Erik (Arizona Vengeance 2)

My dad texts back, You betcha. Lunch is on me.

Deal, I text back.

Sadie walks up to our table and asks, “You boys need anything?”

“Yeah,” Dax says with a laugh. “Send Blue over here before Erik perishes from not being able to see her.”

The guys all start laughing but I don’t even bother looking up from my phone.

“Bite me,” I tell the guys and then shoot another text off to my dad. I’ll be bringing someone I want you to meet.Chapter 12BlueSadie lets out a huge yawn as the team bus pulls in front of the hotel. The flight crew has the option to ride the same buses that the team takes from hotels to arenas as a perk of our job if we want or we can take an Uber. If we go with the team, this means we get to the arenas really early before a game which can be boring. But tonight we hopped the ride since the arena in Houston sits amid a huge retail and restaurant complex where we had no problem killing a few hours window shopping before the game.

For both trips, there and back, I sat with Sadie, even though Erik had beckoned to me when I got on. I just gave a slight shake of my head, not wanting to be so obvious about our relationship on game day. I feel like that’s sort of interfering so Sadie and I took a pair of seats near the front of the bus.

The game tonight against the Jam went into overtime and my throat was raw from cheering. The Vengeance pulled it out, though, and I’ve never seen a more determined group of players in my life. They’re gritty and inexhaustible when it comes to fighting down to the wire for a win. As always, Erik was a pleasure to watch on the ice and I have to admit, tonight was a bit different. Watching him out there, and knowing that we were actually a couple put a new spin on things. I had even more pride in how he played, and it was more nerve-racking to watch because a win would be more personal to me since it was personal to Erik.

I follow Sadie off the bus, hopping off the last step. “I’m going to wait for Erik,” I tell her.

She throws a hand over her shoulder in acknowledgment. “See you up in the room.”

I’m waiting for Erik because he had texted me on the ride from the arena to the hotel and asked me to do so. He sat near the back of the bus so it will take a few minutes for him to make it out. I’m sure he probably wants a good night kiss before we head to our respective rooms—me with Sadie and him with Legend—so I’m not going to say no to that.

Several players disembark as I wait. Legend and Dax who both wink at me. Tacker Hall, the captain, gets off next. Notoriously quiet and withdrawn, he gives me a soft, “G’night, Blue,” as he walks passed me.

I’m so surprised he said something, I start to answer, but then Erik is standing in front of me and Tacker in all his melancholic glory is forgotten. Damn the man looks good in a suit and he smells fantastic too.

I notice immediately that he’s empty-handed. “Where’s your duffel bag?”

“Legend’s taking it to the room for me,” he says and I can’t say that I noticed Legend carrying two bags when he walked by but that’s irrelevant. “Wanted to see if you’d like to go for a walk before we headed to bed.”

It was a beautiful night and the temperature was crisp. I’d worn a Vengeance sweatshirt to the game so I was more than comfortable. We looked very odd together, Erik in his designer suit of steel blue and me in jeans and a sweatshirt.

But I guess that really doesn’t matter. I hold my hand out to him and he takes it. “Where to?” I ask.

“Let’s just walk for a few blocks,” he suggests and we start away from the hotel at a leisurely pace. The hotel is smack in the middle of downtown and is surrounded by restaurants, upscale bars, and retail stores. Even closing in on midnight, the area is still well lit and bustling with pedestrian traffic.

“You played amazing tonight,” I tell him.

He squeezes my hand as he looks down at me. “We need to get you a Dalhbeck jersey.”

“I’ll get one this weekend,” I assure him.

“Let me correct myself,” he admonishes. “I need to get you a jersey. I’ll get Billy one too.”

“That’s way too much—”

“Blue,” Erik cuts in as he brings us both to a stop. He turns me to face him, oblivious to other pedestrians who have to walk around us. “I get what we have going on here is new and we’ve only been on two dates, with our third tomorrow, but what we do have is definitely not thin.”