Breakaway (2 page)

****

Of course it is.

Dean stared up at the monitor and saw
his flight back to L.A. was canceled. Not postponed. Not delayed.
Canceled. He was officially snowed in and there was no telling when
any flights were getting up off the ground. He let out a heavy sigh
and looked around him. Many people have predicted the canceled
flight and headed out to the nearest hotel to sleep. Others got
comfortable on the floor and created their own camps.

Dean got on the phone with his agent.
“I’m snowed in and stuck at the airport.”

“I told you flying to Chicago during a
snowstorm wasn’t smart, playa.” Hayden McClain replied over the
phone. He was a tall, muscular, and clean-shaven man. He had a
constant smug look on his face that screamed, ‘Try me if you dare.’
“Don’t worry, I got you covered. You have a room booked at the Omni
for the next three days. Just head over to the hotel and check in.
I already told your coach you wouldn’t be back until the end of the
week.”

“Thanks, H.” Dean sighed. “I owe you
one.”

“Just become the leading scorer again
and we’ll break even.” Hayden replied. “I’ll call you later,
kiddo.”

Dean picked up his luggage and was
grateful he only had the carry-on. He hailed a taxi and promptly
went to the Omni.

He had to spend a few more days in
Chicago. It wasn’t ideal but it could be worse; he could’ve been
stuck at the airport.

****

Her dogs were barking. Screaming at
her!

Sydney barely made it to the Omni
hotel after two unsuccessful attempts to get a room at other
neighboring hotels. Just her luck, every single room was booked and
she was going to try the Omni in a final effort. It was beyond her
budget and she honestly didn’t know how she would be able to afford
a room but she would worry about that later. Maybe she could charm
the front desk crew into giving her into a discount.

When she entered the lobby
of the Omni, Sydney already knew what the answer was going to be.
She saw families pick up their bags and turn away with thick smear
of disgust on the parents’ faces. She heard a few parents mutter
something along the lines of
ridiculous
and
too expensive
and
airport floor is cheaper
.

She really didn’t need to hear all of
that.

“Hello Miss,” the front desk attendant
greeted Sydney, “how may I help you today?”

“I need a hotel room for the night,”
Sydney paused and looked behind her at the streaming sheet of white
pouring down, “maybe a few days.”

“Well, we have our suites left.” The
attendant mentioned. “How many nights would you like?”

“I guess three.” Sydney mentioned.
“How much would that be?”

“Just one moment,” The attendant
pressed a few buttons in the computer. “That’ll be 1100
dollars.”

Sydney hated the fact that she never
cleaned her ears that well. She truly hated gunk in the middle of
her ears and she figured that had to be reason she misheard the
astronomical price tag. “Come again? I thought you said 1100
dollars.”

“That’s correct,” The attendant
nodded, “how do you want to pay?”

“Um, let me get back to you on that.”
Sydney gave a polite smile and picked up her luggage. Muttering a
rapid-fire explosion of profanities under her breath, she walked
into the middle of the lobby. She had very little money, every
reasonable hotel was booked, and the only available hotel had a
price she couldn’t even fathom to afford.

“I guess I will get comfortable at the
lovely O’Hare…”

She began to walk again and ran into a
brick wall of a man, knocking her clear off her feet. Sydney felt
lucky the Omni had nice polished floors that somehow softened the
hard blow she felt on her ass.

“I’m sorry, Miss. Are you okay?” The
man helped Sydney stand up.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She rubbed her
behind and tried to gather her belongings. “My big butt softened
the blow.”

The man smiled. “It’s not too big.” He
noticed Sydney’s sharp stare at him and immediately noticed his
mistake. “I meant it’s pretty small for your size.” Sydney’s eyes
grew sharper. “I meant…shit…hi, I’m Dean.” He held out his
hand.

“I’m Sydney.” She shook his hand.
“Thank you for the compliment?”

