Chapter 40
Ellie
The music starts and my heart pounds. We’ve rehearsed this for weeks, over and over again.
These kids know this routine like the back of their hand.
Half of them can probably do it in their sleep.
I’m not worried about them as much as I am Jamie.
That panic attack he had earlier scared me.
It seemed worse than the other ones. Yet he didn’t want to back out.
He’s determined to do this, and I wasn’t going to argue with him.
Let’s just hope he doesn’t pass out or throw up.
Bright colored lights burst across the rink in streaks of gold and purple.
My theatre kids surge onto the ice first, confident and ready.
They fan out in dramatic formation, arms slicing through the air in sharp, synchronized movements, exactly as we practiced.
One they’re in their places, the hockey team storms out onto the tarp and the crowd goes crazy.
The song switches to ‘Bye Bye Bye’ by NSYNC and the choreography snaps into place.
It’s no longer theatre versus hockey. They’re working together, and it looks amazing.
Jamie dances alongside them, doing exactly what he said he would.
I laugh and clap along with the music as the crowd loses their minds.
When I make eye contact with Jamie, he has a huge grin on his face that rivals my own.
He looks completely carefree and I love that for him.
He may not be the world’s greatest dancer, but he’s putting in the effort, and I appreciate that.
All of a sudden, Jamie cuts through center ice, never taking his eyes off of me, and I barely have time to register him before his hand is on mine.
“What are you doing?” I yell over the music. “This isn’t part of the routine!”
“Screw the routine,” he yells, breathless and grinning as he pulls me onto the ice. Well shit, I wasn’t planning on that. I don’t even argue, because his smile and joy are infectious and I can’t help but want to join him.
My adrenaline spikes as I begin dancing to the choreography I’ve been watching for weeks.
The world around us blurs into lights and noise and laughter.
The shouts and cheers from the stands are just background noise.
When I look over to Jamie, he’s already looking at me like I’m the center of his world.
Like nothing else matters. My heart skips several beats.
He asked me to come with him. To leave Ellington and be with him. Can I do that?
Can I live with Jamie? Can I trust him with my heart? I mean, we have been technically living together for months now, except we slept in separate bedrooms and tried to avoid each other at all costs. But even in doing that, we somehow always found a way to be near one another.
Jamie catches my wrist and spins me around like we’re the only two on the ice.
And then everyone moves at once. A ripple of motion spreads across the rink and the song finally comes to an end. My lungs burn and I’m smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. Everyone hits their final pose and the music goes out, leaving only the sound of our heavy breathing.
The crowd is silent and unmoving. Oh god, did they hate it? Was it awful? Did I fail? I peer up at Jamie who still wears a huge grin as he tries to catch his breath.
After what feels like an eternity, the place explodes. People erupt out of their chairs and onto their feet. There’s screaming, whistling, and stomping throughout the entire arena.
A relieved laugh rushes out of me and the weight of the world lifts off my shoulders. My laughter and excitement are uncontrollable. We did it. We pulled it off. This insane, elaborate stunt of ours worked.
The sound of Jamie’s laughing beside me only makes my smile widen.
He looks just as thrilled as I am. This big, burly hockey player with his cocky attitude and rough exterior stands next to me after admitting his love for me, asking me to live with him, and helping me pull off this fundraiser with a grin wider than I’ve ever seen him wear.
I turn to Jamie, breathless. “That was insane. We did it!”
He beams. “We fucking did it, Sweetheart.”
Instead of the repulsion I used to feel when he called me that, my heart flutters and I want him to keep saying it.
The roar of applause keeps coming. I try to look for Lainey and Holland in the crowd, but there’s too many people and it’s impossible to tell where they are. I’ll have to find them after we’re finished here.
We all file off of the ice and into the changing rooms. The kids are ecstatic.
They cheer and hug and it reminds me how it feels to perform your heart out and feel so proud and accomplished at the end.
Listening to the audience scream your name, feeling the relief when you’ve performed your best. I miss that feeling.
When we’re all done in the locker room, we head back to the arena to greet our friends and family.
I search the crowd to see if I can find Jamie.
When I spot him talking to a couple of his players, I can’t help the grin that takes over my face.
He turns around just as I begin heading toward him.
His eyes light up, and butterflies erupt in my stomach.
God, he’s gorgeous. Even when he’s all sweaty and tired.
