The game was hard. We had won though and I had scored a goal but now that the game was over my mind started to wander to Alex and our dinner. When I had first met her, in our apartment building’s laundry room, I was scared of her reaction, not sure what she was going to do when she found out who I was but when she acted as if she didn’t know me, I was surprised. Alex was beautiful and very sarcastic but I loved that most about her. She was short; probably 5’1 or 5’2 but that didn’t really bother me. She had these deep green eyes that whenever they looked at me, I was hooked. I barely knew her but I could feel myself being drawn to her and I didn’t know how to fight it or better yet I didn’t know if I wanted too. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t even notice that Sidney had sat down next to me until he spoke.

“What’s got you so lost in thought?” He asked which caused me to jump slightly.

Before I could answer, I heard Tyler scream from his stall, “More like who, not what. He’s met Alex. They went on a date.”

“It wasn’t a date,” I said as I threw a towel at Tyler. “I was thanking her for her help. It wasn’t a date.”

“You like her,” Sidney said. It wasn’t a question, he had seen through my lies. I had wanted that dinner to be a date but Alex wasn’t going to just date me. She told me that I had to work for it.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, “That obvious.”

“Not really,” Sidney said with a smile. “But Alex has that type of effect on people. She is amazing and so kind for someone who has been through what she has. Be careful with her, James. Just take your time and let her come to you and trust me she will.”

I smiled and was about to respond to him, when I saw her and all words that I was going to say were lost. Her wavy dark brown hair was pulled up in her normal high ponytail and her green eyes shone with happiness as she talked rather animatedly with the girl from the diner, Jill, I think that was her name and Vero.

“The more you stare at her the more obvious you get,” Sidney said with a chuckle. “Go talk to her.”

I broke my gaze from Alex and looked at Sidney before I got up and walked over to where the girls stood.

“Enjoy the game, ladies?” I asked a small smile grazed my lips when I noticed Alex look at me.

“It was great,” She said as she hugged me. “That goal was beautiful, Jimmy. Wait, can I call you Jimmy or do you not like being called that?”

I smiled down at her. Normally I hated being called Jimmy but I loved the way she said it, “No, its okay you can call me Jimmy.”

“I thought you hated being called Jimmy,” Matt Niskanen, my teammate from Dallas and current roommate for the time being, asked looking from me to Alex.

I sighed, “I do but it is okay, I can deal with being called Jimmy.”

“No,” Alex said while she chewed on her bottom lip. “If you don’t like it then I can just call you James.”

I shook my head, “Alex, I don’t mind you calling me Jimmy.”

“Really?” She asked her green eyes searched mine for an answer. “Because I don’t mind calling you James.”

I smiled, “Don’t worry you can call me Jimmy, if you want.”

“Okay, good. I like Jimmy better than James,” She said with a giggle.

I saw Matt roll his eyes at me and I sighed, “Alex, this is Matt. We were traded together from Dallas.”

“Oh,” Alex said as her eyes widen in realization. “Hi Matty and welcome to Pittsburgh. You and Jimmy should come over to Jill and my apartment one night for dinner, when you have a night off, like tomorrow night. You can ask TK or really anyone on the team, I’m a good cook.”

Matt smiled, “It would be nice to have a home cooked meal, wouldn’t it James?”

“Yea,” I answered with a grin. “Pizza and Chinese get old after a while.”

Alex smile, “Good, its settled then. Tomorrow night, Jimmy and Matty, will have dinner at the apartment, you okay with that Jill?”

“Yea, perfectly fine gives me time to get to know your new boyfriend, Lexi,” Jill said as she gave me a look.

Alex blushed and pushed Jill, “Not my boyfriend.”

“Sure,” Jill said before she walked away towards Tyler. I gave Matt a look and he smiled at Alex before he left also.

“So,” I said with a smile. “You cook.”

Alex giggled, “Yea, my dad was a horrible cook, so I quickly learned how to cook. Someone had to feed us.”

“So, you dance and cook,” I said. “Anything else I should know?”

She smiled and stood on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear, “That’s for you to find out.”

“I plan on it,” I said with a smirk.

Alex backed away, “Good.” She then turned and headed over to where most of the team was celebrating the win.

“She’s something else, eh?” Max Talbot said clapping my shoulder, which caused me to jump.

I nodded, “That she is.”

“Just be careful with her,” He said with a serious look on his face. “A lot of guys on this team look at her as a little sister, wouldn’t want to comprise your time here.”

I nodded again, “Got it but just so you know I wouldn’t have tried anything with her if I was only looking for a one time deal. I’m not that kind of guy.”

“Good to know,” Max said with a smile before he left.

I laughed as I watched Alex interact with the guys. She looked so happy and part of me hoped that one day I could make her that happy. I shook my head and headed back to my stall, I couldn’t get a head of myself. She wasn’t like anyone I had ever met and I knew that getting her to agree to date me was going to take time but I was willing to wait. There was something about Alex; I couldn’t place my finger on it but something about her made me want to get to know her. I sighed and tugged my tie into place before I looked around to see if Matt was read to go and as I looked around the room, my eyes connected with Alex’s dark green eyes. I gave her a smile before I continued my search for Matt and when I did find him, I saw he was standing next to the door waiting for me. I said goodbye to everyone as I left the locker-room. It had been a long day but everything was worth it.

“Dude,” Matt said with a laugh. “You have it bad if you’re letting her call you, Jimmy. Remember Sarah?”

I cringed, “Don’t mention her, I really don’t get what you saw in her.”

“She was gorgeous,” He said with a shrug. “But James, you hate being called Jimmy. What makes her different?”

I sighed, “I don’t know yet, Matt but when I do, I’ll let you know.”

“Okay Jimmy,” Matt said with a smirk.

I sent him a glare, “Don’t call me, Jimmy, Matty.”

“Don’t call me, Matty,” He said with a glare. “Wait, she called me Matty, didn’t she?”

I laughed, “She did.”

“Damn, she’s good,” He mumbled.

I laughed lightly at Matt’s expense. He was right, she was good at getting us to lighten up. Matt and I had been friends for years, we knew each other well, and I was excited to see what he thought of her after tomorrow night. After all, Matt was my best friend in Pittsburgh and his opinion meant a lot to me. I let out a sigh as we pulled up to out apartment building then trudged up the five flights of stairs to our apartment. Once there, I said good night to Matt before I crashed into my bed and as I drifted off to sleep the last thought that crossed my mind was how I couldn’t wait to see Alex tomorrow.

Notes