PUCK (A BAD BOY HOCKEY ROMANCE) (19 page)

“See you later, beautiful.” He smiles.

I smile back. “Have a great day.”

He opens the door and turns to look at me one more time before heading down the hall to the elevator.

“I can’t wait to see you again,” he adds. And then Jayson is gone.

______

I
am wandering
around my apartment in a state of pure bliss. There is a happiness inside of me that I haven’t felt in a long time—not even with Michael. I still have a few hours before work, so I decide to clean up a little and take my time this morning.

I head into the bedroom and smile as I look at the bed. I wish Jayson didn’t have to leave so early this morning so we could make love all over again.

I step over to the side and start to pull the sheet and blanket to make the bed as I do every morning. A jolt of electricity shoots through my body as I remember last night: Jayson’s body on top of mine, looking into each other’s eyes as we climaxed together.

I get into bed and lay down, pulling the covers to my face to try and get a sense of him. It’s silly, but even the scent of his cologne on my sheets makes me smile. The way he made me feel, the way I feel now, is so new and unfamiliar to me. I know it’s foolish to believe so soon in a relationship, but I think I love him.

The second the thought crosses my mind, my smile fades. I am being ridiculous. I can’t fall in love just like that. Just over a week ago, this same man I think I am in love with was using cheesy pick-up lines on me at a bar and hooking up with different women. I can’t let myself fall for him like this. He could be playing me just like he plays so many others. I thought I sensed love and truth in him, but what if it’s bullshit?

Not to mention the possibility of my mother and Tom progressing their relationship. I’m sure my mother would be mortified if I was dating her potential husband’s son. The fact that he’s so much older than me would kill her. She wants me to be happy, but with someone my own age that I can grow with. Definitely not with a man who is, technically speaking, old enough to be my father. The fact that my own father left her for a much younger woman with almost the same age difference as Jayson and I doesn’t help anything, either.

How did I become so smitten that I let Jayson convince me to just let things be and “not think too much?”

My bliss is turning to bitterness as I sit, thinking about what happened some more. I am crowding my thoughts of last night with “what if’s” and “whys.” I am suddenly in a complete state of confusion and panic. Minutes ago I was in love, and now I am questioning every feeling I had last night. I can’t decide if it was real or just in my head.

I get up and go to look for my phone. It’s in my kitchen so I pour another cup of coffee and sit at the table. I dial Rachel’s number and hope that she is available. I need to talk to someone.

I get her voicemail and leave a message for her to call me back. I’m being ridiculous—I felt Jayson’s passion, and the man I had dinner with last night was real. I can’t let the negative voice in my head convince me otherwise. Still, I’m having a hard time letting those thoughts go.

My phone rings, startling me. I look at the screen. It’s my mother.

“Good morning, Mom,” I answer.

“Good morning, Ashley.” She sounds way too cheerful.

I raise a brow. “What’s up?”

“Not too much. It was so nice seeing you last week. We still haven’t had a chance to chat and catch up.”

“I know. Tom seems like a great guy and you both look so happy together. I’m glad I finally got a chance to meet him.”

“I’m so glad you feel that way, Ash! I’m just head over heels for him. He’s amazing and treats me like a queen. I never thought I would meet a man like him—not after your father.” She sighs dreamily. “And he was delighted to meet you and Eric. It’s great that we all got along so well. Like we’re family already.”

I roll my eyes as my stomach flip flops.
Like family.
I just had sex with my might-be brother last night. Wonder how Tom would feel about that?

“Yeah. I thought it might be awkward at first, but it actually felt very natural,” I reply. I’m not sure if I’m talking about our little get-together or what happened between me and Jayson last night.

“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting his sons once before, Jayson and Matt. They’re good guys. Their business does very well and they are respectful and decent to Tom. He always speaks highly of them, although when it comes to their personal lives, he has doubts they will ever settle down—especially Jayson. Tom says he’s never had a serious girlfriend and sleeps around a little too much for his liking. Reminds me of your father. It’s one thing to test the waters, it’s another to be a gigolo. Is that even a term people use anymore?”

