Breakaway (3 page)

“The Kings treat me great,
Mom.”

“Dean…” Melissa sternly warned. “…I’m
not stupid.”

He chuckled and briefly put the phone
against his forehead. He was convinced his mother was a psychic
when he was younger. “I didn’t pay for her if that’s what you’re
asking.”

“Just make sure all of your stuff is
locked up and not stolen.” She suggested. “And for Pete’s sake, do
not tell her what you do for a living!”

“Eh, I already did.” Dean thought
about Sydney’s reaction when he revealed his occupation. The
question in her eyes was something he hadn’t seen in a long time.
She truly didn’t know who he was. It was refreshing. “She didn’t
care.”

“They always say they don’t care
before they hear how much your contract is.” Melissa pointed
out.

“Well, I’m not trying to marry her so
I’m not worried about that.”

“I wasn’t referring to you marrying
her, Dean.” She replied. “Do I need to spell it out?”

“I’m not talking
about
that
,
neither!” He hastily said. The last thing Dean wanted to do was
talk about his sex life with his mother.

“I’m just saying…childbirth costs
around ten thousand, condoms only cost three bucks.”

“Okay, Mom, I need to go. Yeah, I need
to go. I’ll talk to you later. Love you. Bye.” He hung up on his
mother and shuddered. If he had any libido, his mother effectively
killed all of it. He decided to channel his energy to food, since
he was getting hungry. “Syd, I’m going to order food service. Tell
me what you want.” He yelled out. He was met with silence.
“Syd?”

He walked over to her room and found
her passed out on top of the bed. She was so tired, she only
managed to get one of her shoes off before she gave up on the other
one. He took out a blanket and covered her body, softly kissing her
forehead before he left the room, closing the door behind
him.

He ordered room service for them both
and when it arrived, Dean put Sydney’s meal aside for her. As he
ate, it was then he realized despite the fame, fortune, and
groupies, he was truly alone. It was a sobering thought.

Six

“So let me get this straight…you meet
a man who’s a professional hockey player, he invites you to share
his suite with him, and he doesn’t make a single move on you at
all?” Sydney’s friend, Jane, replied over the phone. “Yeah, that’s
believable.”

“I know it sounds crazy but it’s
true,” Sydney said between bites of cheeseburger, “he hasn’t made a
move on me at all.”

“You have your Mace right? Make sure
you drink your own water and your own alcohol!”

Sydney shook her head. She knew her
best friend was just trying to look out for her and she couldn’t
even be mad at her. She would probably give the same advice to one
of her friends if they were doing the same thing. “Believe me, I
have taken the proper precautions. No one is going to take
advantage of anyone here.”

“Good.” Jane sat back on the couch and
stretched her legs. “So tell me about your boo thang? Is he
cute?”

Cute? Cute? Puppies were cute. Babies
were cute. Dean was…incredible. He had a light beard covering his
jawline. He wore his brown hair into a loose, messy bun. And his
physique, Sydney determined, was the reason why artists created
statues. “He’s not bad looking.” Sydney replied.

“Does he have all of his
teeth?”

Dean had one of the most beautiful and
charming smiles Sydney had ever seen. “I believe so.”

“His eyes are okay? You know those
hockey players have funky eyes from being on the ice so
long.”

Dean’s eyes sparkled whenever he
talked, like he was truly passionate about life. “I think
so.”

“What did you say his name was?” Jane
asked again.

“Dean Winchester,” Sydney shrugged. “I
guess it’s spelled the way it’s pronounced.”

“I’ll have Mike do some research on
him and I’ll call you back as soon as I know something.” Jane
wondered aloud. “I wonder if he’s been on TMZ lately.”

Sydney shook her head. Jane was the
gossip columnist amongst her friends. If it wasn’t for the fact she
went into medical research, Jane had a lifelong calling in
reporting the latest celebrity news. It seemed she knew everything
about everyone, even people Sydney didn’t know who they were.
“Please spare me the details.” Sydney looked up and saw a grinning
Dean stare back at her. He was wearing a white tank top and blue
jeans that perfectly held onto his sculpted figure. Sydney almost
choked on a French fry. “Jane, listen. I need to go. I’ll talk to
you later.” She quickly hung up.

“
Is everything okay?” Dean asked. “I didn’t mean
to scare you.”

“No, no, no, no, no. Everything’s
fine!” She quickly gulped some soda and wiped her mouth. “I was
just checking in with a friend. She couldn’t believe what happened
to me so expect my phone to go over a few more times tonight to
make sure I’m okay.”

“Understandable,” Dean nodded, “she’s
a good friend.”

“Meh. She has her moments.”

“Was she one of the three this
year?”

“Yep.” Sydney nodded. “She’s actually
a pretty nice person when she’s not planning a wedding.”

“Ouch.” Dean took a seat at the dining
table, across from Sydney. “And you’re still friends with
her?”

“I told you I was insane.”

Dean slightly nodded to Sydney. “How’s
your burger? I didn’t know what to order for you so I just went
with a staple.”

“It’s really, really good.” She wiped
her mouth. “Did you eat anything?”

“I ate earlier so I’m good.” He
yawned. “I just woke up from a nap myself.”

“How long was I passed out
for?”

“You were asleep for a while. I closed
the door so I wouldn’t disturb you.” That was a half-truth. He
closed the door so he would stop staring at her. She looked like an
angel when she slept. Her long brown hair lay softly across the
pillow and Dean had to stop himself from reaching and touching
it.

“I guess wedding stuff finally caught
up with me.” She briefly thought about Jane’s wedding. It was a
non-stop affair from the time she arrived in Chicago to when she
finally made it back to her hotel room. She probably slept for a
total 16 hours within four days.

“Well, make sure you get your rest.
I’ll leave you alone so you can sleep.”

