Best Shot (Madison Howlers Book 2)

by Camellia Tate

  “Dorothy,” Doe answered.

  For a moment, Blake felt like cold water had been thrown over him. He knew the soulmark under his kneecap didn’t actually burn, but it felt like it did. Almost as if just the mention of the name written there had awakened it.

  Doe thankfully didn’t seem to notice. Instead, when Blake zoned back into the conversation, Doe was explaining how much her mom had loved The Wizard of Oz . He kind of had expected that. Despite never having met a Dorothy before, Blake had assumed that when he did, she would’ve been named after The Wizard of Oz . That seemed to only make it even more real.

  Doe was probably Blake’s soulmate.

  He didn’t really know what to do with that information. He didn’t think now was the right time to tell Doe that, not when they were talking about... Blake realized he honestly wasn’t even sure what they were talking about.

  “Pardon?” Blake asked before shaking his head. “Sorry, I think I kind of zoned out,” he said apologetically. Of course, Doe didn’t mind. She was too kind to mind so she just smiled.

  “It’s alright, I was just saying how I grew up watching a lot of old movies. Did you?”

  Blake shook his head in response. “I mostly played hockey or watched hockey,” he admitted, a little bit sheepishly. It made Doe laugh. The admission wasn’t surprising so Blake got that.

  “We had very different childhoods,” Doe teased. Before Blake could ask her more about hers, she gave a loud sneeze. “Gosh, I’m sorry,” she apologized unnecessarily. “I think I’m coming down with something, I’ve had a bit of a headache for most of the day,” Doe admitted, making Blake’s eyes widen.

  “You should’ve said! We could’ve postponed this,” he told her seriously. Blake had been looking forward to this date but he definitely would’ve been happy to move it to a day when Doe wasn’t feeling ill.

  Doe was clearly about to object when it was ruined by another sneeze.

  It struck Blake suddenly how she did look a little bit tired. She had hidden it well with make-up but now that he knew what to look for, Blake could tell. “Alright, I’m going to take you home,” he announced.

  “No! I don’t want to ruin the evening,” Doe protested but to no avail.

  “Come on, I’d rather you feel better. We’ll come back another time,” Blake promised, standing up. He told the waitress that sadly they’d have to leave but gave her enough to cover their table and her tip. Brushing off Doe’s objections, Blake led them back out.

  “Really, I don’t mind. I want to take you home so you can cuddle up in bed and be warm,” he told her. Doe gave a small whimper like the proposal was something she wanted.

  It wasn’t until Blake had already started his car and began driving that it struck him how he hadn’t even thought of offering to cuddle up in bed with her.

  “You really, really don’t need to apologize,” Blake assured as he helped Doe home. “If anything, I should be the one apologizing.” Thankfully, on the drive home, Doe had begun to feel a tiny bit better. Blake had still had to help her up the stairs to her apartment. Whatever she had caught, Doe had insisted that lying down would definitely make her feel better. She had turned down Blake’s offer to get her flu medication.

  “It’s really not your fault, I didn’t realize I’d feel this bad,” Doe promised. “Thank you so much for bringing me home.” She definitely didn’t need to thank Blake there, he would hardly have left her. Before he had time to point out as much, they had made it to Doe’s apartment. Blake helped her with the keys.

  The apartment was dark, so Blake assumed that Thea must’ve been out. He helped Doe to her room and she collapsed on the bed. “Could you maybe get me some water?” she asked. Blake was nodding before Doe had even finished the question.

  It didn’t take Blake long to find a glass and fill it up with water. “I’m sorry for being such a crap date,” Doe apologized, making Blake shake his head straight away.

  “Don’t be silly. You’re ill, shit happens.” He shrugged, and Doe laughed before giving a small whine.

  “No making me laugh,” she moaned. Blake kind of felt bad, but only barely. He couldn’t feel guilty for making Doe laugh . Though, he hardly wanted to cause her pain. “Thanks,” she added, sounding very genuine.

