A Hockey Tutor by Mary Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

but our first date at his apartment? I pulled my phone from my purse and sent a text to Lindsay, letting her know where we were going. I also looked down the side of my purse, to ensure the full can of pepper spray was still there. A girl couldn’t be too careful.
    Wes lived about five miles from campus. It was a small apartment complex, and I had been there before; it was mainly college kids who lived here. He parked his truck in front of the first building, and came around to help me out.
    “Go ahead and jump. I'll catch you,” he said, again flashing his megawatt smile.
    I jumped, and as I jumped, I felt two strong hands clasp around my hips as he slowly lowered me to the ground.
    I followed him up two flights of stairs and into his apartment. It was a serious bachelor pad. The walls were white, but covered with hockey memorabilia. There was a huge flat screen hanging on the far side, a slew of game consoles imaginable was underneath it, and a colossal collection of games and movies nearby in the corner.
    When I looked in the kitchen, I noticed the table was already set up. “What if I had said no to dinner at your apartment?” I asked, folding my arms and popping my hip out. He simply assumed that I would come to his place.
    “I was hopeful that you would say yes,” he said with a small chuckle. “Are you mad?”
    ”No, I'm not mad.” But I was a little uneasy.
    “How about a beer?” he said, reaching into the fridge.
    “Sure, but I want to open it,” I said quickly.
    “Um, okay.” He handed me the beer. I knew I sounded like a crazy person, but I was alone in an apartment, with a guy I didn’t know very well. I wasn’t about to have him slip something into my drink.
    I opened the beer and he sat across from me. He had ordered Thai food, which I didn’t really care for, but I put some noodles onto my plate. I picked around it for a moment, and then began to eat.
    “So, how was the tutoring today with Andrew?” Wes asked, as he used his chopsticks to eat his food.
    “It was fine.” I wasn’t sure why he was asking, but I wasn't going to tell him anything about my sessions with Andrew. That was between him, his father, and me.
    “Um, why didn’t you want me to open your beer?” he probed.
    “I didn’t want you to slip something in it,” I said boldly.
    “Oh, did you think I would?” His eyes widened with surprise.
    “I don’t know you that well, Wes. No offense, but a girl always needs to err on the side of caution.”
    He held his hands up in defense. “You’re right. I have a younger sister, and I hope she would be as cautious.”
    “You have a younger sister?”
    He nodded. He began to tell me all about his sister and mother. He didn’t know his father because he walked out on the family when Wes was only a baby. His mother was a nurse who worked third shift at a local hospital to ensure she didn’t miss any of her kids’ activities.
    Wes went on to tell me that he started skating when his mother took him to a skating party. He was five, and loved being on the ice loved it from the moment he touched the ice. He smiled as he told me the story of how he had to beg his mother to let him join a pee wee hockey league.
    “So, why a goalie?” I asked as we started doing dishes together.
    “It was the position my mother thought I would be least likely to get hurt.” He handed me the dish towel to dry my hands. “How about another beer and a movie?” he asked, changing the subject.
    “Yes and yes.”
    He handed me an unopened beer and we sat on the couch. He flipped on the TV, and of course The NHL Network was the first thing to pop up on the screen.
    “What do you want to watch?” He pointed to the DVDs.
    “Well, considering all I see is horror and action movies, how about we listen to some music and talk?”
    He flipped to a Music Choice channel, and set the remote down. “Okay, I told you about me, what about you? Where did you grow up?”
    “A small farming town in