“No, I’m awake now.” She shrugged.
“I’ll probably be up for a while.”

“Awesome,” Dean leaned in, “what would
you like to do?”

Missionary, first. Then
I’ll be on top.
“What about a movie?”
Sydney smiled.

Seven

“Good Morning, sleepyhead.” Dean
greeted Sydney as she emerged from her bedroom. “How did you
sleep?”

Sexually frustrated was the answer
Sydney wanted to give. After going back and forth on what movie to
watch for a better part of 30 minutes, they finally settled on a
comedy. They sat far from each other on the couch, probably out of
respect for her, Sydney assumed.

That was the frustrating part. She
knew Dean was on his best behavior and she appreciated that he went
out of his way to make sure she didn’t feel uncomfortable. But it
would’ve been nice if he made a slight move on her. Maybe he could
accidentally reach over and cop a feel? Hmm, probably not. Maybe he
could mention how beautiful her full lips were and how he wished,
he could feel them? Hmm…that sounded aggressive and possibly
scary.

No, Dean was the perfect gentleman. He
was on his p’s and q’s the entire night and did nothing to suggest
he was remotely interested in Sydney. Maybe that was the real
reason. She wasn’t his type, whatever his type was.

Was it possible to hate a guy for
being so damn nice and respectful? “I slept pretty well. Thanks for
asking.” She smiled. “How did you sleep?”

It was a loaded question. He wondered
how her sweet her brown skin tasted. He wanted to look down and see
her brown hair covering his thighs as she pleasured him. He
imagined what her ‘O’ face looked like. Dean spent most of his
night thinking of the different positions Sydney would be in and
briefly wondered how flexible her body was.

No, no, no!

She was a sweet girl and not a
groupie. She didn’t know who he was and he was sure if she found
out how much money he was really worth, he would’ve seen the
ubiquitous dollar signs flashing in her brown eyes.

So he did what any respectful and
decent man would do in his position – he masturbated a lot. Maybe
too much for his liking, if there was such a thing. He needed to
keep his hands to himself and any sexual remarks silent. Who knew
how long they were going to be snowed in and the last thing Dean
needed was a bogus rape claim from some chick because he merely
complimented her tight sweater.

Except Sydney wasn’t some
chick.

He fell in like –
not
in love
– with
the whole package: her smarts, her dancing smile, and her
self-depreciating humor. She knew how to have a good time. She was
open and honest about everything, and it didn’t seem to hold back
on how she really felt. He wanted to get to know her – her
background, why she ended up in retail, what she wanted out of
life, and what was her true passion.

It wasn’t insta-love and Dean didn’t
think if he actually believed in that notion. Sure, it worked for
other people and it was the sole reason why romantic comedies were
so popular but it never worked for him. He didn’t expect them to
become a couple – at least not yet – but he wouldn’t mind having a
friend he could call on and talk to every so often.

Though Dean could admit, he
didn’t like how
friend
sounded when he thought about Sydney. “I slept pretty good.”
He replied. “Did you want me to call for room service?”

“I can help pay for it,” Sydney
offered, “I know how expensive room service can be.”

Dean shook his head. “Don’t worry
about it. Your money is no good with me.”

Sydney knew Dean was a modern-day
Prince Charming. Most her dates required she went Dutch. She
should’ve known then they were cheap asses. “You’re too kind,” she
smiled.

It was almost as if the room lit up
with her smile alone. Dean was convinced her smile could compete
with the brightest stars. “It’s no thing.”

Sydney perused over the menu. She was
so used to the bland oatmeal she ate every morning for breakfast,
she was feeling overwhelmed by the extravagant breakfast options.
Some of the food had words she couldn’t even pronounce even if she
sounded them out. “So what did you want to do today?”

Dean walked over to the window and
looked out. The city was completely covered in white and it
probably wasn’t a stretch of his imagination to figure out the
airport was completely snowed in. There was only one thing he
wanted to do with Sydney that didn’t involve sweaty and sticky
sexual positions.

“Let’s make a snowman.”

****

Sydney knew she was not meant for
frigid cold weather. There was a reason why she lived in San
Francisco and gladly stayed there. Sure, San Francisco got pretty
chilly at times; she could recall a time when it dropped down to 23
degrees. But that was still above zero.

In Chicago, she was pretty sure it was
some insane degree below zero and she didn’t dare to think how far
below it was. Just feeling her teeth clack inside her mouth told
her plenty about the weather.

Now there she was, looking like a
California snow bunny with as much snow gear anyone could possibly
put on, watching Dean built a makeshift snowman in between
snow-covered cars. “You’re actually building a family?” She
commented.

“Hell, yeah!” Dean smiled as he put
the finishing touches on the bigger snowman. It was a family of
four and he was thankful he was able to convince the hotel kitchen
to give him the spoiled carrots and olives he needed for the eyes
and nose. Next time he would ask for tomatoes to complete the
mouth. He stepped aside and nodded at his creation. “What do you
think?”

Sydney shook her head. She watched
with awe and a bit of amusement how serious Dean was about his snow
family. They weren’t big but that was beside the point. He took
care into building them as if he was creating a masterpiece. It was
charming. “You’re insane. That’s incredible.”

“You should try.” He glanced over to
her. “Just gotta create a couple of snowballs and stack them on top
of each other. “

“I never made snowballs before.” She
shrugged.

“What?” Dean had a disgusted face as
if he tasted some horrible food. “What do you mean?”

“I just never had the opportunity.”
She shrugged again, wondering why what she said was so shocking. “I
can’t miss something if I never did it.”

“All right, we’re changing that
today.” He walked over to her and picked up a small pile of snow.
He nodded to her to do the same and Sydney complied. “Just watch
me. You move your hands like so as if you’re molding
dough.”