Page 40 of The Flight Risk

“So ready!” Lottie says enthusiastically. Ever since she went to her first hockey game, she has been a girl obsessed. She caught the hockey-loving bug and I have no regrets. I got hit with that bug a long time ago. Now I’ve been hit with another obsession that is overriding my thoughts and feelings about the man who flashes on the seventy-inch screen. That’s the benefit of watching the game on TV. They do close-ups of the players, especially star players like Oakley. Living with him is not enough. The need I have for him is so overwhelming and I can’t shake it. I don’t want to shake it.

Oakley has an incredible game. Forty-four saves in total. The last save being the most impressive one. He sprawled his body across the ice and the puck clipped the pad on his left leg. Then the puck immediately zipped towards him again and he pressed his knees together, his hands quickly protecting the puck.

It’s yet another shutout from Oakley and the Storm add another win to their record. They are positioning themselves to make the playoffs and Oakley is working his way up to be the best goalie in the league.

“That was an amazing game!” Lottie says, yawning in the process. “Oakley is actually really good. You would think he would be more cocky.”

Understatement of the year. Oakley is amazing.

“Hey, look! They are going to interview Adam!” Lottie’s excitement warms my heart, which is now beating against my chest at an alarming rate when he appears on the screen next to a petite, gorgeous red-headed reporter. I wonder if Lottie can hear my heart racing or notice how pink my cheeks are. Lottie turns up the volume.

“I’m here with Adam Oakley, who has just earned yet another shutout here against Vegas.” Her attention is completely on Oakley when she asks the next question, “Now, Adam, let’s talk about that amazing last save in the final seconds of the game. What was going through your head at that moment?” She turns her whole body toward him and her eyes wander from his head to his toes and back up again. I don’t blame her. Oakley’s hair is dripping sweat and he’s still breathing heavily yet for some godforsaken reason, my ovaries are screaming at me. Apparently, Oakley has this effect on the reporter as well. She is practically drooling.

Oakley finally answers, “You know, I’m just doing my job. This is what I train for. I need to protect the goal. No matter what. I’m not thinking about the shutout. I stay focused on what is happening at that moment.”

“The way you sprawled on the ice.” Her eyes are hungry. And I’m livid. Which I shouldn’t be. At all. Oakley and I are just friends. The reporter shakes her head in disbelief. “Incredible. What do you do to prepare for moves like that?”

“A lot of stretching and yoga. Again, it’s just part of my training. Nothing special. All goalies have similar training.” He’s all smiles and a surge of jealousy courses through me. I turn the TV off.

“What are you doing?” Lottie exclaims, gesturing to the dark screen, flabbergasted I would have the audacity to stop this torture.

“Time for bed. It’s already past eleven. Chop chop.” I fold the throw blanket and drape it across the top of the couch. I place the pillows back where they belong and pick up our trash.

“Aunt Tess.” Lottie can read me like an open book. I am jealous. It’s so silly because I really shouldn’t be jealous. Oakley and I aren’t anything more than temporary roommates. Roommates who kiss randomly in the doorway of a closet and have deep, soul-searching conversations. But still. Nothing more.

“What?” I grunt. I lean my hands against the counter top. It’s the only thing holding me up right now.

“She has nothing on you, trust me. She’s trying too hard. Adam doesn’t play those games. The only game he cares about is hockey and the only person he cares about is you.” She gives me a small smile and heads up the stairs. “See you in the morning, Aunt Tess. And try not to corner yourself into a self-doubt spiral.”

I nod and those words comfort me like a warm blanket. I just hope Lottie is right. “I won’t. See you in the morning.”

24

Oakley is not supposed to be back until tomorrow. He had a couple of away games, first stop Vegas, next stop St. Louis. All I can think about is the fact that he won’t be around to celebrate my birthday with me today. I usually love to spend it with my favorite people and I’m a little bummed he won’t be here to celebrate with me and Lottie. Brooke and I will do a girls’ night soon on a night that isn’t a school night.

I can’t stop thinking about Oakley’s interview all day at work. It’s eating away at me like some unwanted parasite. I can’t get the image of him smiling at her out of my head. I also can’t get the way she was ogling him out of my head either. Then, my thoughts drift to all the women who are probably throwing themselves at him all the time. He has the choice to hook up with any one of them. And he has every right to. And that bothers me. A lot.

I’m in the middle of my break while my students are at specials when I hear a knock at my door. My heart leaps, and even though I know it’s impossible, I am hoping that a tall man with gorgeous light brown locks and eyes the shade of emeralds will appear out of thin air. Instead I see my best friend with a pretty pink box of what I’m assuming are my favorite cupcakes. She also has an iced vanilla latte and large green and gold balloons in hand. “Ahhhh! Happy birthday, bestie!”

I smile wide and hug Brooke. “Thank you! You know you really didn’t have to go out of your way to bring me anything.”

Brooke puts her hand on my forehead with a concerned look.

“Um, what are you doing?” I ask her.

“Checking to see if you are unwell. You always make a big deal about your birthday! Are you okay?”

If only she knew how unwell I really am. “I’m fine, Brooke.” I snatch the pink box filled with chocolatey goodness.

She sits in a too-small kid chair. “Tess. A little birdie told me that you watched the interview after the game the other night when the guys played in Vegas.”

Lottie. I peel down the cupcake liner and take a massive bite. It’s a small piece of heaven in the midst of the hell I am currently living through. “Let me guess. That little bird’s name is Lottie.”

“Babe, that interview didn’t mean anything. Oakley wasn’t even picking up what she was putting down.”

I open the pink box and stare at the pretty pink cupcakes donned with green and gold sprinkles. “Tell that to his smile.”

“Tess. He was smiling because he was on the fricken camera. He just added another shutout to his stats. Of course he’s going to smile. It had nothing to do with her.”