  “I’m going to hang around until Thea gets back. Just give me a shout if you need anything okay?” Blake said. Doe just about managed a small nod. Blake could tell she was sleepy, so he pulled a blanket over her before quietly making his way out of her bedroom.

  The apartment was small, but just as Blake had thought the first time he’d seen it, it was very homely . He liked it a lot. Once Blake had browsed through the bookshelves, he picked a book before settling on the couch. When Thea got back, Blake was about a third into the murder mystery and genuinely found himself interested to find out who’d done it.

  “Oh, hey,” he greeted giving Thea a smile. “Doe’s not well, so we cut our date short,” he explained before Thea even had the chance to ask him why he was sitting on her couch and reading a book. “She’s sleeping now, but I wanted to stay around until you got home in case she needs something.”

  Thea seemed to take a minute to absorb everything Blake had said, swinging her handbag down onto the sofa beside him. “That was nice of you,” she finally said. There was genuine warmth in her voice. “Have you done everything that can be done, or should I go in and see if there’s anything Doe needs that she might not ask you?”

  “I think I’ve done everything that could be done,” Blake answered honestly. “I got her some water,” he explained, before glancing at Doe’s bedroom door and chewing on his lower lip. Blake did think he’d done his best. Frankly, he had never had to look after someone who was sick.

  “You should check on her anyway,” Blake decided, looking back at Thea. “Just to make sure. I think she’s asleep. I’ve read a third of this book since we got back,” he explained lifting the book in question.

  “Cool. I’ll be right back, then,” Thea said, leaving her bag with Blake while she disappeared in the direction of Doe’s room. Blake only had time to read a few more pages before she returned. “She’s still asleep,” Thea informed him, “but she doesn’t feel feverish, so that’s good.”

  Propping her hip against the arm of the sofa, Thea gave Blake a look. “So did you manage to finish your dinner before you had to come home?” she asked. “I’m about to cook anyway. I don’t want to send you home hungry when you’ve been so nice.”

  They had managed a fair bit of the dinner, but Blake was hungry most of the time. The prospect of more food made his stomach rumble. He gave Thea a sheepish look at the sound.

  “I am not a man who turns down food,” he told Thea with a degree of confidence. Blake didn’t have people cook for him much outside of a restaurant, only when he was home at his parents’. There was something very appealing about having Thea make him something. Blake couldn't quite place the feeling.

  “If you really don’t mind,” Blake added as a clear afterthought. It was only polite.

  Thea shook her head, moving into the kitchen. The open-plan design meant that Blake could still hear her, and see her opening the fridge. “It won’t be anything fancy like the restaurant you took Doe to,” she teased. Blake remembered Doe saying how much Thea would’ve hated the place.

  “Do you like eggplant?”

  “Yeah, I’ll eat pretty much anything,” Blake shrugged, before setting the book down so he could go join Thea in the kitchen. There was an island with a couple of barstools so Blake took a seat there. It seemed somehow more polite that way than just staying on the couch.

  Blake thought over whether he should ask Thea about why she might not like expensive restaurants. In the end, he decided that there was no real reason not to. “Doe said you wouldn’t like restaurants like that much,” he commented. “Any particular reason?”

  “Yes,” Thea answered. It was such a decided answer, it was a little surprising. Thea must’ve read that in Bla
ke’s expression because she shrugged. “I like to think I always have a particular reason for having an opinion,” she explained, but her tone was more playful.

  Slicing the eggplant into neat rounds, Thea pulled her lower lip between her teeth in a way that Blake was coming to recognize meant she was thinking. “I don’t like how people in those kinds of restaurants treat customers like they’re better people just because they have money,” she explained.

  Blake frowned at that. As far as he was aware that was just part of customer service. It wasn’t like the staff thought the people they served were better they just... had more money. That thought made Blake’s frown deepen. “Maybe you’ll think less of me for asking this,” Blake said. Really, maybe Thea would . That was an unpleasant thought, but he persevered anyway.

