I laugh because I imagine I am freaking her out by being quiet and smiling at the same time. It’s not something she’s seen for a very long time.
Emory is the one person I can always be truthful with, no matter if I’m a teensy bit embarrassed to admit, “I was thinking about Gage.”
“Oh, really?” she drawls, dumping the T-shirt in her hand back in the box. She sits on the edge of the bed to stare at me expectantly. “Tell me more.”
I shake my head with another laugh. “It’s not like that. At least, I don’t think it is. But I had a moment with him… a real moment. It was weird and refreshing, and I can’t stop ruminating over it.”
Emory leans forward, captivated. I move to sit beside her, and we angle in toward one another, our knees touching. “When he first walked into the apartment, his eyes went where everyone’s eyes go.”
Emory nods with a knowing expression. “And you withdrew and shut down. Blah, blah, blah. Heard and seen this story too many times to count.”
Clearly, my sister has had a few frustrations with me over the months as I work to regain my confidence. I ignore her snark, though. “But… he talked to me outside afterward, and he was so honest about it all. He admitted to looking at my scarring, but he said that wasn’t the first thing that caught his attention.”
Emory leans forward. “What was it?”
“My eyes.” I let out a tiny huff of breath. “He said he was more captivated by my eyes.”
Emory’s mouth drops open slightly. “He said that?”
I nod effusively, happiness within as I share this with my sister. “It doesn’t mean anything… but yes, a genuine compliment. And he was brutally forthright that he saw my scarring. He acknowledged it. Most people turn away embarrassed and want to brush it under the rug. But he saw it as part of me, and it didn’t bother him. It wasn’t the most important thing he saw. My eyes were.”
Emory regards me thoughtfully for a few beats before grinning. “He’s really a nice guy, I’ll admit. Baden speaks so highly of him. And… he’s incredibly gorgeous.”
I shrug as if I hadn’t noticed.
But I totally noticed.
He’s tall, well-built, and speaking of eyes… his are amazing too. He wears his dark hair well-trimmed and swept to the side, but he has the lightest hazel eyes that seem to be almost otherworldly. When he was standing outside apologizing, I couldn’t help but observe them myself. When he complimented me on my own peepers, I wanted to blurt out that his were beautiful, too, but then I would’ve died on the spot from mortification.
“He said he’s my first official new friend here in Pittsburgh,” I continue, trying to shift some of the focus away from the truth that I was completely taken by a man paying me a compliment. It doesn’t mean anything more than he’s just a very nice guy.
“I believe that,” Emory says with a smile and reaches over to hug me. “And you deserve all the friends. All the happiness.”
When she pulls back, she rests her hands on my shoulders and peers at me. “But you know, if this doesn’t work out for you, you can always come home to me in Phoenix. There is always a place for you at my side.”
“I know,” I reply softly, moving my hands over the top of hers. “And I love you for it. Just as I love you for letting me have this chance to fly.”
CHAPTER 3
Gage
I love Sunday morning practices. Especially when they come before a home game the following day. It means the practice will be light and fun as we mostly self-police out on the ice while Coach Keller hands oversight to the assistant coaches. It lets the younger guys cut up a bit without Keller’s mood swings coming into play. He’s the quintessential walk-on-eggshells type—you never know how he’s going to react. Sundays are his day to prep for the upcoming games, and so he stays in his office.
Keller is an odd duck, for sure. He can be your best buddy or your worst nightmare, depending on how he’s feeling. The only problem is you never know what he’s feeling, and his reactions are always unpredictable.
It’s sad to say, but when Keller isn’t around, we actually develop a stronger camaraderie. When the players don’t have the pressure of the head coach potentially exploding, it allows everyone to open up to one another rather than only looking out for our own best interests.
After practice, I’ll get in a short workout, and then I’m going home to veg out for the rest of the day. This is not something I often do because I like to be on the go, but sometimes I just need a down day, no responsibilities, where I can fall into pure laziness.