15. Piper
FIFTEEN
PIPER
Me
What’s your favorite color?
Liam
Haven’t really thought about it. Why?
Me
Curious minds who will be playing your fake girlfriend want to know.
It’s probably something boring like gray.
Liam
I’m going to guess yours is pink.
Me
What gave it away?
Liam
Definitely not that blazer you wore again last night. Think you burnt my retinas, Mitchell.
Me
I can give you a reference for an ophthalmologist if you need one.
Liam
*Attachment: 1 image*
Me
Glow in the dark condoms DO exist!!!!
Liam
I stopped in for milk but made a detour for the latex. Now you can say your life is complete.
Me
This made my whole day!
Liam
Is the bar that low?
Me
No. I’m just really fascinated by this whole phenomenon and the reasoning behind it.
Are you going to Friends and Family night?
Liam
Don’t really have a choice.
Me
Are you bringing people?
Liam
Back to the Twenty Questions game, I see.
I’m coming alone.
Me
Oh. That’s sad. Nobody should go alone.
Liam
When you think about it, we’re all alone.
Me
Back to your existentialism I see.
Well, I’ll be there. I’m your friend, so you won’t be totally alone.
Physically at least. I can’t speak on a metaphysical level.
Liam
Never thought I’d read glow in the dark condoms and metaphysical in the same text thread.
Me
You’re a goalie, Sullivan. I need to keep you on your toes.
Liam
Considerate as always, Pipsqueak.
Friends and Family night is one of my favorite parts about working for the Stars.
The organization opens up the arena for players to bring their loved ones down to the rink for a couple hours. It’s a low night, an evening with games and prizes and watching the guys live a normal life away from screaming fans.
The tradition has been going on for years, implemented by Brody Saunders in his first season as head coach. He likes to talk about how camaraderie isn’t built during practice but outside it. Events like this give the team a chance to kick back on their day off, enjoying time with their families during a stretch of home games.
“Why aren’t you on the ice?” Maven leans over the boards and stares at me. “You look very sad sitting alone.”
“If by sad you mean content, then, yes. I’m wonderfully sad.” I laugh and drop my elbows to my knees. “Can’t a girl watch safely from the stands without being heckled?”
“She can, but you always do things with the team. Last season, you participated in a hot dog eating contest and nearly choked to death. Please don’t tell me you prefer processed meat over ice skating.”
“I don’t know how to skate. I never learned.”
“ What ? You’ve worked for hockey teams for years. You’re around the ice almost every day.”
“The key word there is around , not on. My job keeps me firmly on dry ground, and I have no complaints.”
“How have you never learned?”
There’s a moment of hesitation before I answer her.
I could tell her about the time Steven tried to teach me. How frustrated he got when I didn’t understand the physics behind the movements. The yelling when he said he couldn’t be around someone who didn’t give their best effort and the disappointment on his face when I fell and couldn’t get up.
It might have happened a decade ago, but I haven’t stepped foot on a rink since.
I smile and shrug instead, feigning nonchalance.
“When I interview the guys, it’s always in the tunnel. Being proficient on skates isn’t part of the job description,” I say.
“Let me teach you! It’s so easy when you get the hang of it and?—”
“I’m fine, Mae. You don’t need a liability trying to pull you to the ground. I’m having fun watching you all.”
“Are you sure? You can hold my waist. We can start a skating train. You know the team will join in.”
“I’m positive. Do a couple more laps and we can grab a drink in the lounge when you need a break.”
She blows me a kiss and I scan the rink, smiling at everyone having a good time.
Grant and his youngest sister, a figure skater, are doing laps around everyone else. Ethan is chatting with a woman who doesn’t look very interested in what he has to say. Hudson is laughing with his dogs as they slide across the ice and Maverick and Emmy are involved in some sort of game of tag.
I can’t figure out the rules, but I think Emmy is kicking his ass. Judging from the grin on his face, though, he’s damn happy to lose.
“Allergic to the ice?” a deep voice draws out, and I smile when I notice Liam standing in front of me.
“Something like that,” I say. “Taking a break?”
“Yeah. Playing keep away with Riley’s nieces is kicking my ass. Those girls are ruthless.”
“They should meet Emmy.”
“I’m going to tap her in and let her do a few rounds with them.” He rests his stick on the boards and lifts the hem of his practice jersey, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the shirt that boasts his number. 32. “She’s probably faster than me.”
“She’s definitely faster than you.”
His smirk tells me he knows I’m right. “Why aren’t you you socializing with everyone? This whole thing seems like your kind of scene. People. Talking. Loud noises.”
