Miles Away

I woke up to a dark room and her nestled in my arms. Her being Ava, the woman who had captured my attention so quickly. That hasn't happened since I met Raina and I would never own up to that and hurt my friendship with Danny.

She looked so peaceful. One look at the clock told me it wasn't much past four o'clock in the morning. I stretched my arms above my head hoping to get the kinks out without waking her up.

She started to stir and I put my arms around her and held her close to me. The warmth of her body was relaxing my tired, aching muscles.

"Michael, why are you up so early?" she whispered, barely audible, even in the silent room.

"I don't know why I woke up. I'm going to take a hot shower though. Go back to sleep beautiful." I said, wrapping her in a cocoon of covers.

The minute I walked into the bathroom, my eyes caught the large jacuzzi tub. I filled the bath with the hottest water I could stand and climbed in. Almost instantly, I felt better. My mind raced thinking of everything that had transpired since June.

Losing in the playoffs hurt, but was nothing compared to feeling like you were stabbed in the back and betrayed by the team you gave every ounce of yourself for. I was angry, but more hurt than anything My thoughts shifted from hockey to her.

Last night was amazing, we fit together like we were meant to be. I had no idea what it meant or where it was going. I was headed home the next day, going to spend time with family and friends who didn't judge me minute by minute or by every word I spoke.

I wasn't really sure where she fit into my life. Soon enough I would be living in Los Angeles and traveling the United States, while she worried about school, the boys' sports and work. We would rarely get a chance to see each other in person. I leaned back and tried to clear my mind as I soaked in the hot water.

The door creaked as she entered the room. I found it hard not to stare as she dropped the sheet around her and climbed into the tub, pressing her back against my chest. Her head tilted up and she ran tiny kisses along my jawline.

I leaned down and my lips captured hers. A bomb could have went off in the room and we would have never heard it. She had me captured by her innocence and vulnerability. I never was with a woman like her, so independent, yet so needy. Suddenly everything was crystal clear. I had to make this work, needed to make this work for my own sanity.

The lust in her eyes was evident as I stood and lifted her out of the tub. No words were spoken as I pulled her towards the bed, droplets of water running down her body, that I captured as I kissed my way down her torso.

I laid her down gently, running my fingers along her inner thighs before tasting her. Her body quivered as I knew it wouldn't take much to send her into an orgasm. "I have never wanted someone as much as I want you at this moment" I said quietly as she pulled me up towards her and kissed me.

I slid a condom on and entered her. She cried out into my chest, her climax ripping through her as she gripped me tightly. I kept my gaze locked on her as I slid into again, this time deeper and harder. I continued to repeat the action, her moaning my name as I let loose inside of her, losing all of my strength and collapsing on the bed beside her in complete exhaustion. The warmth of her naked body sent me into a deep slumber.

It felt like I slept for an eternity, my mind had finally stopped racing after weeks of insomnia. I watched her quietly as she dressed. She turned to me and smiled. "Hey sleepyhead, Pam just called. She wants us to meet her on the beach at noon." I groaned. I didn't want to ruin the perfect moment, but I obliged, letting her pull me towards her as she planted a kiss on my neck.

I threw on clothes and we hit the coffee shop before heading towards the parking garage. I threw the keys to my car to her. "Behave yourself." I said. I was still intoxicated from our bedroom activities this morning. I felt like I could like to Sea Isle City.

I tried to ignore the fact she was doing eighty-five mph on the highway. We made it back into Wildwood in record time and grabbed the boys before heading back up the coast a little to Jeff's. His house was empty so we made our way to the beach.

It wasn't a hard task to find our large group. "Hey guys, no Canadian jokes, ok" she said to the boys and I cracked up. I reached for her hand as we approached the group.

"Wow, she hasn't left you yet Mikey, I'm impressed." Raina teased before giving me a huge hug.

"Ava, you met Rainy and Danny yesterday. Caelan, Carson and Cameron are Danny's, Ryan is Ava's and they have Jolie and my godson Danny together. Cam and Ry are close to your boys ages.

I introduced her to Andrej and Dani next and she lit up when Andreja reached out her arms for her. I picked up my godson Mikey and have gave me a huge smile. "Damn Jeff, this kid is a clone of you. He even has the same crooked smile."

Jeff laughed at me. "Don't be mad cause I am reproducing Capt'n" he said as he reached out and stroked Pam's swollen tummy.

We spent the day on the beach talking and in the water. Ava and I laid beside each other in the sun as the boy's played near the water's edge.

The boys were exhausted when we finally returned from the beach. My flight was leaving Philadelphia International early the morning, and I was dreading saying goodbye.

The boys feel asleep early and we sat out on the deck drinking beer. Neither one of us want to ask the important question of where saying goodbye left us.

"So will you come see me in Kenora soon?" I asked. "I have a golf tournament coming up in two weeks if you can get a babysitter. If not bring the boys up whenever you can." She didn't say much, just sat quietly, taking everything in. "And I can come see you after my tourney and we can spend some time together before I go out to Los Angeles." I looked at her for a response.

"I'll work something out and will get up there for the tournament." She looked worried and I realized she was probably stressing about buying plane tickets. I knew she didn't have much. I made a mental reminder to get her tickets tomorrow as soon as I left.

We sat and talked for hours in the cool night. We spoke of our childhoods and families. We talked a lot about her boys and her wishes and hopes for them. I held her close for hours before carrying her to bed and kissing her goodbye.

Notes