by Mary Smith
“I’m going to get ready for bed, and don’t worry I’ll sleep on the floor.” Vance grabs his clothes and steps into the bathroom.
I jump off the bed and quickly change into my shorts and tank top before he comes out in pajama bottoms. His chest and abs can make a blind woman come.
He grabs a couple of pillows and asks for the top cover, but I stop him.
“Sleep in the bed, just don’t try anything.” I pull the covers down and crawl under.
“Dacey, are you sure?”
“Yes.” I turn away from him, clicking off the light,
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”
I quickly turn and sit up, facing Vance. The anger bubbling over. “Uncomfortable? Why do you even care? Because it doesn’t matter. I’m already tainted because you can’t keep your pants zipped. So, there’s no reason for you to care about my feelings now.”
“Dacey, I do care.”
“No, you don’t and you know what,” I sigh. “I don’t why I care either. You want me to give you a second chance, but did we have a first chance?” He starts to say something, but I keep going. “We never went out on proper dates. We had one kiss that I count, but like everything else, it’s tainted as well. Do you know what it’s like to be a girl listening to everyone else gossiping about their boyfriends and such? All the while the boy I’m supposed to marry is sticking it to a girl across the globe. And what’s worse than all that is the time I spent learning hockey for you. Now, I like it, and all it’s going to do is remind me of you when I leave.” I yank the covers up and turn over on my side away from him.
“So you’re going to leave? You’re going to end this?” His voice cracks, but I say nothing as the tears sting my eyes. “I shouldn’t be surprised. My whole entire family lies on the daily; why would you be different?”
I want to scream at him and explain to him how different I am, but I close my eyes, praying the tears don’t fall. I feel the bed shift and Vance lays down. It’s going to be a long time before I fall asleep.
Vance and I don’t utter a single word to each other from the moment we wake up, meet his family downstairs, and walk into the arena where the draft is being held. An usher meets us and takes Vance with him while we head off to our seats.
Vance’s family is picture perfect as always. Mrs. Pemberton places us in the seats setting the order for Vance to hug when his name is announced. She gives me an extra stern look. I know the meaning behind it; it meant I best hug him.
Everyone is talking, laughing, and gleeful all around me; I stare at the jumbotron. The draftee’s names and potential teams scroll through. Vance looks to be heading to Vegas. According to Goggle, it the City of Sin, and it seems fitting for him.
I came to America with Vance because I didn’t want any regrets, but being here has set my priorities straight. His family is beyond nuts and fake. I can’t be around people like this. And what if Vance is faking? Could everything he’s saying be lies?
But why?
None of it matters, now. I’ll be leaving tomorrow night. We’ll say our goodbyes or maybe just part ways. When I get back to Belfast, I’ll find a job and start anew.
Vance comes up the steps. He’s nervous; paler than normal, he keeps rubbing his hands together. Mrs. Pemberton directs Vance to his seat and I hear her tell him to kiss her cheeks when his name is called.
He gives me a small smile before sitting down next to me. He rubs his hands hard on his thighs and keeps fiddling with his tie.
“I guess you’re going to Vegas,” I lean over and whisper. We’ve not talked all day, but maybe I can distract him a bit.
“There or New Hampshire.” He wipes his brow.
“You’re going to be fine.” I feel compelled to reassure him.
“Thanks.” He nods.
We go back to our normal silence until the PHL commissioner comes on stage, and he grabs my hand. I can feel him shaking and give him a gentle squeeze.
The first, second, and third picks go as planned, and now, Vance’s leg is bouncing up and down. His palm is still sweating and now latched even tighter to mine.
“We’re announcing a trade for the fourth pick of the PHL Draft.”
I hear Vance groan next to me.
“The New Hampshire Bears have traded Patrick Ago to the Las Vegas Gamblers for the fourth pick. The Bears are on the clock.”
Vance’s leg bounces harder and Mrs. Pemberton, with a smile on her face, tells him to stop, which he does. I lay my other hand over our joined hands. He looks over at me and grins. I want to tell him this doesn’t change anything, but I leave it alone as the commissioner steps up to the mic, calling for the Bears to come up to the stage.
The Bears’ General Manager, whose name I don’t catch, comes to the mic and clears his throat. “The New Hampshire Bears would like to welcome CHL’s forward, Vance Pemberton.”
We all jump and cheer as Vance, more calmly, stands. He hugs his brothers, sisters-in-law, and then his parents, before kissing me softly on the lips and heading toward the stage.
Pride fills me, seeing him on stage posing for pictures in his new brown and gold jersey. He made it. He set a goal, worked hard, and achieved it.
Gerald informs us Vance will be heading off to interviews, pictures, and other activities. He tells us we need to go to the family room. We gather and head to an upper level.
The room has food and drinks and the Pembertons are chatting up others in the room. I grab a bottle of water and go to the other side of the room, sitting on a big red couch. I don’t want to be around everyone right now. I simply sit, gazing at the happy crowd, sipping my water.
