Chapter Seven
The date was going well. No, scratch that, the date was fantastic. Michelle was charming and smart and funny. She knew a lot about hockey and sports in general. Brock couldn’t stop staring into her dark eyes. He was desperate to kiss her.
He took her to his favorite sushi place. She was exactly as unafraid as she claimed to be. They ordered the chef's tasting and they dug into the beautiful sushi and sashimi that was spread before them.
“So, did you google me?” Brock asked.
Her face blushed and then she said, “Maybe.”
“Did you like anything you saw?” He asked.
“You’re very successful,” she said, tipping back a shot of Saki. “I didn’t know about the accident that shattered your leg.”
“Yeah,” Brock said. There was a time when any mention of the accident would have sent him on a downward spiral, but he was passed it now. He hadn’t let that accident stop him. It had only made him stronger.
“I had a full hockey scholarship to Penn State,” he said with a shake of his head. “Third practice of the season, this guy on our team comes in so hung-over that he’s still kind of drunk. He hit the angle on his skate wrong and went crashing into me and then we were both down. He landed on my leg and I felt the whole thing shatter. It was the worst experience of my life. I blacked out from the pain.”
“Wow,” was all she could say.
“I was depressed for a while. I stopped going out, stopped going to school. I lost my scholarship and eventually got kicked out. I spent a miserable summer on my parents’ couch, just whining and complaining about how my life was ruined. Then one day my father sat me down and told me that I could either spend my entire life crying about what I had lost or I could recover from this tragedy and see what else life had to offer.”
“Seems like a great dad,” Michelle said.
“He was a great dad. I’m not doing his speech much justice. It was very moving and powerful and he was right. So I got up and applied to some other schools and began to figure out what my life looked out without hockey.”
“So you don’t play at all anymore?”
Brock shook his head and said, “I have to be careful with the leg. The injury is bad and if I break it again I could be in some real trouble. I’m a trainer now, on my own and with the Black Hawks.”
“With Cain,” she said.
He nodded and tried to think of something else to say. He didn’t want them to end up on the subject of Cain. But suddenly he realized that he couldn’t think of a single thing to say. All he could think about was Cain’s rage at the rink. The two men hadn’t spoken since that day. Brock had called and texted and even showed up at Cain’s house. But it had been like running into a brick wall.
“He’s not happy we’re dating,” Michelle said. “I feel bad about that. You two have been friends for so long. I don’t want to mess that up.”
“You haven't,” Brock said. “All three of us are adults. We can make our own decisions. Cain can’t claim you. He’s mad now, but he’ll come around. We’ve been friends a long time. We’ll get through this.”
“When did the two of you meet?” Michelle asked.
“It’s a strange story actually. I’m sure you heard about how Cain grew up, pretty far from civilization.”
“His father ran a weather station in the middle of the Yukon, right?” Michelle asked.
“Yeah. It was just his mom, him and his dad way out in the middle of nowhere. They almost never saw any other people. They lived in this isolated building far back in the forest. There was only one lone road to get to town. It was impossible most of the time due to the snow.
“It wasn’t until he was fourteen that they left the weather station and he was enrolled in a real school, my school. He was an odd looking kid. His hair was long and he didn’t know anything about movies or TV or video games. He was just strange,” Brock continued.
“I was a hockey player and he joined our team. At first, we were all wondering who this weird kid from the woods was. We were all ready to pounce on him and haze him until he quit.”
“Then he started playing and we saw how good he was. The kid had spent his entire life in winter. He ice skated year round. Hockey was his whole life. The coach tasked me with keeping him company and making sure he didn’t get in any trouble. We got along right away. I taught him everything he needed to know about surviving public school and he drilled me in hockey. We’ve been friends ever since,” he added.
“I don’t want to be the thing that comes between that,” Michelle said.
“You won’t,” Brock said, reaching over and taking her hand. “Cain will get over this. He knows he has no right to be mad.”
They finished their meal and Brock swept up the check right as the waiter dropped it off. Michelle offered to pay half, but he waved her off. Brock wasn’t the kind of guy who went Dutch. He knew how a man was supposed to treat a woman.
“Feel like taking a walk?” he asked her.
“I would love that,” she responded.
They strolled along Lake Michigan, a cool breeze ruffling their hair. The sky was clear and even with the bright city lights, Brock could see a smattering of stars above them. He looked up at the stars as he reached for Michelle’s hand. He took her warm fingers in his and stroked her palm with his thumb. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her smiling.
“So what about you? Where did you grow up?” he asked.
“Tennessee,” she answered. “I hated it. It was hot and swampy and when I told people I wanted to be a lawyer they laughed at me and told me to mind my place,” she shook her head as a tinge of bitterness entered her voice. “I couldn't wait to get out of there. I worked so hard all through high school so that I could get a free ride to a college somewhere north. I wanted to see snow and watch the trees change.”
“What about your parents?” Brock answered.
“They always supported me. They wanted me to have a better life. Both of my parents were blue collar workers, they had never gone to college. My mother never even graduated from high school. But I do my best to take care of them now. They’re both retired and having a great time in Florida.”
“Sounds like you're a hard worker, driven. I like that in a woman,” he said, turning to face her.
“I don’t do it for you,” she said while raising one eyebrow and smiling at him. “I do it for me.”
He nodded and took a step closer. She didn’t step back, but instead looked up through her lashes at him. He brought his hand up and placed it gently on her cheek. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch as he leaned down and kissed her.
He could feel the goose bumps on her arms. She leaned into him and her hand came around his waist. He pulled her close, his tongue sliding into her mouth. He wrapped her up in his arms and she melted into him as their kiss continued.
A horn honked loudly and a group of teenagers leaned out of their car and started hooting and hollering.
“Get it, man. She’s hot!” One of them screamed. And Michelle laughed, a sweet sound that was like chimes on a windy day. Everything about her was perfect. If only she hadn’t specifically requested no funny business. He would have brought her home and shown her the time of her life.
His mother had always said that patience is a virtue and he knew that was true now more than ever. Michelle was perfect, there was a chance that this could be the real thing. He didn’t want to ruin this by being impatient. He would wait if that was what she wanted.
She smiled at him and turned to walk again. They were headed down a long pier that led out into the water. There were boats moored on either side as they walked farther out, away from the bright lights of the city.
Michelle opened her mouth to say something, but before she could get a word out, the air was pierced with a loud, unearthly scream. The sound hit his ears like knives and he instinctively grabbed for Michelle and wrapped her up in his arms to protect her.
“What is that?” he asked as the scream came again.
“It’s a dragon,” Michelle said.