Chapter 13 Kaeli
Thirteen
Kaeli
“Okay, now bring your hands back like you’re winding for a slap shot,” I instruct him, clicking a few shots from the sidelines, not daring to step on the ice in my sports shoes.
I pull back to look at the pictures and groan. With a frown etched between his brows, he skates over and looks down at the digital screen. “What’s wrong?” he asks, leaning against the boards, holding his hockey stick in one hand.
“Everything,” I almost whine when I look at his hair falling over his forehead, his skin glistening with sweat. He’s not wearing his gear because I wanted to capture a few behind-the-scenes moments of him practicing and working on his skills.
His gaze roves over my face as if to understand. “What do you mean? I think I look handsome.”
I roll my eyes at his haughty response. “Of course, you look handsome.” And I know he’ll never let that slip of my tongue go unnoticed.
“You think I look handsome?” he asks, his eyes lighting up with mischief like a Christmas tree.
I sigh, pressing the side of my forehead to the plexiglass. “Of course, that’s what you choose to focus on.”
God, he’s so infuriating.
His shoulders slump, and he leans closer, reaching out his hand and then pulling back, thinking better of it. “What can I do? How can I help?”
I pivot my forehead–now the back of my head against the glass–and sincerity shines in his eyes. I know what I want, but I hate to admit why I can’t have it. Now, how do I tell him that without making a fool of myself?
“Kaeli, please tell me what I can do to help?” My heart stutters at his words and his closeness, at how he says the word ‘please’ like he will fly to the moon if I ask him to. And the notion in itself is absurd. Because we hate each other, so why the hell does he affect me like this?
Relenting, I tell him, “I…umm…I need to get a couple of shots of you from up close, with me on the ice.”
Ezra searches my eyes as if trying to solve a long-hidden mystery. “Alright, let’s go on then. Grab a pair of skates your size, and we’ll get you what you need.”
I fidget, standing straighter as my shoulders tense and my grip on the camera tightens. “Yeah, there’s one problem. I can’t go on the ice.”
His voice drops an octave as he asks, “And why’s that?”
Instead of answering and admitting something I’m embarrassed about, I shrug my shoulders, looking everywhere but at him. I feel the heat of his gaze burning me.
From the periphery of my eyes, I see his glacial orbs widen for a second and go back to normal as he rubs his jaw. “Kaeli,” he begins, his voice hesitant and careful, “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
I feign innocence as I shake my head. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, Ezra.”
He grabs my chin and makes me look at him. My eyes flare in surprise. “Look at me when I’m talking to you,” he grunts, his jaw ticking.
I try to free myself, but his grasp stays firm. Bastard. “Fine,” I grit.
The pools of his eyes trace the entirety of my face, and it’s like he can see my walls going up because the corners of his eyes and his voice soften. “Do you not know how to skate, Kaeli?”
God, it’s embarrassing. Damn it.
“I didn’t say that,” I lie, hoping my flushed skin doesn’t give me away.
It does, because he rumbles, “Don’t fuck with me, Kaeli. Just tell me.” He moves closer if that’s even possible, leaving the hockey stick to rest against the boards as he climbs inside.
His skates make him taller than he already is, causing me to crane my neck all the way back to look him in the eyes.
“Fuck, fine. No, I don’t know how to skate. Happy?” I glare at him, but it doesn’t deter him.
“Very,” he leans in, and his lips feel like a phantom touch on mine as he chirps, wearing a proud smirk like he got me to spill my deepest, darkest secret. Well, try again, buddy. You’ve heard nothing yet.
One moment, his lips are just an inch away from mine as his warm breath ghosts over my face, and in the very next, he’s almost out of the players tunnel, yelling over his shoulder, “I’ll be back in a second.” While I still stand there, reeling.
“Where are you going?” I call out behind him, but he’s already gone.
I slump down on the bench as I shut my eyes and drop my head in my hands, placing my elbows on my knees for support. God, telling him was a bad idea. I bet he can’t wait to gloat and use it as ammunition to torment me.
