Page 12 of Patrick

CHAPTER 3

PATRICK

Stalking through the locker room, I hit the bench at my cubby and get to work removing my skates. It’s usually a quick process, but right now I’m hampered by shaky hands. What the fuck is with that? Pausing to take a deep breath, Bog walks by and snaps his towel at me, baring his ass on the way back from the shower.

“Fuck off.”

“What’s with you?”

I finally get my skates off and move faster to peel the rest of my practice gear off, the shakiness gone. Maybe I imagined it.

“Nothing. I have things to do.”

“Lunch? How about if we⁠—”

“I’m having lunch with a friend from back home.”

“You mean that killer babe I saw you talking to?”

Grabbing a towel, I stand and head for the showers, not bothering to answer him. Of course, that doesn’t stop him from laughing and flinging some balled-up tape my way, but I don’t pay attention. I can’t explain Fifi to him. I can’t even explain what the hell I’m doing with her to myself.

As I turn the water on to the hottest it’ll go, I recognize that I’m lying to myself if I don’t admit that I may be considering bringing my most off-the-hook daydream to life.

It’s too crazy to think about though, too much like taking a bite of that most forbidden apple in the garden of paradise. So I push the image of Fifi from my mind and think about fish until my skin is scalding pink and I smell like the bar of soap has been steamed into my pores.

Only a few guys are left in the locker room, most of them having herded to the facility’s dining room for lunch. Bog sits in a chair near my cubby waiting for me, fully dressed and brimming with curiosity.

“So tell me about this girl. Who is she and why haven’t I heard about her before?” He leans forward.

“Nothing to tell.” I keep my head down, concentrating on dressing as fast as possible—which is goddam fast because I’m a quick son of a bitch when I want to be.

“I thought so.” He nods. “That’s the kind of answer I’d expect from you when you’re trying to be evasive.”

Pushing my feet into my sneakers, I stand. “When am I ever evasive?”

He shrugs. “Besides right now, I don’t recall. Except maybe whenever mentions of your notorious reputation for fighting on your high school team come up. Or much about your hometown friends. Was she a friend? Maybe a girlfriend?”

I look at him, staying cool, giving nothing away, but damn, I hate lying to him. Why should I? He’s a good friend, and I trust him.

“Gotta go now, Bog. I’ll tell you all about it… some other time.”

He nods and follows me. Shit. I stop, knowing she’s going to be waiting outside the locker room door and knowing that she’ll have gotten rid of her friends, so I’ll have no one to distract him with.

“Look, do me a favor and take the back exit. She’s… an old friend and I need to reconnect before I start introducing her to teammates.” I watch him absorb my uncharacteristically serious tone of voice and add, “Besides, I don’t know if there’s anything between us.”

“So it’s like that? I get it. A delicate situation.” His mild smile fades to a grim line and salutes me. “Later, Jennings.”

Relieved, I watch him walk toward the back exit for a beat before I leave. As soon as my shoulder hits the door, the impact of facing Fifi hits me like I’m facing the fate of my entire future, as if this moment will be the line that divides my life into the before and after.

This is the kind of encounter where I could end up jumping off a cliff and possibly change my life forever. Am I ready? The question ripples through my body in a column of energizing nerves, making my arm hair stand up and my spine stiffen.

I push open the door and she’s there, blindingly beautiful, glowing in the afternoon sunlight as it streams through the glass doors of the lobby and swirls around her like she’s a goddess.

“Fifi.” It’s all I can say.

Her smile brightens to a supernova level and without realizing it, I’ve moved. I’m there with her, my hand on the small of her back walking with her out the door.

When we hit the cold January air, the glint of sunlight off the snow casts its brightness over Fifi, making her look like a winter fairy in her pink coat and hat.