Chapter 26
Grayson
I was standing at my locker after a short hockey practice when Bob the Marketing Fuckhead ambushed me again.
“Don’t you have anything better to do than bother me?” I was disappointed that I had already put my pants on—it would have been nice to linger with my dick out to make him uncomfortable like last time, but I suspected he had waited until I was dressed before approaching.
“We’ve scheduled your next date with Josie,” he said. “It’ll be the last one before the playoffs. We’ll probably have you do the third date once the season is over.”
I felt a thrill at the news. It had been a week since our date on the River Walk, and I had wondered when the next one would be. I’d avoided asking because I didn’t want to seem eager.
Because, deep down, I was eager to see her again.
“What’s the plan?” I asked.
He tapped on his stupid little iPad. “I just emailed you the details. Meet here tomorrow.”
“Here?” I asked. “In the fucking locker room?”
“Here at the Frost Bank Center,” Bob said while walking away. “Read the email!”
The email that just popped up on my phone had a PDF attachment that was six pages long. For once, I wished Bob had stuck around longer to explain it to me. The PDF felt like homework.
Following the instructions from the email, I returned to the Frost Bank Center at nine o’clock the next morning.
I didn’t put on my pads or jersey, but I did lace up my skates and went out on the ice.
The arena was totally empty—when I coughed, the noise echoed in the cavernous room without thousands of bodies to absorb the sound.
To warm up my legs, I skated around the ice for a few minutes. I didn’t realize Josie was standing by the bench until I heard her speak.
“I’ve never seen this place so empty before.”
I skated over to her, suppressing a smile. She was wearing tight jeans and a Surge jersey. I couldn’t tell what was different about her hair, but the sight of her stirred something inside of me. She looked good.
“It’s downright peaceful without all the fans screaming at me,” I said, skidding to a stop in front of the bench. “Whose jersey are you wearing? If it’s Mason Calder’s, I’m going home right now.”
She narrowed her eyes at me in a wicked grin. “I’ll wear his jersey on our next date. The intern who let me inside gave this to me. It’s a custom jersey.” She turned around to show me the back: it was her last name, Harper, but my number 11 beneath it.
I spared a moment to admire the way the jeans hugged her perfect ass, then asked, “Have you ever skated before?”
“Believe it or not, I never learned how.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you grow up in Minnesota?”
“I know, I know. I have no excuse. That’s the point of this date, right? To teach me how?”
“And to show you that it’s harder than it looks. After today, you won’t be able to call what I do figure skating with a stick.”
Josie was already gorgeous, but she was even more beautiful when she grinned. “I can assure you I will continue to make fun of your sport.”
“Why am I not surprised?” I grabbed a pair of skates from the bench and shoved them at her. “These should fit you. I borrowed them from Mason’s locker. His feet are fucking tiny.”
She looked at the skates like they were going to explode. “Am I allowed to wear a pro’s skates? Instead of, like, something for amateurs?”
“You’re allowed because I say you are. And if Mason complains, I’ll kick him out of my place.”
Josie continued staring at the skates.
“They’re his practice skates,” I said. “They handle easier than his game skates. But be careful. They’re still sharp.”
“They don’t look sharp.”
I reached forward and removed one of the protective covers, revealing the shiny blade underneath.
“Oh.”
She sat on the bench and swapped her shoes for the skates. I resisted the urge to help her. I desperately wanted to put my hands on her, even something as innocent as lacing up her skates for her.
Fortunately, Manny showed up before I could give in. I chatted with him for a few minutes, discussing where he would be in the stands along with the videographer. Unlike our date on the River Walk, today we would be recording video.
“You’ll probably fall, so be prepared for that now,” I warned as she stood at the edge of the ice.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because everyone falls the first time. Ice skating is hard.”
“What if I’m a natural?” she asked.
“You won’t be.”
Tentatively, she touched the ice with one skate. Then she gripped the railing and put her other foot out. She wobbled for a few seconds, and I was certain she would fall on her ass, but then she started wobbling forward with chaotic little motions.
“Told you I wouldn’t fall!” she said proudly.
“It’s early.”
She began pushing forward with a more natural motion, staring down at her feet in concentration. “Hey! This isn’t that hard!”