I’m ruminating in my misery when a sudden touch to my ankles startles me. “Jesus, what the fuck?” I pull back, my eyes widen as my heart races.
“No, Jesus, just me, Feather,” Ezra scoffs from where he sits on his knees in front of me in the cramped space.
“Very funny. What are you doing, Ezra? Get up.” I clasp his shoulders in an attempt to get him to stand up, but he doesn’t budge.
When I struggle to pry my leg free and get up myself instead, his hold on my calf tightens. “Don’t move, Kaeli,” his stern voice reaches my ears.
And for some odd reason, I can’t quite decipher, I do as he asks. He holds my feet gently and extricates my shoes, his fingers gliding over my exposed ankle like a fluttering butterfly dancing to its heart’s content.
Grabbing the skates, which I now notice he brought, he places my feet in them just as gently. They’re a perfect fit. “How did you know my shoe size?”
He shrugs without looking up as his ears turn a shade of red. “I guessed.”
While he continues with his task, I enjoy the rare chance of drinking him in. He looks right at home on his knees. I bet he’d look just as good doing other things on his knees, too. A lock of rogue hair falls on his forehead, refusing to stay in place with the others.
My fingers strain in my lap as I restrain myself from doing something stupid like touching it. He’s stunning. He’s alluring, and I know that he knows it. How can you not when you look like he does and have the talent to back it up?
His gentle caution with my feet makes liquid pool in my belly, and my heart beats at a staccato of its own. It’s no secret he hates me. Then why is he being so careful with me, I wonder.
Patting my thighs a couple of times with those huge hands, he hoists me to my feet, pulling me out of my out-of-character and highly inappropriate thoughts. God, he’d laugh at me if he found out I find him attractive.
Wait! Did I just admit that I find him attractive?
Fucking great!
He offers me his hand while I tilt my head to look at him with a frown marring my features. “Why aren’t you mocking me?” For a second, I feel like I see hurt flash through his eyes. But that can’t be right. Right?
He clears his throat and asks as if my question doesn’t make sense to him, like it’s absurd, “Why would I do that?”
But he’s the one acting absurd, or have I been plunged into an alternate universe while I was sleeping and didn’t even realize it? I seriously inspect my surroundings to discern if that, in fact, is the case.
“Come on now. Let’s do this,” he beckons me with his still outstretched hand. Hesitantly, I place my palm in his, his fingers curling around mine, fitting perfectly.
Waddling like a penguin behind him, I stand on the edge of the ice. Shaking my head repeatedly, I express, “I don’t want to.”
I look at the hard ice, and a picture of my skull splattered on it flashes through my mind. I’m nowhere near drunk enough to giggle at it. “I will fall, and I will die.”
He lets loose a surprised chuckle. “No, you’re not going to fall and die, Kaeli.”
I glare at him, the sound of his chuckle making my stomach flip like I’m a fucking teenager. “Don’t patronize me.”
He swivels to look at me, taking both my hands in his. “Come on, Kaeli. I promise I won’t let you fall. Trust me.” Sincerity drips from his voice, and I bury my fears for a moment, staring at his handsome face.
“I don’t trust you,” I scowl at him, yet not pulling my hands from his grasp as the rough pads of his thumb tenderly caress my skin, drawing a shiver out of me.
He throws his head back and laughs at my claim. “Smart woman.” My own lips threaten to tilt up at the sound. “Now, step down on the ice. I know you can do it.”
“But why the hell are you teaching me to skate, Ezra?” I find myself asking him, unable to wrap my head around his decision.
He tilts his head like I voiced the stupidest question ever. “Because no one did, Kaeli.” He says like it’s that simple.
His words are both a punch to the gut and the balm over it, soothing the persistent ache. No one has ever done something like this for me. Even those who claimed to like me, to be my friends. Whereas this man has never shied away from the truth. He accepts that he hates me and doesn’t hide it.
And yet, this is the man who paid enough attention, cared about me enough to attempt to teach me to skate without an ulterior motive. My eyes threaten to water, and I hate that he can arouse such a strong emotion out of me.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay his kindness.