4. A Thousand Words

On Sunday morning, I microwaved the coffee that I had brewed last night and sipped on it. I popped down to my studio and checked the messages on the answering machine, taking notes to return some calls on Monday. I showered and changed, and then I gathered up some things to wash down at the laundromat. Before I could leave, though, Carla was awake and she had a very serious look on her face.

I tried to beat her to the punch. “I’m sorry about last night, Carla. I didn’t intend to break the ‘no sex’ rule,” I explained. We had had that rule since we dormed together: never bring anyone back to our room unless the other made it clear that she’d be gone for the entirety of the night. Otherwise, we were always go to over to his place to do the deed. The room we shared in university as well as our apartment now were just too small to make having sex there okay with the other in such close proximity. “It just happened, I didn’t plan it, and I mean that. The whole thing took me by surprise and I didn’t even have time to think about it.”

“I’m moving out,” she replied bluntly.

My mouth fell open, and I stammered, “All because of last night? Carla....”

She expounded on her reasoning. “It’s not just about last night, and I don’t want you to think that. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now.”

“Why?”

“We’re adults now. I want a place where I can bring guys over and not worry about our ‘no sex’ rule. I want to invite friends over to my place and not worry about whether my roommate is sleeping in my living room.”

“You know I said I don’t care. I can wear ear plugs. That’s why I said you could have the bedroom and I’d take the living room.” Carla was such a good friend of mine, one of my best friends from university, and it felt like she was breaking up with me.

“But do you know how weird it is to explain to someone I have over that my roommate sleeps in the living room? I need a more grown-up place, a place of my own.” She sighed. “Don’t worry about it, though, because you said that you’ve been getting a lot of calls, so I’m sure you’ll be making enough in no time to cover all the bills yourself.”

While money was definitely a concern of mine, it wasn’t my primary worry with this coming change. “But... are we still friends?”

“Yeah, of course we’re still friends,” Carla chuckled, offering me a smile as well. “We’ll always be friends. I just, you know, I think it’s time we grow up, be adults. Live like adults.”

“We’re only twenty-two.”

“But we’re adults nonetheless, women with degrees now and real jobs. And don’t you want to be able to bring your dates back here and do whatever you want with them without worrying about if I’d be coming back and if I’d interrupt you? Am I right?”

It did sound like a good idea. Just thinking about the things that Ryan and I could have done if Carla hadn’t have come home when she did made the spot between my legs tingle and pulse with excitement and anticipation. My entire body turned on and begged for the kind of satisfaction that I had been hoping for last night.

After all, I had seen his body, his tight abs and strong chest, and I wanted it—all of it, not just the little taste I had had. Ryan was perfect all over, proportioned just right, and even though I hadn’t fully gotten to experience it I ached for the opportunity to have a real and honest go at him.

“I guess you’re right.” It’s not like I liked sleeping in the living room either, being woken up when Carla got home late from the bar or when she had to leave super early for work, but I dealt with it. Living with Carla was comfortable, something I was got used to in the past four-plus years of my life, and it would be very weird and very hard to get used to the idea that I wouldn’t be living with her anymore.

“So I take it your date went well?” she asked, switching subjects.

I wanted to ask her more about her plans to move out, if she had any ideas about where she’d be moving to, and how soon that would be, but it was easier to avoid those topics for now because it hurt to think about. Thinking about my night with Kesler was much more agreeable to me. “Yeah, it went great, really great.”

“What’s he like?”

Smiling, I explained. “He’s nice, friendly. Open. Funny. Down to Earth, natural.” I sighed. “Easy.”

Carla snorted. “Yeah, I coulda guessed that since you got down and dirty with him on the first date.”

I laughed and clarified, “That’s not what I meant. He’s easy to talk to, easy to get along with, easy to be around.”

“And is he cute?”

“So cute,” I sighed dreamily. “Hot. Fucking hot.” I got distracted as I remembered having my mouth wrapped around his hard cock, and then thinking about his fingers inside me. My stomach clenched with the memory.

“I know that look. So, are you going to see him again?”

“Well, I hope so. He said he’d call, and what’s the rule? They wait three days?” Carla nodded and answered my question. “So I guess I’ll wait ’til Tuesday. Or would it be Monday if you count both Saturday and Monday as one of the days?”

“Don’t over-think this, Amanda. If he likes you, he’ll call, sooner rather than later.”

I wasn’t surprised when Ryan didn’t contact me on Sunday because I hadn’t expected him to. But on Monday, I started to get anxious and antsy as I awaited his call. Luckily, I had appointments at eight, ten, and twelve before Tanner and Emily’s appointment at two, so I didn’t have too much free time on my hands on think about it.

He didn’t call, but he had a good excuse not to because he showed up with his teammate and his teammate’s fiancée. I was so excited to see him that I didn’t even think to be annoyed with having to deal with his presence and the way that just knowing he was around caused this pooling sensation low in my stomach.

