Hockey Christmas (A Holiday Sports Romance Love Story)

by Naomi Niles

  I eventually stumbled across one of her alone, where she wasn’t actually aware of me taking it, and I couldn’t help but smile. In the image, she was laughing at something, and that made everything twist and turn like crazy inside of me. That beautiful, blonde hair, those shining, green eyes, that wicked smile…it was all just so her and that made me happy. She wasn’t like anyone that I’d ever met before and that made want to cling onto her forever.

  I allowed my finger to stroke the screen for a moment, recalling what it felt like to touch her skin, and I was glad once more that I would get to do it again sometime soon.

  I hit the call button to try and scrounge a lift off of Sean to the airport, wanting to get this trip started sooner rather than later. The quicker I got to the airport, the sooner it would feel like I could arrive in San Diego, and that was exactly what I needed.

  “Hey, bro,” he answered the phone happily. “How’s it going?”

  “I need a favor,” I said in a pleading tone of voice. “Can you give me a ride? I’m heading out to see Danielle in California?”

  “Already?” he laughed. “Can’t keep away, huh? Does she know that you’re coming?”

  “She doesn’t,” I confirmed, grinning to myself all over again – she was going to freak and I had to hope that it would be in a good way. “It’s going to be a surprise.”

  “Fucking hell,that’s mental.”

  I knew that he had an opinion, but for the first time in a very long time, I didn’t feel like I needed his opinion. I knew what I wanted to and that was the end of it. “So will you?” I asked again. “Cuz I need to go like…now.”

  “Of course I will,”he told me, still sounding amused. “I’ll be there in five.”

  *****

  As soon as the plane landed, I made my way over to the University of San Diego, wanting to see her right away. I knew that I should probably book somewhere to stay, just in case she wasn’t comfortable having me in her room, especially if she had a roommate, but I wasn’t really thinking about anything smart. All I wanted was to see her face and to hold her in my arms again.

  While I walked over there, I couldn’t help but feel a little stifled by the heat. I wasn’t used to it, living in Minnesota, and it made me wonder how Danielle put up with it. This wasn’t even the hottest season, either! I definitely wouldn’t be able to put up with it long term.

  Not that I needed to be thinking that far down along the road. I should really have been focusing on the present.

  I wandered around the campus, really admiring its beauty for a while. I had never been to college myself, so I’d never experienced the lifestyle of it, but as I wandered around the place, it made me feel like maybe it was the sort of place that I could go.

  Maybe not as a student, but maybe as a coach.

  Every now and again, I thought about my future, and the more that I considered it, the more coaching seemed like something I would be good at. I honestly didn’t have any other skills, and I felt like it would be nice to impart some of my learning on to someone else, to be a part of hockey in the future too.

  Maybe I could be a coach and Danielle could be a teacher at the same institution.

  I found the campus coffee shop and made my way inside, needing some caffeine to steady my nerves before I made the call. I had a rough idea of Danielle’s schedule anyway and I was pretty sure that she was in class at the moment, so I would have to put my excitement aside for the time being.

  I ordered myself a coffee and slowly sipped it for a while, trying to make myself appear a little more normal when she finally arrived by my side. This was a very important moment for us; it was the proof that we could make this long distance thing work if we really wanted it to, and I was excited for that.

  I wondered for a moment if things were different what I would do. If I had a job that wasn’t so fixed in one place, would I be willing to move out to California to be with Danielle? She would be worth it, that was for sure, but it would be uncomfortable for me. I didn’t know anyone, I didn’t have any friends or any family, or work, and that would make it really difficult. But I would get to be with her.

  Urgh, again I was allowing my mind to get tied up in knots about the future. We had just made the decision to try and make things work – why was my brain trying to find problems when there weren’t any? In a year and a half, when Danielle finished college, we could make a choice then. Or maybe even in a few more years down the line when I was done with hockey…maybe by then I would be more adjusted to California and I could move over here then. There were a million things that we could do, but that wasn’t an issue that needed to be decided on right now.