I cringe. “Not really. But it still has the same meaning.” She’s making me feel like such a fool.

My mom chuckles. “I think we talk about our children so much it feels like we know them more than we actually do. I think his boys are fantastic—I probably shouldn’t be gossiping about what they do or who they do it with. As long as they treat me with respect, I’m happy.” She sounds like the perfect stepmother already.

“Well, Mom, again, I’m so happy for you. You deserve a guy like Tom. And you certainly deserve to be treated like a queen, after all you’ve been through.” I try to steer our conversation away from “The boys.” My mother would kill me if she knew what happened with Jayson, more so if she knew how I felt about him this morning—how I’d thought I was in love.

“Can we do lunch this week, Ashley? I can come in on your day off if you like,” Mom offers.

“I would love that,” I reply, and I really would. “I’ll know my schedule on Sunday.”

“Sounds good. Won’t it be nice when you finally decide on a major and work in your own field?” she adds. I knew she would have to get one shot in about my job. She hates that I’m a waitress and not trying harder to explore what I really want to do with my future.

“Of course it will,
Mother,
” I answer, making sure to call her by her least favorite maternal moniker.

“You know I have to say it, Ash,” she says, and I can tell she’s smiling on the other end. “Love you. Call me when you have your schedule.”

“I will. Love you too, Mom.”

I send Rachel a quick text to call me when she has a few minutes. I need to hash this out with someone rational.

I take my robe off and step into the shower. I let the water flow over me to try and relax and calm my thoughts. I finish and towel off, put on my work clothes and makeup, and go back to the kitchen to have a snack before I leave. I notice my phone is indicating a missed call and text so I pick it up.

I read the text first:
Last night was incredible. I miss you already,
sent by Jayson. I smile to myself. Maybe I was going a little overboard with all the negative things I was thinking about him this morning. So he was player before—people can change, right? Maybe I just don’t have the confidence to think I’m the one that can change him.

I’m not sure what to write back yet, so I check my voicemail. It’s Rachel. She’s going back into the studio and will stop by for a drink later if she can. Perfect.

I contemplate what to write back to Jayson. I want to believe him so badly, but something inside me is making me hesitate. I type and erase messages several times before I decide exactly what to say.

I had a great time. Talk soon.
It’s simple, to the point, and not committing to any feelings. I hit “send” feeling satisfied, grab a trail mix bar from the pantry, and head off to work.

________

T
he restaurant is pretty slow
when I get there. It’s just about lunch time and there are only a few tables sitting. I continue to speculate and try to rationalize my emotions and feelings throughout the day. I go back and forth, loving Jayson, then being annoyed that I even believe that. Being disgusted that we might be related at some point in the near future, then rationalizing that it doesn’t matter.

Maybe Jayson was right about one thing: I should stop thinking so much and just let things happen. Even if he said that to get me to give in for the night, at this point it seems like great advice.

After the lunch crowd disperses, I pour myself an iced tea and go sit outside for a few minutes after the dining room is reset for the dinner crowd. As usual, I take my phone out to waste some time and see another text from Jayson
. I can’t stop thinking about you.
Again, I smile. I don’t think he would continue to text me if he was playing games, I really don’t, but I’m afraid to believe that he really likes me.

I’ve been thinking about you too,
I reply. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him.

Can I see you again tonight?
Jayson writes back. I can’t see him yet, I’m not ready. I need to decide how I feel before I can face him again. There is no way I can resist him so I need to be sure about how I feel before I can be face to face.

Sorry, working late and meeting Rachel
, is all I say. That’s all he needs to know.

You’re not brushing me off, are you?
he replies. It’s hard to tell if he is hurt or being sarcastic through a text.

No. Just can’t tonight. Have to get back to work now,
I send back. It totally sounds like I’m blowing him off, which I guess I am. I’ll explain everything to him once I’m in a better emotional state.

He sends me back a smiley face and I turn my phone off and head back into the restaurant as the first of the early dinner crowd enters.

