When Ali woke up the next morning, she wasn’t surprised to see that James wasn’t in bed beside her. She knew he had his usual morning skate around 7:30, so he was normally up and out before she woke up. When she looked at the clock, the time was close to 8. That left only an hour until she had to be at work as well.

Staying in the tiny cotton shorts she normally slept in, she picked up one of James’ black 412 hoodies that lay next to his side of the bed. Because he was much taller, the length of the hoodie made the waistband fall just below her ass, but was comfortable as hell. It smelled like James…a mix of cologne and soap…and it made her feel like she was wrapped in a security blanket. She needed something secure right now. Last night they’d fallen asleep together, legs and arms entwined, barely separating once through the night. It was innocent, and it felt good. But despite this, last night had been hard on her emotionally. She still wasn’t quite sure how she felt, but decided to just go with it and not think too much.

Tossing the hoodie over her head, she shuffled downstairs, hands shoved in the front pocket. As she neared the kitchen, she heard the faint sound of the tv coming from the living room. Much to her surprise, James was standing in the kitchen with his back to the doorway. What she saw didn’t match what she expected: he was home, and it was past 7:30. He also wasn’t dressed in his workout attire, but instead wore dark jeans, a navy polo shirt under a gray zip-front hoodie, and his favorite black and white Pens hat, which was on backwards.

He turned around to face her, and his smile grew. “Morning, baby.”

“Morning...” Her response was a bit hesitant as she padded further into the kitchen on bare feet. “Aren’t you supposed to be at practice?”

“I already skated.” He brought her in for a tight hug. “I went in at 5.”

“Wow” Ali said, looking up at him. “What’s the occasion?”

James shook his head casually. “No occasion…Just wanted to get it out of the way early.”

Ali was still confused. James turned and grabbed one of two glasses of orange juice that had already been poured, handing it to her. She took a sip and watched as he turned his back to her again. Standing on the tips of her toes, she tried to see over his shoulder, but it was no use. When he turned around, he held out two dishes, each containing a waffle with strawberries on top.

“I didn’t make them” he said, smiling sheepishly. “But! The Waffle House on the drive back home did, and I heard they had spectacular cooks."

Ali laughed. The man could deliver a 100 mile per hour slap shot, but he couldn’t construct a meal to save his life. She was impressed at his efforts, however.

“Who knew they had such thoughtful cooks to make me breakfast like this” she teased, taking her plate. “But I should warn you…I need to eat this fast because I have to be to work at 9.”

“No you don’t.” His large smile reappeared. “I took care of that early, too.”

Ali cocked her head, the corner of her mouth lifting into a smile. “You took care of that? How?!?”

James eyes seemed to dance. “Well…..I called your boss and asked her if you could stay home for the day. I made sure they had a replacement for you first…but they said it wasn’t a problem. I told her it was a matter of life and death.”

Ali’s punched him playfully in the arm, completely taken by surprise. James saw a twinkle appear in the deep caramel color of her eyes, and then he heard the laugh he loved so much. She jumped into his arms and they hugged again.

“Why?” she asked, breaking the embrace. She held onto his arms with her hands, keeping him close. “Why all this?”

“Because I wanted to spend the entire day with you, doing whatever it is we want to do. No interruptions.” James kissed her forehead, and then her mouth. “Just me and you today, no one else. I’m going to lose you to Brittany all weekend, so I want today to be about us.” The greenish-blue of his eyes were alive and bright, and his slightly crooked smile melted her heart.

James searched her gaze for approval, and the approval was ten-fold. She pressed her lips against his, feeling the dichotomy of his soft lips against the strength in his embrace.

“Thank you” Ali said when their lips parted. Her voice was tender, and her look sincere. James pulled her in again, only wanting to taste her and know she was still in his life and wasn’t going anywhere.

* * *

They ate their waffles in the living room. James sat on the floor, his back against the couch; Ali sat cross-legged above him. One of her hands lazily played with his hair as they watched a horrible daytime television show, laughing at the absurdity of the storyline.

“We should go somewhere” Ali said out of the blue.

James pressed his head back against the cushion to see her. “Where ya thinking?”

