by Jessa Eden
“Woo-Hoo!” Marla got up on the couch and started jumping up and down. The mask on her face began flinging in all directions. She sat down again and gave me a huge hug...we were now both covered in banana gunk.
“I’m so glad you’re going to stay...I was hoping you would see it that way.”
“So you don’t mind if I stay with you until I get everything situated?”
“Not at all. In fact, I insist you stay with me until school is done.”
Sitting there in that mask that night, I had no idea that I was finally on the path that would bring me the life I’d always wanted.
Micah:
I got up for practice the next morning and went through my usual routine: a quick run, a protein shake and the morning news. I hit the arena early and met with some of the trainers to work on tweaking my offensive performance. I had always been an excellent defender, but I was trying to become a more consistent goal scorer. I had been team captain for about 5 years now and I took that role seriously. The guys needed to see me always working on my game; compliancy was the enemy. That was quickest way to get bounced out of the league.
As I skated out onto the ice, I noticed the usual hockey bunnies floating around the practice arena. They annoyed me. Couldn’t they see that no man would be able to live up to the ideal prince who rescues them from their mundane lives? I could never understand why women didn’t get that.
Perhaps you’re wondering how I can be so cold and calculating when it comes to women. I admit that my attitude is less than great toward the ladies, but nothing in my experience had lead me to expect much from women, except being shit on, let down or rejected.
Who needed that? I was realistic enough to know that I needed to give in to my cravings for a woman’s body. But other than that, I didn’t want much to do with them.
I had found if you gave a woman too much time, she starts getting emotional. That turns something simple into something messy, real quick.
I wasn’t made to deal with the complications of relationships. So I had high-tailed it out of Tina/Nina‘s place last night, leaving her naked and disappointed. I felt a tinge of remorse, but she knew the rules of this game.
She wasn’t some young, naive girl offering herself up. She was calculating and cunning, practiced and smooth in her attempt to get the man-goal of the moment.
You know, it wasn’t like they weren’t using me, too. Every single one of them wanted status, power and money. I wasn’t a man to them; I was a commodity, a secure retirement plan.
Hard to feel anything for a woman, when all you see reflected back in her eyes are dollar signs.
So, I figured they got a story about being with me and I got some pussy...simple and uncomplicated. No emotion. No connection. No baggage.
I was my own man and I was content to stay that way.
Chapter 1
2012
Emma:
“Casa Oschun. How can I help you?” the receptionist asked cheerfully into the phone as I walked by.
I loved hearing that name spoken aloud. Marla and I had opened our own beauty salon, after several years of planning and sacrifice. I can remember when we were searching for the right name for this place.
We had sat in the middle of the renovations on the sub-floor researching on Marla’s laptop. We wanted something original, something meaningful to us. We had stumbled across the names of goddesses and we found Oschun (pronounced like ocean), a goddess worthy of much.
It had taken me awhile to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I felt mostly content with my life. We’d open Casa Oschun on a clear, sunny Saturday in April.
It had been a helluva a lot of work to put together, but in the end everything came together and our dream became a reality. We were determined to provide a great environment for clients and employees alike. As word got out that we were doing something new and exciting, we had people coming out of the woodwork, looking to join our team.
From the get-go, our salon was a success. Marla had a great base of customers already and I had a number of people who followed me from my last place. All of our employees were gifted and appreciated for their unique contributions. I loved going to work and it was all the more sweet, knowing that it was my business.
Micah:
My summer started the way most of my summers did…warring for the Stanley Cup. I had a deep cut above my eye. Some asswipe on the California Kings had swiped his stick under my visor, slashing a gash over my left eyebrow. I gritted my teeth as the doc stitched me up and I headed back to the ice. There was no room for being a pussy and sitting out the rest of the game.
We made it to the semi-finals this year. We just had too many injuries to go any further. We didn’t have a single player who was 100% healthy, but everyone was 150% heart. Sometimes, the difference between winning and losing was just who the hockey gods shined on, who could withstood the beating and come out on top.
There wasn’t a guy on my team who wouldn’t have lost one of his nuts to get that trophy. I had battled and won 4 trips to the Stanley Cup finals and conquered it 3 times. There is nothing like being part of a team that goes through hell and comes out champions.
My band of brothers was what kept me grounded, it was the only sense of home I had. So, it was a real shock when my team traded me the next December. I knew that I was getting older, but I was a franchise player. I brought leadership and experience to the locker room…I knew how to win, but now, all bets were off.
All of a sudden, I was on a plane to Baltimore. I had been in Texas for 17 years, where there was barbeque, big hair, big tits, and big houses. I loved Texas, but now I was headed for God-damn Maryland. What the hell is in a puny little place like Baltimore?
Emma:
Do you ever get the feeling that something big is going to happen in your life? It’s not something you can put your finger on or define; it’s just a feeling that settles within your belly.
My family has always relied on a keen sixth sense. There is a family legend that revolves around my grandfather’s intuition. He saved his family because he listened to his instinct.