“I thought you were calling yourself
fat and I was trying to tell you you’re not and it just went
downhill so whatever.” He offered another smile. “Are you sure
you’re okay?”

Dean’s smile was charming and Sydney
noticed it matched the glitter in his green eyes. “I’m fine. Thank
you.”

“If you’re not busy, I would like to
buy you a drink at the bar. That is, if you drink?” He offered.
“Just another way of saying I’m sorry.”

“Another way of saying you’re sorry or
you’re making a move on me?” She asked.

“Both,” He was honest. “You’re pretty
and I want to buy you a drink.” He held out an arm. “Shall
we?”

Sydney interlocked her arm with Dean.
With the day she was having, a drink definitely wouldn’t hurt. “We
shall.”

Four

“Three weddings in one year?” Dean
asked as Sydney nodded. “Wow. How are you still sane?”

Sydney shrugged as she sipped on her
mojito. “I have no idea. I’m just a good friend, I
guess.”

“You’re insane!” Dean laughed. “Why
did you agree to go to all of them?”

“Like I’ve said, I’m a good friend.”
Sydney replied. “Plus, the maids of honor weren’t anything to boast
or brag about. I stepped in and that’s it.”

“Three times?”

“Three times.” She pursed her lips.
“Maybe I’m a little insane.”

“Just a little,” His eyes glittered
and Sydney sheepishly smiled.

“So why are you stuck here?” She
asked. “Visiting friends and family?”

“Family and a few friends.” His eyes
became sad and he let out a deep breath. “Um, funeral.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sydney replied. “I’m
so sorry for your loss.”

“It’s okay,” Dean replied. “He was a
good man. The best man I ever knew.”

Sydney felt weird prying into such a
private and sensitive topic but she felt compelled to know.
“Someone you personally knew?”

Dean took a gulp of beer and stared
straight ahead. “My dad.” He paused again. “He battled cancer for
the past several years and we all knew this was going to be his
final year so we made the most of it.”

“I’m so sorry.” She grabbed his arm
and rubbed it. “I’m sorry if I intruded.”

“Nah, nah.” He brushed it off. “It’s
all over the media so it’s not a secret.”

“All over the media?” Sydney asked.
“Was he famous?”

“No, no, he wasn’t famous.” Dean
replied. He paused for a moment and looked over at Sydney. “I hate
saying this line but do you know who I am?”

“Not a single clue,” she shook her
head. “Am I supposed to know?”

“No.” He smiled. It was refreshing
that Sydney wasn’t a groupie or a gold-digger. After several years
in the league, it was easy to spot both groups. “I’m glad you
don’t.”

“So now that you kinda told me who you
are, what is it that you do?” She asked.

“I’m a hockey player.” Dean replied.
“I play for the Kings.”

“Oh, that’s cool.”

“Do you follow hockey?”

“I was watching a fight once but a
game kept getting in the way.” She winked.

Dean noticed the sparkle in Sydney’s
brown eyes when she smiled. It seemingly made her more beautiful.
“We do fight but it’s good for both teams. A lot of aggression and
pent-up frustration. We need to do something with it.”

“You always have been a hockey
player?” She inquired.

“It’s all I know. I can’t imagine
doing anything else for the rest of my life.” He shrugged. “So
until I can’t play anymore, this is it for life.”

“That is so cool that you’re
passionate about something. That sounds a lot more fun than what I
do for a living.” She said. “I work in retail.”

“That doesn’t sound too
bad. I like to go shopping.” Dean said and Sydney shot him a
disbelieving look. “Okay,
online
shopping.”

“That’s what I thought.” Sydney
smiled. She then glanced at her cell phone and noticed she needed
to get back to the airport. She needed to find a comfy spot before
they were all taken. “Well, I need to go.” She finished her drink.
“I have a long night ahead of me.”

“Where are you headed?” He
asked.

“Back to the airport. I can’t afford
to stay here tonight so I’m going to camp out at the airport until
I can leave.” She stated.