She shrugged, and continued to let her fingers run through his shock of messy hair. “I don’t know…Anywhere. Let’s just go. It’s such a nice day out, I feel like we should go use it.”

“I like your style” James replied. “You shower, I’ll go find a map and throw a dart at it.”

“Perfect!” Ali said with a laugh. As she hopped off the couch, James reached for her and pulled her down and onto his lap. He stole a quick kiss, and then let her go.

Ali hastily showered and dressed, feeling excited as she shimmied around the master bathroom to a song that played in her head. For an outfit, she chose a pair of comfy black leggings, her go-to pair of brown knee-high boots, and a cream colored tunic-length sweater. She threw her long hair up into a messy bun, and then headed downstairs. When she reappeared, James’ eyes went big.

“You’re pretty, you know that?”

“So are you.”

“But I don’t have that ass.”

“Damn right you don’t.” Ali smirked at him. “Figure out where we’re going?”

“I have an idea….Trust me?” He winked at her. It was the same little wink he gave the cameras after his post-game interview.

Despite the cuteness, it was somewhat ironic those words came out of his mouth. Ali caught it, but she didn’t think James did. A weird, leftover feeling from last night tried to crawl back into her stomach, but she pushed it away.

“Wanna drive the Ferrari?” he asked. He was met with an unamused stare.

“James Neal, we are not taking your Ferrari.”

“Oh don’t worry – I’m only letting you drive down the street, then I’ll take over.”

“James!”

“What!?!?” He was doing his best not to laugh. “C’monnn, it’ll be fun! The best 15 seconds of my life.”

Ali stood there, a smirk plastered across her face. James reached into his pockets and tossed her the keys, which she caught in one hand. Her gaze shifted from the keys to him. He waited patiently.

“Fine” she agreed. “But ONLY if you keep your mouth shut. No backseat driving. I got this.” She added a bit of sass to that last part. To seal the deal, she leaned in and kissed him, allowing him only a bit of tongue before pulling away.

“Uggghhh…..you’re a tease” he groaned.

“So are you."

Earlier, while Ali was upstairs getting ready, James had put his hat back on. But now, before Ali turned to leave for the garage, he lifted his hat off his head and placed it on hers – backwards. “There. Now you’re ready.”

They exchanged a smile, and then James followed Ali out to his car.

* * *

Ali had never been comfortable around sports cars. They were so beyond excessive, and so far beyond anything she would ever buy for herself, but she had to admit: she enjoyed watching James drive his.

She’d had her turn to drive, and James had his turn to laugh. Despite having never driven a sports car quite like this one, she thought she did surprisingly well. James even let her drive it through their neighborhood, not just their street.

Now she sat in the passenger seat, watching as James turned the wheel and cruised through traffic. He glanced over at her and smiled. Dark shaded glasses hid his eyes, but she could still tell they were crinkling at the corners when he smiled.

He reached over and took her hand in his, caressing it with his thumb. His grip was loose and comfortable, and Ali felt better just feeling his touch. Every time she caught herself thinking back to the previous night’s discussion, she would immediately focus on the present moment. James was making an effort, and it showed. It calmed her and helped keep the demons at bay.

“Whatchya thinking about?”

“Hmmm?” Ali came back from her thoughts.

“You make a face when you’re deep in thought.” He gave her hand a little squeeze.

“I do?”

“You also bite your bottom lip.” James turned and made a very exaggerated imitation of her, causing her to crack up.

“You’re actually a big dork” she said. “The NHL has no idea who they hired. I’m convinced.”

“You clearly have never met Sidney Crosby.”

“Oooo….Ouch.” She met James’ gaze and smiled. Their hands disconnected so James could shift gears, but he immediately took her hand back into his.

“Figure out where we’re going yet?”

Ali had been staring out the window when she wasn’t staring at James. There was something about the way he was so at ease behind the wheel of a massive car, and she loved her front row seat for the view. When she glanced back out the tinted window, she noticed they were at least on the south end of the city.

“I'll give you a hint...It’s green.” This time when he looked over, his grin had taken on a mischievous air. He turned the wheel and shifted, focus going back to the road before them. “Better hurry up and guess, because we’re almost there.”