For weeks, he’d had a sense of dread every time it rained. He knew something bad was coming. He’d run around telling everyone to get prepared, to have extra supplies on hand. People refused to believe his doom and gloom prediction.
Then, he told them that they needed to get out of town and of course, no one wanted to believe him. They’d all laughed in his face and told him he was crazy.
Grandpa Bob had stuck to his guns, though, and got my grandma and the kids out of there. No one was laughing two weeks later, when a devastating flash flood hit the town and destroyed half of it.
Since that event, family tradition revolved around heeding the call of your instinct. When Marla told me to take an umbrella, I did. When I told her to order leggings to sell because 80’s fashion was coming back, she didn’t hesitate.
All of this brings me to today’s intuition forecast. I had been eating a sandwich in the backroom, taking a break, when I got this crazy surge of joy. I laughed out loud because I felt so giddy. I wasn’t even thinking of anything in particular, but an overwhelming sense of delight washed over me.
I have learned in my life that when my sixth sense was good and ready, I would be right on time for whatever it was prompting me to experience. So I let this unknown event pulse inside me, and build in anticipation. I realized that I was very excited about this upcoming collision, fate intervening moment, whatever you want to call it.
There was something brewing and I could smell it.
Chapter 2
Micah:
I was wrong. There was plenty of stuff in Maryland, only I didn’t like any of it. I still couldn’t believe I had been traded, so I’d refused to rent or buy any property.
I stayed in a luxurious hotel. I had a nice suite. It was cleaned every day and anything I wanted was just a phone call away. Simple and easy. I could walk away anytime I wanted to and right now, I was
thinking about leaving.
I’d come back to the hotel after a 4-3 loss in overtime. My mood was definitely sour as the loss replayed in my mind. There was so much wrong with this team.
It all started with my teammates. Everyone seems to play for themselves and that showed in our awful record. I was having a hard time giving my all, when I saw such shitty effort by the other guys.
There was one exception, though. A guy named Sam Richardson. He was the team captain. He was always in my face talking about being a team player. He was a real loud mouth, but he was one of the few guys who played with his whole heart.
He hadn’t left me alone since I’d joined the team. In the locker room tonight, he’d gone off on me again.
“Come on Turner!! I know you’re fuckin’ better than this.” He ranted, trying to engage me in some kind of verbal combat.
I ignored him as I started to unlace my skates. I just wanted to leave and get away from this whole sorry-ass show.
“That can’t be all you got, man. This team needs you. Get your shit together!” He ordered hotly, his eyes blazing with a passion I just didn’t feel anymore.
I knew he was taunting me, but I refused to react. I would have to care about this team to give a damn about what he was saying. I sat there until he walked away in disgust. I took some satisfaction in making him frustrated.
However, his words had had time to get under my skin, because now….I was pissed.
He had told me if I was going to be on a team, I had to be a part of the team. What the hell was that suppose to mean?
I had been a leader of a hockey team for 17 fucking years and no one was going to tell me what it meant to be on a team. I lived and breathed that shit. Just ‘cause I wasn’t friendly with any of the guys and hadn’t left my blood on the ice, didn’t mean I had lost my ability to be a great teammate.
The truth was, this trade had really taken the piss out of me. How could all that sacrifice and years of winning go down the drain in a matter of minutes? The general manager hadn’t even warned me. My agent had just called me when I was on the golf course, enjoying a brief break with some of the guys.
“Hey Micah, I’ve got some news for you about your contract negotiations.”
“Yeah, what?” I asked distractedly as I practiced my putting stroke. These contract talks could go on for weeks. I had been expecting at least a 2 year deal.
“You’ve been traded.” Talk about being sucker punched. Those words dropped like a bombshell into me. My putter slipped out of my hand.
“What?...Why?” I asked my agent in stunned belief.
My chest suddenly felt tight and I couldn’t breathe.
“They wanna make a change and go in a different direction,” my agent said evenly. He’d always kept a cool head, which is one of the reasons he’d always been my agent.
I, however, wasn’t always known for my cool disposition. I knew what a new direction meant, they wanted to free up money for young blood…I was the old guy now. When had that happened?
“Well, FUCK a different direction!!” I bellowed into the phone. Outrage flooded my body as I paced around the putting green.
“Where am I going?” I finally managed to ask against the roar in my ears.
“You’re being traded to the Baltimore Gators,” he answered simply.
I blinked hard, still trying to comprehend this bad news.
“That’s bullshit, man! I’m a franchise player! How could this happen?”
He didn’t interrupt my tirade and let me go on until I ran out of things to say.
“It’s business, Micah,” he said calmly.
“You’ve seen this before with other players.” He continued logically.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t me.” I countered icily.
“Well, now it’s you and you gotta deal with it, man.”
I felt like someone had run up and shoved a knife in my heart.
“Yeah.” I said dejectedly.
“Look, you’re still a great player and I’ll make sure those fuckers pay through the nose for you.” I could always count on him to get me what I deserved.
