Hailey bit the inside of her cheek out of habit. She was anxious to even open her mouth, but at some point she had to face the truth. She had mulled over the decision for two days now, hoping to find her answer right in front of her, but nothing was clear to her. Nothing had seemed to be clear to her in the past year and a half, so why would now be any different?

She finally just did it, “Remember that job I applied for in LA last year?” Hailey said as she turned around from the kitchen counter to face him.

The sunlight beaming outside came in through the window and caught her freckled face causing Mike Richards to smile, forgetting what she was talking about for a split second. Her understated beauty caught him off guard on a constant basis, and he always lost his train of thought when he really got a good glimpse of Hailey. He bit back the smile he wanted to show when he saw the look in her eyes, he knew this wasn’t easy for her to talk about.

Mike nodded though, “Yes.”

“Well, they just called to tell me I got the job a couple days ago,” Hailey bit her bottom lip.

“Really?” he set the fork on the plate of food she had just set in front of him.

She looked scared, and she was terrified. Mike saw it all over her face. She looked like she was hoping that Mike would react one way or another, but he couldn’t. The young hockey player couldn’t react either way because it wasn’t right or fair.

Hailey Reynolds and Mike Richards had developed a seemingly perfect relationship over the past year and a half, one in which feelings and emotions were rarely involved or at least they were hidden. In the beginning it was easy; they would go to each other’s places when they had a chance, fuck one another’s brains out, and then leave the next morning. It wasn’t like that was the basis of their “friendship”, the two were actual friends too; If Mike needed comfort after a game, Hailey would be there to do so and to tell him that he was a good hockey player and that he loved what he did. On the flip side, if she had a long day Mike would remind her that she also loved what she did and that she was damn good at it too. Mentally, they were there for each other, emotionally, they supported one another, and physically, Hailey and Mike were completely in sync. The only thing they were missing was the title of what they were.

In hindsight, Hailey regretted this so called relationship. At the time, she had just been hurt, yet again, by a guy and Mike had been there to comfort her. he made her feel cared for and beautiful while he supplied fantastic sex. It was fun, new, and completely out of character for her, but it was helpful at the time. after about two months, though, Hailey wanted more. She never opened her mouth though, she couldn’t. the two had dove into this “thing” head first and laid out the rules and swore to end it if it became too much. She just sat back and let the phase take over, and lead her into a whole new world of confusion and frustration.

It was her own fault, she could have just opened her mouth and told Mike that it needed to end or told him how she felt and hoped for the best, but she didn’t. she had a sinking suspicion that she would not only lose what they had grown to enjoy, but she would also lose a good friend in the process. Life wasn’t a romantic comedy with Jessica Biel playing her role, it would never work out in the end, at least not they way she played it out in her mind.

Little did she know that Mike had toyed with the same thoughts. His mind went back and forth between just letting this run its course and telling her how he felt. He knew Hailey was damaged goods, he was too; neither had had a functioning relationship in years and neither seemed to want one at the time of their decision. Now, however, Mike was wanting to experience something real and something worth bringing up to his parents instead of hiding it from them. He knew he wasn’t a great man, but he knew that somewhere inside of him he had the potential to be one. Since Hailey had come into his life he had managed to at least accept that and now he wanted to see what this potential had to offer him.

He had led a life, thus far, with little to no regrets. He was captain for the Philadelphia Flyers after all, he had the world at his finger tips. He was a partier, a lush, and a womanizer, not suitable for a respectable woman to call her boyfriend. Hailey was in advertising and was amazing at her job. She did charity work on her own and also helped the organization with some things from time to time now that she was close to many of the players and their significant others. It seemed as though neither of them had time for a real relationship, but he knew he would make time if she let him. Sadly, it didn’t look like he was going to get that chance.

“Do you want the job still?” Mike asked her as he moved the fork around on his plate.

Hailey nodded, “It’s a good opportunity.”

“Are you taking the job?”

“Should I?” she desperately wanted his opinion.

In his mind, Mike wanted to tell her no, he wanted her to stay in Philly with him and to start a real relationship, but he couldn’t.

“If you want to go then go Hails.”

“I have to make a decision by Friday,” it was already Tuesday, “I’d leave next Friday.”

Mike had looked back at his plate but now shot his head back up to look at her, “You’d leave before the playoffs?”

She smiled at him, “You wouldn’t have to worry about me during the playoffs this year.”

“I didn’t worry about you last season,” he raised an eyebrow.

“Oh really?” Hailey walked closer to him and put her arms around his neck, making him look into her big brown eyes, “That’s why you spent every night at my place?”

He never admitted that a couple months into their agreement he had grown completely complacent with staying the night. at first they would have sex, talk for a while, and then they would leave; but after a couple months of that he would find every excuse to stay the night. by the time the playoffs rolled around, Mike found himself cuddling with pillows on the road because he missed the comfort of her soft body at night.

“I needed to be limbered up, sex helped.”

“How about the cuddling Richie, what’d that do for ya?”