  I picked up my phone and excitedly dialed her number, just wanting to speak to her now. I had put it off for long enough now, it was time to reap the rewards that I’d been working so hard towards.

  “Hey,” she answered, sounding very happy to hear from me. “I just got out of class. How are you? How was practice?”

  “Yeah good,” I half lied, not wanting to let her know that I was here just yet. “What are you up to this afternoon?”

  “Just about to go and grab some lunch…” she trailed off a little wearily. “I miss you,” she sighed.

  “I miss you too. I really want to see you again,” I told her, trying to keep the giggles inside. This was really hard but it would totally be worth it when I finally revealed the truth.

  “Me too.Can I see you soon?” I could practically hear the pout in her voice, which made me smile even brighter.

  “How about you come and see me now? I’m in the campus coffee shop.”

  She was silent for a beat too long before speaking out once more. “You’re here? At my college? In San Diego?”

  “I am,” as soon as those words left my lip, she squealed so loud that I had to pull my phone away from my ear. At least she was excited – that was something! “So you’ll come to me, right?” I finally asked, once she had calmed down enough to hear me.

  “Of course I will,” she screamed. “Just you wait and see.”

  With that, she cut off the phone and my eyes glanced around everywhere, just waiting for her. She would be there soon enough and I couldn’t wait to lay my eyes upon her.

  Chapter 36

  Danielle – Monday

  He’s here! He’s actually here!

  My heart raced with excitement as I ran towards the coffee shop to see Miles once more. After the crappy time that I’d been having since arriving back at college, I really couldn’t wait to see him. My classes were okay, that was all going fine, but Kim was already planning to move out to go and live with Spike, just as I knew she would, and I wasn’t looking forward to having a new roommate to deal with. I just didn’t feel ready for that kind of adjustment in my life.

  Now that Miles was here, I felt like there was a piece of my real life with me, and that had my flying higher than air.

  I pushed through the doors of the coffee shop, my eyes flickering everywhere, and I quickly spotted him causally slumped back on one of the seats, shooting that crazy, amazing grin at me. My heart literally skipped a beat as I saw him, and his intense gorgeousness really caught me off guard. I knew that he was seriously good looking, of course I did, but seeing him again just reminded me of that.

  It didn’t escape my notice that some of the other girls in the place had noticed him too. He had all eyes on him and it didn’t seem to be just because he was famous – that might have been a part of it, but I felt like less people knew him here, and that it was really just because he was so gorgeous.

  “Hi,” I raced towards him and threw my arms around him, pulling him in for a deep and passionate hug. As my body pressed up against his, I felt that warmth that could only ever come from him and everything felt right with the world. “Oh my God I’m so surprised to see you! This is amazing.”

  As I pulled back to stare into his eyes, he grabbed hold of my cheeks and pulled me towards him for a kiss. As our lips crashed together, my heart span with
happiness and I really realized that he was the one for me. This no longer felt like a fling that we were trying to hold on to; this felt a lot more real now – like something that could last forever.

  “I couldn’t keep away,” he admitted, kissing me all over again. “Minnesota felt empty without you.” I didn’t like to admit to him that I had been feeling empty without Minnesota too, or maybe less Minnesota, more him. “Now, shall I get you a coffee?”

  “Yes,” I gasped happily. “That sounds amazing.”

  As he went up to the counter to order me a coffee, I shot a self-satisfied smug smile around the place, wanting everyone to know that the gorgeous man was claimed already, and by little old me too. He might have been way out of my league, but he was still with me, and that was all that mattered.

  When he came back to the table, I could see that there was a brightness within him, one that I felt like I shared massively. We were just better when we were together, and that was really something to think about.

