Hockey Holidays Read online

  Absolutely crushed, Em made her way to the kitchen. Nothing that happened between the two of them had meant anything to him.

  She sat down by the breakfast bar because her legs weren’t feeling too steady. Someone spoke to her, but she waved him off. She was an idiot. Sure, she was smart about theoretical things, but when it came to capital-L Life, she was clueless. Maybe she should give up on the whole dating scene and pursue that PhD. After all, she loved her work. She and Isaiah could roll off into the sunset together.

  “Hey, Em.”

  Great. If she’d only thought for one second, she would have known that the first place people go once they arrive is to the kitchen. She pasted a smile on her face.

  “Hello, Ian.” Then she smiled—bared her teeth, really—at his date. “Hi there.”

  “This is Monica,” he said.

  “Hi, hi.” Her voice was high and girlish. They were clearly the perfect couple; he covered the bottom register of the scale, and she took the top.

  Ian opened the fridge and grabbed a beer. “What would you like, Monica?”

  She bent over to look inside the fridge, and her boobs practically tumbled out. Em was positive that Ian would enjoy that view, but when she glanced at him, he was looking at her. And at her face too.

  “Where’s Thomas?” he asked.

  “I have no idea,” she answered.

  “Oooh, cranberry Hard Lemonade. I’ll have that,” said Monica. She straightened up and handed the bottle to Ian.

  He uncapped it. “Do you want a glass?”

  “Yes, please.” As he poured it, he kept darting glances at Em. After he handed the drink to his date, he turned back to Em. “So what happened to Thomas?”

  “Cheers,” said Monica. She held her glass out to Ian and Em, and they all clinked.

  “I broke up with him,” she said. “Probably about five minutes after I last saw you.”

  “Oh, that’s very sad,” said Monica. “It’s always tough to break up over the holidays.”

  Em tried to smile, but it was beyond her self-control to have to talk to the woman who was going to be enjoying Ian’s sexual prowess tonight. Something that Em herself had been hoping to do.

  “Excuse me.”

  Em stood while Monica was nattering away and made her way to the bedroom where she had stashed her clothes earlier. She wanted to leave, but she didn’t want people making a big fuss about her going before midnight. She changed back into her jeans, sweater, and boots, and then stepped onto the balcony. It wasn’t a huge drop, and there was a big snowbank. Em didn’t really like heights, but the thought of seeing Ian with Monica again was incentive enough. Em threw her knapsack and purse over the railing and watched them plop down in the fluffy snow. Then she vaulted over the railing. There was a brief sensation of flying, and then she too landed in the snow. She stood and brushed herself off. Doing such a super-heroine feat made her feel better.

  “Yay,” she declared with arms extended. Sure, it was Ian’s dumb goal celebration, but it was surprisingly satisfying. Then she drove home.

  “Cheers, Isaiah.” Em held up a glass of sparkling wine. Her hedgehog lived in a large glass terrarium with a wood stump where he liked to hide. He was there now, so her New Year’s Eve toast went unnoticed. In half an hour, it would be midnight. Em always made resolutions, and she decided that this year’s would be around relationships. Maybe she’d take Ian’s advice and let things happen naturally instead of planning. Then his presence in her life would have served a purpose and not been completely regrettable. She wouldn’t be able to go over to Abby and Mason’s until she was fully over Ian. The New Year was not starting off well.

  The condo intercom buzzed. Em started to rise, then decided not to answer it. All her good friends were at the party, so it was probably a drunken stranger or a mistaken pizza delivery. It rang a few more times, then whoever it was gave up.

  Em picked up her book and started reading again. She’d go to bed after midnight so she wasn’t a complete loser.

  Then someone knocked on her door. Em froze. Who could it be? She decided to pretend she wasn’t home and turned down the volume of her music.

  “Em, I know you’re in there.” The voice was loud enough to pierce a solid wood door. “I’m going to keep knocking until you open up.”

  Em sighed. She walked over to the door and opened it. Ian walked inside without another word. He started to take off his coat, but Em put a hand on his arm.

  “You’re not staying,” she said.

  “I damn well am. We have a lot to talk about.” Then he shed his coat and boots and marched into her living room.

  He sat on the couch, and his presence felt too big and masculine for her pale pink room.

  “Did you jump off the second floor?” Ian asked.

  “Maybe,” said Em.

  He shook his head. “I was watching the front door, so I knew you hadn’t left. I searched every single room, and the only thing I noticed was a sliding door cracked open. Your footprints were on the balcony and your body print was in the snowbank. Em, you’re nuts. You could have hurt yourself. Did you think I’d stop you from leaving?”

  Em shook her head. “I didn’t want to have to see you again. You and Monica. Where is Monica, anyway?”

  “She’s still at the party. Last I saw, she was dancing with Barry from hockey.”

  Em checked her phone. “You’ve only got fifteen minutes to get back and get your midnight kiss.”

  Ian tilted his head. “I’m hoping for something better.”

  Em scowled. “We’re not making out. You hurt me.”

  “You hurt me too.”

  “That’s different, I didn’t know you’d assume something so illogical. Why would you think I liked Thomas when we were getting along so well? I mean, I had sex with you. That’s something important to me.”

  “It’s important to me too,” Ian said, his voice oddly soft. “Look, Em, I feel like we’ve had a lot of misunderstandings between us, so I want to tell you the truth.”

  Em waited in suspicious silence.

  “I’ve liked you ever since the first day I met you. Like really liked you. You’re my fantasy woman.”

  “Right. You asked who the chick was with the great tits.”

  He snorted. “Oh, you heard that? Well, give me a break. There were lots of girls there with brown hair. It seemed like the quickest way to find out your name.”

  “If you liked me so much, why were you always so rude to me?”

  “I don’t know.” He clenched and unclenched his hands. Em recalled the feel of his calloused fingers on her bare skin. “Well, maybe I do know. It’s because you give me a hard-on every time I see you. Bugging you eases that.”

  Em scowled at him. “You’re mean to me because you can’t control your penis? Seriously?”

  “It’s kind of a defence. If you were as nice to me as you are to Mase, not being with you would hurt worse. You were something I couldn’t even hope for.”

  Despite his ridiculous logic, Em heard the sincerity in his voice. Once again there was that sweet vulnerability he showed at the hockey game. This whole side of Ian she never knew existed.

  She reached out and patted his arm. “I’m sorry that I hurt you. I should have explained about Thomas. I do that a lot—assume people think the same way I do.”

  “Nobody thinks like you do,” Ian replied.

  Em slid down the couch to sit beside him. “So, what I’m hearing is that to make this work, we need to communicate better. Like you answering my calls and texts.”

  “Guilty.”

  “Okay, let’s shake. We promise to be honest with each other.” Ian tried not to smile as they shook. But he didn’t let go of her hand. Instead he put his arm around her and pulled her close.

  She leaned against him, enjoying the warmth of his big body. “My New Year’s Eve is looking up.”

  He pulled out his phone. “Still ten minutes to go. Maybe you’d like to put that dress back on.”