Back to Black

2010

“I see that look on your face, and I’m telling you now… don’t.”

Lila Jones grabbed her drink from the bartender and looked to her left, “Are you telling me as a friend, or as a boss?”

“Both.” Quinn Weber sighed, leaning back against the bar, “We both know this isn’t going to end well.”

“There’s no harm in just introducing myself, saying hello. Boys and girls can be friends you know.” Lila took a sip of her drink, silently thanking Canada for more than just its low drinking age. She pushed herself away from the bar and began weaving her way through the crowded room toward a table hidden in the back of the club.

By the time Quinn was able to make her way through the crowd back to the table, she found her assistant sitting dangerously close to a certain hockey player. As she squeezed past Brent Seabrook and Mike Richards, Quinn was sure to give Jonathan Toews a soft slap upside the head. Shea Weber pulled his wife down into his lap and stole a sip of her drink before speaking to her, “What the hell was that for?” Rather than respond verbally, Quinn pointed a finger toward Jonathan and Lila.

The hockey player, rubbing the back of his head where he had just been smacked, was staring intently at the pretty brunette sitting beside him with a small smirk on his lips. Lila had been telling Jonathan about the first time she had been to a hockey game but all he could focus on was how beautiful she looked, even in the dim lighting of the club. He couldn’t be sure of what he said but it must have been funny as he watched Lila throw her head back with laughter. It was the perfect moment to let his eyes drop to her chest and get a good look. As he lifted his gaze back up to her face, Jonathan had caught a glimpse of a sultry smile painted red. He smiled sheepishly knowing he had been caught staring at her chest.

Behind the brunette before him, Jonathan could see his teammate’s wife shooting daggers in his direction. He had only known Quinn for a week or so and the woman was already judging him. Rightfully so, he argued with himself, she had walked in on he and Sarah video chatting just a few nights ago. The hockey player’s eyes unfocused on Lila, though still present. He nodded and smiled when necessary to keep her attention as she began telling him about she met the Webers.

Jonathan’s mind left the club and drifted off at the thought of Sarah. As a school teacher, she was unable to take two weeks off work to join Jonathan in Vancouver for the Olympics. They had left things in Chicago on a sour note, though he did not love her any less. The couple had been together for two years already, surely there would be another Olympics that she would hopefully be able to attend with him.

“So, what do you say?” Lila took one last sip of her drink before leaning forward to place her glass on the table. She looked at Jonathan expectantly with a raised eyebrow.

Jonathan snapped out of his daze and refocused on the girl before him, “Huh?”

Lila laughed causing Jonathan to shift uncomfortably in his seat, something that did not go unnoticed by more than one set of eyes. How was it possible to get turned on by the pure sound of someone’s laugh? Lila leaned a little closer into Jonathan’s body, “I asked if you wanted to be a gentleman and wait outside with me for a cab.”

“Oh right,” Jonathan finished off his beer and cleared his throat, “yeah, of course.” He stood and held out a hand.

“Where are you going?” Quinn called out over the music as she watched her young assistant accept Jonathan’s outstretched hand.

Lila looked over her shoulder as she felt Jonathan’s hand pull her away from the table, “Back to the hotel. I’ll see you in the morning.” She pressed her body closer to the hockey player as they moved through the packed club. She knew the dangerous game she was playing. Quinn had warned her to steer clear of the boys who were spoken for. Lila grabbed a hold of Jonathan’s arm to steady herself as a very drunk woman knocked into her. The brunette could feel the heat in her lower abdomen begin to build up as she felt Jonathan’s muscle ripple beneath her fingers.

“Did you check a coat when you got here?” He asked, taking note of the flushed look on her face. It may have been the alcohol, but there was a small part of Jonathan that hoped it was because he was having the same effect on her that she was having on him.

Lila didn’t trust herself to speak and settled for a quick nod. She left go of his arm as he directed her toward the coat check booth. Using her free hand, Lila dipped into her top and pulled out her coat ticket, handing it to Jonathan. The hockey player held in a chuckle as he felt Lila’s tiny hand tighten its grip when the coat girl flashed him a flirty smile.

As the true gentleman he was, Jonathan helped Lila into her jacket. He felt his pants tighten slightly as the smell of her shampoo hit his nose. Peaches suddenly became his new favorite fruit. Despite the openness around them, Jonathan still found himself reaching out for Lila’s hand as they headed toward the club’s front entrance.

Maybe it was the fact that it was nearly two in the morning or the fact that he had just spent the past hour restraining himself from pushing Lila up against a wall and having his way with her, but Jonathan couldn’t help but let a small yawn escape his lips as the cold Vancouver air hit him. Lila sent him a small smile as she spoke to a taxi company on the phone.

“Someone’s sleepy.”

Jonathan just nodded, shoving his hands in his pants pockets to keep them from pulling her body close to his.

“Want to come back to the hotel with me? I’m sure we could both fit, pretty sure it’s a king size bed.” Lila slid her phone back into her coat pocket and laughed as she watched Jonathan shift uncomfortably before her.

Of course he wanted to go back to her hotel with her. There was something about this girl that just hypnotized him. This wasn’t the kind of man his mother had raised him to be though… Jonathan knew better than to cheat on Sarah.

Watching him internally battle long enough, Lila spoke again and took a few steps closer to him. She could feel his body heat radiating off of him. “As friends of course… just friends. I just figured it would save the driver a trip and you’d get a night out of the village.”

Jonathan smiled, taking note of the tone she spoke in, “Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

“Of course,” Lila took another step closer, “What are friends for?”

There was that word again. Friends. Jonathan closed the rest of the space between them and wrapped his arms around Lila’s body. He looked down at her, still towering over her despite the heels she was wearing. They were alone, save for the few drunk strangers wandering the streets. He knew the guilt would kill him, but he just had to touch her.

In the blink of an eye, Lila felt Jonathan’s arms drop from their warm embrace and quickly find their way to either side of her head. It felt as if her breath was stuck in her throat. It felt like time slowed down as the hockey player held her face, his eyes searching her face as hers searched his. They both wanted it. Lila wasn’t ashamed of what was about to happen, she knew he had a girlfriend. The guilt would probably kill him, but she needed him.

It wasn’t until the cab driver pulled up, honked his horn, and rolled down his window to yell at what he assumed was a young couple, before they pulled away from one another. Lila could see a soft shade of her red lipstick on Jonathan’s mouth.

“Just friends.” He whispered into her arm before grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the cab.