Christmas In The City (Imperfect Match 1.50)

“…And you’ll be an even more valuable coach with some pro experience,” I point out. “When you go back to coaching—and I know you’ll want to—you’ll have your pick of jobs.”

Jamie listens patiently to all of this word vomit. It’s hard to stop me when I get on a roll. We’re all the way back to the hallway outside of our hotel room by the time I finally take a breath and unlock the door with my key card.

He walks in ahead of me, tossing his wallet on the desk and dropping a shopping bag the San Jose players gave him on our way out. There’s a teal jersey in it that he wore tonight during his NHL debut.

Wordless, Jamie strips off his jacket and then his shirt. Then he flops backward onto the bed and stares, motionless, at the ceiling.

I might have blown his mind a little. I’ll give him a minute before I launch us into victory lap sex. “I’m just gonna brush my teeth.”

“No.”

“No?” I pause in the doorway of the bathroom. “But I ate some weird bar snacks. I think they were gluten-free pretzels.”

“No, I mean…I don’t want to drive two hours every four days just to see your face.”

“Oh.” I swallow. “Okay. There’s seventeen flights a day on Porter. That’s my other idea. It’s a one-hour flight time.”

“Wes.” Jamie sits up suddenly. “I had a great time tonight. Except when I thought I was going to barf.”

“Were you nervous?” I ask, trying to understand.

“No! But I ate a lot of Mexican food. The first dive nearly broke me. But that’s not the point.” He shakes his gorgeous head. “I had a lot of fun, but it was just that. A wild night. And now I have more than five calls from that scout on my phone.”

“He’d be crazy not to call you tonight,” I point out. “He’s probably peeing himself wondering if any other teams are after you.”

Jamie makes an impatient noise. “Look, it is a fun story. My parents will be dining out on that for years. The sports blogs are going to eat it up. But I bet not one of them points out the unfair advantage I had tonight.”

“What advantage?”

“I know you guys so well. I watch every Toronto game. I personally know every player on every line. Sure—I went in cold. But Blake’s first wrister? It was like watching old video. I knew it was coming. That period was, like, optimized for my enjoyment. And it will never happen again.”

“Well, sure, not exactly like that, but—”

He holds up a hand to silence me. “Here’s the thing? I don’t want my whole life to turn on a cute story, or a sound bite. If Bill Braddock called me right now and offered me the promotion I was supposed to have, I’d take it in a hot second.”

Oh.

“I’m a good goalie, Wes. But I’m a great coach. I’m honestly kicking myself right now, because I should have pushed harder for that job. I should have made more noise. I blew it. That’s been hard to accept. But I won’t let a fun accident derail me from what I’m really supposed to be doing.”

I sit down heavily on the bed beside him. I spent the evening galloping off in one direction, and it’s not easy to rearrange my thinking. Again. “So you don’t want to go to Ottawa at all?”

Slowly he shakes his head. “We’d never see each other. If you were in prison I’d be allowed more conjugal visits than we’d get if I move to Ottawa.”

I bark out a laugh. “Let’s not test that theory.”

“Wes.” Jamie beckons to me. And when I lean in, he wraps his arms around me. “I love you so hard. But don’t plan this for me, okay? I know it’s hard for you to understand, because you love your job so much. But I love mine, too.”

“I know,” I say quickly, wrapping my arms around his sturdy body. “I know you do. You were just so amazing tonight. I can’t even handle it. I’ve never had more fun. Ever.”

“Is that right?” Jamie thrusts a knee between my two legs and grabs my ass suggestively. “We have all kinds of fun, though. Half the time you can’t even remember your own name afterwards.”

“True.” His skin smells like locker room soap, and I want more. Burrowing closer, I kiss his neck. “Fine. I won’t try to plan your life. But does that mean I have to call off the goon squad I hired to teach Bill Braddock a lesson?”

“Yeah.” He sighs. “Save the violence for the rink. This is a problem I have to solve by myself.”

“You know I’d do anything for you. Even drive to Bellewood to do you.”

Jamie snorts. “Belleville.”