You Had Me at Hockey (Bears Hockey #2) - Kelly Jamieson Page 0,35
“I still feel like it’s new to me.”
I smile. “It’s a pretty good hood.”
“Yes. I can’t wait to move into my place. My stuff is being delivered next week, but I’m going to be away.”
“Oh, damn. Another road trip?”
“Yeah. Chicago and Raleigh. Then we get home late Friday and we’ve got another game Saturday.” He shakes his head.
“Oh! Speaking of your Saturday game! My friend Kaylee is coming to the city and we’re going to go to the game.”
“Do you have tickets?”
“Ack. Not yet.”
“I’ll get you tickets.”
“Really?”
“Sure. We all get tickets to give to friends and family. I haven’t used any yet.”
“Okay. That would be awesome. So I guess you can’t move in that day.”
“Probably not. But I’ve got the Sunday and Monday after off.”
“Do you need any help?”
“Um…maybe?”
I laugh. “I’d be happy to help. Let me know.”
We’re passing by the Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer, which I love. I pause to look up at the old stone façade glowing in spotlights. “This church is beautiful.”
Josh studies it. “Yeah. It really is.”
For a moment, I’m distracted from the church by his face…his strong jaw and nose, the way he’s admiring the church and not dismissing my wonder and awe over it.
“It’s gorgeous inside too. I was curious one day, so I stopped in.”
He shakes his head. “I bet you do a lot of that.”
“What?” We resume walking.
“Stopping in random places you want to see.”
“I guess so. Why not? I’ve discovered some amazing things.”
“Yeah. I can see that.”
“You have everything planned. Maybe too planned.” I hope I haven’t insulted him.
“Maybe,” he agrees quietly. “I like it that way, though.”
“I know.” I think about that as we walk.
I did it again. Messed up his plans. I shouldn’t have jumped at the chance to hang out with my friends. I love Eli and Cooper and I wanted them to meet Josh and…I didn’t think the poetry reading was going to be that terrible.
He’s being very gracious about it, though. He could be pissed at me.
“I saw pictures of you on Instagram,” he says out of the blue. “At a book launch?”
“Oh. Yeah! Thursday night. I went with Eli and Cooper. And then we went to a club after and danced. Do you like dancing?”
“Sure.”
“Do you want to go dancing right now?”
“Uh…”
“Kidding! I already messed up your evening enough. I forgot you like to plan your spontaneity.”
He grins and it makes my girl parts heat up. Damn, he’s just so…gorgeous. But more than that. His smile is genuine and self-aware and that’s really, really hot. “Just a bit. How about we plan to go dancing sometime?”
I squeeze his arm, his biceps big beneath his jacket. “Okay!”
Well, there. We’re planning another date.
“Do you ever sing to yourself?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Uh…yeah. Sometimes.”
“When was the last time?”
“Hmm. I sing in the car. But I haven’t driven much since I’ve been here.”
I nod.
“What about you?”
“Well, I don’t have a car. But I sing all the time. I have a terrible voice.”
“I think your voice is sexy.”
I tilt my head, the corners of my mouth kicking up. “Do you? Thank you. I actually like your voice too. I noticed it that day we did the podcast.”
“Yeah?”
I nod. “But I can’t sing. Truly. I’m not very musical. I like dancing, but I’m not that great at it. When I was a kid, I grew really fast, and I was all long, skinny arms and legs, and super uncoordinated. I freakin’ hated gym class. So…I’m trying to learn these TicTok dances and videoing myself doing them. It’s kind of humiliating.”
“But it’s real.”
My heart bumps. “Yes.”
“That’s what you’re all about. Being real. Not everybody can dance like tWitch.”
I laugh. “You know who tWitch is?”
“Sure. I’m on TicTok.”
“No way.” I stop walking to pull out my phone. After a few swipes I find him and follow him.
“Don’t get too excited,” he says. “I don’t post much and it’s not very interesting.”
“Wait!” My eyes widen, staring at a video of him. “You’re dancing!”
He peers over at my phone. “Oh yeah. The guys made me do that step challenge with them. That was when I was in Dallas. We all got drunk.”
I give him a playful look. “Hey. You’re not as stuffy as you seem.”
“Stuffy?” He straightens. Then he sighs. “No, I really am stuffy.”
“We are going to dance.” I put my phone away.
One more block and we’re at my place. On most Saturday nights, I’d feel like this was lame, being home this early, but I’m with