Chapter Twenty Two
SOPHIE
“Willow Creek Community Rinks is going to be your new home for the next year,” I tell the group of concerned parents in front of me from behind the front desk. “I’ve met with the manager personally, and she’s assured me that everything will be ready for your kiddos by the start of June. It’s a bit of a longer drive, and the rink is accommodating the currently scheduled practice times as well as they can. And it’s not forever. This time next year, we’ll all be back skating at the Twin Rinks.”
That we could get something set up with Willow Creek has been a life saver, but parents understandably have some concerns and questions. Even I’m a little antsy about the whole thing, and I don’t have any kids playing hockey. But, that’s what happens when routine and familiarity are thrown out the window.
“Is it true that Carter Williams is paying for all the repairs on the center and paying the fees to the other rink so we can practice?” One mom in front of me asks, her eyes wide.
I smile. “It is. Mr. Williams has taken care of everything, including the contract with Willow Creek.” Not too long ago, that statement would have burned like acid coming out, but now, I’m finding it somewhat of a relief that I have help. That he wants to do this because it matters to him and it’s not just some PR stunt. Between the rinks, coaching, the flower shop, and helping Jordan, I hadn’t realized how much I was drowning until Carter came and took some of the burden away.
“And the last day Twin Rinks is open is May 30th?” A dad asks, making notes on his phone. We scheduled closing to be right after the intramural hockey team championships, before the summer camps start so there’s no interruption in playing for the kids.
“That’s correct, in two weeks. Here are some flyers highlighting everything you need to know.” My hand waves at the flyers stacked at the end of the front desk and then I check my watch. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, I have a hockey team to coach.” They all thank me and grab a flyer, allowing me to head to the rink where my team is practicing.
I start my girls off with warmups, skating across the ice in short sprints, and I can’t help but remember being in their shoes. Well, skates. Being a teenager is hard, but having a team of girls that have your back makes it more bearable. Most of my old team, the Ivy Glen Thorns, have moved away since high school.
Being on the ice, in the exact same place where Carter and I spent so many evenings and weekends together, makes it all too easy to remember how it used to be like… as if it was only yesterday…
“You’re gonna have to go faster than that if you want to catch up to me!” I taunt, turning my head so he can hear me. He’s closer than I had thought, a devious smirk appearing on his face at my words.
Shit talking about who’s the faster skater had turned into a race around the rink. It was free-skate time, but the rink closed in fifteen minutes and we were the only two left. Since my parents extended my curfew last year when we started high school, Carter and I spend a lot of evenings at the rink together.
He comes up next to me now, our pace even. I’ve had feelings for him for a while, so when his arms close around my waist, practically pulling me off my feet, my stomach swoops so violently I feel like I might be sick.
“Carter!” I shriek, stumbling in his hold. We both lose our balance, tumbling over, but he holds a hand to the back of my head, making sure I don’t crack it on the ice. Shit, that’s going to bruise tomorrow.
Before I know it, I’m laying with my back on the ice, breathing hard and looking up into Carter’s endless blue eyes. He’s panting heavily from skating, his hand still under my head. I might have imagined it, but I swear his eyes dart to my lips briefly.
His breath hitches right before I find my voice. “You fucking cheater!” Using all my strength, I push him off me, and his back hits the ice with an “oof”.
“You said I’d have to go faster if I wanted to catch you.” He smiles that blindingly charming smile that turns all the girls at our school into mush.
“I said, ‘catch up to me’, you buffoon.” I laugh, shaking my head. My heart rate is finally slowing down, and when I look up, Carter has gotten up and is holding his hand out to me.
It’s surprisingly warm as it surrounds mine, and as he pulls me to my feet, I find him staring at my face again, his eyes different than I’ve seen them. Darker, more heated. My heart pounds in my chest for an entirely different reason now. Is he getting closer? It doesn’t even seem like he knows he’s doing it.
I’m leaning in too, I realize, and he’s just about to bend down when ? —
“Come on, Soph! Carter, do you need a ride home?” Tom bursts through the door, and we jump apart at the sound of his voice.
Tom gives Carter a ride home, the three of us squished into the cab of his pickup truck. It’s a tight fit, but it’s not like I can breathe right now anyway, with the feel of Carter’s side pressed against mine, the backs of our hands resting against each other.
Does he feel it too? All I would need to do is move my hand a little and he’d be holding it. Was he really about to kiss me? Did I want him to?
Of course I did.
Maybe if I tell him how I feel, he’ll feel the same way.
I smile to myself at the memory, then blow my whistle and direct my team to passing drills. I never got the chance to tell him how I felt first, he beat me to it. A few weeks later, when we were doing homework at his house, he confessed his feelings for me. From that point until the championship game our senior year, we had been inseparable in a different way.
When practice ends and my team is heading to the locker room, I spot Carter, Tom, and Jordan entering the rink.
“Hey, guys.”
Carter’s head snaps in my direction, and he meets me at the edge of the rink, halfway bending over the boards as he takes my face in his hands and kisses me breathless. Making me completely forget that we’re in the company of both my brother and nephew.
I could get used to this kind of hello.
“Hey, now, not in front of the children,” Tom chides, his footsteps getting closer.
