Dark Paradise

Emma dug her cell phone out of her pocket for what seemed like the hundredth time as while she spent her evening out to dinner. The hockey player across the table reached over and held her fidgeting hand in his larger, worn hand. Dan gave her a calming smile, “He’ll be alright with Jonny and Quinn. We’ve only been gone for a half hour anyway, I doubt he misses you yet.”

“Right... you’re right, I’m sorry. It’s just, I’ve never left him before to go on a date.” Emma explained tossing her phone in her purse.

Dan smirked, “Well, I feel honored to have the privilege of being your first date since your divorce.”

Emma winced at the word ‘divorce’ but covered it up by admiring how the food tasted. She found herself in a small Italian restaurant sitting across from Dan Carcillo on the first friday of December. Chicago had yet to see any snow, but that didn’t stop people from decorating for the upcoming holidays. Wreaths hung on doors, trees sat in living rooms, and multicolored lights flashed from every window. Since the first of December, the city had been buzzing with holiday cheer.

“We should go skating after this.” The hockey player suggested as he payed the bill.

The brunette tossed her hair into a messy bun and readjusted her scarf, “I haven’t skated in such a long time. I’ll probably be rusty and fall a million times.”

As the pair stepped out into the chilly Chicago air, Dan smirked linking his fingers with hers, “Don’t worry. I’m sure there are a lot of things you haven’t done in a long time that I can help you with.” Emma felt her cheeks burn up as they made their way through the busy streets.


The brunette felt jittery as she and Dan were skating around the ice. People gave the athlete and his date space, but they were under by constant surveillance the entire time. Both were used to people staring, knowing who they were and more about their personal life than necessary. As much fun as she was having, the single mother couldn’t help but try and hide her face from any sign of a camera or cell phone. The last thing she needed was to have TJ find out from someone that she was dating again. Despite the awful way their relationship had ended, the brunette still secretly jumped on any chance she could get just to talk on the phone with her cheating ex-husband.

Back at the apartment, Quinn and Luca were dancing around to holiday music playing over the radio system. As “Jingle Bell Rock” began, Jonathan returned home from a session with Mike Gapski, the trainer, after taking a rough spill in the game the night before. The hockey player kicked off his sneakers and ran upstairs to the shower going unnoticed. Quinn hummed to the tune of the song as she spun her godson in circles. The aroma of cookies in the oven made her mouth water like crazy. As she danced around the kitchen waiting for the timer to go off, Jonathan had finished his shower and leaned against the doorway watching his wife interact with Luca. A small smile danced across his face.

Jonathan snuck up quietly behind his wife and squeezed her hips. He lowered his lips right behind her ear, his warm breath heating up her whole face, “You’re going to make an amazing mother.”

The blonde felt her body warm up instantly from the core outward. “I love you.” Just as she went in for a kiss, Quinn felt her pocket start vibrating. She let out a small groan and pulled out her cell phone, “Timothy Oshie, you are officially the world’s biggest cock block. What can I do for you?”

TJ let out a hearty laugh as he balanced his daughter on his hip, “Sorry Q, my boy there? I wanted to talk to him.”

Quinn wiggled out of her husband’s arms and saw Luca reaching for the bowl of left over cookie dough. She smiled and handed him a small piece, “You want to talk to your dad, babe?”

“No.” Luca grabbed the doughy treat from his godmother and ran out of the room.

“Teej, I-”

The hockey player on the other end cut Quinn off before she could even try to say something, “No worries, just tell him I love him.”

Quinn nodded even though he wouldn’t be able to see her, “Of course.”

The other end went dead and Quinn ran a hand over her face. Jonathan gave her a quick kiss before leaving the room to get Luca ready for bed. The door slammed shut just as the timer went off for the cookies in the oven causing Quinn to jump ten feet in the air. She turned to see her friend leaning against the wall with a distraught look on her face. The blonde quickly pulled her treats out of the oven and set them to cool before seeing what was wrong.

Emma felt her bottom lip quiver as she saw Quinn quickly approaching her. A concerned, motherly look was plastered across the blonde’s face. Emma ran to her friend and pressed her face into Quinn’s shoulder allowing the blonde’s t-shirt to soak up tears. No questions asked, Quinn rubbed small circles in the brunette’s back and just let her cry. After a moment just standing in the hallway, Emma pulled away, gave her friend a small smile, and headed up to her room. She immediately washed away her make-up and changed into a pair of extremely oversized sweatpants and a t-shirt she had stolen from TJ when they were both still in North Dakota.

After tossing and turning, feeling so restless, Emma threw on her glasses and grabbed her laptop from the bedside table. As soon as she logged on, there was a notification at the bottom of her screen from Skype. A video call from TJ popped up on her screen before she got a chance to do anything else. The brunette let the call ring for a moment before deciding to answer. There was a slight pain in her heart as she saw her ex-husband, the only man she’s ever loved, looking just as handsome as the first day they met.

He had his glasses on and had obviously just gotten out of the shower, the tip so his hair were likely dripping all over the bedsheets. Emma couldn’t hold back her smile at the sight of TJ. “Hey..” She muttered, still upset over the way her night had ended.

TJ smiled and gave a small wave, “What’s wrong?”

Emma shook her head, “Nothing, I’m fine. What’s up?”

“Don’t change the subject.” TJ sighed, running a hand through his wet hair sending droplets of water flying everywhere.

The brunette shrugged, “Just a stressful night is all... How have you been?” Emma was still unsure of TJ’s reason for video calling but it wasn’t someone she was going to dwell over.

“You look good.” He replied, completely out of the blue and unexpected.

Emma stared at her screen like a deer in headlights for a moment. She ended the call, shut off the computer, and lay back in bed. Those three words replayed over and over again as she tried to fall into an endless sleep. A million thoughts raced through her mind as she pulled the duvet over her head. Meanwhile, down in Saint Louis, TJ stared at the screen and watched the call end. He couldn’t believe the words had just left his mouth, a thought that had been plaguing his mind since his visit just a few months earlier.

It was at that moment when TJ realized that he may have made the biggest mistake of his life. He shut off his computer and headed to bed, closing the office door behind him. The hockey player stood in the doorway for a moment and watched Kayla sleep so soundly. He sighed heavily before almost forcing himself to climb into the bed and wrap his arms around a body that now after four years seemed so different.