Chapter 14 #2
“Looking strong out there, Harper,” he says.
I feel it.
I look around the ice as the guys start heading back to the locker rooms. When I don’t spot what I’m looking for, I turn back to face Coach Avery.
“Hey, Coach? Didn’t you say Marla was an only child?”
He grins, confirming there’s no nephew.
“How’d you know I’d get on the ice?” I ask.
“I didn’t.” He gestures behind me. “She did.”
I spot her in the back when I turn.
Erin.
Her eyes blaze with such intensity, they could light up the entire stadium, as she gives me a double thumbs-up.
“You got one hell of a friend there, kid. Keep hold of her. They’re super rare.”
I skate alongside the boards when Erin stands to walk down the steps. My blades bite into the rubber mat when I step out.
“Hey, I saw you out there,” she says, and for a split second, I think she’s about to say something serious.
Then she blurts, “You’re so hot!”
Her face turns crimson, and she immediately corrects herself. “I mean amazing! That was…amazing!
I can’t help but laugh. She’s adorable when she’s flustered.
“Erin, what is this? How do you know Coach Avery?” I ask as I stare down at her.
“I don’t really,” she says. “But, um… Well, you see, the thing is… I was just… I mean, I thought that you—crap.”
I grin, fighting the urge to kiss her. She’s just so damn cute when she’s worked up.
“For someone who reads a lot of books, you sure don’t know a lot of words right now. Wanna try that again?”
She pulls her sleeves down over her hands.
“Right. So… okay, here’s the thing.”
When I go to speak again, Erin puts one hand over my mouth and closes her eyes.
“I was here with Valerie two days ago when I got the call from Ink and Print letting me know the interview location had been moved to Great Lakes Stadium. Next thing I know, I’m asking Coach Avery if he can get a few of the guys together for you the day of my interview.”
Her words hit me as hard as a crate of bricks. I stare at the creases on her eyelids, created by how hard she’s wincing. When her eyes open, they’re full of worry.
I’m gentle when I pull her shaking hand away from my mouth. It takes every ounce of self-control to not press a kiss to her palm.
“You’re telling me you asked Coach Avery to pretend he had a fake shithead nephew to get me to play with the guys today?”
“The nephew part was all him, but I can’t take credit for it all. If Valerie wasn’t with me, I never would have made it through her dad’s office door to ask the question.”
“How’d you know I’d show up?”
Her nervousness fades away as if this is important.
“I picked up on what you were saying. Your injuries aren’t what’s been keeping you off the ice. It’s seeing Jack.”
The air in my lungs feels trapped, the pressure mounting.
I was right. She did know.
“When I fell into the pond, you didn’t hesitate,” she says, her voice soft and full of pride and gratitude.
“Your fear of getting on the ice didn’t stop you from getting to me.
After we talked, I thought maybe you just needed a little help seeing that you can do it and not just when someone’s in danger. ”
I stare at her, unblinking.
“Erin, I—”
“Not interrupting anything, am I?” Coach Avery asks, stopping me from responding.
“Not at all, Coach. He’s all yours,” Erin says.
She walks away before I can stop her.
“She cares about you. That one reminds me of my Marla when we first met. Your friend was about ten seconds from passing out when Valerie left her alone with me to talk, but she held strong. Hell, I don’t even know the girl, and I was proud of her for getting through it without throwing up.”
“She threw up when she left, didn’t she?”
He chuckles. “Right outside the door. She’s a nervous little thing, but I think you make her want to be brave. Anyone who fights for my family as hard as Erin did when she came into my office will always get my attention.”
I know the feeling well because that girl occupies my every thought.
“Mark and I aren’t stupid, Chase. We know the reason you’ve missed your ice evaluations hasn’t been about physical pain,” he says gently, and I can tell he’s not mad, just disappointed.
“You should have come to us. We would have supported you. We still will. We’re not just a team, Chase.
We’re a family. Maybe you forgot that for a little while, and that’s okay, but from now on, I need your honesty. Nothing else will be acceptable.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What happened to Jack was not your fault. You were not responsible. You’re the only one who blames yourself for what happened last year.
I can’t tell you what to believe, but I do know that if Jack were here, he’d tell you the same thing.
So, it’s time to get back to where you belong.
Play the game you were born to play for yourself. And for Jack.”
Coach Avery’s words echo in my mind as I pull up outside of Erin’s place, the sound of skates on ice still ringing in my ears. As I walk to her door, I find Bella walking up the steps with a bag of food.
“Hey,” I say.
She grins at me. “My sister told me you were looking pretty hot out on the ice earlier.”
I chuckle and shake my head.
I’ll never get enough of Erin’s cuteness.
Bella’s teasing tone eases. “My sister’s been through hell, and it means a lot to me that you’re showing up for her. That you’ll be here when we’re in California.”
“You can count on it,” I reassure her.
“I know what she did for you today, and I’ve never seen her want to help someone more than she wanted to help you.
That tells me a lot, Hockey Boy,” she says, and a rush of satisfaction hits me.
“Erin’s been guarded for as long as I’ve known her, but with you…
” Bella pauses, and the silence carries a certain type of weight as if she’s using the time to pick the perfect words.
“I think part of her believes she might be able to be…free. And if I know my sister, that feeling will terrify her at some point and try to scare her off. So, I need you to make me a promise.”
