Page 12 of Breakaway

She took a sip of her coffee. “No thanks. I want to hear more about you.” Soon enough, she’d be telling him her sad story.

“Okay...” Travis fussed with his coffee before he continued. “Well, I had more rules than other kids my age, and I probably helped out around the house more than any of my friends did. But it molded me into the man I am now, and with the extra focus on my studies, I graduated with a 4.0.”

“A smarty pants,” she teased with a grin.

Travis shrugged. “Now it’s your turn. Tell me about you.”

Morgan took in a breath. “Next to you, mine really is boring.”

“I’ll survive.” He laughed.

“Here goes. I grew up in California. It was just me and my mom. My dad died in an accident when I was a baby. Even still, I feel like I had a nice life. We lived right by the beach, so I do love the ocean. My mom was pretty much my best friend; we did everything together.”

She smiled to herself at her memories; they warmed her heart, thinking about the good times with her mom.

“So is she—”

“I think that’s enough story time for now.” She grinned at him, hoping to quickly erase that look of concern that had begun to form on his face. “I really have to get to work now.”

Starting any date with “Hi, my name is Morgan and my mom just died” didn’t seem like a very good idea, especially if she hoped for a second date.

“Okay.” He smiled. “Maybe you could tell me more about yourself next time, and maybe we could do a meal? If, in fact... you would agree to a next time,” he faltered.

Smiling at his shyness, she nodded. “I’d like that.”

“Good.” Travis grinned goofily as he stood up and helped pull out her chair. “Do you work tomorrow morning, too?”

She couldn’t help but smile at how much of a gentleman he was. That wasn’t something she saw too often with guys her age. It was impressive. “I do. Do you have practice tomorrow as well?”

“Yes, I’ll stop by on my way in.” He grinned as they exited the coffee shop.

“Well, I’m parked right up there.” She pointed to her car, which was visible from where they stood. “So, um, thanks for the coffee.”

“Thank you for the company. And I’m overjoyed to be drinking the coffee today instead of wearing it.” He smirked.

Awkwardly saying goodbye, she walked to her car, still smiling.

THE NEXT DAY, MORGAN sat down at the reception desk, and her mind immediately went to Travis. He’d said he’d be here again this morning. She wasn’t sure who he played with, or if he just came to open skate, but she was just glad she was going to see him again.

“Is there a list of the reserved ice times for the day?” she asked Katie.

“It’s on the bulletin board.”

Morgan spun her chair around to glance at the bulletin board to her left. The only reservation this morning was Rink One for the Renegades morning practice. Maybe Rink Two had an open skate, and it just wasn’t noted?

The aroma of fresh coffee filled her senses, just as the smooth tone of Travis’s voice greeted her. “Good morning, beautiful.”

“Good morning.” She couldn’t help the smile that filled her face.

“So, I asked the lady at the coffee cart what you typically drink, and that’s what I got you. I hope that’s okay.”

“Not creepy at all,” she teased. Taking a sip of her coffee, she sighed. It was perfect. “It’s exactly what I would’ve ordered. Thank you.”

There was no other team in sight yet. What was he doing here?

“You working out alone on Rink Two this morning? I guess it’s an open skate over there,” she said.

Travis shook his head and looked as though he was going to say something, until two young men also carrying hockey bags rushed by him, nudging him.