Almost was an understatement. No less than 30 seconds later, James turned his car into an empty parking lot. Ali glanced around, not recognizing where they were. Scanning the parking lot and fields nearby, she finally saw a sign above a small one-level building across the way that revealed their location.

She barked out a laugh, covering her mouth with her hand. “A driving range?”

James looked like he’d won the lottery. “You up for a private lesson from a professional?”

“Oh, pffft…professional” Ali laughed. They got out of the car, and she looked around for other people or other cars, but they were the only ones there. “Are you sure this place is even open?”

“I took care of that earlier as well.”

Ali stopped dead in her tracks, surprise written all over her face. “You called this place this morning, too?!??!”

James put his arm around her, pulling her in tight and they continued walking. “I told you…a private lesson means a very, very private lesson.”

“James…”

He leaned over and kissed her head. “It’s nothing. I called when you were in the shower…I reserved the whole place for the next two hours.”

Ali couldn’t hold back her laughter. The sheer ridiculousness of the situation made the whole thing that much better. She’d always wanted to learn how to golf, but she was left-handed. Of the people who golfed in her family, no one was ever able to teach her, so she gave it up. Now was her chance, since James was also a left-handed shooter.

“Oh THIS is gonna be good” she said. “I can’t wait to kick your ass once I finally learn.”

* * *

Much to James surprise, Ali was an unexpected natural at golfing. Granted, he kept it to the basics, but she had a damn good shot, and a hell of a drive. He could see them months from now, when summer rolled back around, coming to the range and spending the afternoon just hanging together.

Ali swung and hit another ball. It flew rather crookedly, but landed near the 100 feet marker. She spun around and did a little dance.

"See that?” she exclaimed. “I’m gonna hit 200 feet by next week, I can feel it!”

James laughed, thoroughly enjoying Ali's excitement. He’d let her have a whole bucket of balls for herself, and he took a seat in one of the nearby lounge chairs to watch her. She picked up another ball and set it down meticulously. It made James smile. Watching her dig into an activity he loved made him feel amazing. It was one more thing they could share together.

Ali swung and missed. James let out a laugh and she spun halfway around, playfully glaring at him.

“Shut up! You didn’t see that!”

He tried to cut his laughter and be quiet for her shot. Between her finely knit sweater hugging her breasts and draping over her flat stomach, ending at her ass, James didn’t care if he never played golf again, so long as he got to watch her hold a club like this.

Ali got into the formation he taught her, focusing on how she was holding the club. It might have been the cutest thing James had ever seen.

“Left over right, Ali.”

Ali quickly switched hands. She peeked over, and James gave her a thumbs up. He watched as she finally took the swing, hitting the ball this time. Their eyes followed the spec of white until it hit the ground at 125 feet.

“BOOYAH!” she cheered.

“Beautiful!” James said, clapping.

Ali walked over, a swagger in her step. “I’m telling ya….I’m going to totally kick your ass someday.”

“Someday….maybe.” His eyes followed Ali as she dropped her club and came towards where he was sitting. In one move, she straddled his lap.

“Now I can add ‘ball handling’ to my resume…” she joked.

When she said this, she nuzzled her nose next to his, and James chuckled softly near her mouth. “Almost positive that was already on there.” His hands ran up the sides of her thighs to her ass, grabbing a handful with each hand. He cursed her leggins for keeping her soft skin from him. Their mouths met, and Ali gave him the rest of her tongue that she had kept from him earlier. Her hands rested on the sides of his face, guiding him as they made out. Pieces of her hair had fallen around her face while they golfed, and tickled James’ face.

“How long do we have?” Ali asked, out of breath from their kiss.

“20 minutes” he breathed. He wanted more of her. Their lips connected again, Ali opening and accepting the depth of his kiss. He felt his need growing fast, and the longer she sat on him, the quicker she would also feel it.

“Do you care if we leave early?”

The gleam in her eye when she asked this was all he needed. James stood up without moving Ali off his lap, his strength pulling her up with him as his arms wrapped about her. She let out a surprised squeal and clenched her legs around his waist. He held her secure, looking into her eyes for just a moment longer.

“Who knew playing golf would make you horny?”

Ali dropped to her feet. “I did.” She took James’ hat back from his head and put it on hers for the drive home.

* * *