After a one night stand on New Year's Eve, Lia and Derrick don't expect to see one another again. After all, she's a Harvard PhD student and he's a professional hockey player for the Boston Knights - there's no way their paths should cross again.
E...
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The weekend in Los Angeles had been a whirlwind. I'd spent less than seventy-two hours on the west coast, and somehow had managed to squeeze in a hockey game, quality time with both my boyfriend and my parents, as well as a handful of little adventures around Derrick's new city.
Not to mention all the sex.
But sadly, the fairy tale came to an end all too quickly, leaving me to settle right back into life in Boston.
"Are the two coffees a good thing or a bad thing?" Harper asked when I took a seat across from her and Esme Monday morning.
"Neither," I responded, taking a long gulp to try and get as much caffeine flowing through my body as possible. In an attempt to prolong my weekend with Derrick, and because there'd been limited tickets left so last minute, I'd taken a red-eye back from Los Angeles and had only landed a few hours earlier. I'd been so close to canceling, but after realizing I had no coffee at home, I knew there was no way I could get through the day without it. "Just precautionary, since I didn't really sleep all that well on the flight. So, I'm hoping this—" I shook the coffee cup in my hand slightly. "—can get me through the day until I can crash in my own bed."
Esme lifted a brow, an ounce of concern noticeable in her expression. "Was it just the plane that made it hard to sleep? Or was it knowing you were leaving your man on the west coast?"
And if I was being honest with myself, it was mostly the latter.
Typically I was okay with flying overnight, or as good as any normal person could be seated in coach. Last night, however, I couldn't get my brain to shut off. I'd close my eyes and think about the weekend Derrick and I had shared—the nights wrapped up in one another and the days spent laughing and exploring—wondering when we'd get a chance to be in the same time-zone again.
Looking down at my cup, I asked, "Does it being the second one make me a fool?"
Harper shook her head. "You couldn't be a fool even if you tried."
"Apparently I can be," I said, "because I used to be logical about things like this. How the hell is anything about my relationship with Derrick logical?"
"Logic doesn't always come into play when it comes to love, Lia."
My shoulders fell as I blew out a long breath, that simple four-letter word floating around my head. "He flew my parents out guys."
The words tumbled out with whispered awe, and while it wasn't a new revelation, I'd been too busy enjoying my time with them to fully digest the significance of the action until now.
Both of them feigned shock and I rolled my eyes.
"I know you guys helped him pull it off," I said, watching as their expressions turned sheepish, "but I still can't believe it happened. Like, how did he even come up with the idea?"