  “But isn’t that just... part of how things are? People who have money pay for nicer things. You’re more likely to want to serve customers when you’re earning well above the minimum salary, which you would at a restaurant like that.” Given, Blake didn’t exactly have a great deal of experience - or any experience - with not having money.

  “Just because things are a certain way, it doesn’t mean that they should be,” Thea pointed out. “I don’t object to paying more for nicer food. That’s fair enough. Chefs in that kind of restaurant are skilled, and they use more expensive ingredients. Those things should be reflected in the price.”

  She stopped chopping, looking up at Blake as she carried on making her point. “It’s the servers not being allowed to act like people that I don’t like,” she said. “They can’t have a nice chat with you, or tell you if you’re wrong about something. There’s this expectation that money gives you a right to act as if they don’t matter .”

  Blake’s first reaction was to disagree, to defend--he supposed both himself and his family. That wasn’t the right response. It wasn’t even the response that would be helpful. So instead, Blake considered Thea’s point. He definitely understood how there was a big difference between how you got treated in an expensive restaurant versus a cheaper place. Blake just hadn’t ever thought about what it meant .

  “So did you used to work in a restaurant like that or something?” Blake asked. It would definitely explain her distaste a lot more.

  “No,” Thea answered, shaking her head. For a moment, she was busy patting down the eggplant and transferring it to the oven. When she was finished, she leaned against the counter. “I don’t need to have worked there to know it’s not nice,” she said. “It’s not just restaurants, either. People who were born with money think they’re better than people who have to work to earn it.”

  “That’s a bold statement,” Blake said, this time not pausing at all. He did feel like he had to defend himself a little there. Everything Blake lived off now was earned by him, but he definitely owed his parents a lot of thanks for setting him up in the first place. It took Blake aback a little, the very determined way with which Thea seemed to dislike people born with money.

  In the end, Blake decided not to bring up his own family. It felt a little bit like being dishonest, but Blake didn’t want Thea to dislike him over something that wasn’t his fault. “Do you really think that applies to everyone?” He asked instead.

  Something in Thea’s expression seemed to soften a little, and she shook her head. “No, of course not. Very little applies to everyone ,” she pointed out. She gave Blake a teasing kind of grin, and added, “I don’t even think it applies to everyone who likes expensive restaurants.”

  Getting a bowl from one of the cupboards, Thea started mixing ingredients in it, glancing at Blake over her shoulder. “It’s just that the restaurants know that kind of person exists. The staff has to act a certain way. They can’t always tell upfront who expects it and who doesn’t.”

  Blake wasn’t sure he got it , not really. “So... you don’t like going to expensive restaurants because it feels... fake?” He asked, trying to confirm if he was actually understanding what Thea said. Blake felt he sort of understood that. Growing up he’d been taken to a lot of expensive restaurants. It wasn’t until Blake had gotten older that he’d actually noticed how differently people treated him because his family was rich.

  “I’m sorry if I’m not understanding,” he added. Blake didn’t want Thea to think he was deliberately failing to get her point or anything. He still wasn’t sure if her point wasn’t that she didn’t approve of him wanting to take Doe to expensive restaurants.

  While Blake waited for an answer, Thea stared down at the ricotta and garlic she was mixing. “It’s more than feeling fake,” she decided. “I find it uncomfortable, being treated as though I think I’m better than people, even though I really don’t .” She gave a small shrug.

  “I don’t have any moral objections to nice restaurants existing ,” she carried on. “I don’t even mind that other people go to them and enjoy them.” She met Blake’s gaze for a moment, and he noticed how green her eyes were. “It’s entirely a personal thing,” she said. “I don’t personally find it enjoyable, so I prefer not to go to that kind of restaurant if I can help it.”

  It sounded very final and Blake didn’t know what else to say to that. He’d never known anyone to care so much about... well, things that weren’t related to hockey. Honestly, Blake found it kind of surprising but also kind of interesting. He certainly had very few opinions like Thea’s. He was curious to find out more about them.

  “Change of topic,” he announced, raising his hands up in a mock surrender. “Tell me about your day, instead. It’s pretty late, did you have a date?” It kind of ached inside of Blake to even ask that. There was no reason why it should. He had been on a date. With Thea’s best friend.