“Hey,” I say, suddenly feeling nervous, because I know what I’m about to say could change everything between us.
“Hey, Sweetheart,” he licks his lips, and I wish I could kiss him right now, but I can’t. Not here.
“Jamie, I—” I start but am interrupted by the sound of Dean Ashby’s voice.
I take a step back from Jamie, hoping Dean Ashby didn’t notice how close we just were. I know we only have a week left of the semester, but we still need to act professional.
Ashby looks as if he’s just won the lottery his smile is so wide.
“Do you two have any idea how much you raised?” he asks.
Jamie and I shake our heads.
Ashby beams. “A little over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”
The number doesn’t compute at first.
“And that’s after expenses,” Ashby adds.
Jamie and I share a look that says, ‘what the fuck?’ before Jamies lets out a disbelieving laugh.
“You’re kidding.”
“I am not. You two did a phenomenal job. This was better than anything I could have imagined. Congratulations. You should be proud of yourselves. I knew you could do it.”
Once Ashby’s gone, I turn back to Jamie who is already looking at me.
I make a sound that’s half scream, half sob before grabbing him by the arms.
“Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars! Holy shit!”
He chuckles at my excitement. “Hell yeah!”
“I’ll come,” I blurt out, as if my body couldn’t hold it in any longer. I think my heart knew all along what I would say, but my brain tried to talk her out of it. I don’t know which one I should be rooting for.
Jamie’s brow lifts. “What?”
“I’ll come with you,” I tell him, almost breathless. “To New York. I’ll live with you, and I’ll go back to acting, and I’ll be closer to Lainey and Gwen. I’ve made up my mind.”
Grabbing my hands in his, his expression turns serious. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel forced to do anything you don’t want to—”
“I’m sure,” I say with certainty. For once, I’m actually content with my decision. I’m going to do this. I let him go once, and I can’t do that again. I hate to need him, but I do. I need him in my life. I need him in my soul. I need him physically and mentally. I’m done fighting it. I’m giving in.
“I fucking love you, Ellie Monroe. I promise, you won’t regret this. I’ll spend the rest of my life making up for what I did,” he assures me, and I actually believe he will.
“I love you, Jamie Patterson.”
“Ellie!” The squeal comes from behind me and I automatically know who it belongs to. I spin around so fast, I could’ve given myself whiplash.
“Lainey!” I squeal back as she runs into my outstretched arms. We jump up and down like teenagers as we hold onto one another. “I’m so glad you’re here! I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too! Gwenny was going to come but she’s feeling a bit under the weather,” Lainey explains. “I guess morning sickness isn’t always in the morning.”
I nod in understanding. “Of course, yeah. It’s okay. I’ll call her later. What did you think?”
“Oh my god, it was great! You did amazing. I can’t believe you did all that in such a short period of time!” Lainey exclaims, her eyes focusing on something behind me. “Is that him?”
“Yes, I have some things to tell you later,” I warn her. She gives me a curious look before I hear Jamie’s name being called from somewhere down the crowded hall.
Oh shit. I know that voice. I turn just in time to see Holland storming toward us, his face red with anger. Oh no. Before I can stop him, Holland’s fist connects with Jamie’s jaw, his head flying back from the force. Everyone stops what they’re doing and looks on to see what just happened.
“Holland!” I yell, my voice filled with rage. I can’t believe he would cause a scene, here of all places.
“What the hell?” Jamie barks, crimson blood on flowing from his lip.
“That’s for fucking breaking my sister’s heart, asshole!” Holland seethes.
For the love of God, is he serious?
I cut in, my voice sharp. “Holland, stop. You’re causing a scene.”
Jamie straightens slowly, wiping the blood from his lip and looks utterly pissed, but he doesn’t swing back.
Lainey grabs Holland by the arm and ushers him out of the building. I stop in front of Jamie, my hand reaching up to gently touch his face.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, cringing with embarrassment. “I can’t believe he did that.”
Jamie shakes his head, the anger leaving his body as he looks at me. “I’m fine. It’s fine. He’s defending his sister, I get it.”
“It’s not fine. I’ll talk to him.”
“Ellie, it’s okay. We don’t need his approval. We don’t need anyone’s approval. Okay?” He caresses my cheek, his eyes searching my face.
I nod. “Okay.”
“Good. Let’s get out of here and go celebrate,” he suggests with a wink, and I agree.