Flying High

13. I Promise

(Breeze’s POV)

The first official day of our trip is spent showing Max around my old stomping grounds. I take him by my old school, the places where my friends and liked to sneak out late at night, and several other areas that were popular with the crowd I ran with.

We met up with my friends that had returned home for the holiday. Daisy, my best friend, was the hardest on Max with the interrogations but he took it all in stride. Ember and Autumn were much more gentle in their questioning.

The second day, Daddy had talked Max into helping with a few things around the farm. Max insisted that he would be fine and that I go meet the girls.

The four of us went shopping and decided to stop at one of our local favorites for lunch. We placed out orders and claimed our table, which happened to be free.

“So,” Daisy started.
“Oh no,” “Hear it comes,” Ember and Autumn said in succession.
Daisy glares at the two women who are trying not to laugh; I wait patiently.
“About Max,” Daisy starts but stops when the waitress brings our drinks.
“What about him?” I question when the young girl leaves.

“I’m not sure about him Bree,” Daisy said; she and I had always been close so she knew she could be totally honest with me. Ember and Autumn stay quiet, knowing Daisy needed to say her piece.
“And why is that?” I push.

“He just seems to perfect,” Daisy says, I don’t say anything at her statement.
“What I mean is…. What do you really know about him? About his past? He just showed up out of nowhere and whisks you off your feet,” Daisy stops and waits for my answer.

“I’m still learning about him, Daisy. I’m sure he’s not perfect – no one is. And I don’t need to know about his past….I mean, do I really want to discuss past relationships after my failed relationships? And he has hardly whisked me off my feet.”

“You’ve been together for less than two months and he takes you on vacation,” Daisy points out.
“Yeah to my home,” I counter.
“What about that girl he’s always talking about?” Ember asks – Daisy gives me a pointed look.
I look at all three women, “I told you, she’s on old team mate.”
“So nothing else went on?” Autumn questions.
“I don’t know,” I admit.

Daisy pulls out her phone, “That’s an easy fix.”
“Daisy don’t,” I start but I can see her eyes widen and know it’s too late to stop her.
“Wow,” Daisy passes the phone to the other two before they hand it over to me.

Long, dark locks flow wildly, framing the round, sun kissed face of the strikingly beautiful woman. Her body was softly curved but toned at the same time from years of rigorous training. Dark eyes, flecked with green, pierced the screen; daring the looker to move.

I flicked the screen to pull up a different picture; the second was of the same woman, but she was sporting a red jersey with an Indian head cresting the front. She was standing next to a much taller, dark haired man who also was sporting the red jersey.

I moved through several more pictures, most of the woman in action – a few were adds from various sponsors.

The last, the photo that made me stop, was clearly of a couple. They looked as if they were unaware of the photo being taken – the woman was laughing at something the man next to her had said. He had one hand resting on her hip, the other was cradling her face.
I slam the phone on the table.

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(Max’s POV)

I worked with Tommy for several hours – the man may be in his sixties but he could still move. I was dripping sweat by the time he called it a day. I walked back up to the house for a quick shower and if I was lucky, I could maybe snatch a quick nap before Breeze got home. I was planning on taking Breeze out for dinner; Rebecca had suggested the Iron Horse.

I had just stepped out of the shower when I heard a succession of doors slam. I hurriedly dressed, only just getting my jeans pulled up, when the bedroom door slammed open.

“Breeze? What’s wrong?” She was clearly angry.
“What is she to you?” Breeze’s question caught me off guard; I had no clue to whom she was referring.
“Who are you…?”
“Don’t play stupid Max,” Breeze cut me off, she crossed her arms.
I took a step toward her, “Babe I don’t….”
“Nicole, Max! Who is she to you?” Breeze’s voice rose slightly.
“She’s a friend….”
“Don’t lie to me!” Breeze yelled at me.

I try to step closer but she backed away, “Breeze, listen to me. Nicole is just a friend. I don’t know why she has suddenly become a problem, but she is only a friend.”

I can see tears threatening to fall as Breeze turns and leaves the room. I quickly grab a shirt and chase after her. I don’t know what has happened but I know I need to fix it.

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(Breeze’s POV)

I know I have a head start on Max and the moment my feet hit the snow I start to run. I just make it to the tree line when I hear him call after me. I don’t stop, needing to put as much distance between us as I can. I reach a clearing and stop for a moment to try and catch my breath before I walk toward another clump of trees. With the snow on the ground, I knew Max would be able to find me easily.

I reach the creek bank and climb down, I wait in the overhang.
I hear Max’s steps crunch through the snow as he gets closer. He stops directly above me before jumping into the gully.

“Will you please tell me what is going on?” Max is breathing hard as he bends at the waist and tries to catch his breath.

“I need to know what Nicole was to you Max,” I state, trying to stay calm.

“What brought this on, Breeze? You’ve known about my friendship with Nic since we started dating; Why now?” I can see that Max isn’t going to answer my questions with an explanation from me.
“Daisy googled her,” I admit, now slightly embarrassed.

Max lets out a chuckle, “Knew she didn’t like me,” he pauses to see if I object; when I don’t he continues, “Nicole joined the Pens last season. She’s a great player, and team mate. We became close quickly and I asked her out,” I look away when he says this, “But we were moving too fast and I panicked; so instead of just breaking things off, I hooked up with a couple of bunnies. Nicole was heartbroken and I felt like shit,” I look at Max and watch as he absently rubs his law line, “Girl has a mean right hook.”

“She hit you?” the question escapes before I can stop it.

Max chuckles, “Yeah, but I deserved it. Anyway, I talked to my agent and said I wanted a trade after the season. Nicole ended up leaving too. Went to Chicago. We’ve patched a friendship out of things – it took time of course. Now she’s dating Toews – he’s the captain of the Blackhawks,” The picture of the dark haired man in the red jersey flashed through my mind, “And I moved to Philly and met you. Best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

I stand up and wrap my hands around Max’s torso. He mimics the gesture and rest his chin on the top of my head. When I pull back I can see the snow gently falling around us.

“I’m sorry for acting like a crazy person,” I say.

Max chuckles and presses his lips to mine for a moment. He moves away and places his forehead against mine.

“Just talk to me, Belle. I promise to be complexly honest with you but you have to be up front with me, always.”

“Always, I promise.”