Hockey Is My Boyfriend: Part Three (4 page)

“
H
ey
, I’m here to see Brian Ford.”

There was a big, athletic guy standing at the reception desk. He had thick, curly brown hair cut short on the sides. His blue eyes looked sleepy even though it was 4:00 in the afternoon.

I smiled cheerfully at him. “Sure, I’ll buzz him for you.” Brian was the producer of the afternoon drive show, so this guy was probably here for an interview.

He kept staring at me.

“Have we met before?”

I shook my head. I was pretty sure I’d never seen him before. “I just moved back to Vancouver, so probably not.”

“Actually, I don’t live here all year either. I play hockey.”

“Me too,” I said. “Maybe we met at a tournament?”

“No, I mean I play in the NHL.” Okay, maybe not. I had to give him credit though, he didn’t sound like a total egomaniac as he said this. In fact, he sounded like he was actually trying to figure out how we knew each other.

“What team do you play for?”

“Chicago Blackhawks.”

I raised my eyebrows. Boy, that was a coincidence. But there was no way we could be connected through Jimmy. I hadn’t seen him since he moved to Chicago.

He snapped his fingers. “Wait, I think I know—”

“Tyler?” Brian appeared at the desk. “Thanks so much for coming to the station. I got all your tournament info here, so we can do quick run-through and get you on the air….” They disappeared down the corridor, and I turned to my trusty computer to figure out who he was.

Tyler Ballanchuk, aka “Baller.” Twenty-six years old, 6’ 3”, 225 lbs. Defenceman. Born and raised in Richmond, B.C. Good stats too. I probably should have recognized him. But that didn’t explain why he thought he knew me. It was a mystery. I gave up and started stuffing envelopes for an upcoming promotion.

Half an hour later, Brian and Tyler returned.

“Thanks again, Ty. Best of luck with that fundraiser.”

Tyler nodded and turned to me. “I’ll see you later, Kelly.” Then he left.

Brian came over to see me. “You’re a lucky lady.”

“I am?”

“Yup. We get to send two people to his golf tourney. Ty specifically requested that ‘his old friend, Kelly Tanaka’ be one. I’m fighting it out with Lenny to see who gets to be the other.”

“You’re kidding, right? I’ve never seen him before.”

“Hey, he mentioned you by name, and he knew you played hockey and everything.”

“Are you sure you didn’t tell him who I was?”

Brian shook his head.

“That’s weird. But I don’t even golf, so what’s the point?”

He pursed his lips. “The point is connections. I heard a rumour that you want to be a producer like me, is that true?”

I nodded, and he continued, “Well, one of the best tools anyone in the media has is the contact info of every one he meets. Having the phone number of an NHL player like Ty Ballanchuk would be golden, not to mention all the other people you could meet. You should not be passing this opportunity up.”

“Is this like a date thing? I hope not. You told him I was engaged, right?”

Brian cleared his throat and then spoke in a low voice, “I don’t really like to lie to people I’m trying to be friendly with. Not sure exactly what your deal is, but my mother is in the jewellery business. I can tell that your lovely engagement ring did not cost more than $29.95, and I hear your handsome fiancé is conveniently out of the country. For me, that adds up to bullshit. You’re as engaged as I am.” Brian was a workaholic and very, very single. He got teased about being The 40 Year-Old Virgin, but I didn’t think he was forty yet.

I didn’t reply, because admitting everything would be like giving up. Brian didn’t have to deal with guys like Michael Hauser all day.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to blow your cover. But Ty would like you to come, and I would like him to owe me a favour.”

“I have to work all day,” I stalled.

“It’s in the afternoon, and I’ll tell Cheryl it’s for building business relationships.” He shook his head. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, Kelly. Maybe the guy has a crush on you, but you don’t have to do anything other than golf eighteen holes and eat dinner. Who knows, you might even enjoy yourself. These NHL guys make major moolah, you know. And it’s for a good cause.”

“Which one?”

“Damned if I know. Cancer or something.”

There was one more thing I needed to know before I said yes, even under threat of blackmail. “Do you have a list of the sports celebrities who are going to be at this thing?”

Brian passed me his background sheet on the tournament. A quick read was all I needed to ensure that there was no James Frechette attending.

“All right, I’ll go.”

J
ames

I
was
in bed when Baller called. He was a good guy and a great friend. This past season, I had lived in his house, and it was great to have someone to show me the ropes during my rookie year.

“Hey, Freeze. How ya doing?”