First I shook hands with Emily and Tanner again. I waved them back past the front desk and consultation area to the actual studio, where all my equipment was set up. They had on nice outfits, matching khakis, a button down for him, and a pretty patterned top for her. Doug stayed in the background, dutifully adjusting the lights and backdrop as we got ready to shoot. We started out with a lot of formal poses that were boring and ordinary but the kind of thing that couples usually preferred. Once those were out of the way, they headed into the back to change into jeans and their Dartmouth jerseys to try something more individual and fun. That’s when I took the opportunity to talk to Ryan.

“Hey,” I said, setting my camera down on the desk and moving closer to him. I still kept some distance, though, just in case he would think that I was being too forward. I found myself in a weird position because I realized that I wasn’t one hundred percent sure that he liked me—I mean, it’s not like any guy would ever turn down a free BJ, but he didn’t have to return the favor if he really wasn’t feeling me....

“Hey, Amanda, how are you?” he asked. I got my answer, kind of, when he gently placed one of his big hands on my shoulder, leaned in, and kissed my cheek. It wasn’t a grand gesture, but it still counted as something.

“Pretty good, you?”

“Me, too.” Then he squeezed my shoulder softly before brushing those delicious lips against mine. The kiss was so light that I was worried I had made it all up. My body, the great betrayer, shivered as a tingle ran up my spine. Ryan could feel it; I could tell by the grin on his face that he knew exactly what he had done. “Better now, for sure.”

It was still a little awkward, though, until he really broke the ice. “So, how’s Carla?”

I laughed. “She’s good.”

There was a glint in his eye, but he sincerely asked, “She’s not mad, is she?”

“No, not really,” I told him. I decided to not tell him about our conversation on Sunday morning, in case it would make him feel bad. “As you can imagine, a small apartment is not exactly conducive to two single ladies living together.”

Ryan leaned against the desk, tilted his head to the side, and grinned at me. It wasn’t quite mischievous or lascivious, but it seemed to imply everything but innocence. “Yeah, I can imagine.”

“Can you?” I tried to tease back, not able to think of anything wittier when he looked at me like that.

“Mmhmm. So I guess on our next date, I should bring you back to my place?”

“Well, I guess that depends on when our next date might be,” I replied, leaning my weight against the desk and mirroring his posturing. However, I was fully tempted to grab a hold of him and pull him up the back stairs to have my way with him right then and there. Why wait for a date?

“We leave for a two-game road trip tomorrow. So, how about Friday?” His voice dropped in volume as he moved toward me so I could still hear him. “Come to my game. We’ll go out after.”

Our faces were so close; I stared at his mouth and lips, knowing full well what they were capable of. I couldn’t think of anything else when I was in such close proximity to him. I had to ask him, “Go out after, or go back to your place and stay in?”

When he laughed, I could feel his hot breath on my skin. “Whatever you like.”

Tanner and Emily, having changed, emerged from the back. I could tell that they tried to appear nonchalant and like they weren’t really watching us, but I knew that they had seen how close we were and how we were a little suggestively positioned.

“Duty calls,” I sighed, shrugging slightly, picking up my camera, and heading toward my clients.
_______________________________________________

Tanner gave me a look as Amanda walked away from me, but I ignored it. I didn’t want him to think he had any part of this, of facilitating something between me and her, because—even if he had been encouraging—he hadn’t done anything. Instead, I stayed there by the desk, and I watched as her assistant fiddled around with the laptop. He turned to me and asked, “Do you wanna see the pictures?”

By standing in front of the computer, I could watch Amanda direct her subjects, telling them how to move and how to act, and then immediately see the results pop up on the screen. It was really kind of neat to see the process and the outcome in such quick succession.

“Emily, stand at a forty-five degree angle. Can you sweep your hair over your left shoulder? Okay, Tanner, you stand behind her and put your arms around her waist. Yeah, like that, so I can see Emily’s number on the front of her jersey and see yours on your sleeve. Fold your hands together. Good. Now, Emily, you put your hands on top of his with your left on top so we can see that ring. Perfect. All right, Tanner, just take a half step to right. No no no, your right. Your other right. There you go. Now turn your faces toward me and smile.”

“That’s nice,” I commented, checking out the image. It looked like anything I could see if I opened the announcement section of the newspaper.

“She’s only getting started,” Doug told me.

I heard Amanda talking to them. “So, how did you guys meet?”

Emily answered, “The university gym. He’d lift weights right in front of the treadmills. You couldn’t miss him, totally showing off to pick up chicks.”

Tanner added, “Well, I think it worked, didn’t it?”

Amanda took another picture of them. They were in the same pose, but their faces were so different. Their smiles weren’t faked, they were genuine. It was almost like you could feel everything they were feeling. “Wow, yeah, that’s a good one,” I said aloud, not realizing that I was speaking.