“You know you could stay with me,” he
offered, “I have a suite I can share.”

“That’s so kind but I’m not in the
business of spending the night with a complete stranger…” Sydney
remembered her past dalliances. “…Anymore.”

“A reformed bad girl, I like that.” He
nodded and quickly darted his lips with his tongue. “But I’m not
propositioning you. I have a two-bedroom suite all to myself and I
would feel awful if you slept at the airport when you could be in a
nice warm bed at a hotel.”

“I wouldn’t be able to pay you back,
Dean.” She replied.

“I don’t expect you to. Besides, you
don’t know when your flight is going to leave. You might be stuck
here for a couple of days. I don’t want you to sleep on the airport
floor and risk getting your space and your stuff
stolen.”

Sydney gently bit her lip. The offer
was too good to be true and that was the problem with it. “I don’t
know, Dean. I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“I think you know it’s a good idea.”
He countered back. “I’m just waiting for you to accept
it.”

Sydney slightly gasped. “And what
makes you say that? That’s pretty bold and
presumptuous.”

“Your hand?”

“What about my hand?”

Dean glanced down at his arm where
Sydney’s hand was. “It hasn’t left my arm since you touched
it.”

Five

“
Well, here it is…” Dean
said as they entered the suite and looked around. “Not
bad.”

Sydney was convinced she didn’t see
the same room Dean did. There were two bedrooms that were separated
by the living room, which had plush sofas and a large flat-screen
TV. In the corner was a wet bar with a granite countertop. Both
rooms had their own queen-sized bed and TV, with a large window
that offered a different view of Chicago. The balcony overlooked
the Chicago skyline.

Sydney could honestly say that suite
was much better than her apartment and that was a sad admittance.
“Not bad?”

“It’s pretty nice,” Dean smiled. He
walked over to the sofa and plopped down on it. He stretched his
legs out and turned on the TV. “You can go ahead and pick which
room you want and I’ll get the other one.”

“That’s too kind but I don’t want to
take advantage of it,” she replied, “I mean, you’re paying for this
so you should have first dibs.”

“Ladies first.” His eyes smiled at
her. “Besides, I saw the luggage you have. You need the bigger
room.”

“I don’t have that much…” Sydney
looked behind her and saw the two heavy suitcases behind her. One
bag had street clothes; the other was full of wedding-related stuff
that she had half a mind to hold onto, in case she had a surprise
wedding number four to attend. “…Okay, so I have a bit of
luggage.”

“A bit of luggage.” Dean repeated,
enunciating every word. “That’s like being a little
pregnant.”

“Shut up!” Sydney laughed and headed
to her room. She moved her luggage to the corner and fell on top of
the queen-sized bed. She barely kicked off one of her Nikes and
stretched out.

What were the odds? Her meeting some
famous – yet unknown to her – hockey player and he invites her to
share his suite with her. Dangerous? Sure. Stupid? Not the dumbest
thing she’s done.

Still, she didn’t feel like she was in
danger being around Dean. But for safekeeping, she was going to
lock her door when she slept. Okay, she was also going to put a
blockade against it. In fact, she should probably sleep with
something underneath her pillow just in case.

The last thought convinced Sydney that
she should probably stop watching so many Lifetime
movies.

****

“Yep, I’m settled in. Got here about
an hour or so ago, so I’m fine.” Dean spoke over the
phone.

“You know you could’ve came back home.
We’re not that far away from the airport.” Melissa
offered.

“I don’t want you driving out in that
weather. Besides, you weren’t going to get too far with the way
it’s coming down.” He briefly looked out the window and saw a thick
blanket of white. “I’m fine and safe here. It’s a really nice room
and I like it.”

“Okay.” Melissa decided not to argue
with her son. Even if he weren’t right, he would argue his point
until he was exhausted, causing her to be just as exhausted as
well. "I hope your company treats you well.”