league schedule meant he’d missed a lot of classes, and although the school district bundled work together for him, it was a lot for someone who wasn’t academically inclined. For the life of him, he’d been unable wrap his head around the biology stuff. His counselor had set him up with Alexandra, who’d only been a sophomore, but was in accelerated classes. “Umm, wow.”

“Yeah, I’ve changed a bit.”

That was an understatement. Alexandra Bridger had been a bit of a mousey thing. Quiet and bookish, with glasses and a retainer. Pretty much the entire nerd cliché, all in one package. But she’d been sweet and nice and super smart. Not to mention an awesome tutor. She’d not only helped him pass the class, but he’d gotten his best grade ever.

And now he hadn’t said anything in a really long time, and was totally looking like a fool.

“Yeah, you have.” Jesus, what a fucking stupid thing to say. He rubbed his eyes with his free hand. “I mean… that totally came out wrong… I didn’t… shit…”

“Breathe, Nick, it’s okay.” Her voice was calm, but authoritative. He found himself obeying without a second thought. Nope, definitely not the meek little mouse he once knew.

“Wow, Alexandra. How have you been?” And there he was, back to being a dipshit. Could he be any more of a fucking idiot?

“It’s been… interesting. But, as you can see, I’ve managed to finally get things figured out.” There was weird note in her voice, but over the cell connection he couldn’t quite decipher it. Not that he was very good at that stuff, even face to face. “Anyway, after much deliberation, if you’re still interested, I’d like to take you on as a client.”

He leaped to his feet. His heart damn near burst out of his chest, although he had no idea why. Not that it mattered. All that mattered was that she was willing, which meant the faster they got started, the faster he got back in the lineup, and the faster he won the championship. “Great. When can we start?”

“Come by the clinic on Monday at 9:00am. We can go over the schedule and discuss your training, as well as payment and fees.”

Damn, it was only Friday. Which was fine. He could deal. “Great. I’ll see you then.”

She said goodbye and he hung up, tossing his phone back on the console. And then he let out a whoop and thrust his fist in the air. The whole thing was cheesy as fuck, but he didn’t care.

This was the year, he could feel it, deep inside. Everything was coming together. Soon, he’d be a champion and then no one, no one could tell him he wasn’t good enough.

Chapter Three

Alex hurried down the sidewalk, her boots splashing on the wet pavement. Having the storefront on the street meant no direct parking for the clinic. She either had to park in the pay lot a couple of blocks over, or in the alley behind the building. Which was her normal go to.

Except, today a garbage truck had decided to block the alley entrance. So, she’d had to hightail it over to the parking garage and spend a butt load of money to park for the day. It was amazing people could afford it day in and day out. The monthly rates were astronomical. Of course, she could have parked on the street, but then she’d have to run out and feed the meter every couple of hours. And given that it was pouring, and a pain, that wasn’t happening.

Good thing she’d left a bit early today. The clinic didn’t open until nine, which was when she’d asked Nick to stop by. Usually, she was in around eight thirty, after she’d dropped Em off at school, to get stuff ready for the day and have a few minutes to herself.

Janelle was not a morning person—never had been—so she always made sure to book her massage clients for after eleven, and then stayed until seven or so. It was one of the many reasons they worked so well together.

But her little parking detour meant it was now eight forty-five, and she’d only have a few minutes to get settled before Nick showed up. She moved her umbrella to her other hand, hiked her bag onto her shoulder, and rounded the corner.

He stood outside the clinic.

Her stomach did a tuck and roll right into her lungs, making her breath catch. He still wore his cashmere coat, and since he didn’t have an umbrella, he was getting soaked. His hands were stuffed in his coat pockets, and he was leaning with his back against the front of the building. Left leg bent, foot pressed against the wall. Very old-school, rom-com bad boy. His eyes were fixed straight ahead, meaning he hadn’t spotted her.

She slowed down so she could get a good look at him.