“I’m good. You?”

“Good, good. I wanted to check—any chance you’re going to make it to my golf tournament this Friday?”

Why was he asking me again? “Sorry, Baller. If you were closer, maybe, but it’s on the other side of the country. I’m jam-packed between training, family stuff, and the new condo.” I felt kind of bad; he had done so much for me, and it was for a good cause. I think Baller had an uncle who had a liver transplant.

“No worries. Hey, I went for a radio interview today, and I met a girl.”

Oh boy. Baller was always meeting new girls. He would think it was love, but then the problems would crop up. Like she was engaged, or psycho, or dumb. I didn’t really want to get into this, so I kinda grunted in reply.

“Aren’t you going to ask me about her?” Baller wondered. “I think you’ll be interested.”

“Why would I be interested in your latest girl?”

“She’s just your type: a yummy little brunette.”

“That’s my type? Haven’t you noticed—I usually date tall blondes?”

“Actually, I have noticed that, but I have a theory about your preference for blonde airheads.”

“Awww, Baller, let’s not—”

He cut me off. “I think you date girls who you would never want to get serious about. Girls you’re not really into. Like the opposite of what you would really want.”

“Thank you, Freud. That’s such a crock. I date girls who are hot.”

“So, last chance. Do you want to hear about this girl?”

“No. Look, I’m kinda tired, it’s four hours earlier here, you know.”

“Okay, your loss. For some reason, I thought you were into Vancouver women. But maybe I’ve got that wrong.”

Wait. A vague idea was forming in my brain. “Who was she?”

“Don’t want to hold up your beauty sleep. I better get going anyway. I’m meeting friends for dinner.”

“Jeez, Baller, who did you meet?”

His voice was sing-songy, like a little girl’s. “I met Kelly.”

“You met Kelly! How did you know it was her?”

“Oh, I think the shrine you had in your room was my first clue.”

“It’s not a shrine. Crap, you didn’t tell her about the photos, did you? How did she look? How was she?”

“She looked good, really good. I can see why you’re so into her. But I didn’t really talk to her long. She’s the receptionist at this sports radio station.”

Was that what she was doing now? It didn’t seem like a very good job for a university graduate. She had asked me to stop calling and then promised to call when she got her life straightened out. She said she needed time to sort out her priorities and her career. I didn’t think that being a receptionist was a dream career.

Man, I wished I could have run into her by accident. What if I had been the one who walked in for an interview? That would have been so sweet.

Baller interrupted my fantasies. “It was weird meeting her, after hearing you talk about her so much.”

“What are you talking about? I never talk about her.”

“C’mon. Every time you talk about your ideal girl, this hypothetical perfect woman, it’s her. She has to know about hockey, a great sense of humour, athletic, she doesn’t wear a lot of makeup, blah, blah, blah. I’ve known it was her for ages, even if you don’t say it’s Kelly.”

Shoot. I thought I had hidden my feelings for her pretty well. I had gone out enough in the meantime. “I wish I could have seen her.”

“Yeah, I know. You are going to owe me huge.”

“I am?”

“Get your ass out to B.C. I’ve got her lined up to be in your foursome in the tournament.”

“No way. How did you manage that?”

“Haven’t you learned this yet? Being an NHL player means you can ask for whatever you want. All they can say is no.”

“Does she know I’m going to be there?”

“Not yet. I’ll leave it up to you if you want to tell her. So you’re coming?”

Oh yeah. I’d been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

J
ames

“
A
re you kidding me
?”

Kelly’s first words, when she saw me, weren’t exactly joyful. She plunked down beside me in the golf cart and scowled. I switched it on, and we took off down the track. She didn’t say another word.

“Are you okay?” I asked. She was making me nervous. I had prepared a whole speech to say as soon as I saw her, but her reaction had set me back.

“Of course I’m not okay. I was manipulated into doing a day of something I suck at with someone who is supposed to be on the other side of the country.”

“Why are you so upset to see me?”

“I’m in total shock. Would you be happy if I parachuted into your life unannounced?”

“Well, yeah.” I couldn’t think of any place I wouldn’t want Kelly to be with me. She was so cute. In fact, she looked almost exactly the same as she had when I last saw her a year and a half before. Her pretty face, her dark hair, and her tight body hadn’t changed at all. Today, she looked like the perfect golfer in a little black and white outfit. Kelly claimed she couldn’t dress herself, but she always had nice athletic gear.

“What exactly are you doing here?” she asked.

