Chapter Two
Lexi watched him go and couldn’t help the little sigh of pleasure at the sight of his retreating back. Zaan was beautiful as far as she was concerned; tall, blond and muscular with a gorgeous backside. His bare back was glorious too, his broad shoulders narrowing at the waist and hips. She’d always had a crush on the young Russian on the team, Vladimir Kolnikov, but he was now engaged to a movie star and probably too old for her anyway. That was before she’d moved to Las Vegas nine months ago and met the new guy, Zaan Hagen. Holy crap, he’d been an 18-year-old bundle of hot Scandinavian hockey-playing sex appeal.
Lexi was 18, turning 19 later this year, but had been too sick to do a lot of dating. She wasn’t a virgin, but had only slept with one guy and it had been an awkward, messy disaster. She’d been determined to lose her virginity before her mastectomy, but poor Jerry Thompson had been 16 and even less experienced than she was. They’d done the deed but it had been disappointing for both of them and she’d never had the nerve to try again.
It might have been more about how sick chemo had made her and how much she hated her post-cancer body, but it boiled down to almost no experience with sex. She’d finally gotten settled in Las Vegas but now they were leaving for the summer, so if Zaan wanted to take her out on a pity date, she wasn’t too proud to let him. It would be the best thing that had happened to her since the cancer, and she desperately needed something good in her life.
She looked up as her father came into the room.
“Zaan said you two are going for a drive,” he said quietly, sitting on the bench beside her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She frowned. “You’re not going to threaten him or try to talk me out of it?”
Rob shook his head. “You’re 18, so that would be ridiculous. Zaan and I are teammates. I don’t have to warn him about disrespecting my daughter—or me. My only concern is you.”
“Me?”
“He’s a good-looking kid, a hotshot in hockey right now, and the girls are crawling out of the woodwork… I don’t want you to get attached to a boy who’s not in a place in life to be good to you.”
She shook her head. “I’m not stupid. This is a pity date, so you have nothing to worry about.”
“I think you’re wrong about that, but have a good time.” He leaned over to kiss the top of her head. “Just go thank Suze for having you today, okay?”
“Of course.” She hugged him tightly. “Thanks, Daddy.”
Twenty minutes later Lexi had changed into denim shorts and a T-shirt instead of her bathing suit and large cover-up, and was in the passenger seat of Zaan’s red SUV. She looked over at him, waiting for first-date nervousness to set in, but nothing happened; she was completely relaxed. He was fiddling with the radio and finally settled on a station playing Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll.” Without missing a beat, he pulled into traffic and started drumming on the steering wheel, singing at the top of his lungs. She couldn’t help but sing too; Rob had raised her and her brothers on classic rock. Before she’d gotten sick, she and her friends had listened to pop and rap, but privately she loved all the classics: Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Deep Purple and more.
“I’m a classic rock slut,” Zaan admitted when the song was over and he turned the volume down.
“Me, too,” she smiled. “I can listen to ‘Walk This Way’ and ‘Smoke On The Water’ on repeat, all day long.”
He glanced at her. “Stairway To Heaven?”
She nodded.
“Oh my God—will you marry me?”
She laughed. “We’ll have to find a few more things in common before we head to a 24-hour chapel, but we can discuss it after you tell me—Marvel or DC?”
He arched his brows. “That’s a question? Marvel.”
“And we’re one step closer to the chapel.”
“Xbox or Playstation?”
She snorted. “Duh—Xbox.”
“Shit. Now we have to go ring shopping.”
“Sausage or pepperoni?”
He sighed. “I guess the engagement is over ‘cause I have to say neither—I’m a Hawaiian fan.”
She buried her face in her hands. “My dad’s gonna be so pissed when I tell him we eloped.”
Zaan chuckled. “We definitely have to hang out. I know you’re going to Chicago, but until then, my Xbox One has been really lonely.”
“We leave in a week,” she sighed.
“A week’s better than none, right?”
“I guess.”
“So where do you want to go?”
“This was your idea,” she shrugged. “We’re not really dressed for much.”
