Page 5 of Rivals

Three

I gotto Jazzy Joe’s too early. I was nervous, date nervous.

I’d fixated on what Trevor had said all through Thanksgiving dinner and throughout today. I thought too much about what to wear, too. If this was a date of some kind, I wanted to look good. I was in my best jeans and a tight-ish dark blue sweater that made my light blue eyes pop and hugged my body in a good way. I got a thumbs up from Trevor before I left. I wasn’t sure if that counted for much coming from a straight, younger brother. But I knew he wouldn’t let me leave looking bad.

I sat facing the door, a cup of strong coffee in front of me. I wanted to make sure I was fully alert for this. The table was small, so we were going to be just inches apart. I was ultra- nervous, right down to sweaty palms. What if I couldn’t manage to have an intelligent conversation with this handsome man?

He was breathtaking when he walked in. He scanned the room, giving me a couple seconds to drink him in from afar before he found me. His jeans were just the right fit. The dark purple V-neck sweater looked comfy under a great looking pea coat. He caught my eye, smiled and waved.

“The usual, Alex?” a barista called out from behind the counter before he’d even gotten there.

“Please. Thanks” Alex nodded at the guy. He moved towards me, saying hello to a couple of people on the way. This was his neighborhood coffee place. We were on his turf. My nerves kicked up another notch.

I stood up as he approached and extended a hand. He grasped it tightly, shook it, and drew me into a hug.

“Good to see you, man,” Alex said.

The embrace was fantastic. He smelled great, clean with just a hint of cologne. I held the hug to feel his body for as long as he let me. I made mental notes of every finite detail, feeling what I could through the coat. He gave off a smooth confidence. I hoped I was doing the same.

“I couldn’t believe you turned up at the rink yesterday. It was a great surprise.”

“Drink’s up, Alex,” the barista called.

“Hold that thought,” he said. I sat down and watched him as he quickly picked up his drink at the bar. “So, yeah, I wasn’t expecting to find anyone there, much less you. You were a consistent nemesis. I never quite knew what you were going to do across that dot and it kept me on my toes, just like yesterday. So how’s California life treating you?”

“So far so good. I like San Francisco. Gorgeous weather and lots to do when I’m not working. I’ll be glad when I’m not the new guy anymore so I can get a little more free time. But I really can’t complain too much, you know.”

“Yeah. I’ve got a bit of the new guy thing going on at the paper, even though I interned a couple summers. At least they let me hop on the hockey beat, which was cool. I still cover a lot of grunt jobs, too. It’s okay though, I can see the Red Wings for free anytime.”

“I see quite a few Sharks games, too. It’s a good perk. Cheers to seeing a lot of good hockey.” I raised my mug and Alex clanked his against it.

“Cheers.”

We both took long drinks. I looked at him over the rim of my mug and was embarrassed to lock eyes with him, even though they easily drew me in. I wasn’t drinking anymore, but I held the mug to my lips as if that would give me cover from staring. He seemed to do the same—watching me intently. What was he looking for? Some indication this might be more than a catch up?

Alex broke the silence. “How was Thanksgiving? Lots of family in town?” He continued as if we hadn’t just had the mini staring contest.

“Yeah.” I put the mug down. “I think every member of our family was at the house at some point yesterday. Mom blamed it on me since people weren’t used to me being home. It made it even more of an event than it usually is. What about yours?”

“Pretty low key. I did my usual shuttling back and forth between mom and dad. Ended up with twice the food in my stomach, which is why the skate yesterday was all the more important. Had to gear up to handle all that eating. How long are you in town for?”

“Flights at noon on Sunday. Staying as long as I can, but making sure I’m not dragging Monday back at work.”

“Bummer, there’s a Red Wings game Sunday afternoon that I’ve got an extra ticket for.”

“Oh man, that would’ve been awesome. Rain check?” I downed the rest of my coffee.

“Consider it done. Let me get you a refill. I did say I’d buy the winner coffee after all. What’re you drinking?”

“It was just straight up strong coffee.”

“Let me get you the specialty of the house. It’s a chocolate, coffee, espresso combination that’s the best thing you’ll ever have.”

“All right.”

“Be right back.” He headed over to the barista and chatted with him while getting the drinks. The jeans showed off his ass, a tight, perfect bubble. I wanted some of that. He came back with a large cup that nearly overflowed with whipped cream.

“Ta-dah.”