More families and friends join the room, and it becomes louder with happiness and excitement. I find myself wondering what will happen when I get back to Belfast. My plan is to find a job: simple enough. Mum and Dad have the apartment paid up until the end of summer. I’m sure I’ll have an income by then, and I can keep the place or maybe find something smaller, since two bedrooms will be too much. My head begins to spin at all that seems to be coming ahead. Six months ago, I’d planned on being married before summer’s end and coming to America with Vance, but look at it all now.
“May I join you?”
I glance up from the label I’d been picking at to see Vance in his Bears jersey and shirt looking down at me.
“Of course and congratulations.” I do my best put on a true smile.
“You don’t have to pretend, Dacey.” Vance calls me out and sits next to me.
“I’m proud of you.”
He nods. “Thanks.” He gazes at the now overcrowded room and then back at me. “Would you do me a favor?” He leans close to me. “Please come with me? I just want a few hours of your time. I want to discuss something with you, and if you absolutely want to leave then we’ll part ways, but please, I’m begging.”
His blue eyes are wide and staring intently at me. I can hear in his tone how serious he is.
“Okay,” I agree, unsure what the next few hours will bring.
He stands, taking my hand and leading us out of the arena, where he hails down a taxi. We go back to the hotel, where Vance tells me to change into something comfortable. I pick jeans, flats, and t-shirt and quickly get ready.
He takes my hand again and leads us out to the front of the hotel where he hands a ticket to the valet. It’s funny to me because we didn’t valet a car. But, sure enough, a car pulls up and Vance opens the door for me.
Once I’m in my seat and comfortable, Vance takes off toward the interstate. “Where are we going?”
“Trust me, okay.” He flashes me a smile and speeds forward.
Vance begins to talk about the interviews he had to do after being drafted. He’s oozing with excitement knowing he finally has a team and the nervousness is now gone.
After just over an hour of Vance driving and my hesitating to ask where we’re going every five minutes, we arrive at one place I never expected.
“This is the Bears’ Arena?
” I point to the massive building.
“Yes.” He turns a corner and drives around to the back where a security guard stands. “Vance Pemberton. Keaton Jaco is expecting us.”
The guard looks at the clipboard, nods, and then directs Vance where to go.
“What are we doing?” I ask. “How did you know how to get here?”
“I’ve been here a lot in my time here. The Bears arena hosts a lot of events.” He pulls into a concrete parking garage, and I notice a big black truck with a guy sitting in the back, staring at his phone. Vance pulls up next to him and we both get out of the car.
“Leprechaun.” Keaton Jaco jumps from the truck. “How’s your day?”
“Great.” They shake hands. “Thanks for helping me out. I owe you.”
“Nah.” He waves his hand. “I’m just curious how you got away.”
Vance shrugs. “You know we’re magical.”
Keaton laughs. “You must be the famous Dacey I’ve heard so much about.”
“I’m Dacey,” I confirm.
“This is Keaton Jaco. We trained together this summer.” Vance explains as Keaton and I shake hands. I know who he is because he’s one of the top defensive men in the PHL.
“Okay, V., everything is waiting for you on the bench and you only have thirty minutes. Sorry man, it’s all I can spare.”
“It’s perfect.” Vance grabs my hand, and he leads me away from Keaton, toward a set of doors.
“Vance, what’s going on?” He ignores me and continues to guide us through a long hallway, past locker room signs, and on to the arena. “Oh my,” I gasp as we now head up the tunnel to the player’s bench.
“When was the last time we skated together?”
“Years,” I answer breathlessly. “But, I don’t have skates and you know I’m terrible at it.”
“Keaton got us skates.” He points to the boxes. “And sticks too if you want a little one-on-one.” He jokes and opens the box. “And you’re a good skater.” He lets my hand go and sits on the bench removing his shoes.
I follow his lead and do the same. Once we’re laced up, we make our way onto the ice.
“Normally, the Bears have removed the ice already, but they rented it out this summer to some local leagues.” Vance helps me steady on the ice.
“So, why are we here?” I ask sternly.
“To talk.” He hands me a stick and nods over to the net where a bucket of pucks sits.
“About what?”
He picks up a puck, drops it on the ice, and stick handles it a few times before passing it to me, where I stop it on my blade. “About us.”
My shoulders shrug. “What about us?”
“I have a plan, and I spent most of the night on the phone with your parents and Aimee.”
I pass the puck back, trying to remain balanced on the blades. “My sister is on her honeymoon, and you’re bothering her?” It pisses me off a bit.
“I’m desperate.” He slaps the puck into the net before banging his stick on the ice. “I’m running out of ideas, and this is my last hope.” He picks up another puck and pushes it over to me.
I gather it up and pass it back to him. We do this a few times before I try to shoot it, failing miserably as it barely makes it to the paint. “What’s your plan?” Even though my mind is already made up, I’m curious as to what he’s thinking.
“Come to America with me. Let us properly date each other, and then you can make your decision to marry or go. But you were one hundred percent correct in saying I never gave us a real go. I didn’t. I’m so selfish in putting my wants and needs before yours. But not talking to you this past week really got me going. I missed hearing your voice and talking with you and then…” he stops and looks down at his skates. “Then you showed up at the airport and I knew then I would do everything to show you I care.” When he looks back up, there are tears in his eyes.
