“Of course, I understand,” she said, hiding her disappointment. She straightened her dress, doing up the ties, and stepped aside.
“Go save lives.”
Leo smiled and pulled her in for a kiss, keeping it short and sweet.
“I will call you very soon and we can pick up where we left off,” he promised, making his way to the door with Nora following close behind. He slipped his shoes on and turned back to look at her.
She cocked her head and grinned at him. “Just for the record, you have amazing dance skills...”
“Oh ya? And what about my other skills?” he teased, his cheeky grin telling her he already knew the answer.
She shook her head and chuckled, “The jury is still out on that... I am going to need more evidence bef—”
“I’ll give you evidence,” he growled, pulling her in for one last kiss before walking out the door.
She gently closed the door behind him and leaned against it, her heart pounding. Leo had done it again, he’d knocked her right off her feet, for the second time.
* * *
Nora woke up to two text messages, both of which made her wonder where her fairy godmother was hiding. Her life suddenly felt like someone had cast a magic spell and she was in a fairytale. Stuff like this just didn’t happen to her.
The first message was from Leo, and if she had woken up with any second thoughts about her decision to ‘hook up’ with him, they disappeared when she read his words.
Morning sexy. That fire last night was nowhere near as hot as you. Hate that I left you hot and bothered. I’m working all weekend but I am off Monday. Dinner? I’ll pick you up at 6.
Memories of the night before filtered into her thoughts, heating her up all over again, so vividly she could almost feel his lips on her skin.
It’s a date. You definitely left me hot, but not bothered. I just finished where you left off. ;)
She grinned to herself. Nora liked that she could be dirty with Leo and enjoyed teasing him. He definitely brought out her naughty side. As silly as it might have seemed to other people, she was proud of her new found confidence.
The second text message caught her completely off guard. It was from her sister, sharing some most intriguing information. She had to re-read it a few times before it completely sunk in.
Sis! Guess who contacted Sam asking for your cell number? THOR!!!!!
Nora’s mouth dropped open when she finally got the reference. Thor meant Coop. Coop asked for her number? Why would he do that? Did he want to ask her out? He had definitely left an impression on her, but she didn’t think it went both ways. Her thumbs scrambled madly over the keyboard of her phone as she quickly texted her sister back.
What?! Did he give it to him? Did he say what he wanted?
She stared at her phone for a long minute, hoping that either Dana or Leo would respond. Finally, not wanting to be late for work, she tossed her phone on the bed and went to shower and dress. A social life was fun, but she couldn’t let it consume her life. She was always counseling her patients about how to create balance in their lives. She would have to practice the same thing, although she could see how easy it would be to get caught up in the excitement. Men were definitely distracting!
Nora picked up her phone and saw that both of them had replied while she was getting dressed. She read Leo’s message first, anticipating a sexy comeback. He didn’t disappoint.
Ahhhhhh you’re killing me. Fuck. Is it Monday yet? ;)
You’re not kidding, Nora thought, flipping to her sister’s text.
Of course! First he asked me what to do (good husband) and I said GIVE IT TO HIM! WTF! He didn’t say, what he wanted, he just asked for your digits. EEK!
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Nora whispered to herself, “when it rains it pours.”
She tossed her phone in her purse, then grabbed her keys and ran out the door, hoping she’d left enough time to beat the heavy rush hour.
* * *
Nora did her best not to check her messages until lunch. The last thing she wanted was to develop an unhealthy obsession with her phone, but the temptation was killing her. Thankfully, she had a full schedule that morning so she was able to stay focused, but as soon as her last patient left the office, she grabbed a cup of tea, kicked off her shoes and went straight for her cell.
Anything yet?Well?Her sister, checking up on her. She wasn’t sure who was more anxious, her or her twin.
Nora smiled and kept scrolling. There was a message from her Mom who just wanted to say hello. Nora sent her a quick text back, telling her she would call over the weekend. She scrolled down a little further and saw a second message from Dana.
There was nothing from Coop yet.
She took quick a sip of her tea and tried to pretend she wasn’t disappointed. She had been very attracted to him when they met, and now that she knew he had asked for her number, she couldn’t help being curious. Maybe he was looking for a therapist, she wondered, but quickly dismissed the thought. He could have looked up her office number if that was the case. No, asking for her cell number denoted something a little more personal.
The phone rang in her hand making her jump, and causing hot tea to splash onto her wrist.
“Shit,” Nora cursed, setting the mug down on her desk, spontaneously bringing her burned flesh to her mouth to cool it with her tongue. She looked down at the phone and saw that it was an unknown number. Normally she would avoid unknowns because they usually proved to be solicitors or automated messages, but she was curious.
“Nora Dupree,” she answered casually, blowing cool air onto her wrist.
“Hi, Nora. This is Gage Cooper... Coop. We met the other night at the Kings game. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” he said, kindness radiating through his tone.
Nora felt her pulse quicken at the sound of his voice and had to make a concentrated effort to keep her own voice steady.