“Gives you chills, doesn’t it?” Doug asked. He didn’t wait for a response from me. “That’s what photography’s supposed to do. It’s not just supposed to capture a moment, you know? Like, people just take a picture so they can remember where they’ve been or who they were with. But a good picture’s supposed to capture the feeling of being there. What you were feeling at that moment in time, that emotion, and convey that forever. Immortalize it. And that’s what this picture right here does. And all the good photographers can do that.”

I couldn’t help myself as I posed the question, “So you think she’s good?”

He nodded. “I’ve certainly learned a lot working under her, more than any professor’s taught me. They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, but the really good ones... they’re worth a whole lot more than that.”

I stayed until the end of their session. Amanda printed off a few of the pictures for them to take home, explaining to Emily that she’d touch up the pictures and have the proofs ready in a few days, which they could pick up and then decide which pictures they wanted, how many, and the sizes. While she did that, Tanner came over to me.

“So, Kes, you lock up date numero dos?”

“Yeah, she’s coming to Friday’s game.”

“Should we make plans to go out? You, me, the girls, maybe a few of the guys and their chicks, too?”

“Nah,” I declined. I didn’t feel the need to explain that we had our own post-game plans. He didn’t know about our extracurricular activities after our first date either, and I liked it that way. I had fucked plenty of girls since Sarah, so that wasn’t a big deal. But dating someone was a big deal. “I think we’ll just do our own thing. Thanks though.”

“All right. Play on, playa,” he chuckled, holding out a fist. I bumped it and shook my head.

I hung around, waiting for them to leave so I could plan out the details with Amanda. She asked for two tickets, so she could bring Carla with her—who happened to be a huge Canucks fan, turns out—and I happily obliged her. I thought about asking her to wear my number, or even offering a jersey for her to wear, but I hesitated and thought better of it, since that could come off as pushy. It was just a date, after all. No, it wasn’t even a date because we wouldn’t be spending the time together; I’d be on the ice and she’d be in the seats, so our date wouldn’t start until after the game. And I wasn’t sure that we’d be spending any of that time getting to know each other.

It was a relatively short trip, just to Calgary and Minnesota before we boarded the plane back to Vancouver. I tried not to get ahead of myself and think about Friday’s game against the Kings, but it was tough not to. I wanted to make sure I played well with Amanda in the stands, knowing that she’d be there to watch me.

As much as I wanted to get my head in the game, the guys kept me grounded in the present, ragging on me nonstop about that damn underwear shot. It was viral, spreading all over the Internet like wildfire. My agent assured me that it was great publicity for the RK17 line. Anything that got you in the spotlight was supposed to be good for you and the team, but I hated that the attention came at the expense of my self-respect. I felt like an idiot.

“Good to know, Kes, that you’ll have a future in modeling once your hockey career’s over,” Mason laughed, checking something on his iPhone. “I swear, everywhere I look, I see your ugly mug. And don’t I have to see your naked ass enough in the dressing room?”

“You only have to see it if you make it a point to look at it, Raymond,” I responded. “I didn’t know you were looking.”

“N-no, I’m not,” he quickly stammered, defending his sexuality. If only he protected the puck with those kind of reflexes.

We won our games on the road, and the team headed home feeling pretty good. There was an optional morning skate on Friday, and I stayed home and rested to get myself ready.

It was a good game. We won, and I scored two goals. I tried hard for that third—I’d never had an NHL hattie—but even with the guys feeding me pucks left and right, I couldn’t get it. Tanner gave me a swift smack to the ass as I headed for the door, I guess for encouragement. Not like I needed it, because I was already ramped up and ready to go. There was so much adrenaline in my system after the game, and I was excited for my second date with Amanda.

I had wondered if she would wear my number, if she would be there not just because I asked her to but because she wanted to cheer me on. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see her in that blue RK17 shirt. It was kind of my number. She looked good in it.

“Hey,” I greeted, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and giving her a squeeze that was half kind of like a hug and half not. There were a lot of people around, so I didn’t want too much full-body contact. I kissed her cheek. “Did you enjoy the game?”

“Sure did. Congrats on your goals. You were on fire out there.”

I shrugged. I had laid it all out on the ice, but I didn’t want to make it look like I was trying as hard as I was. “Is Carla here?”

“No,” she chuckled. “Bringing her back here would have been a disaster. I told her that I was going to drop off the proofs for Tanner so she’d leave without me. Otherwise, we’d probably have to surgically remove her from one of your teammates.”

The idea of that was pretty funny, and something I probably would make a point of seeing in the future. Some of the guys were horribly awkward around the forward fangirls; I’d just have to wait to see who I’d want to get back at so I could introduce Carla to him.

I smiled down at her. “Ready to go?”

Her grin matched mine, and I was pretty sure her thoughts did, too. “Yup.”

“I’m kind of hungry, I’m thinking of getting some take out. You interested?”

“Yup,” she repeated. I placed my hand on the small of her back and guided her out toward my car.