Chapter 4
ZING
BJ
One second I have the puck, the next I’m hitting the boards and going down. I push up on my arms, ready to give whoever checked me a shot to the kidneys, until I realize it isn’t my dad or Mav who hit me.
It’s Winter.
And I’m lying on top of her.
Just like this morning when she nearly skidded into the side of my Jeep, time suspends. Everything ceases to exist except her and me.
It’s fucking weird. And unnerving, to be honest, but it also intrigues the hell out of me. She intrigues the hell out of me.
Also, getting taken down by a woman I outweigh by forty pounds is hot. And stimulating in an inconvenient way when I’m wearing a cup.
A whistle blows and time moves again. I’m still doing a push-up on top of her. “Shit. Are you okay? I don’t even know what happened there.”
“I’m fine. Are you okay?” Her gaze drops from my eyes to my mouth, but darts back up again.
“You’re a hell of a lot more than fine.”
“How are you flirting with me right now?”
“It’s a compulsion. I can’t help myself.”
She snorts. “Is this how you thought a coffee date would end, then?” At my confused expression, she adds, “With me underneath you?”
I laugh. “Who’s flirting with who now?”
One second our faces are inches apart, and the next someone is grabbing the back of my jersey. “Dude, get a grip on your hormones,” Mav mutters as he yanks me to my feet.
Uncle Alex moves in, holding out a hand to keep everyone at bay. He drops to one knee beside Winter who’s still sprawled on the ice. “Did you hit your head?”
She props herself on her elbow. Her cheeks are flushed. Possibly she’s embarrassed by all the eyes on her, or maybe it’s my cheesy lines. “I don’t think so.”
“What the hell happened there, Randall?” Dad asks, coming up behind me and Mav.
“Dunno. One second I was on my feet, the next I was eating the boards.”
“Girl can skate; that’s for sure,” Mav says.
“Damn right,” Dad agrees.
“Anything hurt?” Uncle Alex asks, glancing over his shoulder and arching a disapproving brow before he turns back to Winter. “That was a hard hit you both took.”
She sits up. “I’m good. More embarrassed than anything.”
“Nothing to be embarrassed about. You took down a guy who’s more than half a foot taller and outweighs you by a significant margin.” Uncle Alex stands, seeming satisfied that she’s telling the truth, and extends a hand. “Let’s make sure you’re concussion-free before we resume play, eh?”
“I’m really okay,” she says.
“I’m sure you are, but it’s for my peace of mind.”
She lets him help her to her feet. I should’ve been the one to do that, but I was too busy flirting. Miller and Uncle Alex flank her as she skates over to the bench. My dad and I grab the sticks scattered across the ice.
“I know what the issue is.” Mav tips his head in her direction. “Her skates need sharpening. Her feet keep slipping.”
Dad squints and watches her glide across the rink. “You’re right.” He turns to me. “I’ll find out what size she wears, and we can get her a loaner pair.”
“Seven men’s, nine women’s,” I tell him. “I’ll get Lovey to grab them.”
He arches a brow, but doesn’t ask how I know this.
I break away from Mav and Logan, skating to where Lovey, Rose, and Clover sit in the stands.
“What happened? Is Winter okay?” Lovey’s eyes are wide with worry as she twists the end of her ponytail.
“She’s all right. Her skates need sharpening. You mind grabbing her a pair from the rental stands?” I tell her Winter’s size, and she disappears down the hall.
I skate over to the bench to make sure Winter really is fine.
“Oh. It’s okay. I don’t have cash on me, and I forgot to bring my debit card.” Winter chews on the corner of her lip, cheeks flushed all over again.
“There’s no rental fee for the skates or the sharpening,” Uncle Alex says.
“Lovey’s gone to get a loaner pair,” I tell them.
“Thanks. I feel bad. I didn’t realize how dull my blades were.” Winter’s gaze shifts to me, then away, cheeks flushing an even deeper pink.
“It happens to the best of us. Don’t worry about it,” Uncle Alex reassures her.
A minute later, Lovey returns with a pair of skates in Winter’s size. She passes hers back to Lovey so we can have them sharpened while we’re on the ice.
If we thought Winter was a good player before, she’s amazing with a pair of sharp blades. The only thing that trips her up are the tight turns in the crease, but that’s nothing a few lessons with me wouldn’t fix.
My dad and Uncle Alex exchange a look when she scores a goal. I can see their wheels turning. There’s still a handful of weeks left in the summer program. She could be a huge asset to the women’s team.
Winter’s team ends up winning the scrimmage by one goal. We all pat one another on the back, and Winter gets a ton of praise. My dad and Uncle Alex take her aside as the rest of us head for the locker rooms to shower and change.