“Yeah, you better.”
“Alright, man. I’ll let you know.”
Anger surged through me again as I hung up. Then, I chucked my cell phone into the pond as a final fuck you.
Yeah, it still hurt.
My agent had come through for me and I had a nice, juicy contract with the Gators, but I was having a hard time playing the game like I used to.
I walked around the suite until I felt the walls clawing at me.
I decided to take a walk. Taking a stroll had become my new therapy; it cleared my mind and gave me something to do. Walking seemed to be the only thing that calmed me down, and I was desperate for some relief.
Sometimes, I’d wind up at a bar, other times I’d people watch. The one thing I liked was that I was completely anonymous in Baltimore…no one knew me. I was left alone and it gave me time to think and make some decisions.
Hockey was sacred to me. It wasn’t fair to play with a half a heart. It dishonored the game and I didn’t want piss poor play to be the legacy I left behind. I’d had a good run and accomplished everything I wanted to…I just didn’t know what to do.
Was this my last season? That wasn’t something I wanted to entertain.
Maybe it was time to hang up my skates. The only problem was, what the hell was I going to do? Hockey was all I knew.
I contemplated life without hockey as I bought a coffee. I wandered down a row of shops, as I usually did, when I saw something amazing.
A woman. I’ve seen lots of women in my life, but there was something about her that stopped me in my tracks.
There was this glow about her. She looked soft and lovely, like you could curl up in her arms and all of your worries would disappear. I stood there, watching, craving her softness as she swept the floor and sang to herself. She seemed so happy, like everything in her life made sense.
At first, I’d scoffed and tried to throw off my immediate attraction to her. I’d dated and fucked a ton of women who were in a 10 category. Ordinary didn’t normally do it for me and this was as normal as you could get…except for her hips. She moved them rhythmically against the music I could faintly make out. Her hips were perfectly round. She turned around then and I sucked in my breath…what a fucking awesome ass.
I found myself at the door of the shop, staring at her. This woman was totally tripping me up for reasons that defied my whole code.
It had been a long time since I had approached a woman. They had always come to me. Somehow, a surge of courage found its way to my besotted brain.
“That’s it…I’m going in,” I proclaimed to myself, letting my courage lead the way.
Then I was in the lobby of the salon, watching this magnificent creature and wondering what to do next.
Emma:
“Girl, don’t you stay here all night!” My assistant Sunny had affectionately chastised me as she walked toward the door.
My staff knew me too well.
“I won’t. I promise.” I put my hand on my heart in mock seriousness.
She wagged her finger at me and smiled.
“Goodnight, Sunny.” I called after her.
I’d sent everyone home early. It was nice to give your employees a little get-off-early present once in awhile. Besides I liked being in the shop alone sometimes. I liked the stillness. It gave me time to think and review my day.
That reminded me of a conversation I’d had with Marla earlier.
“Are you happy?” She’d asked me suddenly in the midst of us discussing the supplies we needed to order.
“What?” I’d asked in confusion.
“Are you happy, sweetheart?” She’d asked with a serious look on her face.
“Yeah,” I said automatically, even as a little no tugged at my heart.
“You sure?” she asked softly and I knew she wasn’t satisfied with my answer.
Marla has
this ability to cut through defenses and excuses in a heartbeat, making your real feelings surface, no matter how much you want to hide them.
“Yeah, I’m sure,” I cleared my throat. I know there was a little hitch in my response as I started to really contemplate what she was really asking.
“The shops doing great, you’ve got a cute little house…but what about love?” she asked in that perceptive way of hers, her eyes warm and compassionate.
I shrugged my shoulders and bit my lip in response.
“You haven’t dated in a year, you spend most of your time here…when are you going to get out there?” she asked pointedly.
“I don’t know…” I trailed off, unsure of what to say.
It was hard to explain to Marla that what I wanted wasn’t just waiting for me in a bar or an online dating site. I hadn’t dated much in my life; I was usually too wrapped up in my career to think about love. But I did have a desire to be someone….I’d always just believed that when it was suppose to happen, it would happen.
I shrugged again and started talking about hair dye.
Thankfully, Marla let it go and didn’t push me, but now, she had me thinking about it.
She was right.
I needed to put myself out there, invite love into my life. I had been sending out good bring-me-love vibes to the universe. I asked for a man who would appreciate me for just being me.
I said a quick prayer once again, asking for a right man to show up in my life. Then I let it go, and remembered the joyous feelings I had felt earlier. Those emotions returned tenfold and I felt a warm glow flow through me.
In the meantime, I had a salon to run. Right now, it needed to be cleaned up, so I could go out and attract a good man. I chuckled to myself and got to work.
I picked up my shears, and put them back in their case. Maybe I could call my friend Jenna, and see if she wanted to hang out. I wiped off my station and got out the broom.
A lovely song came over the speakers and I found my hips moving to its rhythm as I swept up. I was finishing my chore when I heard the chimes, which let me know someone was here.