“Anything.”
“If it gets too much for her, and she pushes you away, don’t let her.” Bella’s voice is full of hope that I’ll do what she asks.
“You got it.”
Her chin dips in a subtle movement. She turns to face the door, and the moment evaporates by her screech as she steps inside Erin’s place.
“Oh, Erinnnn! Look what I found skulking around outside.” She smirks as I follow her into the house, shaking my head at her antics.
When Erin walks into view, I forget how to fucking breathe.
She has a green face mask on, her hair pulled up in a messy bun. A dark blue crop top clings to her tiny waist, and her gray shorts show off her tan legs. The whole look is tied together with an oversized nude cardigan and fluffy blue socks.
Holy hell.
Her eyes bulge when she sees me. She lets out a high-pitched squawk and slaps both hands to her face, then freezes, realizing she’s just smeared whatever was on her face onto her palms.
“Ahh!” she cries, yanking her hands away.
Bella and I double over in laughter as Erin spins on her heel and gives me her back.
“What are you doing here?” she groans. “It’s girl’s night.”
A beat passes before the door slams behind me again.
“She. Did. Not,” Erin gasps, horrified.
“Afraid she did. And she took the food with her.”
“Noooooo!” Erin whines as she stomps her foot in a dramatic tantrum.
She’s just so adorable.
“How’d it go with Ink and Print?” I ask, stepping closer.
“Um…good, I think. You?”
“I didn’t have an interview with them.” I smile. “I tried to find you,” I say as I edge closer again.
“I thought you might want some space,” she says quietly. “I took a cab home, then Bella called. Helena James, a California real estate developer she’s obsessed with, wants to set up a meeting. Bella said she was coming over and bringing Chinese for a girl’s night.”
“Erin?”
“Yeah.”
“You really gonna make me talk to your back because of a face mask?” I ask.
“Yep.”
I place my hand on her hips. She lets out a little gasp as I spin her around to face me. Her hands fly up to cover her face again, but I catch her wrists before she can, giving her a once-over.
My little green monster is embarrassed.
As she shifts one foot behind the other, she mumbles under her breath, wishing the ground would swallow her whole.
“I like you like this,” I murmur.
“Utterly ridiculous and mortified?”
“Relaxed, calm, and beautiful as fuck.”
“I look like a green goblin.”
“A really cute green goblin.”
A delicate, rosy hue travels up her neckline, illuminating a path on her skin I want to trace with my lips.
“Well, the green goblin is…flustered,” she says and then her stomach grumbles. “And hungry. But a little thief ran off with my crispy chili beef.”
I let go of her wrists and take out my phone. I click on my DoorDash app and tap on my screen a few times before putting it away.
“Your food will be here in twenty.”
Her eyes widen. “I didn’t mean for you to…”
“I wanted to,” I say before walking over to her kitchen sink. I let the tap run until the water is pleasant under my fingertips. I take a clean towel from the shelving unit above the sink, hold it under the faucet, and wet it.
When I trail back over to Erin, she’s watching me intently. I wipe the damp towel over her hands first, cleaning them off and then folding it in half before bringing the towel to her face. Her eyes close on a sigh as soon as I make contact.
Starting with her forehead, I run the wet material over her face. I maneuver my way down her temple until I get to her cheeks. I smooth it over her chin and lips until she’s no longer a green goblin.
My eyes flick to her plump lips that shine from the combination of the wet towel and lip balm. I’m still dying to taste and savor the flavor of them. My dick stirs at the thought of her mouth on mine, an image I’m used to seeing every time I close my eyes and palm myself.
I step back, putting some needed distance between us.
“Now,” I say, clearing my airway as Erin’s eyes open. “We need to talk.” I take her hand in mine as I guide her to the sofa. “I can’t believe you talked to Coach Avery,” I say, letting out a gravelly chuckle.
Her brows pinch together as soon as her butt hits the plush fabric.
“You’re not mad at me?” she asks quietly.
“Erin,” I say, shaking my head. “No one has ever done anything like that for me.”
“I didn’t do anything,” she says. “You laced up your skates, got on the ice, and kicked ass. That was all you. I just took the polar bear plunge and word vomited on the coach. No biggie.”
She shrugs, and I wonder if she’ll truly ever know the magnitude of what she’s given back to me.
“No biggie, huh?” I smirk. “So, it must have been the excitement of meeting the silver fox that is our coach that had you puking into the trash as soon as you left his office, then.”
She groans and hides her face.
I gently peel her hands away and hold them in mine.
“Sometimes that happens when I get really nervous,” she admits. “But I don’t regret it. I, um… I wanted to do it. For you. I wanted to help you the way you help me.”
“You did more than that,” I say. “Briar cleared me to play in the upcoming season.”
She gasps and launches herself at me, arms tightening around my neck as she squeals. We tumble backward into the cushions, and I chuckle, holding her to me.
She pulls back, eyes sparkling with glitter. That damn dimple appears on her left cheek.
Breathtaking.
I lean in, pressing a kiss just above her cheek where that dimple winks at me. Her cheek flares under my lips.
“Congratulations, Chase. I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you, Erin. Thank you.”
I hold her close, wanting to remember how she fits in my arms. I want to savor it—because this moment is the start of something new. A future worth holding onto.
And it’s her.