CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
LEVI
It’s my first day back on the ice. I’ve had a few more sessions with Scarlett, and she believes I’m ready to return. So long as I don’t push my shoulder too far.
I’ve just arrived at the arena, waiting for Scarlett to join me to take me through a few stretches before I hit the ice.
I’m in the locker room, settling back into my surroundings when Steele comes in, all geared up. “Guess who’s here?”
I look over at him and catch the smug grin on his face, making it quite clear who’s here. “Where is she?”
“In the hall. She wasn’t sure if she should come in.” Steele mumbles before heading out of the room toward the ice.
Rolling my eyes, I walk to the doorway, spotting Scarlett leaning against the wall.
She straightens once she spots me, and I wave her in, opening the door for her to step in.
“Hey, Princess. You make it here okay?” I ask as I move back toward my locker.
She scrunches her nose, looking around the room. “It smells in here.”
I shrug at her as I start to put my training gear on. “You get used to it.”
“I doubt that, but are you ready to do a couple of stretches before we head out?”
I nod and she comes over, guiding me into the stretches she has set. Putting on my skates, I stand, now really towering over her.
Retrieving a second pair of skates, I hold them out. Her brows knit together, and she glances up at me, puzzled.
“You’re skating with me today, Scar.” I give the skates a little shake as her eyes widen, and she quickly shakes her head.
“I don’t think so.” She laughs nervously, avoiding my gaze.
“Come on. You said you want to support me in whichever way you can. This is how.”
She’s wide-eyed as she gazes up at me. “But I don’t know how to ice skate.”
I raise a brow as I contemplate her. A little thrill rushes through me that finally, after way too long, I have the upper hand.
“I’ll teach you.” I guide her back to sit in my stall. “Now, let me get you in your skates, and we’re set.”
I lace her up and get her in some gear and in no time, we’re heading down the hallway that leads to the ice. Though I keep my hands wrapped around Scarlett’s biceps as she’s quite unsteady on her feet.
Once we get to the ice, I step on and spin around so that I’m facing her. If I’m reading her right, there’s a flicker of fear in her eyes.
Holding my hand out to her, I gesture toward myself. “I’m not sure about this, Levi.”
“I won’t let you fall, Scar.” I promise.
She takes my hand and cautiously steps onto the ice. Her skates immediately start to slide out from under her, but I pull her against me, my other hand settling at her lower back to keep her steady.
“You’re good, Scar.” I whisper, “keep your eyes on me.”
She furrows her brows, her mind obviously spinning with questions. “Am I allowed to be out here?”
“Of course, you are. I wouldn’t have brought you out otherwise.”
She scoffs, raising a perfectly manicured brow at me. “But aren’t you supposed to be training?”
I shrug my shoulders. “It’s only light work today. A couple of soft drills but mostly skating, which I figured I could do with my favourite Pilates instructor.”
Soft crimson colours her cheeks, as she looks away shyly. I take the moment to breathe her in. She’s softer than I initially expected, but still has the underlying fire that I’ve come to appreciate about her so much. And it finally strikes me that I might actually be falling for her.
Continuing to skate backwards, I pull her along with me toward the other end of the ice.
She hesitates and I can see the fear in her eyes. “Don’t worry baby, unlike you I won’t actually let you fall.”
I smirk at her.
That fire that I love so much lights in her eyes, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The reformer machine. Twice.” I raise a brow, awaiting her response.
She tries to hide her smile. “Oh my God, that was not my fault! You wouldn’t listen to basic instructions.”
I know that now that I’ve got her riled up, it will overtake that fear. “But you could have helped, you know with me being injured and all.”
The corner of her mouth twitches up and I know I’ve got her now. I’m so fucking screwed with this girl.
Sighing, she attempts to feign annoyance, though she looks happy to be here. “Alright. Let’s do this.”
“So, Princess, rule of thumb here, keep your knees bent. Track your knees over your toes. Really similar to Pilates. Keep your back nice and straight but stay relaxed through your neck and shoulders.”
I watch as she tries to find her position, though she looks extremely uncomfortable. But she’s trying and I couldn’t ask for more from her.
“Good, Scar. Really good.” I crouch down, adjusting her feet. “So, what you’re going to do is think about pushing off the inside edge of one blade, then alternate between your two feet. Each time transferring your weight. Focus on gliding across the ice rather than walking, okay?”
I slide back a little to allow her room to move, her arms chasing me in the distance between us. “Levi,” she whines, looking uneasy.
“You’ve got this, baby.” I wave her toward me encouraging her to try.
She shifts her weight to one foot pressing off, before moving to the other and I skate backward slowly, maintaining a bit of distance between us. “Keep going, Scar. Eyes up here. Don’t look down.”
As she skates, a grin starts showing on her face, her eyes lighting up.
My heart skips a beat as I watch her. I don’t think she’s ever looked quite so beautiful as she does now.
Her cheeks are flushed crimson from the cold air, her emerald eyes sparkling, and her long, chestnut brown waves flowing down her back.
Oh, I am so gone for her.
“Happy to have you join us, Scarlett.” Coach says as he skates past us, a smirk on his face. He heads back to direct a few of the boys into the next drill.
A small smile pulls at my lips as I reach out, taking her hands in mine as I start to speed us up.
“So,” I say, tilting my head at her.
“So,” she mimics, beginning to gain a bit of confidence as she skates.
“Gigi would really love to spend some time with you. Girl shit, I think.”
Scarlett raises her eyebrows at me. “Girl shit, Levi? Really? Well, either way, I’d love to spend some more time with her.”
My smile widens. “Okay, great. Did… Did you want her phone number?”
“I already have it. I’ll message her after I finish here.”
“Oh, sure. Good.” I pull her in, starting to lean down to kiss her when she presses away from me.
“Not in public” She starts to skate away. Slowly, but she’s skating, nonetheless. Until she looks down, though.
Scarlett’s feet slip out from under her, and I reach my left arm out to catch her, pulling her in so that her back is to my chest.
“Careful, Princess.” I whisper in her ear as I start to guide us back to the bench.
Stepping off the ice, I help Scarlett before we begin to walk back toward the locker rooms but once I look up, I stop in my tracks, my face dropping.
Standing in the middle of the hallway is none other than my father.