“Because you’re barely moving.”
“It’s easy!”
“You look like a duck trying to flap its wings to get out of the nest.”
“It’s for balance, dummy.”
“You won’t be able to do that when there’s a hockey stick in your hands.”
“Oh yeah? Watch me!”
Josie slowly lowered her hands to her sides while skating a little faster. I followed along beside her, watching carefully.
Her foot slid out from under her, and she fell backward.
I’d been skating since I was old enough to walk, so I realized when it was about to happen. Before she could land on her back, I threw out an arm and caught her, pulling her into my arms.
“Who’s the dummy now?” I teased.
She glared up at me, then pushed away. “Give me a few minutes. I’m going to get the hang of it.”
Up in the stands, Manny waved down to me. They were already filming.
“We don’t have all day, so let me help,” I said.
“I don’t want your help!” she protested.
“You sound like a whiny teenager.”
Ignoring her protests, I stepped behind her and straddled her skates with my own. Holding her by the waist, I began propelling us forward across the ice, quickly picking up speed.
“I should start my own TikTok channel teaching people how to skate,” I joked as we circled the ice rink. “I bet I could get more followers than you overnight.”
“I don’t know about that,” Josie said over her shoulder. “Have you seen how my channel has done since I posted the April Fools video?”
“Exactly. Your success is thanks to my appearance. Imagine how well a channel would do if I was on every video.”
“Go ahead. I’d love to see you try to plan, film, and then edit videos yourself. Then I’d be the one gloating about how hard my job is. What are you doing? Why are you speeding up?”
“We’re barely moving,” I replied.
“We’re flying!” she insisted. “This feels like a hundred miles an hour!”
“Relax and trust me,” I told her. “I’ve got you.”
She was as stiff as a board in my arms, but slowly began to relax. I picked up more speed, enough to make her hair stream into my face. I moved my head to the side of hers, pulling her closer so I could see over her shoulder as we circled the rink.
Soon she was giggling excitedly, especially as we made a sharp turn in the corner and zoomed past the goal.
When I thought she was ready, I pushed her forward and let go. She skated by herself across the ice, her happy shouts echoing throughout the arena. I smiled proudly at the sight. She looked good wearing my number, I decided.
But then she realized that she no longer had my support. Her legs stiffened, and she waved her arms to try to maintain her balance. It wasn’t enough, and she fell forward onto the ice.
“I’m coming!” I said with a laugh, rushing to catch up. She was still sliding on her belly thanks to her momentum, eventually stopping when she bumped into the wall.
“You all right?” I asked when I reached her.
“I think so,” she said, rolling onto her back. Her blonde hair was splayed out on the ice like an angel’s halo, and she smiled up at me. “Give a girl a hand?”
She reached toward me, and I took her hand to pull her to her feet.
But instead, she yanked me down to the ice.
“Oof,” I said, landing on an elbow.
“That’s what you get for throwing me forward like a missile!” she said, playfully slapping at me.
I grabbed her by the wrists and pinned her to the ice. “That’s how you’re supposed to learn. Everyone has to take the training wheels off eventually.”
“Jerk.”
“You’re the one who intentionally pulled me down! I could’ve gotten injured. If I missed the playoffs…”
“You’re fine, stop being dramatic. And let go of me.”
“Not until you apologize, pussycat.”
“I don’t apologize to people who call me that.”
“Then I guess we’re going to sit here a while. I know you love the cold, so I bet the ice on your back feels great.”
She stuck out her tongue at me, and I smiled in victory.
But I remembered how good that tongue had felt when it was dancing with mine, our lips churning together hungrily. God she was beautiful. Even the way she was pouting right now filled me with a dozen different emotions.
Every instinct in my body told me to do it. Those lips were begging to be kissed, and her eyes were wide and expectant.
But then I remembered Manny and the videographer up in the stands. We weren’t alone. Everything we did was being recorded and would be viewed by at least a dozen people in the marketing department.
Nothing killed my erection faster than the thought of Bob smugly lecturing me about my contractual obligations.
I pulled her off the ice until we were both standing. “That’s a good start. Now let’s see how you do with a hockey stick.”
I skated back to the bench before she could see how red my cheeks were.