Jonah (Chicago Blaze #7) - Brenda Rothert Page 0,21
neck as he pulls away, resting his forehead on mine.
“I like the ponytail,” he says softly.
“Thanks,” I manage, breathless.
He slides his hand around mine and asks, “Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” I say, even though it’s only 11:00 a.m.
Kai and I made the homemade scrub videos this morning, and we barely had time to finish that and get me ready for this date. I haven’t had anything to eat yet today.
Jonah lists a few different eateries in the area. “Are you hungry for breakfast food or lunch? There’s a good seafood place nearby, lots of great bar food places, or we could get some Chicago dogs.”
“Oh!” I smile brightly. “I want to try Chicago hotdogs.”
“Let’s do it. I figured we could walk to Navy Pier and stop there on our way.”
“Sounds like fun.”
He keeps hold of my hand as we walk, the sunny skies and light breeze making for a perfect day to be out in the city.
“Great game the other night,” I say. “I watched it with my roommate.”
“Thanks. Did you like watching it?”
“I actually did,” I admit. “It’s hard to see the puck on TV, but I liked the announcers telling me what was going on.”
“You’ll like it a lot more when you see it in person.”
“My roommate asked if you’ve ever been hit in the crotch by a puck.”
Jonah laughs. “Many times, yeah. But my gear protects the family jewels.”
“Have you ever been injured?”
“Yeah, lots of times. Goalies get lots of knee, hip and groin injuries that sometimes become long-term issues. I tore the meniscus in my knee my second pro season and had to get surgery.”
“So the gear doesn’t always stop injuries.”
“No, not at all. Guys get sliced by skate blades, that’s always a brutal one. I made a tourniquet out of a belt for a guy on the other team who had his leg sliced open during a game in college.”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t believe all the injuries that have happened. I’ve heard of guys rupturing testicles.”
My mouth falls open in shock. “No way! How horrible. Do you worry about that stuff?”
“Nah. No point in worrying. I stretch a lot to prevent injuries and that’s all I can do.”
“So I noticed all the other guys take turns playing, but you were out there the whole game. Do you get tired?”
“Not really. I don’t have to skate up and down the ice like the rest of the team. It’s more mentally tiring for me. The physical work all happens outside the games for goalies.”
“So you’re the only goalie on the team?”
“We’ve got a backup, but I start the majority of the games. It depends on injuries or sometimes on our game schedule.”
“Is the backup as good as you?”
Jonah grins. “Hell no, he’s not. Our defensemen protect me and it’s rare for me to not play a whole game. There’s a saying that goalies are like testicles. You have two, but you’d rather not lose one.”
I laugh hard at that and say, “Lots of talk about testicles on this date.”
“Testicles don’t get enough love,” Jonah quips. “We should talk about them more often.”
“I think if testicles could speak for themselves, they’d want a different kind of love,” I crack.
“I suppose you’re right.”
My next words fly out of my mouth before I have time to think about them. “Have you been with anyone since losing your wife?” As soon as I realize what I’ve said, I cringe. “I’m so sorry, don’t answer that. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Jonah’s smile is easy. “It’s fine. I’ve been with a couple women since, but it was only one time with each of them.”
“Was that hard for you?”
He’s silent as he gathers his thoughts before replying. “Yeah, it was. The first time, anyway. At a certain point I think your physical urges just kind of take over, though. For men, anyway. It’s probably different with women.”
“I think so. Women are always thinking, you know?”
He laughs. “Always. Every single second.”
We walk in comfortable silence until we arrive at a little restaurant where Jonah opens the door and places his hand on my back as we walk inside.
Once we’re seated, Jonah scans the menu and says, “We’ve gotta get some chili cheese fries, they have amazing ones here. Obviously we’re gonna get some Chicago-style dogs, too. And don’t ask for ketchup, whatever you do.”
“How big are the hot dogs?”
“They’re decent sized, but if you’re hungry, I’d get at least two.”
I take his advice, and end up eating every last crumb of my two hot dogs and a