Fear of Falling

Chapter 16....

(Warning...Trigger Warning ahead. Abuse mentioned. It's only briefly mentioned but I wanted to warn you )

"So tell me hockey boy." I said once our food was long gone, along with the dessert Rick brought out to us. The sun had fully set as we sat there talking. People coming and going from the food truck but we didn't move.

"Hockey boy? Really?"

"What I think it suits you." I said cheekily. "It's your new nickname."

"Out of all of the nicknames?" Wyatt raised an eyebrow. "Can't even add man instead of boy."

"Well what should your nickname be then?"

"Wy. B. Or just Wyatt." He listed off.

"Really all of them are one letter."

"Technically Wy is with the W and the Y." This time it was his turn to be cheeky. "And B is for my last name. The guys on the team call me it mostly."

"Don't worry we'll come up with a better one for you hockey boy." I shook my head. Wyatt sighed.

"You were saying." He waved at me to continue. The confidence I felt a few moments ago was slowly fading away. Now I wasn't sure if I should ask the question that was waiting on the tip of my tongue. But I had to know, at least before things went further.

"Um...should I be expecting some sort of girlfriend or crazy ex to suddenly show up at my doorstep wondering why I'm spending time with you?" I forced myself to keep eye contact as I asked. The last thing I wanted was for his girlfriend to show up demanding why I was with her boyfriend.

"No, no crazy girlfriend or ex." Wyatt shook his head. "I..." He struggled for a moment as if he trying to decide to say more or not. "I'm not exactly proud of my past relationships. I slept around a lot towards the end of college and when I got drafted." Again he rubbed the side of his neck. "Any sort of relationships I did have didn't last long but I never cheated. I can promise you that." His voice was very firm on that part.

"Relationships can be a bit hard with...everything in my life. Sometimes you just don't know peoples intentions. It's been about a year or so since I last 'dated'." Wyatt said. 

"Girls will seriously use you for fame?" It sounds like something that would come out of a book or movie, not real life. Yet I wouldn't put it past certain people to do that either. Use someone for their fame and money.

"You'd be surprised at how many do." Wyatt said, bitterness seeping into his voice. His jaw clenched at what I assumed was a bad memory popped into his mind.

Something close to anger washed over me at the thought of some girl using Wyatt like that. Using his kindness and handwork to get further in life only to what? Cheat on him? Dump him when they found something better? Wyatt didn't deserve that. No one did.

"That's severely shitty. Like beyond shitty. I'm so sorry." My hand was across the table grabbing onto his before I could blink. I suddenly had a fear that Wyatt was thinking I was like those other women. Just being nice to him for something in return or because he was Wyatt Boone. I wasn't like that. I wasn't that type of person do that to someone.

I pulled my hand from his as I swallowed thickly. His eyes follow the movement and then up to my face. I could tell he sense the change in mood as he frowned.

"Whats wrong?"

"You know I'm not like that right? I wouldn't use you for your fame or try and be seen with you to boast my career. I'm not....I'm not that like." The last thing I wanted was for him to have any doubts about it.

"Josie."

"I don't want you to think I'm sitting here with you for something like that. That I'm not trying to wiggling myself into your life or anyone on the teams either." The words kept pouring from my lips even as I inwardly told myself to shut up.