“I would bet my left nut our dads are trying to recruit her,” Mav says as he pulls his jersey over his head and removes his pads.
He was offered an NHL contract this year, but he turned it down.
To anyone on the outside, it probably seems like a mistake, but Mav isn’t obsessed enough with hockey to make it his career.
It wouldn’t have made him happy. Not the way teaching seems to.
“Girl’s got skills.” Logan unlaces his skates. “How do you know her, anyway?”
“Rose works with her at Boones, she knows Clover from the library, and Lovey knows her from the foodbank. I think they volunteer there together or something.” I conveniently leave out the fact that I almost took her out with my Jeep this morning.
Logan pauses, brows pulling together. “Is that what she said? That she volunteers with Lovey?”
“Well, she said she knows her from the foodbank.” I rid myself of my jersey and shoulder pads before I get to work on my skates.
The furrow in Logan’s brow smooths out, and his face goes carefully blank as he unclips his shoulder pads. “Her last name is Marks, yeah?”
It was on the back of her jersey and inside her skate. “Seems that way. Why?”
“Just curious.”
“You’re never just curious.”
“She’s a new face.” He pulls his undershirt over his head. “I gotta hit the showers. I’m on night shift this week.”
We’re quick to shower and change, and we drop our equipment off to be cleaned.
The girls are already in the lobby when we get there.
Winter’s back in her leggings and T-shirt, her long, dark hair wet and hanging over her shoulder.
She’s built like a hockey player, with strong legs and a serious butt.
I try to be subtle about checking her out.
“You guys want to grab a bite at the diner?” Lovey asks. “It’s still open for another hour.”
“Sure, sounds good.” I can always eat. Even in my sleep.
Lovey turns to Winter. “You’ll come too?”
Winter tugs on the end of her hair. “Oh, uh, I don’t have my debit card, and I forgot to bring cash.”
“I got you covered. I owe you for this morning,” I say.
Her grin turns wry. “Pretty sure I evened things up when I took you down on the ice.” She looks away. “I should head home. I have an early shift at Boones. Maybe next time.” She turns toward the parking lot. The sun has already set, so she’ll have to ride home in the dark.
I break rank from the group. “I’ll give you a lift.”
“It’s okay. You don’t need to do that.” She adjusts her grip on her hockey stick. The tape needs replacing.
“I don’t mind. I gotta be up early for skate practice anyway.” When I picked her up, we were still a few miles out from the arena. A half-hour bike ride in the dark isn’t the safest.
Seems like she’s on the fence, but when lightning streaks across the sky, she relents. “Yeah. Okay. Thanks. That’d be great.”
Lovey starts the hug train with Winter before she moves to me, whispering that we’ll talk later. For sure she has questions. Winter and I load our bags in the back of the Jeep and climb inside. The temperature has dropped, and the promise of a summer storm makes the air feel electric.
“I’m sorry I’m taking you away from your friends. And I’m really sorry about what happened on the ice earlier. That was all me.” Winter clasps and unclasps her hands, like she isn’t quite sure what to do with them.
“Eh, don’t feel bad. Hits happen on the ice, especially when you’re playing with a bunch of retired professionals.
As for my friends, I see them all the time, and I do have to be up early, so it was a good excuse to get out of there.
Otherwise, I’d be up until midnight and feel like a bag of ass in the morning.
Should I head toward where I picked you up? ”
“Yeah, I’m not too far from there.”
I pull out of the spot and turn on to the road that leads to the lakeside cottages. “Did you have fun tonight?”
“I’m still kind of reeling that I got to play hockey with all these legends. So surreal. And you being a figure skater also threw me for a loop.” She gives me a sidelong glance.
“I don’t fit the profile.” The beard I lose for competitions, but I don’t have one for a few more weeks. “Did my dad try to recruit you to his women’s team?”
“He mentioned the program they run at the arena, and he gave me a bunch of pamphlets.” She runs her hands over her thighs. “Hockey’s expensive, though.”
“Yeah. It can be. Figure skating is the same.” Between the ice time, costumes, and lessons, it can cost tens of thousands a year, especially at a competitive level.
“How’d you get into figure skating when your dad is a hockey player?”
“My mom’s the figure skater.”
“You were destined for a life on blades.” Winter shifts so she’s looking at me instead of the road. “It’s kinda cool that you went the figure-skater route.”
“I grew up in a world full of hockey, surrounded by professionals. Maybe the natural inclination should have been to step into my dad’s shoes, but he’s a legend in his sport.
My mom didn’t get the chance to do that in hers, even though she had the ability and the passion for figure skating.
So I went left instead of right.” It’s a tidy explanation for why I chose door B.