I thought our first time talking one-on-one after he kissed me into oblivion the other night would be awkward, but it’s so natural. Like we’re two best friends shooting the shit, and I don’t feel uncomfortable at all.
Nothing’s changed, and it makes me so happy he’s not going to treat me any differently after I orgasmed on his couch.
“You’re having the time of your life, aren’t you?” I tease.
“What gave it away?”
“Your scowl tells me you think this is a blast . I’m not socializing with everyone because I don’t know how to skate.”
“You don’t? Have you been on the ice before?”
“Once. It didn’t end well.”
Liam hums and doesn’t ask for more details. “Do you want to learn?”
“That’s okay. I’m perfectly content up here.”
“I’ll do a couple laps with you. It’ll be a nice breather from having my ass handed to me by seven-year-olds.”
“That’s not the compliment you think it is, Sullivan.”
“Wasn’t meant to be a compliment, Mitchell.” His mouth twists into a small smile. “Come on, Pipsqueak.”
“It could be hazardous. You could fall. What if I dislocate your shoulder and you can’t play? I’d feel so guilty.”
“I leg press double your bodyweight at practice, Piper. Unless you’re planning to turn into the Hulk, you’re going to have to work very hard to pull me down.”
Reporters for rival teams call him a brick wall for good reason. His broad shoulders, cut biceps and supposedly legs of steel tell me he’d be nearly impossible to throw off kilter.
My brain comes up with an image of Liam lifting me up. Throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me down a never-ending hallway without exerting an ounce of energy.
A hand on my thigh that slips under my clothes.
The other on my ass, squeezing.
The fantasy is hot.
Sensual enough for me to press my thighs together and swallow down the lump in my throat in an attempt to get the thought out of my head.
“Promise you won’t make fun of me?” I ask.
“No. But I won’t laugh loud enough for you to hear.”
“Asshole,” I say, but I stand and move toward him. “I don’t have any gear.”
“What size shoe are you?”
“A seven.”
Liam holds up a finger and crosses the ice. I’m always so focused on game play and he’s always stuck in the goal, immobile unless the puck comes close to him that I forget how beautiful he is when he skates.
It’s effortless.
Like he’s gliding on air or walking on water.
I could watch him move for hours.
He comes back a minute later and holds up a pair of white skates that are scuffed up around the toes. “No excuses now.”
“Are you a magician? Where did you get those?”
“We ask people to bring an extra pair so we can donate equipment to our community outreach organization. See if they fit.”
I reluctantly kick off my sneakers and exchange them with the skates. I lace them up and stand, unbalanced and close to tipping over.
“They fit, unfortunately. Should I put on a helmet? What about some pads? Last time I tried to get out there, I fell about eighteen times.”
“That’s it? Should’ve made it to twenty.”
“Twenty would’ve probably ruined my love for the sport.”
He offers me his hand and I make a split second decision to say fuck it and try, because what good is my life if I’m constantly watching from the sidelines? Missing out on all the good things happening around me because I’m scared of failing?
I know this is a safe space. A chance to learn without any repercussions, and I take his hand in mine.
A line of calluses sits at the base of his fingers. His palm is warm even in the cool temperature of the arena and his hold on me is sturdy and soft. Like I could tumble headfirst toward the ice and he’d catch me before I hit the ground.
His arm bands around my waist, his other hand settling on the small of my back to guide me. I can feel the heat of him through the wool of my sweater, and his closeness gives me an assuredness I didn’t have the first time I was wearing blades.
“There you go,” he murmurs as we make our way down the straightaway. I stumble on the first corner, but his grip never wavers. “You’re doing great.”
“I look like a baby deer, don’t I?”
“More like a baby giraffe. You’re carrying all your weight in your upper body and that’s throwing off your balance. Evenly distribute it. Relax and glide through each step, like you’re pushing the ice away from you.”
I listen to his patient instructions. Focusing less on flailing and more on using the ground as a point of power helps, and the change makes everything marginally easier.
The first lap is atrocious. It takes us almost ten minutes to make it around the rink. Kids pass us, and one even points at me and laughs. Liam’s scowl scares him off, and I can’t hold back my smile despite how terrible this is going.
“Hudson’s dog is moving faster than me.” I glance at the golden retriever sliding on his belly and burst out laughing. “He has far more poise than me too.”
“Four legs are an unfair advantage.”
“Could you put some blades on your hands and level the playing field, please?”
“Compare yourself to Seymour’s kid. She can’t stand up straight.”
“She’s also a one-year-old who can’t wipe her own ass, Liam. It’s cruel to be better than her.”
He chuckles and we start another lap. “Someone suggested we do a baby crawl race during intermission one day. Can you imagine the chaos?”