“Supporting Baller. And organ donation, of course.”

“So, the fact that out of everyone here, we get to be partnered is a big coincidence? I think not.”

“Well, no. But it wasn’t all me. Baller told me you were going to be here, so I came. It was kind of a last minute thing.”

“Yes, because if there’s anyone who’s spontaneous, it’s you. It’s practically your middle name.”

Was she going to take shots at me all day? Hey, I knew Kelly as well as she knew me. She burned hot, but she didn’t stay mad long. And fiery was way better than cold. If she was this upset, she was fighting the feeling. I was already having trouble being this close and keeping my hands off her.

It was a shotgun start, and we were beginning on the ninth hole. The two guys we were golfing with were middle-aged businessmen. They were avid golfers and bigger hockey fans.

“I’m shocked that they didn’t publicize you were going to be here, James,” said one of them, Moe Wilson. “It would be an even bigger draw to meet one of the league’s top rookies.”

“
The
top rookie. You’re gonna win the Calder, for sure,” declared the other one, a guy named Stan Douglas.

“Thanks, but I’m in tough.” Although my numbers were good, I didn’t have the most points. I could have gotten more if I hadn’t been injured in the middle of the season.

“James is a two-way player. The voters have to appreciate what he does at both ends of the rink.” Then Stan remembered we weren’t alone. “Sorry, Kelly, are we boring you with all this hockey talk?”

“Not at all,” she said. “I love hockey.”

“Sure, it’s Ty Ballanchuk’s tournament, right? You gotta be a hockey fan to be here. Anyways, as I was saying, who votes for the Calder? It’s the hockey writers, right?”

“Yes,” replied Kelly.

“Gotta watch out for that Eastern bias. That’s why the Canucks players never win anything; most of the media are already in their jammies and fast asleep when our games are on. And you’re in the Western Conference, so that can be a strike against you right there. But Chicago’s in the Central Time Zone, so that’s in your favour.”

Man, this was boring. All I wanted to do was get back in the cart and talk to Kelly alone. Finally we all finished teeing off and headed down the fairway.

“If you wanted to see me, why didn’t you call and say you were going to be here?” Kelly asked. I could tell she was calming down.

“Because I was worried you’d say no. You were supposed to call me, you know, once you had everything straightened out. Like your job and that stuff. But you never did.”

Kelly made a face. “Yeah, that turned out to be out of my control. The jobs I wanted and the one I could get were not the same.” Her voice was kind of sad.

“So, were you ever going to call me?” That sounded lame the moment it came out of my mouth.

“I figured you had moved on. I heard you were partying up a storm.”

How did she hear about all that? The world was such a small place and too gossipy. Then we arrived at Kelly’s ball. It was beyond frustrating only to talk for a few minutes at a time. The round continued this way, off and on.

Kelly wasn’t a very good golfer. By the twelfth hole, she was improving, but I could tell she was getting frustrated. She drove off the ladies’ tee and came back to join us.

“What about you, Kelly? What do you do?” asked Stan.

“I work for C2C Sports Radio,” she replied.

“Oh yeah?” Moe said. “I listen to that station in my car. Are you on the air?”

“No,” said Kelly with a sigh. “I’m the receptionist.”

There was a short silence, and then Stan chimed in. “Pretty nice perk to be here. You’re a lucky gal.”

“Oh, I know that.”

When she headed down the fairway to take her next shot, Moe asked me directly. “Is that how they get young guys like you to come to these things—by providing female companionship?”

I didn’t want to be rude, so I shrugged him off. But Stan chimed in too. “Got to have something to amuse yourself in between shots. I like those beer girls that come around on the carts, they’re always hot.”

“Hell yeah,” Moe agreed. “But you see, buddy, if you’re a young NHL stud, the hot girl rides in the cart with you.”

“It’s like having your own private ball-washer,” Stan declared, and they both started laughing.

I was getting upset, but luckily it was time to move on.

Halfway round the course, Kelly seemed to be warming up to me. She was talking more and being less sarcastic. The golf part was still frustrating her though. Quilchena was a beautiful course, but it was challenging even for good golfers.

“You’ve got to straighten out your swing,” I told her on the first tee. We had gotten there ahead of Moe and Stan, who stopped at the clubhouse for a bathroom break.

“I thought I had.” Kelly puffed and blew her hair off her face, then fixed her ponytail and cap. She grabbed her driver and bent over the ball. She wiggled around as she got into the correct position, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her ass.

