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| 10 | Stare |

 Thursday was a pretty laid back day, the players had a light, short practice and I only had prep work to do for the game the next day. I didn't even wear work clothes that day and Sebastian and I were planning on going to his place on the ocean and having dinner on the sandbar again, this time earlier than normal because they had an early morning skate before the game the next night.

I was only supposed to be at work for another five minutes when my desk phone started ringing. Just my luck, I guess.

"Hello?" I said, picking up the phone.

"Hey! I know you're about to go home and all but word is that a trade was just made and the Smith kid and Borton got traded to Brampton and we're getting some crazy good guy," she said, "Not sure who we got but they said he's coming in in a few hours and you should stick around to interview him. No press yet, he doesn't know so we're waiting, give him time to get his stuff around, tell his family first, that kind of thing."

"Alright," I sighed, "I guess Sebastian and I's dinner will just have to wait."

"Sorry," she said, "Apparently they've been working on the deal all day and it just went through."

"Alright, I'll go find something to organize I guess," I laughed.

"See you tomorrow," she said before hanging up the phone.

After turning my computer back on and getting my stuff ready again, I texted Sebastian to tell him our little date on the sandbar would have to be put off. I was slightly rattled that the trade had to happen tonight, the one night I was looking forward to going back and actually having plans to do something special.

There hadn't been a trade yet this season, but I had a protocol I had to follow when there was a trade. They'd let me know the details as soon as all the players involved knew and had told their wives/girlfriends. Then I'd find pictures to make a graphic out of and then I'd blast them on the team's Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook and update the roster and do a write up about the new player we would get in the deal.

Fifteen minutes later, there was a knock on my door.

"It's open," I said.

"I thought I'd bring dinner to you," Sebastian smiled as he walked in with a couple of grocery bags in his hands.

"What a guy," I laughed.

"I was going to try to actually cook something, but then I got takeout from that new steakhouse near my place," he said, handing me a styrofoam takeout container.

"It smells wonderful," I said, opening the container to find a steak, green beans, and another container with a side salad.

"It was supposed to look a lot nicer but since we couldn't go on our little picnic at the sandbar, takeout containers it is," he laughed, "But I snuck some wine in and some solo cups."

"Thanks," I laughed as he grabbed a bottle of wine out of his grocery bag.

"Dinner is served," he grinned, pouring wine into two red Solo cups and handing me packages of silverware, "And we can't forget about the mood lighting," he remarked, getting up and pulling out two candles from the bag and a lighter, lighting the candles before turning off the lights.

"What a gentleman," I grinned, "How romantic."

"Only the best for you," he smiled.

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"I need to go home," Sebastian yawned about, "We were up way too late last night, early morning tomorrow."

"I don't know how long I'm supposed to wait for this new guy," I remarked, checking the time on my phone, which read 10:49.

"Well, you know where the key is if you want to stay the night when you're done," he said.

"I do," I smiled, "But my place is closer."

"Then maybe I'll just go crash there," he smiled.

"Sounds good, if he's not here in an hour I'll call it a day," I said, "And join you in the comfort of my bed that has been calling my name for hours."

"See you in an hour," he laughed, kissing my cheek.

"See you," I laughed as he walked out of my office.

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While trying not to go stir crazy in the next hour, I decided to clean everything in my office and re-organize my shelves of equipment. I was on the ladder, reorganizing the top shelf of my camera equipment when there was a knock on the door.

"It's open," I said, wiping the dust off of the shelf.

"I'm looking for Olivia?" an almost familiar voice said as the door opened up.

I thought I knew who that voice belonged to, but it couldn't be. It was late, I'd been up too late the night before, I was exhausted, I figured I was probably hearing things again. It had happened a few months after the breakup, I'd be drunk and I'd swear I'd hear his voice at the bar. I'd swear that I saw his face passing by on campus. I'd be certain that I saw his car outside the rink when I drove past on my way to class. But none of it was ever real, just like this time was just another figment of my imagination.

"I'm her," I replied, continuing to wipe down the shelf, "I'll be right down."

"I like the door," he said as I heard him sit down in the chair opposite to my own at my desk, "Funny story, I, uh, knew an Olivia and her favorite color was yellow too."

"What a coincidence," I said, moving to the next shelf down, my back still facing him.

"She, uh, she sounded a lot like you do, but maybe I just have a bad case of jet lag," he said, his voice almost nervous, "She had long dark hair, beautiful, long dark hair."

It couldn't be, I continued to tell myself over and over again in my head. But I knew it really could be him, I knew he ended up in a pro league after school ended, I didn't know where but I knew he was still playing somewhere. And if he was anything like he was in college, he'd be referred to as that really good guy from Brampton. Brampton. His mom wasn't that far from Brampton, it would make sense if he ended up there, it was close to home, he'd be the hometown boy there like Sebastian was here.

"Yeah I'm pretty blonde," I laughed nearly nervously.

"She loved yellow, like a lot, I swear everything she owned was yellow," he laughed quietly, "Her notebooks, her binders, folders, pens, most of her stuff in her room. It was all yellow. I, uh, used to buy her sunflowers and yellow daisies. I'd give them to her on her birthday and after her games, especially when she lost, it always made her smile. "

It was him, I was 99% sure it was him. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was him.

But for some reason, I wouldn't believe it until I saw it.
"That's so sweet," I said quietly.

"Yeah," he sighed, taking a deep breath, "Still don't know what I did wrong."

"Well we forgive and we forget then, I guess?" I said as I climbed down the ladder.

"Oh I've forgiven," he said, "But I don't think I'll ever forget," he sighed.

"It's easier said than done," I said quietly, as I got off of the ladder and turned around.

"Oh my God," he said, "Olivia Richards."

"Liam Simpson," I said, taking a deep breath, saying his name for the first time in two and a half years.

I stood there speechless, as his piercing green eyes met mine for the first time in two years. It was like his name was totally foreign to my lips, they felt weird as I said his name out loud again. I'd stopped calling him by his name shortly after we broke up, I cringed whenever my parents called him by his name, Nikki figured it out quick enough that it never bothered me that much. But now, here he was, standing there waiting for me to say something as every single memory of the two of us flashed through my head as he stood there right before my eyes.

But all I could do was stare.

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