  Thea seemed to give a slight start, before quickly shaking her head. She laughed. It sounded genuine, so Blake didn’t feel he’d upset her with the question. “No, I definitely wasn’t on a date,” she answered.

  Adding some oil to a pan, Thea gave Blake a look that was surprisingly shy . It was gone almost as soon as Blake had noticed it. “I was actually at a networking event,” she said. “A talk on player-oriented progression, and then drinks. It probably doesn’t sound very interesting.” She almost sounded defiant, like she was challenging Blake to say something about her choice of evening activity.

  It made him wonder if someone had done that in the past. Blake didn’t like to think that people had been dismissive of Thea’s work or her ambitions, but he definitely understood the feeling. His own parents had taken a while to truly accept that hockey could even be a career. He didn't dare to imagine what they would have said if he wanted to make video games.

  “Very different player-oriented progression than I’m familiar with, I’m sure,” he teased instead. “Was it good? Useful?” Blake hoped so since Thea seemed like she hadn’t hated it. “It doesn’t sound boring or anything,” he added. “I just also know next to nothing about it. My extent of knowing about videogames stops at playing them.”

  “It was good,” Thea agreed, giving a nod. “It was by a woman who’s worked at lots of different levels of game design. She did an indie thing by herself and she’s worked on a major game with a big team.” She brightened up as she talked, waving a wooden spoon around before she remembered to stir whatever sauce she was making.

  After a small pause, Thea carried on. “You don’t get a lot of women who’ve succeeded in a big way like that,” she explained. “It’s nice for me to hear her story. At least, until people ask why we couldn’t have one of the men to speak.”

  Blake was unsure how much he could say to that. What he could say was that he was glad that Thea had enjoyed herself, so he did, giving her a smile. “Are these sort of events something you attend often?” He asked. Since Thea seemed to enjoy them, Blake hoped they were.

  “As often as I can,” Thea answered, giving a nod as she finished up the sauce. “There’s a couple of tech companies in the area, so I go to anything I can drive to.” Blake hadn’t known that. He didn’t k
now what jobs in Madison were like outside of hockey. “Sometimes, I’ll take some of my vacation days to go to something bigger,” Thea continued.

  After taking the pot off the heat, she took a step closer. “What about you? You must get to vacation in the off-season, right? Do you like traveling?”

  “We get most of the summer off, yeah,” Blake nodded. “Still got to train, but it’s a lot more low-pressure.” The first few summers, Blake hadn’t known what to do with his time off. Nowadays he did try to plan something more than just lazing around and doing whatever his mom wanted him to.

  That definitely wasn’t something Blake wanted to lead with. “Kind of. I like going places to do something. Skiing, surfing, other activities starting with S,” he said the last bit teasingly. Then, Blake’s eyes widened as he realized how else that could be interpreted. “I don’t--I mean, I do--but not like--” There wasn’t a good save for this.

  Fortunately, Thea gave a delighted bark of laughter, throwing her head back so her hair bounced around her shoulders. Blake couldn’t help remembering how she’d laughed at his pick-up lines, or when she’d realized he was the very hockey player she was looking for.

  “You mean you don’t travel for sex?” Thea teased, and Blake almost had to laugh with her.

  “I don’t travel for sex,” Blake confirmed. “I mean, I guess I sometimes have sex on travels but that’s not my reason for traveling.” How this was the conversation they were now having, Blake had no idea. It was his own fault for somehow having stumbled into introducing this topic. “You know what I meant to say,” he proclaimed in the end with a laugh.

  Thea laughed too. “Surfing, skiing, sunbathing,” she agreed, managing to find a more appropriate activity starting with S. “I don’t know much about surfing, but I love to ski!” She grinned, and her whole face seemed to light up with it. “It’s been ages since I went, though,” she admitted. “It seems weird to go alone. I mean, what’s the point if you can’t come back to a cabin full of people you actually want to talk to?”