“Let me help you,” I offered. I came up behind her and put my arms over hers.

She turned her head and looked up at me in surprise. “Is this necessary? I think I’m getting it.”

“This’ll be better. It’s that whole body memory thing—I’ll show you the right motion, it’s way easier than explaining everything.”

“Um, okay.”

“Kelly, you need to widen your stance a bit.” She obediently put her feet apart, and I moved closer. My cock started straining toward the groove between her ass cheeks, but this wasn’t exactly the best time to get a hard-on.

Then I moved my arms slightly below hers, but this only put me in contact with the sides of her tits. I tried to resist but finally gave in and enjoyed how good she felt.

“You need to keep your arm straight.”

“Straight.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Keep your head over the ball.” She looked down, and I wanted to kiss the back of her neck. I wanted to kiss her everywhere. Being this close, after wanting her for so long, was killing me.

I cleared my throat. “Take a practice swing, and swivel at the hips.”

As she swung, her ass pushed against my cock and her tits pressed onto my arms. It felt freaking incredible.

“How was that?” Kelly asked.

“Good,” I choked the word out. “Maybe go again.”

She swung again and this time made contact with the ball. It soared perfectly down the fairway. Kelly straightened up, and I let go of her.

“Nice shot,” I told her. I shoved my hands in my pockets to hide the tent in my shorts. Then she turned and looked at me. Her lips were slightly parted.

“Yeah, that was my best drive all day. But unless we want to get arrested for public indecency, I don’t think we should do that again.” She turned and headed back to the carts, where the guys were getting their clubs out.

The front nine seemed to go a lot faster, but I couldn’t wait until we could be alone together.

“Kelly, I feel like we really need to talk—like somewhere private, without a million people around. I can’t skip the dinner, but let’s cut out right after and go somewhere.”

“Yeah, you’re right. All this stop-and-go isn’t exactly conducive to something real.”

“We could go back to Baller’s house, that’s where I’m staying. It’s not too far.”

“Okay,” she replied.

Finally, we got to the last hole.

“Take your time, Kelly,” Moe called out. She was on the ladies’ tee of the eighth hole, and we all watched as she bent over and took a few practice swings.

“I could watch that sweet ass all day,” Moe muttered. Then he poked me with his elbow. “And maybe more than that. We saw you giving her lessons on the first tee.”

Stan snickered. “You’re the man.”

“Amen, buddy,” Moe agreed. “Enjoy the nineteenth hole, James.” They both started laughing.

I was steaming, but I realized that this was my fault too. Kelly had been put in an unnatural situation, because I wanted to see her. She wasn’t famous, and she couldn’t golf or pay for a ticket, so why would she be here other than for her looks? And I shouldn’t have been all over her in public either. Hadn’t Kelly said that was one of our problems in the first place?

“Look, guys,” I said, politely but firmly. “Kelly is a good friend, and I’ve known her for years. She came here as a favour to me and Ty. She’s a hockey player too—she’s the captain of the McGill women’s team that won this year’s national university championship. I should have made all that clear right off the hop, so you didn’t get the wrong impression.”

“Sure thing, James. We’re sorry.” Stan looked over my shoulder. “Sorry, Kelly, for anything untoward we might have said.”

I turned, and she was standing right behind me.

Once we got in the cart, I tried to explain. “I’m really sorry about everything that happened today. You’re right; I should have asked you out directly. And I should have said something to those guys earlier.”

“That’s okay, Jimmy. Unfortunately, sexism is something I’m getting used to at work. But…” she paused and smiled at me. “I didn’t know you knew all about my hockey stuff.”

“Well, sure. I mean, I checked out the final. The game wasn’t online or anything, but I read the game summary. You scored.”

“It was a great season. The championship game is one of my best memories—ever.”

“I sure wish I could have seen it.”

“Really?” Kelly looked the happiest I’d seen her all day.

“Sure, I’ve never seen you in a real game.”

She dropped her gaze. “I wish you could have seen it too. My dad came and a whole bunch of friends and relatives.”

“So, you were the captain?

“Oh, yeah. Clearly, the captain’s not always the best player.”

I reached over and held her hand. “Don’t do that. Don’t put yourself down. The captain is the best person to lead the team, and that’s what you did.”

“Oh wow. That’s so sweet.” For the first time all day, I felt like things were back to normal between us. I pulled her hand up to my mouth and kissed it. And felt something hard.

“Uh, Kelly. Why do you have an engagement ring on?”