He was thoughtful. “There’s a place I like, outside the city… how do you feel about motorcycles?”
She couldn’t help her smile. “I love them…”
“Yup.” He was chuckling. “We’re definitely getting married.”
Zaan kept his classic Harley-Davidson FXDB Dyna Glide in a storage unit on the outskirts of Las Vegas. The unit was leased in his brother’s name and no one knew about it except his brother and one of his teammates, Zakk Cloutier, who was a Harley aficionado and had helped him pick it out. He wasn’t allowed to ride during the season but he was damned if he would stay off it in the summer. He’d been riding motor bikes of various kinds since he was a kid and it was one of his passions. He was excited about taking Lexi for a ride—no one else had been on the back yet.
The fact they liked almost all of the same things was so cool he wasn’t quite sure what to do. Now that he’d gotten to know her a little, it bugged him she was leaving in a week. From the moment they’d started talking, he’d forgotten all about whose daughter she was. He liked her and sensed she liked him too. Seeing her bare chest had been jarring, but not because she didn’t have breasts; all he could think about was how awful the ordeal must have been. There was no hiding the effects of what she’d been through. She was painfully thin, though her legs were lean and toned, and a lot paler than most girls who lived in Vegas. Though she was wearing the shoulder-length blond wig she’d worn every time he’d seen her, Rob had told them her real hair was still just a few inches long and embarrassed her. Zaan didn’t think it would matter; with a face like hers, hair probably wasn’t an issue.
Her hazel eyes were framed by the longest lashes he’d ever seen and when she smiled, her face transformed into something he couldn’t quite explain. She was radiant, and after talking with her for the last hour or so, he wanted to know everything about her. Since they weren’t dressed to go anywhere in particular, he’d sensed she would want to ride with him and he was taking her somewhere they could relax.
He heard her intake of breath when he wheeled the Harley out and he smiled. “You like it?”
“She’s beautiful,” she sighed, running a hand over the cream tank with the red and blue 50-year Anniversary logo on it.
“She?” He gazed at her curiously.
“Don’t guys always make their vehicles girls?” she asked.
“Not always,” he laughed, “but probably most.”
“If I ever get one of these, it’s going to be a girl because I like the idea of a girl being as strong and powerful as a motorcycle.”
He reached out and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, this is definitely a powerful girl. She’s a carbber, with an 81.5 cubic inch engine. That’s partly why I bought it—it’s a real Harley...” He went on to talk about how much power the bike had and why he’d picked it.
“I don’t know anything about engines except how it feels to be on the back.”
He grinned as he handed her a helmet. “Put this one—make sure it fits securely.”
She nodded, putting it on her head. She strapped it under her chin and he nodded.
“You’ve ridden before?”
“Zakk’s taken me out a few times.”
“Zakk helped me buy her, but no one else knows, so please don’t mention it to your dad.”
“I won’t,” she chuckled. “He’d probably have a heart attack about me on a motorcycle, so my lips are sealed.”
“Good thing,” Zaan murmured, swinging his right leg over the seat. “Hop on.”
She got on behind him and he smiled as she pressed up against his back, her arms sliding around his waist.
“You ready?” he called over his shoulder. Her response was to squeeze her arms tighter and put her head between his shoulder blades. He started the engine and pulled onto the street.
Lexi closed her eyes as the wind whipped across both of them. Zaan picked up speed once they got on I-15 and she lost herself in his strong body, the powerful machine beneath her and the sun on her skin. She’d had sunscreen on at Cody’s house—her stepmother was militant about it—but right now she couldn’t have cared less. For the first time in two years she felt free. The surgeries, treatments and horrible side effects were suddenly far away, leaving her with a renewed sense of vitality. The doctors had told her it would come, but this was the first time she’d felt it, and she knew the man in front of her had as much to do with it as the healing of her body.
They rode for nearly an hour before he slowed and she felt a sense of loss as they exited the highway and turned down a dirt road. When he finally stopped, he motioned for her to get off and parked the bike. It appeared as if they were in the middle of the nowhere but there was actually a small trail and trees off in the distance. He locked up their helmets, pulled a blanket out one of the saddle bags and grasped her hand.
