and they just don’t. But won’t that come with time? As we get to know each other better?
“Oh, boy,” David says in dismay. “That kiss was something, wasn’t it?”
I shake my head because David is inferring the emotional feeling it might have produced. “It was intimate,” I correct. “Proprietary, like he was staking a claim. But I pushed him away and told him that wasn’t what I needed to make me happy.”
“I see,” he murmurs in dismay.
“I pushed him away,” I reiterate.
But did you really want to, Ella?
Shoving that thought down, I pin my gaze on David. “I know this just made things messy, and I would not fault you at all if you want to walk the other way. I have no clue what Jim may or may not do. But I wanted you to know that he said he wants to make an effort.”
David seems to consider that. Our waiter starts to approach us, but David shakes his head, waving him off. Bringing his attention to me, he asks, “And what do you want, Ella?”
It’s a fair question. He wants me to pick him over Jim affirmatively, but it’s not about that with me. “I just want to be happy, David.”
David rubs his jaw with his hand, his expression dubious, which is why I’m surprised when he says, “I’d like to keep seeing you, Ella. I like you a lot. And I understand you want to take things slow. I am still cool with that, too. But if it ever comes to the point we can’t progress because you want something with Jim, I hope you’ll be upfront with me about it.”
“Of course I would,” I exclaim. “I would never string you along, nor would I do that to Jim. All I know is I like you, too. And what you and I have is what I’m sure about in my mind. Yes, we might be going slow, but I just came out of a very unhappy situation. I’m not sure if Jim’s even serious about any of this, but I just wanted you to know what he proclaimed. I want to give you the opportunity to walk away from this because it’s not simple for me right now.”
Before responding, David takes my hand in his once again. “I respect your honesty, and it’s just another thing about you that I find myself drawn to. I might stick around a while to see where this goes.”
My face breaks into a wide smile. “That makes me happy.”
Which is the truth. A real truth, because David is a genuine guy whom I like a lot.
But the one thing I hold back from him is that, deep down inside, even if David and I progressed and Jim never followed through with his big words, I know I’ll never love anyone the way I loved Jim. And I have to wonder what type of disservice I would be doing to David by letting him fall for a woman like that.
I shake the thought off.
Nothing is serious with David at this point. We’re two people who like each other and have a good time. We’ve enjoyed some goodnight kisses that might have gotten a little deeper each time he bids me farewell at my door, but I’ve been upfront with him since we were set up on a blind date.
I’m not ready to get serious with anyone right now.
He assured me that he was fine with that, and I’ll have to take him at his word.
Squeezing his hand before I pull it away, I grab my fork and spear another tortellini covered in a light carbonara. I wave it playfully in the air. “Now, are you sure you don’t want to try a bite of this?”
Laughing, David leans forward. “Fine. Give me a damn bite.”
CHAPTER 4
Steele
There are high fives all around as we trudge into the locker room on our skates. We beat the Edmonton Grizzlies in a hard-fought 2-1 win on the ice. My line was equally matched with their second line, and it felt like a battleground the entire time. My legs are shaky as I make my way to my cubby and sit on the bench to pull off my blade guards, followed by a quick unlacing of my skates.
I’m thinking about going to sit in an ice bath before I leave tonight since our team trainers stand at the ready to attend sore muscles, strains, and bruises.
I’m followed by my linemates, our cubbies all on the same row. Kane,