“Sounds like it could be both the most dangerous and the most entertaining thing to ever happen in this arena.” I wave at Maven and she gives me a thumbs up, her head resting on Dallas’s shoulder. “How old were you when you learned to skate?”
“Four. I grew up in Chicago. My dad signed me up for a Blackhawks kids’ camp one summer, and I never looked back.”
“You were always destined for greatness. Meanwhile I’m over here looking like an idiot and being shown up by kids twenty years younger than me.”
“You don’t look like an idiot. You’re learning. There’s a difference.” Liam lifts under my arms when I start to lose my footing again. I squeak as we make a sharp turn and almost run into the boards. “We all suck at something the first time.”
“It would be a lot better if my first experience on the ice was like this. It would’ve made me want to take some lessons, not hide from the rink.”
A muscle in his jaw ticks. “Bad teacher?”
“Bad everything. Thank you for being patient with me.”
“You don’t need to thank someone for doing the right thing.”
“Old habits, I guess.” He starts to pull away, and I panic. “Whoa. Stop. Come back. Where are you going?”
“I want you to try on your own. I’m going to skate ahead and you’re going to aim for me.”
“Did you not miss the part where children are lapping me? What if I fall?”
“Who cares if you do?” Liam stops sixty feet ahead. “You can do it, Piper.”
There’s magic in his gentle encouragement. Affirmations I’ve never heard before, and, for half a second in a world of pretend and make believe, in a reality where I’m lifted up instead of brought down, I know I can do it.
So, I move.
I shuffle forward, each stride becoming more confident the longer I stay on my feet. Maverick and Emmy skate by, grinning and cheering me on. Grant pulls out his phone and starts recording me, chanting my name and lifting his fist in the air in celebration.
Even Liam has a grin on his face.
The faintest hint of one tugs on his mouth, and he’s never been more beautiful than right now with his quiet joy. The subtle way he inches backward so I have to skate farther and farther, proving to myself I’m capable and strong.
“How do I stop?” I ask, barreling toward him.
“Bend your knees and turn your skates sideways,” he says.
I try to listen to his instructions, but I lose my center of gravity instead. I careen forward, seconds away from falling, and I swear to god I see my life flash before my eyes.
Before I can do anything remotely close to stopping, I run straight into Liam’s chest, sending him flying onto the ice and me going down with him.
“Shit. Fuck. Oh no.” My legs buckle out from under me and I land on his stomach. “Are you okay? Are you alive? Am I alive? Is my hand going to get sliced off?”
“You’re okay,” Liam says, and I open my eyes. He’s spread out on the ice like a starfish, arms out straight and legs wide. “My ass, on the other hand, isn’t.”
“Will it make you feel better if I pretend like the crash is payback for making fun of my blazer, not because the definition of sideways flew out of my head when you yelled it at me?”
“It’s deserved then. I wasn’t prepared for you to actually go Hulk on me, Mitchell.” He groans and pushes up on his elbows. “You might have a future in the NHL with defensive moves like that.”
“Did you hit your head? Why aren’t you you wearing a helmet? This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
“I’m fine. No damage besides my left ass cheek. Good thing I’m going to be on my knees during the game tomorrow, not my butt.”
I can’t help it.
I burst out laughing at the absurdity of it all.
Our positions.
The way he lifts his hips and touches his backside, like he’s checking to make sure it’s intact.
My pathetic skating skills and how I’ll never, ever do this again.
“This was a travesty.” I blink down at him. He looks up at me, still wearing that grin and not in any hurry to move me off of him. “What do we do now?”
“We forge on and try again.”
“That’s a pretty positive outlook for a guy who scowls more than anyone I know.”
“Maybe I’m turning over a new leaf. I’m inspired by your fearlessness and your inability to stop.”
“Look who’s funny with the sarcasm.” I put my hands on his chest and push onto my knees. “Rinkside is where I belong. It’s safest over there.”
“One more lap, then we can get a drink.” Liam’s thumb strokes along the hem of my sweater and brushes against my bare skin, leaving a trail of heat in his wake. “Consider it part of your lessons.”
“Okay,” I whisper, incapable of saying anything else. I don’t know what lesson he could be talking about, but I’m ready to be the most dutiful student in the world. “Only if you’re buying.”
He drops his hand away, and I miss his touch already. “Your first teacher might have been shitty, Piper, but you have me now. I know how to take care of a woman.”
One more lap turns into two then three. It becomes painfully obvious with every circle we make how different he is from the man of my past.
And, judging by the cocky smirk he’s tossing my way, he knows it too.