“Vance…” I say his name, but no other words come.
“I want a chance to take care of you. I want to do things you want to do. Go places you want to go. Anything you want. I want to do it too.”
“That’s a lot of wants.” I turn on my skates and move toward center ice where the massive New Hampshire Bears logo is. “Why Vance? Why now?”
He’s behind me when he says, “Because I care about you, and I broke your heart. I want to show you I’m a man of worth and not like my family. I’m nothing like them.”
I face him and I know the seriousness in his eyes is real—as are the tears. “My parents won’t allow me to live with you and not be married.”
“Aimee and Ned are moving to America with us.”
My mouth drops. “For how long?” I know they have their own lives and career and can’t uproot it.
“How long do you want? Three months?”
I shake my head. “No. You’ll begin training camp soon, and the season will start soon after, and then you’ll be on the road and such.”
“The season lasts seven months, playoffs could be up to three more, depending.” He counts out.
“A year.” I blurt out.
“Huh?”
“You heard me. A full year. If, this time next year, you’ve proven yourself to me then I’ll marry you, but one fuck up—”
“I swear.” He rushes and grips my upper arms.
“Of course it’ll depend on Aimee and Ned—”
“They already said up to a year last night.” He cuts me off again.
“You have all this planned out?”
“I hope so. All I need is for you to say yes. Yes, to giving us a real try. Yes, to letting me show you how much you mean to me.”
I skate out of his hold and over to the bench, taking a seat. All he said is now spinning around in my head. His words are hitting me hard and as much as I want to stand firm with my original plan, what’s a year? I’ve already wasted eleven years, but he hadn’t put in a lot of effort. I’m not sure I had either.
Of course, I’d thought about it a lot of times, but actually going through with it…not so much. The big difference, I never been with another man and he’s had women.
But what if this is my chance to be with someone I love? If I walk away this instant, how much will I regret it? I care for Vance; that’ll never change. He’s been part of my life for so many years and I would miss him, I think anyway. No, I know it.
I watch him pick up the pucks, put them in the bucket, and skate over to me. His tears may fall at any moment, breaking my heart. He begins to unlace his skates, and I can’t bear to see the pain in his face.
“I want a vow from you. A true one.”
He stops, sits up straight, and looks at me. “What do you mean?”
“No other girls. None, Vance. If you want this to be different than your parents, I won’t stand for any cheating. If you can’t give me that, then…”
“I swear on my hockey career. I won’t be with anyone but you.” He laces our fingers together.
“I’m not sitting around all day. I’m going to find employment.”
“Okay. What else?”
I take a deep breath. “You have to respect me too. Don’t just brush me away. I saw your dad do it to your mother, and I don’t like it.”
“I promise.”
I nod and Vance holds onto our hands tightly. “We’ll communicate more and trust each other, but Vance, if I hear one word or see another woman, I’m done.”
He releases my hands and cups my face. Pulling away is what I should have done, but my body leans in and Vance softly kisses my lips.
“I will apologize every single day until my death to show you we’re meant to be together. I will not fuck this up. I’ll put everything in all my being just to prove to you there’s no one for me but you.”
A single tear, from nowhere, slides down my cheeks. Vance wipes it away with the pad of his thumb. “Vance, I promise to trust you and be more forthcoming with you. I will give my all for this relationship.”
Vance pecks my lips and a tingle
runs through me. This is my life now, and I want it to be. I believe his words, and I know we’ll be fine.
We’re going to be just fine.
About the Author
About the Author
Best Selling Author, Mary Smith, has been coming up with stories her whole life. She has written A HOCKEY TUTOR and THE NEW HAMPSHIRE BEARS SERIES along with numerous other titles, as well as co-authored THE PENALTY KILL TRILOGY, OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN SERIES, and THE NINTH INNINGS SERIES with Lindsay Paige. When not busy writing or rooting for the Chicago Blackhawks you can find her with her nose stuck in her Kindle.
You can visit her website at: www.authormarysmith.blogspot.com
Follow her on Twitter: @maryms1980
Or Faceook: www.facebook.com/authormarysmith
Books By Author:
The Ice Series (Adult Sports Romance trilogy):
Melting Away the Ice
Breaking the Ice
Shattering the Ice
Thawing the Ice (A Novella)
A Hockey Tutor (New Adult Sports Romance)
Dart and Dash (New Adult Sports Romance)
Always Forever (New Adult Rocker Romance)
DREAM (Adult Romance Suspense)
The Matched Trilogy (Paranormal Romance Trilogy):
A Royal’s Love
A Protector’s Second Chance
A Controller’s Destiny
New Hampshire Bears Series (Adult Sports Romance)
The Muse and the Fairy Tale
The Workaholic and the Realist
The Fat Girl and the Hero (coming summer 2016)
The Arrangement (coming summer 2016)
Books with author Lindsay Paige:
A Penalty Kill Trilogy (New Adult Sports Romance):
Breakaway
Off the Ice
Game Over
Our First Christmas (A Novella)
Oh Captain, My Captain Series (Adult Sports Romance)
Looking for You
A Hockey Player’s Proposal
Finding Carson Lee