“It’s not far,” he said, guiding her to the trail and leading her away from the main road.
“I never thought the desert would have mountains too,” she said, following.
“Me either,” he admitted. “But I spent time exploring the area when I got my motorcycle last summer so I found some cool spots. I had to stop riding when hockey season started, but Zakk told me about a few places. We went riding last weekend and he showed me this place.”
They came to clearing by a small creek and he let go of her hand, spreading out the blanket. He kicked off his sneakers and sank down, looking up at her.
“This is where I come to decompress. Even in the winter, when it was mild, I’d come up here with my SUV to get away from everything.”
Lexi nodded, kicking off her shoes and sinking down next to him, resting her forearms on her knees. “Was your rookie season really stressful?”
“You have no idea.” He looked away, staring off at the mountain range in the distance. “So much pressure from everyone… my dad, the coaches, management, even the fucking fans.”
“Is that why they made you live with Cody and Suze?”
He nodded. “It’s pretty standard at my age. They wanted to make sure I stayed out of trouble, not spending every dime I made, navigating the women…” His voice trailed off and he shot her a grin. “I mean, I’d dated, but I had no idea what this—the NHL—was going to be like. I figured women would be everywhere, but wow… I never expected to randomly get my junk grabbed or women lifting their shirts and stuff. I’m not a rock star.”
She listened quietly, her head cocked slightly, eyes never leaving his. She loved his voice, deep but not raspy, full of expression when he spoke. His eyes were so blue, she tried not to stare, but couldn’t seem to help it. She’d had a crush on him before, but after a few hours together, she liked him a lot. Part of her knew she was being silly—this was a pity date—but she was enjoying herself too much to dwell on it.
“I guess I shouldn’t bitch,” he continued. “I’m doing the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do, making more money than anyone else I know my age, and having the time of my life. I just wish…” His voice trailed off.
“What?” she asked softly, looking into his eyes.
“I wish there was someone who understood, you know? My parents are cool, but sometimes they act like it’s their career, instead of mine. The guys on the team are great, but the only guys that came straight to the NHL at 18 are Toli and Tore. Toli’s the same age as my dad and Tore’s…” He just shrugged. “Well, he’s a lot wilder than I am.”
“You’re not wild?”
He shook his head. “Buying my Harley is the wildest thing I’ve done, and I couldn’t ride it from mid-September until two weeks ago. I’ve lived with Cody and Suze, which isn’t bad, but it was almost like having my parents with me. I mean, I didn’t have a curfew or anything, outside of team responsibilities, but I never had any privacy. Their kids are cute but were always wanting to hang out if I had any time off, and the rest of the time it was Cody, trying to show me the ropes.”
“Isn’t that good, though?” she asked. “My dad said a lot of guys your age that make the big leagues wind up getting into trouble, whether it’s drugs or women or blowing through all their money.”
“I get that, and mostly I don’t mind, but damn, I’m never alone. Yeah, I’m alone in my hotel room when we’re on the road, but by the time we get to the hotel, all I have time for is sleep… that’s why I come out here whenever I can sneak away for a few hours. Being with you right now is pretty fucking awesome. Thanks for coming with me.”
She smiled, dipping her head a little. “Thank you for getting me out of there after I made an epic fool of myself.”
“Nah, it was kind of the elephant in the room. I mean, everyone on the team knows you had breast cancer and that your breasts were removed, but you’re always wearing sweatshirts or extra-large T-shirts, and I think it just drew more attention to it. What you did was a little extreme, but also pretty brave. Even though no one ever said anything—and no one ever would cause the guys are great—they can’t help being curious.”
She sighed. “Just what I always wanted—a whole hockey team curious about what my deformed chest looks like.”
“Aw, don’t think of it that way.” He reached for her hand and entwined their fingers. “I didn’t think it was deformed… I think it’s a testament to your inner strength and will to live.”
“That’s beautiful,” she whispered, lifting her eyes to his. “No one’s ever said it quite that way.”
“Then it was about time,” he said, squeezing her hand.