Carter pulls away, his hands still on my face as he gives me a cheeky grin and kisses my nose. “Sorry, children.” His wink makes insides do funny things, and then he turns back towards Tom and Jordan.
“‘The children’ didn’t see anything,” Jordan pipes up, walking past us to head to the locker room.
Tom and Carter bark a laugh, and my face warms in embarrassment as I swat Carter on the arm.
“No kissing me in front of them anymore.” It's becoming harder and harder to rein in my feelings for Carter. I’m having to remind myself that we’re just having fun, and it’ll do me no good to catch feelings again and be heartbroken when he inevitably leaves at the start of hockey season.
I pointedly ignore the niggling in the back of my mind that’s essentially screaming, Who are you kidding? You already have feelings!
Nope. No feelings. Just nostalgia and amazing orgasms.
Carter leans in close to my ear, whispering. “Then maybe you shouldn’t tempt me by looking so fucking kissable. It makes it hard to keep my mouth off you.” His words send heat straight to my core, especially at the image of his mouth on other parts of my body. I resist the urge to swat him again.
Luckily, Tom doesn’t seem to realize what Carter just said to his little sister, and moves to put his equipment bag on the team bench. We trade places on the ice and I sit with Carter in the bleachers as we watch Tom coach his team. His hand is warm and comforting as it holds mine, keeping me warm in the cold air of the rink.
Jordan is probably pushing himself the hardest, followed closely by Bodhi and Theo. They glide across the ice doing passing drills, their eyes are hard and focused.
When they switch to a scrimmage, it’s almost mesmerizing watching the three of them work together. It’s like they anticipate each other's moves. The other team has possession of the puck, and Jordan uses his body to block a shot, allowing Theo to fly by and take possession, skating towards the opposing goal. Jordan catches up and protects Theo as he skates towards the goal by keeping himself as a barrier between him and the defense. Theo moves to take the shot, and thanks to a quick deflection by Bodhi, the puck soars into the net.
I take a video for my mom, who wishes she could attend every practice, but the arthritis in her hands gets too aggravated from the cold temperatures of the rink.
Me: Look at Jordy go!
Mom: He’s amazing!
Watching them play brings me back to my memory from earlier, and I speak before I can think better of it.
“Hey, Carter?” I ask suddenly, turning my head towards him.
“What is it, Soph?” he murmurs before pressing a kiss into my hair.
“Do you remember… the day before our first kiss? How we were racing in this rink…”
“And I grabbed you and we fell onto the ice together?” He finishes my sentence so quickly a shocked giggle escapes me. “Yes, yes, I do. Why do you ask?”
I don’t know why, but the fact he remembers that day just as well as I do makes something warm unfurl in my chest. “When we landed, and you were on top of me, were you…?”
I have no idea why I’m asking him this. What if his answer is no? I’ll just feel stupid. It changes nothing now, and there’s no point in me knowing. Quickly losing my nerve, I shake my head and face the ice rink again. “Nevermind, it doesn’t matter.”
A finger under my chin lifts my head back in his direction as he looks at me intensely. “If you were just about to ask if I had thought about kissing you, the answer is yes. Many, many times that day, and it wasn’t the first time either. It was just the first time I thought you might have wanted to kiss me back.”
My heart thrills, which is ridiculous. We’ve slept together just about every day for the last week and a half, and somehow, this little admission has my heart pounding harder than it has since he showed up back in Ivy Glen.
“I’ve told you before that my feelings started for you back in middle school.” I whisper, this conversation seeming suddenly too intimate for the bleachers at a public ice rink.
“I didn’t know back then though,” he says, his eyes searching my face. “And you… I had thought you saw me as just a friend. But no matter who else wanted to date me, on some level, it was always you, Soph. Even then, you were it for me. Please don’t doubt that.”
Even then? Does that mean… that now…
His lips are almost touching mine again when Tom’s whistle sounds, making us jump apart like we’re teenagers who almost got caught making out by the teacher. The irony of it being Tom again, like it was that day, almost makes me laugh.
“Tom!” Carter stands and approaches the ice as Jordan’s team heads back to the locker room. “I’m taking Sophie out. You good here?”
I’m so glad he said something because after that conversation we just had… I’m wanting some alone time with him too.
Tom looks over at us with a glint in his eye. “Yeah, I’m good. I got the boys for the sleepover tonight so I’ll have plenty of help cleaning up.”
It doesn't sit right with me to just leave . I stand and walk over to the edge of the rink. “I can stay and help clean up?—”
Tom isn’t having it. “Nope. You don’t worry about a thing, Soph. I’ve got it. You two have a good time.”
“Okay,” I concede, “Thanks, Tom.”
“Now,” Carter puts his hands on my shoulders and turns me to face him, “why don’t you go home and get changed and I’ll pick you up in an hour.”
My brow raises and I suppress a smile, my lip quirking slightly to the side. “You mean you don’t want to take me out in a ratty shirt and my Twin Rinks hoodie?”
Carter presses a soft kiss to my lips and murmurs, “You would bring me to my knees wearing a fucking paper bag, Angel, but I have a feeling you’ll want to get changed for our date.”
“Okay.” I swallow. “I’ll see you in an hour?”
He flashes me that panty-melting smile he keeps in his arsenal. “I can’t wait.”