Chapter Nineteen Perceptions #2
“Yeah.” He nods and swallows. “Early morning tomorrow.”
He gives me a wink, then hurries off the ice.
“See you, Wilder!” he calls without slowing.
I watch him go, a little thrown by how fast that shifted.
I’m quickly distracted when Julian gets on the ice and starts moving toward me. I barely have time to process it before he’s right in front of me and pulling me into a hug.
I freeze. He’s never done this before.
The feel of his strong arms wrapping around me fills me with an instant, blinding rush of heat.
Before I even realize what I’m doing, I relax into his hold, my hands skimming up his sides, feeling the warm, firm muscle beneath his hoodie.
He pulls me in tight, holding me as if he’s trying to anchor me to the earth.
For several long, breathless seconds, the rest of the world falls away.
His head buries into the crook of my neck, his warm breath fanning against my skin and sending a shiver down my spine.
Then, I feel the slow, deliberate pressure of his thumb rubbing a soothing circle up and down my lower back.
“Hey,” he murmurs when he eventually pulls back.
He stays right there, his hands lingering on my waist, pinning me against the boards. Our lips are mere inches apart, so close I can feel the heat of his shallow exhale against my mouth. My gaze drops to his mouth for a fraction of a second, my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs.
“Hey,” I echo.
Julian nods toward the ice. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I tell him.
“You okay?” he asks, his gaze sweeping over my face to read my expression. “Was he bothering you?”
“No, I’m okay,” I murmur, offering him a reassuring smile to ease the sudden, tense coil of his muscles. “Really. It’s fine.”
He stares at me for one more long, heavy second, searching my eyes for any hint of hesitation or fear.
When he finds none, the lethal sharpness in his posture recedes just a fraction.
He nods once, dropping the subject completely without another word, but his grip on my back tightens slightly, pulling me just a half-inch closer before releasing me.
He grins. “All right, let’s do it.”
Julian skates over to the rink’s old sound system mounted by the penalty box. He plugs his phone in, and a second later, a low, moody indie track begins to echo through the empty arena, the heavy bass vibrating through the floorboards.
We fall into it easily after that as we skate on opposite sides of the rink.
The tension between us doesn’t disappear completely, but it softens as we settle into the familiar rhythm between us.
As the music swells, the heavy, suffocating weight of my dad's phone call evaporates. I feel light, almost weightless, as I dance across the ice. Every few paces, I find myself glancing his way, only to find his eyes already fixed on me even as he pushes his puck along. The weight of his gaze feels like it’s burning directly into my skin in the best possible way, making my blood run hot.
After a while, we move to the team bench to sit and take a break.
Julian reaches into his bag and pulls out a water, handing it to me without a word.
I smile, taking it. “You always come prepared?”
“Someone has to,” he chuckles.
I huff a quiet laugh, already opening it.
We sit there for a minute in comfortable silence, drinking our water, before I speak again.
I love that he doesn't push. That the silence between us is never uncomfortable or forced.
He just knew from texts alone that this was what I needed, and I want to tell him everything, so I break the silence.
“I had a job interview a few days ago.”
He glances over at me with an arched brow. “Yeah?”
I nod. “At the rink Millie takes her skating lessons. It’s only a part-time job, but it’s something I’d really enjoy doing.”
The corners of his mouth lift. “Hell yeah.”
“I got it,” I tell him before taking another bite.
“Congratulations,” he bumps me with his shoulder. “That’s what’s up.”
I nod, then hesitate. “My dad doesn’t think so. He wouldn’t even let me tell him about it and just stated I couldn’t do it. That I don’t need to. It was…awful. Now I’m wondering if I should quit before I even start.”
He’s quiet for a second before stating, “You shouldn’t.”
I look at him with a frown.
“That’s it?” I ask. “Just shouldn’t? Fuck the consequences?”
“That’s it,” he nods. “Look, if you want a different life, you have to stop letting him hold the blueprint. You start making choices that are actually yours, and you own them, the good, the bad, and the ugly. You have to follow whatever path feels right to you, Hadley.”
I swallow hard, looking down at my hands. “It’s just…he’s my dad. I don't want to lose him.”
Julian’s expression softens, the hard edge of his advice giving way to something steadier.
“You won't. At the end of the day, he’s still your father. He might get furious, but he loves you. He just has to learn that loving you means letting you be your own person, but he’s never going to learn that until you show him. ”
I exhale slowly. Fuck, he’s right. He makes it sound so easy, but I’ve been doing everything the way I’m supposed to for as long as I can remember, and it’s hard to think about outright disobeying my father. Still, I want this job, and I want Dad to know I’m capable of making my own decisions.
“Okay,” I murmur. “Yeah, you’re right.” I glance back up at him. “I’ll keep the job.”
He studies me for a second.
Then, as his lips curl into a slow grin, he rumbles, “That’s my girl.”
The words steal my breath, and I look away as something tightens in my chest and my heart hammers so hard, I’m surprised he can’t hear it echoing across the empty rink.