“Hi, Coop. No, you’re calling at a good time. Actually I’m just between clients,” she replied warmly, hoping she didn’t sound too anxious.
“Perfect. I hope you don’t mind me calling,” he began cautiously, “I just find texting a little impersonal.”
“Of course not,” Nora smiled, appreciating the old fashioned gesture.
“I really enjoyed meeting you the other night,” he offered genuinely. He paused long enough for Nora to realize that he was waiting for her to reply.
“Yes, me too. It was such a pleasant surprise,” she chirped back, encouraging him to continue.
“You seemed really interesting, and well, I know this is short notice, but I was wondering if I could take you out for dinner after work. The team is flying out later tonight for a few road games, so we’ll be away for five days. I’d really like to see you again before I go,” he said, cautiously hopeful.
Nora couldn’t helped but feel flattered, and was pleasantly surprised by how polite he seemed. Yes, it was short notice, but she had nothing planned, at least until Monday.
She thought about Leo for a brief moment, wondering if their relationship had the potential to evolve, and what his opinion of casually dating other people would be. Their relationship had heated up pretty quickly, maybe too quickly, and it suddenly dawned on her that they hadn’t really talked about dating expectations.
“I would really like that Gage. Shall I meet you somewhere?” she asked, finally deciding that she would see how the evening unfolded before worrying about propriety.
“No, no, I’ll pick you up,” he offered humbly, as though surprised she would suggest anything else. “When do you finish work?”
“I’m finished around 5:30 today. My office is just off Jefferson.”
“I know, I looked it up already,” he said quickly, chuckling under his breath.
Nora felt flattered and a little taken aback. She had been in a dating dry spell for a long time, and now she had two men asking her out. Two attractive, charismatic and sexy men at that.
“Okay, that’s gre
at. I’ll meet you in the lobby at 5:30 sharp,” she assured, hoping the hours would move by swiftly. “Thanks for calling.”
“Of course. I’m looking forward to seeing you again. See you soon,” Gage promised. “Bye for now.”
Nora said goodbye and hung up her cell. She stared at it for a moment and then texted her sister.
He just called. Date tonight.
She laughed when Dana’s response came back in seconds.
Netflix and chill. Then tomorrow you can see Thor! haha
Leave it to Dana.
CHAPTER 9
COOP
Coop navigated his Audi through the heavy gridlock, trying to be patient. He had given himself plenty of time to reach Nora’s office, knowing he would be driving smack dab in the middle of rush hour. He turned up the radio, happy to let the music entertain him while he inched through traffic.
Nora was a lovely woman, smart, polished, poised. He had noticed her the second he walked into that reception room a few nights earlier. It was hard not to. She stood by the bar, her long, dark hair hanging loosely around her shoulders, a striking contrast to the white pant suit she was wearing. She was clearly an accomplished woman, different from the female fans he typically met. He had instantly been drawn to her, and after talking with her, even for that short while, he knew he wanted to spend more time with her.
It wasn’t easy for him to meet quality women. In his career he was constantly surrounded by men. His teammates, coaches, the medical and development teams, and managers. In fact, he had surprisingly little contact with women. Even the fans were mostly men, and with the exception of the wives or girlfriends of his teammates, the only females he encountered were the young, playful women—barely more than girls, really—that hung around after games, rotating between players. Puck Bunnies. While some of the boys took great pleasure in these women, the fringe benefits of fame, he was not one of them.
His mother raised him to respect women, which had probably not been an easy task given the heavy influences around him, and growing up an athlete in the thick of a male dominated, chauvinistic culture. He heard the locker room talk on a daily basis and it was less than respectful. Some of the perks of being a jock—especially a hockey jock—were the willing girls and a lack of accountability. There was an unspoken acceptance—boys will be boys and all—and on many occasions he witnessed those boys behaving badly while everyone else seemed to look the other way. Sometimes, it wasn’t just the boys. He had seen a lot of infidelity over the years, in both the amateur and the professional leagues. Being on the road seemed to be a hall pass for many of the men in the club, married or not, and player, coach or manager. Coop didn’t judge them, but it just wasn’t his style. He was a faithful guy and the few times he’d been in a relationship, he always stayed true.
For these reasons and more, being in love with a hockey player wasn’t easy for most women, Living on the road was a hard life, and even harder on the partner waiting at home. He knew his girlfriends over the years had put up with a lot of crap during the season, and the truth was, he hated being the cause of their loneliness. The last thing he wanted was to give them any reason to mistrust him. Unfortunately, most of the time it didn’t matter. There were just too many nights apart and it usually proved to be too much for the women he dated. They either ended up cheating on him, or simply couldn’t hack the life.
In spite of all that, Coop hadn’t given up on love. He was a romantic at heart and had to believe that his soul mate was still out there. Hockey had offered him a good living, but not a good life. Being 36 and still a bachelor was not something he had ever envisioned for himself. There was no shortage of women wanting to hook up with him, but he needed something more. It was like they were offering him take out burgers when what he really craved was a home cooked roast beef dinner with all the trimmings, including a family around the table. He had always imagined that he would be a husband and father by now, which was something he wanted more than anything.