  At first, we caught up on small talk, asking about what we’d been up to, even though we knew because we’d spoken every damn day, but after a while I felt us teeter into a conversation that we both had been trying to avoid for far too long. I wasn’t sure who brought it up first but soon enough, we were talking about potential college options for me in Minnesota. It was a very casual conversation, and I could tell that Miles was desperately trying not to put any pressure on me, which I appreciated considering the lifetime of crap I’d had from my parents, but the more I considered it, the more serious an option it became in my mind.

  The only thing that I was afraid of was it being a huge mistake. I was scared that I would hate the college there, and that the course wouldn’t be for me – even though I’d done a lot of reading about it and it honestly felt like it would be a good choice – and I was also afraid that it would put too much pressure on Miles and me to make something work. It was so new, so fresh, and I didn’t want to wreck that.

  However good it would feel to be close to him all the time.

  “You should take me surfing,” Miles suddenly jumped in, changing the subject completely. It felt like he was misinterpreting my moment of contemplation for something else, but I couldn’t correct him until I knew for sure what I wanted to do. “I bet it’s easy, just like ice skating on the water.”

  I couldn’t help burst into laughter at that one – I could surf, everyone in California could, and it couldn’t be more different to ice skating. I didn’t want to tell him that out loud though; I felt like it would be nice to be the one who was better at things for a change. He spent so much time showing off his ice skating skills that it would be awesome to be the one doing that. I wanted to see what his reaction would be like when the shoe was on the other foot.

  “Sure,” I grinned at him. “We could go today if you like? Kim has a board and I’m pretty sure that Spike does too. I don’t know how long you’re here for.”

  “I’m here for a couple of days,” he said quickly. “So I’m well up for that.”

  With that, I grabbed hold of his hand and I led him up to my room, my heart spinning with anticipation. This was so much better than I’d expected. I thought that I would be ages before I got to see him again so it was incredible to me that he’s made the effort so soon. It had to mean something, it had to mean that he felt the same way that I did, and that he was as dedicated as me to making that work.

  As we reached my room, I noticed that Kim was there studying. She had heard a lot more about Miles by this point, so when she spotted him,her eyes lit up in a pleasant surprise and she jumped up from her seat.

  “Oh my God,” she shot me a look first, and I shrugged my shoulders, but there was no hiding the massive grin that was spreading across my cheeks. “You must be Miles.What are you doing here?”

  “I came to surprise Danielle,” he shook her hand, acting the gentleman that he was. “You must be Kim, the famous roommate.”

  “Well…not for much longer…” she admitted, flashing her engagement ring at him. “It’s gonna be sad to leave my bestie behind, but I’m engaged now so…” She shot me a sad smile, which I imitated, but to be honest, I wasn’t really feeling sad about that right then, not with Miles there. All of my issues flooded away from my mind in that moment, and all I could feel was joy.

  “Anyway, we’re about to head to the beach for a bit, did you and Spike want to come?”

  “Well he’s got training right now, but I could do with getting the hell out of here!” She grinned happily, shutting her laptop in a heartbeat.

  “Can we take your board?” I asked, gripping tighter onto Miles’s hands. “Miles thinks that surfing will come easy to him, and he really wants to give it a try.”

  She laughed loudly, having the same emotions that I did about the whole thing before agreeing happily. Then we took the time to both get changed into our swimwear before climbing into Kim’s car and heading down to the beach.

  Once we were on the sand, I felt intensely relaxed. This was where I had felt at home for most of my life, and it was nice that Miles was getting to see that side of me. The only version of me that he knew before was the one who felt out of place on the ice…althoughthat reduced the more time I was in Minnesota, but still.

  “This is amazing,” Miles gasped as he saw the white sands stretched out in front of him. “I can see why you guys like it so much here now.Maybe I’ll come and move here and be a professional surfer once I’m done with hockey.”

  Kim and Miles laughed, but to me that struck a nerve. Maybe we could make a life here a few years, maybe that could actually happen. I wasn’t sure, but that was exciting. I didn’t mean to let my brain run away with me and to start planning way, way ahead, but I couldn’t seem to stop it.

