HEAD IN THE CLOUDS.

3. "you're a genius"

                → "So, what brings you to Maui?" AJ asked, taking a sip of her water.

Connor finished swallowing the coffee he had gotten, and smiled. "It was a boys week with a few of my buddies from different teams. I had to leave early, though."

"Oh, and if you don't mind me asking, why?" AJ asked, still feeling the need to be as polite as possible.

Connor sighed, running his fingers through his disheveled hair. "I have a lot going on this summer. The bar has been set pretty high for myself, and I have to live up to everyones expectations. I'm suppose to be getting a new contract, and I got a phone call yesterday from my buddy, he just got traded."

"Oh! Ebes! Right?" AJ asked, grinning widely, happy she knew something sports related. "The guy I came with was going on about it."

Connor gave her an odd look, chuckling. "Yeah, Eberle. There's been rumours for awhile, but he finally got traded. It's partially my fault, though." He added, a frown evident on his face.

The young girl tilted her head, not understanding, "how so?"

Connor sighed, "I really don't wanna sound like a dick. But I- I'm gonna be getting a lot of money. I'm meeting with the organization about how much exactly, but everyone's saying its going to be a lot. There's only a certain amount of money each team has, so if a lot goes to me, they're forced to get rid of players they can't afford. And that just so happens to be Eberle." Connor took a deep breath, this situation clearly causing him a good amount of stress. "I'm sorry if I came off as arrogant. I don't generally talk about money and stuff like that."

AJ pursed her lips, trying to come up with a good response. "No, you definitely don't sound like a dick. I get it, but- I know this might not help because he's already been traded, but couldn't you take as much money as you wanted?"

Connor shrugged, playing with his fingers, "it doesn't really work like that, but-"

"I mean, like- couldn't you take as much or as little as you want? You are the captain, you are important. I may not watch hockey or keep up with it, but I know that much."

The Oilers captain shrugged uncomfortably, still not understanding what AJ was trying to say. "I guess... yeah."

AJ paused, chewing her lips gently. "What I'm trying to say is, couldn't you take less than what they offer you? I don't know what the normal amount is, but like what? Six- seven million? That sounds like a damn good amount of money to me. You can definitely live off of that a year."

Connor considered this for a moment. He never even thought about settling for a lower but good amount. This brought a smile to his face, as a slight burden was lifted of his shoulders. " I never even thought of that. You- you're a genius, AJ."

AJ smirked, shrugging slightly, "what can I say?" She joked, laughing. "No, but it's okay. Everything will be fine. And I'm sure Eberle will be fine with his new team. And I'm sure the new guy will be good too."

Connor smiled at the girl who fought to try and understand the sport. "Actually, yeah. The guy we got is my best friend's brother."

AJ grinned, throwing her hands up in the hair. "Thats so cool! See, everything will be fine."

A wave of genuine happiness washed over Connor, his eyes wandering down to the find AJ's hand resting on the armrest beside him. Without thinking, Connor reached out and set his hand gently overtop of hers. Not knowing what he just did, and not wanting to scare her, Connor's hand simply settled on top of hers.

The two both looked down at their hands, slowly bringing their heads up to meet each other's gazes, small smiles on their faces and rosy cheeks. "Thank you," Connor murmured.

"Oh, it's no problem," the girl replied, her cheeks a brilliant shade of red.

Pulling his hand away reluctantly, Connor picked up his cup of water and took a sip. The tension in the air dissipating. "So, what brought you to Maui? Any particular reason?"

AJ's shoulders slumped, and her expression turned unreadable. Connor realized he hit a soft spot, and instantly put his hand back on top of hers. AJ seemed reluctant to talk, but as she glanced down at their hands together, she sighed in defeat.

"My, now ex boyfriend, and my best friend, not the one would chased me with a snake, decided it would be great to take me to Maui. It was a surprise sincd it was our two year anniversary last month. I didn't think much of my best friend coming because she was also really close with my boyfriend. Turns out I should've thought more about her coming. I woke up early one morning, before anyone else. I went downstairs to get breakfast, and when I came back up, I saw them making out in the bed we slept in." The girl seemed more mad than hurt, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the armrest tightly.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." Connor seemed mortified, his eyes widened and mouth agape.

AJ shrugged, "thanks, I know right, some best friend and boyfriend they were."

"That's just terrible," Connor couldn't believe it.

"I'm almost happy it happened. They deserve each other. At least I didn't waste another year or two with either of them. I would've preferred to have found out not in Hawaii, but I'm glad I found out." She paused from rambling, noticing Connor who hadn't moved an inch, his jaw still hanging. "Sorry, that probably made no sense," she went to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, but stopped when she realized her black, curly hair was pulled back into a messy bun.

Connor shook his head, "oh no. I get it. I just can't believe they would do that. He would do that. I know we just met but you're great. He clearly doesn't deserve you."

AJ smiled shyly, her cheeks heating up again. "Thank you, Connor."

[authors note]
i finished writing all the chapters for this book, and i just cant contain myself so i published a new book about all the maple leafs called "life in pieces!" its something different and fun, so it'd mean a lot if you checked it out ! :)