Page 14 of A Shot at Love
“I doubt he’s ever gotten away with much when he has you to keep him in line,” Frankie teased, her gaze never wavering, smile never faltering. “Something tells me you don’t go easy on anyone.”
The tension crackled between them, so electric that Jules knew if she were to reach out and touch Frankie she would get a shock. Her lips parted and she almost spoke, almost had some witty, flirty comeback right on the tip of her tongue but her smartwatch buzzed and she glanced down at her wrist.
Cam – 3:23PM
Yo I’m done for the day. Want to go get an early dinner? I heard about a cool spot that does really good grilled chicken burgers.
“Guess we should head back inside,” Frankie said, breaking the moment even more, suspending whatever was building between them in the harbour air.
Jules glanced up from her watch and nodded, disappointment settling over her in knowing her time with Frankie for the day was coming to an end.
“Yeah, we uh, we probably should.”
“This was nice though,” Frankie said. “Maybe we can do it again sometime?”
“I would love that.”
This was a good thing. Did it go against her whole ‘no one in hockey’ rule? Yes, but some people are worth breaking the rules for.
She and Frankie, this is what they both needed. A friend, someone who understood, someone who could listen.
And if that person for Jules happened to be an extremely gorgeous, confident, funny redhead who was also one of her brother’s coaches then so be it. It would be her burden to bear.
A very,very hot burden.
Chapter 9
Frankie’s muscles burned as she ran along the waterfront boardwalk, her ponytail flapping in the breeze as she whizzed past people walking dogs and pushing baby strollers.
Just shy of four kilometres one way at its starting point, the waterfront trail had become somewhat of a ritual for her first thing in the morning. She would wake up and throw on her running shoes, toss some gels into a hip pack, fill her water bottle then walk down to the waterfront and hit the pavement, so to speak.
She had never been much of a runner, in fact she always disliked running. She preferred being on skates and doing laps around the ice with a hockey stick in her hands because at least that was part of a game.
Or better yet, she preferred sex as a form of cardio but she wasn’t exactly having much of that so…she was running instead.
Running was monotonous, boring, and runners could be snobs, no offence, but Frankie decided to make an exception in Halifax because she was trying new things.
She knew it was a shame to not take advantage of some of the things her new east coast city had to offer. From its trails, parks, and coffee shops that sold the most amazing iced vanilla latte’s and yogurt bowls which Frankie often treated herself to after her runs, there was a lot to enjoy.
A coffee and breakfast felt a lot more like a reward if she’d run to get them as opposed to if she’d taken a leisurely stroll along the waterfront.
It crossed her mind more than once to ask Jules if she’d like to join her one morning, thinking it might be nice to have a running buddy but then she remembered she didn’t have her phone number and even though they lived in the same building, Frankie had no idea which floor Jules lived on. She certainly wasn’t going to be the weirdo stalker who went door to door trying to track her down.
Considering she saw Cameron nearly every day, Frankie knew she could ask him but that seemed even weirder…
“Hey, Clarke, great job with those drills today and oh by the way, what floor does your sister live on and can I get her number?”
Music pounded in Frankie’s ears as she ran and she slipped deeper into what she was calling her flow state with every stride, though giving a name to the pain in her calves and her raggedy breaths was just her sad attempt at making the whole thing feel more chic and less painful.
It was another blue sky day and the temperature, despite it being September now, was still warm enough to be out in shorts and a tank top which Frankie was grateful for. She knew the harsh coastal winter was right around the corner and she planned to soak up as much warm sunshine as she possibly could.
When she reached the end of the trail, her watch began to vibrate signalling a call on her cell. She paused her workout tracker and her music then slipped her phone out of her waist pack and hit accept.
“Well if it isn’t miss Sydney Michaels,” she said, plopping herself down on a nearby bench. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I got to the rink early and I’m bored,” Sydney said. “You’re not that special, I promise.”
Frankie feigned offence and even though Sydney couldn’t see it, she covered her heart like she’d been shot. “Ouch, Syd. You wound me. I’m going to hang up.”