  I half wished that I could call up Cynthia and to ask for her advice, but I wasn’t totally sure that was a good idea. I didn’t like bringing up Miles to her because of the whole Marek thing – I just felt like it would taint her opinion of him and us, and I didn’t want a downer of any of it. Not when it was the only thing that was making me happy right about now.

  “Anyway,” I turned to them both and grinned. “Let’s get out there, shall we? See what Miles is made of.” The waves weren’t too intense, so I knew that he wouldn’t be in any real danger, but it was going to be fun to see him crash and burn too.

  It would serve him right for acting like surfing was easy.

  As Miles raced towards the water, too eager for words, Kim pulled me to one side with a bright grin on her face. “He’s lovely,” she gasped. “He really is amazing; I can see what you like so much.”

  I glanced over to him, nodding wildly. “He isn’t like anyone I’ve ever met before. He really is wonderful. I like him so, so much.”

  “And he likes you too, oh my God, the way that he looks at you: he’s falling for you hard, girl. He might even be in love.”

  Love?!

  I knew my feelings for him ran deep, and I was pretty sure that his did too, but love seemed crazy. But right too. If I was ever going to fall in love with anyone, it would be Miles, that much was certain, however scary that thought was.

  “You think so?” I couldn’t stop myself from asking. “You really think so?”

  “I do. I mean, I know that Spike loves me, but even he doesn’t quite look at me with that look. Miles is in love.” She nodded at me, making my heart flutter with excitement. If she was saying this to me, it had to be real. Kim wasn’t the sort of person to say something that she didn’t mean, especially since she knew my past romantic failures.

  I looked over towards Miles once more, feeling myself fall just that little bit deeper. I knew that every time I allowed my heart to open, I slipped further down into the pit of love and I was getting dangerously close to the place where I couldn’t get out. And to be honest, I actually wanted to continue falling, to see where it would take me.

  “Anyway, let’s get going,” Kim grinned. “This should be a whole lot of fun. Let�
�s teach that boy a lesson when it comes to suggesting that surfing is easy!”

  Chapter 37

  Miles – Monday

  Okay, it was official: I sucked at surfing.

  I was forced to eat my words when I tried my best to stand up on the board and I crashed into the water hard, making Kim and Danielle laugh loudly at me. I hated that I sucked so bad at it – I didn’t like things that I couldn’t do well – but it was worth it to be able to make them giggle and have a lot of fun.

  I began to relax more, enjoying California for what it was as I saw how relaxed it made Danielle. Maybe this would be a good move for me one day after all.Maybe I would be able to find a way to make it work.

  “No, you need to jump up like this…” As Danielle tried to show me the best way to tackle surfing for what felt like the millionth time, I couldn’t help but smile to myself. This really was a turn of events – I’d spent so long trying to teach her to ice skate, and kicking her ass at it, so it was kind of strange to be the one at a disadvantage. Seeing her so amazing at something that I struggled with gave me a brand new perspective, and honestly I really liked it.

  As she jumped up onto the surfboard and she managed to conquer the wave, she appeared tall, powerful, and incredibly sexy too. It made it even more clear to me that she was the one, and that I’d made the right move by asking her to continue trying. I couldn’t even imagine what it would have been like if I hadn't made that statement, and if I’d just let her go and it really didn’t feel good. I don’t think I could have stuck to it at all.

  I tried to imitate surfing in the exact way that Danielle had done it, but I found myself collapsing into the water yet again.

  “Fuck,” I yelled out jokingly. “I thought that this shit was supposed to be easy.”

  “That’s what you get for making assumptions,” Kim giggled loudly. “And for thinking you’re a big shot. Just because everyone in Minnesota knows your name, doesn’t make you anything special here.” She stuck her tongue out at me, making me laugh some more, and I couldn’t help but think that this was the most fun I’d had in a very long time. In fact, every moment with Danielle was the most fun that I’d had in a very long time.