Chapter 5 - Cass #2
“Well, I’d like to see you really try,” he said, turning to face front again. “All this child’s play when I can tell you’ve got more in you. Come on.”
And he was off, blades slicing through the ice in rhythmic swishes. I caught up easily, a peal of laughter rippling out of me despite myself.
“To the end and back,” he said, already out of breath. “Winner takes all.”
I chased the sound of his skates tearing across the ice.
Wind clawed at my face, and adrenaline surged through my chest like a second heartbeat.
Every push of my legs burned, but the kind of burn that made me feel alive.
Made me feel free. Mason was beside me almost the whole way, not pulling ahead, not falling back, just matching my rhythm stride for stride.
For a second, I forgot everything—my dad, the rules, my unspoken code of never dating a hockey player.
All I felt was the rush, the perfect glide of blade on ice, and him right there beside me like we were made for the same pace. Neck and neck, breathless and laughing, like we were making something new that was just ours.
Then, just when I was all lost and mushy over the handsome face in my periphery, he pulled ahead. Because of course Mason Calder wasn’t about to take a loss.
“Winner takes all.” He held out a hand to help me to the side.
I was still catching my breath, and the stitch in my side wasn’t helping. “What exactly is ‘all’?”
“Your number,” he said, as though he’d had that answer figured out long in advance.
“Wish I could help you out.” I bent over, hands on my knees. Damn, that really took it out of me. “But you can’t have my number.”
“Why not?” That playful edge was gone from his voice. He was actually serious, all concerned. I would’ve laughed if I could actually breathe.
“Well, what would you save it under? Firestarter?”
I straightened then, and locked eyes with him. After a beat, his smile mirrored my own and Mason collapsed in a pointed groan.
“You’re killing me over here.”
I slapped his arm lightly, and said, “You look like you can take it.” Then I skated off again. I didn’t know where the energy came from. Maybe I was running on pure excitement.
“You’re really good at this,” he said when he’d finally caught up with me again. We were drifting in slow circles on center ice. “How come you don’t skate for real?”
“Do I look like a hologram? I’m skating for real right now.”
He gave a low chuckle. “You know what I mean. Your speed, control… You could’ve easily made it in leagues.”
“Don’t let my dad hear you,” I sighed.
Then my head snapped up. His face had clouded over with obvious confusion.
“What’s your dad got to do with it?”
My heart, stomach, all of it, hit the ice. Idiot. I was normally better about not mentioning who my dad was, but Mason had lowered my defenses.
“Yeah, uh…” I waved vaguely, mind racing for a lie. “He’s not a fan of the whole skating thing.”
His frown deepened like the math didn’t add up. “Doesn’t sound like he’s very supportive.”
“How about yours?” I grasped at the only lifeline I could see, doubling back so fast I nearly gave us both whiplash. “I mean, is he supportive of your career?”
“I’m from a town where you’re born with one of three things in your hands: a lasso, a wrench, or a pair of skates.”
“And you chose skates…” I kept my voice as normal as possible, working hard to not show an ounce of the relief washing over me.
“They chose me, really.” He shrugged and slowed down. Which made me slow down. And suddenly we were just swaying on the spot together. “Best decision of my life to go with it. Even better decision to come play here.”
The vulnerability he was showing me finally pierced my armor, and I found myself telling him, “It’s Cass. My name.”
A slow, triumphant smile crept onto his face, and without one more word, he pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to me with the Contact screen already pulled up.
I laughed softly as I punched in my number, and only my first name, before handing it back to him.
“Pleasure to meet you, Cass.”
I wanted to be smooth and cool, saying something memorable, like ‘The pleasure’s all mine’, but my blade caught on a rough patch and all that came out was, “Aaaaggghhh…”
One second I was upright, the next I was teetering sideways with nothing but cold, hard ice in my future.
Mason acted fast, and caught me before I hit the ground. Both his arms came around my waist in a quick, fluid motion. For a second, I wasn’t falling anymore. I was suspended. Held in strong, stable arms.
Our faces were close. His breath was warm. And everything in me locked up. Froze.
“I got you,” he whispered, voice low and steady.
Then he leaned in, just slightly. Just enough. His lips were right there, and I…
“Thanks,” I said too quickly, pulling away like I’d been burned. “I should, um— I should go.”
“What? Where?”
I panicked, skating off to the side. His skates were following close behind.
“Early flight,” I said.
“You’re not on the team.”
I gave him a half-smile over my shoulder as I stepped off the ice. “Don’t tell anyone.”
And then I was gone. Out of my skates and sprinting to the exit tunnel like I was about to combust from the inside out.