That was a mistake, was her quick reply.
Leo groaned out loud.
“Your girl disappear on you?” Silas said from beside him.
He looked up quickly, shoving the phone in his pocket. “Maybe. But I can be patient.”
Silas laughed. “Can you? ’Cause you don’t look patient to me. You planted one on her in front of a couple hundred people, like sixty seconds after breaking up with what’s-her-name. And let’s not forget your hot mic moment. It was stylish. But it wasn’t patient.”
“Shit.” Leo took a pull of his beer and grimaced. Silas’s thoughts on the matter were unfortunately valid. Since stepping off the plane from Michigan, Leo had behaved like an ornery toddler more times than he cared to count. “You make a few good points.”
His roommate laughed again. “Calm down, dude. She’s single and she has been as long as I’ve known her. Most of the team is lusting after her, and she doesn’t ever notice.”
Now that was more interesting than Leo wanted to admit. “First time I ever asked her out, she didn’t believe me. Mighta been my cheesy pick-up line, though.”
“This I gotta hear.”
Leo chuckled. “We were sixteen, and had the same physics class together.”
Silas snorted. “Please tell me you didn’t offer to get physic-al.”
“It was almost that bad,” he said while Silas laughed. “The teacher was trying to get us all to understand circuits. So he said, ‘Who wants to be part of a human circuit? I need two volunteers.’” Leo could picture the scene like it was yesterday. Georgia sat a couple of rows ahead of him, and he usually spent physics class watching her instead of the teacher. He’d had his eye on her for a while before he got up the nerve to make his move. “So Georgia raises her hand. She was always fearless.” He chuckled at the memory. “Like, hell yeah I want to conduct an electrical current with my body. So I raised my hand, too.”
“Of course you did.”
“Right? I’d take an electrical shock to stand close to the prettiest girl in tenth grade. So the teacher puts us side by side, and he asks us to hold hands, so I knew I made the right decision.”
Grinning, Silas killed his beer.
“Then we each put our free hand on this metal conductor on a special battery the guy had. He switched it on, and nothing much happened. ‘But Leo—don’t let go if you don’t want to be shocked,’ the guy said, because if we broke the circuit, I’d feel it on my end.”
“So of course you let go,” Silas guessed. “Because sixteen-year-old boys are all geniuses.”
“Wait, were you there?” Leo joked. “Of course I let go. And it wasn’t a big shock, just a little zap. And Georgia just shook her head. After class I followed her to her locker and asked her to go to the homecoming dance with me. ‘There’s a real spark between us’ is what I said.”
“Smooth.”
“Right? And first she looked at me like maybe I was making fun of her. So I asked her two more times and she finally said yes.”
Silas pointed his empty beer bottle at Leo. “And that’s why you made it to the big leagues. Never give up, dude. Tomorrow could be a big day for you.”
“You never know.” Leo finished his own beer. “But just in case, I think I’d better pack it in for tonight. Gonna need to hit the morning skate hard if Coach is going to decide I’m indispensable.”
Silas gave him a salute. “Go on, soldier. At least you have a fifty percent shot of playing tomorrow. It could always be worse. You could be the backup goalie.”
“Right. Sorry.”
Silas shrugged. “See you in the morning. We have yoga first.”
“Of course we do.” Leo walked out of the bar, shaking his head.
FIFTEEN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9
20 DAYS BEFORE THE NHL TRADE DEADLINE
PHOENIX, ARIZONA
TOP TEAM HEADLINES:
“Arizona Favored to Win Against Brooklyn Tonight at Home, Adding to a Three-Game Streak”
—Phoenix Eagle Sports Page
Georgia carried her yoga mat into the room that Nate had reserved and took a spot in back, like she always did.
The team’s yoga classes were taught by Ari, the team’s massage therapist, which meant that yoga classes were held at least three times a week even when the team was on the road. Georgia hadn’t been to a class in a while, though. Last week she’d bailed on yoga twice, because the idea of watching Leo do sun salutations was distracting as hell. And then the whole team had missed a couple of sessions, because Ari had taken some sick days, which was unusual.
The exotic, tattooed instructor, in her trademark pink leotard and tights, gave her a cheery wave from the front of the room, which Georgia returned. But then she noticed Ari’s blue boot cast on one foot.
Well, that explained the massage therapist’s absence. Bummer.
Georgia unrolled her hot pink mat and sat down to stretch. Up in front she spotted Nate. The owner had flown out to see tonight’s game, probably on his private jet. He was already limbering up in the front row on his purple Bruisers mat. Nate was a little nutty about his yoga. There were other NHL teams who had yoga and meditation as part of their training program. But this class had been Nate’s own initiative, and he liked to get the whole organization involved. Coaches—and publicists—were encouraged to participate.
Which was why, to Georgia’s amusement, her father wandered in a minute later, wearing an ancient track suit and a scowl. It hadn’t occurred to her that Dad would have to do downward dog and the warrior pose with the rest of them. Maybe next time she’d smuggle in her phone and snap a few pictures. Her aunt Joanie would be so amused.
Inevitably, Leo arrived, entering the room with a yoga mat in hand. And inevitably, Georgia’s heart tripped over itself at the sight of him. She watched his eyes sweep the room and land on her. Then he walked right over and positioned himself in front of her. “Morning,” he said under his breath.
“Morning,” she repeated, feeling a prickle of sweat under her arms. Really? She had to spend the next hour trying not to stare at his butt? He’d worn a pair of Harkness College sweatpants to class, but instead of hiding everything they seemed to cling to his muscular thighs.
As he unrolled his mat—lime green—she wondered where he’d gotten it. She could hardly picture him wandering into one of the boutiques in Brooklyn and purchasing it. But who knew? Maybe Leo was a yoga pro. Maybe he had mats in every color of the rainbow. She needed to keep in mind that they didn’t really know each other anymore. Aside from a hot and heavy make-out session and a few texts, they’d been apart for longer than they had ever been together.