The dinner rush comes and goes, slowing down as it gets later in the evening. I only have a few tables left finishing up when I see Rachel walk in. She waves and smiles at me and heads over to the bar where Sam pours her a glass of wine before she has a chance to sit down. They exchange greetings and make small talk while she waits for me to close out the checks left in my section. I finish up my closing duties and walk over to the bar, taking a seat next to Rachel.

“Hey, Rach. Glad you decided to stop in,” I say as Sam passes me my own glass of wine.

“Me too. I could tell you had something on your mind. What’s up?”

“It’s a very long story,” I say and lay out most of the details about my dinner with Jayson and what happened afterwards. I convey my feelings, what I thought he was feeling, then how I felt this morning and the rest of the day. I also tell Rachel about my mother’s phone call and what she has to say about Jayson’s reputation. She listens quietly until I’m finished, and even then she takes a minute to let my words soak in as she sips her wine.

“Well,” Rachel begins, “I see how you can feel confused. There are a lot of points here to consider. If you take your mother’s relationship out of the picture, how do you feel?”

“I feel like I could really love Jayson. Then I feel like an idiot for thinking that.”

“I only had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting him at the bar,” Rachel snarks, “and he definitely seemed like a dick that night. But from the way you talked about him, it’s possible he has actual feelings for you. I mean, why would he have stayed the night and texted you throughout the day if he didn’t like you? He could have boned you and left.”

“True,” I reply. Sam makes his way over to us to offer Rachel a refill.

“Couldn’t help but overhear some of your story, Ashley,” he says. “If you’re talking about that guy from the other night, I think he digs you.”

“Thanks, Sam. I’m trying to figure him out. Men are complicated.”

“As a man who’s had the chance to be with many women, I can tell you, he definitely wouldn’t have wasted his time coming in here to see you if he didn’t like you. The way the women were looking at him, he could have had his pick of the litter, but he only had eyes for you.” And with that, Sam tops off Rachel’s glass and heads back to the bar.

“I think he could be right,” Rachel agrees. “I would have to see him again to say for sure, since our first meeting was… not so great.”

“Okay, so let’s say we do have a real love connection. What about possibly being his stepsister one day? What do I do about that?”

“That’s a tough call, Ash. This isn’t something you come across every day. I mean, it’s not like incest because you’re not really related, but it’s still kind of weird. I think it would have to be whatever you’re comfortable with.” She frowns. “Does your mother know anything about this? Tom?”

“My mother definitely doesn’t know. I’m not sure how to tell her, either. I don’t think I will, unless Jayson and I get serious. Either way, she’s won’t be happy. She’s apparently heard a lot about him from Tom, so she doesn’t think very highly of the way he treats women. She even compared him to my dad, and you know how she feels about him! And if she and Tom got married, I can’t imagine her having to tell everyone that her husband’s son is dating her daughter. It just sounds scandalous.

“Besides,” I continue, “I haven’t even told her I broke up with Michael yet. As far as she knows, I really like him and want to introduce him to my family.” I heave a sigh. “What a mess.”

“I think you really like this guy,” Rachel says, looking at me over the rim of her glass. “And I think there is a strong possibility he really likes you too. I know it might not be the ideal situation, and I know your mother may worry what people think, and it will definitely take her some time to accept that he cares for you, but at the end of the day, don’t you deserve to be happy?”

She’s right. I know she is. I smile at her. “See? This is why you’re my best friend. Maybe I should just stop questioning everything so much and see where it takes me. Otherwise, I’m going to drive myself and everyone around me crazy.”

Rachel raises her glass to me in a mock toast and I change the subject. “Tell me about your day, Rach. I love a little yoga drama.”

Rachel tells me about her day and her vacation plans with Chris. They have been dating for a couple of years and want to celebrate their anniversary by going on a romantic getaway. We talk for a little while longer about it and then see it’s just us and a couple of other employees left, so we decide to go home. We finish what’s left in our glasses, say goodnight and thank you to Sam, and leave.