“I did that for you,” he was trying to sound macho.

“Just for me?” she whispered.

“Fine, I slept better,” Mike laughed, “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Yes,” she smiled proudly and pulled her arms from around him.

He grabbed her, pulled her back into him, and kissed her lips, “I’m proud of you, you know that? For getting this job.”

“Thank you,” she had a somewhat sad smile on her face, “I’m scared.”

“You’re going to love LA. You’ll get to tan, it’s so much nicer in the winter, you can shop in all those expensive shops you like, go to the clubs, maybe you can even live on the beach,” he wiggled his eyebrows, “You and LA are definitely going to be good together.”

Hailey nuzzled into him for comfort. He always had a way of relaxing her, but this time he didn’t seem to want to do it. He rubbed her back, but it was more stoic than normal, there was little comfort to the action. He noticed too and hoped she didn’t. he was screaming at himself to tell her to stay or tell her that he wanted her, but his brain was telling him to let her go.

“You’ll love it out there Hails,” he whispered because that was all he could muster up.

“I’m not worried about that,” she looked up at him, “I’m worried that I’m leaving something that I shouldn’t.”

Her family was close to the Philadelphia and all of her friends were here, so Mike figured he was one of the last things she was worried about losing. In all reality, he thought he had made her past year and a half worse by just being around her. Hailey didn’t date, she had started to only really go out when he asked her to, and she just seemed like she was missing something. Mike felt like I had brought her down, but he couldn’t stop what they had going either. If he could have, he would have just to bring back the woman he’d met a couple years back, but he was completely addicted to her.

“Everyone here who loves you is always going to be in touch and love you Hay.”

She gave him a weak smile, “yeah.”

Mike let her go and she continued to clean the kitchen. He ate and watched her move around the kitchen of his condo. He knew that this would be one of the last intimate moments that they shared like this, where she would be walking around freely in his place doing random things, and he knew that he would miss the hell out of it.

Hailey went back to what she had been doing, hoping that at some point he would realize that he was hurting her and possibly himself. She had felt as though he had feelings for her too a couple of times, but perhaps he was afraid of losing what they had, just as she was. howeve,r she was probably kidding herself; there was no way a man like Mike Richards could be tied down, especially not to a woman like her.

Hailey was doing dishes and Mike had given up eating. He wasn’t supposed to engage in sexual relations before a game, but knowing that Hailey was leaving in a week and a half was a good enough excuse for him. He knew most of the guys would understand if they heard the situation. They all liked her, thought he should actually date her, and he had a feeling some of them were secretly jealous that what they had really did have the potential of becoming more.

He put his arms around her waist, “Are you coming to the game tonight?” he kissed her shoulder where her long sweater was hanging off of it.

“I don’t have tickets.”

Mike kissed her neck, “I know a guy.”

She giggled a little, “I guess I should, it’s going to be one of the last times I’ll be able to see you guys play, at least for a while.”

He stopped his actions and let that sink into his brain. Everything was so final now and that wasn’t an idea Mike was comfortable with.

He thought that he was over the feelings he had for her. he thought that he had pushed them far enough away that they were nonexistent now, but this made him realize they were in the forefront of his mind.

The first time Mike noticed he had feelings for Hailey was after the playoffs last season, after being eliminated in round two and not coming home with a Stanley Cup for the third summer in a row. That summer he had missed her like crazy after returning to Kenora. He had tried to get her to come visit for the better half of the summer, but she had work commitments. Finally, when he got her out there he hardly let her leave the house; he jumped her every chance he got and it was great. She met a lot of his friends and family from home who couldn’t come to Philly very often. The couple spent a lot of time with his parents and brothers and they all got to know her and actually liked her. Mikes’ brothers, Matt and Mark, thought he was an idiot for not taking the leap of faith and making the commitment, but he explained to them that what they had was better for both of us.

His brother Matt explained that she brought out the best in him, that she made him feel things about a woman that he had only heard about, that she was making him grow up a little and see the error of his ways. Mike knew he was right, he knew that he was moving in the right direction with her and that led him to the decision to tell her how he felt once he was back in Philly for the season.
After three weeks of preparing himself and rehearsing the perfect speech to give to Hailey, Mike thought he was ready to make the move. That all changed the second night he was back. A bunch of his teammates went out on that second night to celebrate the upcoming season and to just let loose and have some fun. Hailey and a few of her friends joined and it was great at first, she was by his side looking beautiful and happy. He was happy too, he had the notion that they were going to become more and that he was doing the right thing by at least telling her how he felt until he saw her flirting with some guy.

They stood at the bar, touching each other lightly, laughing and smiling. Mike saw that she didn’t want him the way that he did her, that she was fine with what they had and had no intentions of turning it into something more, Mike saw his future flush down the toilet too.

“Mikey?” Hailey asked.

“What is it babe?” he snapped back into the present.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” he kept hold on her arms but pulled his body away, “Just need to go lie down for my nap, care to join?”