Over the past four or five years he had become more discriminating with his partners and found himself dating less and less. In fact, he had only been with two women in that time period, both of which he had thought he might have a real future with. Unfortunately, they didn’t last. Abigail was a wonderful woman, but married to her job. When they talked about taking their relationship to the next level, she dropped the bomb on him that she didn’t want kids. Ever. He cared about her, but that was a deal breaker for him.
And Kim? Well, she just broke his heart. Things started out strong, they really did. She was a beautiful young actress with a good role in one of the popular daytime soaps. They’d met at a charity golf event, and had hit it off instantly. She said he was the nicest guy she’d ever met. She loved that he had a romantic streak, and that he was so grounded. She told him she was ready for a serious relationship. They were completely crazy about each other, and within just a few months she moved in with him. He knew things were moving quickly, but he was happy for the first time in a very long while. They seemed to have the same aspirations—career, marriage, and family. It was all in the plan. They had shared a lot of passion in the beginning, but soon after hockey season started, her shine began to dim. He was still crazy about her, but she seemed a little lost.
The truth was that his job was extremely demanding for seven or eight months of the year, longer if they made it to the playoffs. During that time he lived and breathed hockey. When he wasn’t playing, he was practicing, and sometimes he was on the road for a week or more at a time. He tried to talk to her every day but their schedules were offset, and oftentimes they could only communicate through texting. It wasn’t ideal, but that was their life. He definitely understood her frustration—because he felt it too—but there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
Of course when he was in town he tried to dote on her as much as possible, saving all his free time to be with her, but as the season went on, she became less and less invested. Then one night, just as the season was winding down, he was swarmed by paparazzi from TMZ as he was coming out of Madison Square Garden in New York. They wanted to fill him in on some juicy gossip and get his ‘candid’ reaction. Kim had been caught canoodling with her co-star the night before, and there were pictures to prove it. After they shoved them in his face, Coop put his head down and jumped into the bus with his teammates. He was devastated, but went back to the hotel and called her, hoping she would explain that it was all a misunderstanding and they would end up laughing it off, but she didn’t answer. He texted her, asking for her to call him back, but his phone stayed silent all night. When he got home, he found that her closet had been cleared out. She had left him a note. On a post it. Stuck to the fridge.
Sorry Coop, you’re a great guy. I hate myself for this, but it is over. Take care. Kim
In spite of his efforts to connect with her, even if only for a proper goodbye, she refused to see him. That was rough and did some real damage. It took him months to get over her, though it didn’t help that she was constantly turning up in the rag magazines, web sites and entertainment news, making headlines while in the midst of a steamy affair with a young, A-list movie star.
That all happened over a year ago and he had been single ever since, but at least he wasn’t unhappy anymore. The truth he had come to realize was that he had dodged a bullet when Kim walked out. In the time between their break up and now, she had dumped her Hollywood boy-toy, then married—and divorced—a well-known plastic surgeon to the stars. He was doing just fine now, in fact, he was having the best season of his career. His stats had never been better. He was grateful for the career break, enjoyed a life free of constant drama, and hadn’t even considered dating anyone at all, until he met Nora.
He pulled his car into the small parking lot outside of her office building, and turned off the ignition. He was a few minutes early so he flipped through his phone checking his messages. One of the young lads on the team had sent him a text razzing him about his date. He had told one
of the guys he was taking a lady out that night and now they all knew. And they say women gossip, he thought to himself. Honestly, sometimes they could be worse than a gaggle of high school girls.
He had to chuckle at the text. Hey old timer, I hear you have a date. Did you stop for Viagra? :D Seriously, good on ya man. It’s about time. See you later.
Smart-ass, Coop thought, grinning to himself. Sadly, he was one of the oldest guys on the team. He had been in the NHL for almost half his life, and now, in what was the last year of his contract, he was considered one of the best goalies in the league. Although it was late in his career, he was enjoying the recognition and accolades, but it was bittersweet. He planned to announce his retirement after the end the season. He would always love the game, but he was ready to move on to something else.
He looked up from his phone to see if Nora was coming. Several people were leaving the building but he didn’t see her yet.
He wasn’t sure what it was that prompted him to call and ask her out, but something told him he needed to. They had only spoken for a few short minutes that night before the game, but he liked that she was seemed so self-assured. He also appreciated that she was as smart as she was beautiful. That was a sexy combination. On top of that, she actually loved hockey. He’d watched her watching the game and it was clear she was obviously more than just a fan. She understood the game in intimate detail, something he found particularly hot. Maybe it wouldn’t go anywhere, but he’d seen enough already to make him want to know more.
Finally, he saw her exiting the building, looking long and lean in a summery dress, her long hair blowing in the breeze. She was fine as hell, he thought as he watched her cautiously approach. She cocked her head and looked towards the Audi, as if uncertain it was him. Coop nervously unfastened his seatbelt and quickly popped out of the car, hoping to set her at ease. He walked toward her and was greeted by her warm, inviting smile.
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