Skating Into Forever – By Caitlin Loggins
SKATING INTO FOREVER
BY CAITLIN LOGGINS
Liam
LA Blades defenseman Liam Holtz was driving home from practice, the windows down in his old pickup truck, one hand on the wheel and the other drumming lightly against the door in time with the music blasting from the stereo.
He had the volume cranked up and was belting out the lyrics to a One Direction song as if he were onstage, albeit slightly out of tune.
He knew his teammates would never let him live it down if they heard him right now or knew what kind of music he liked to listen to when he was alone in his truck or with his girlfriend of nearly four years, Sophie Bennett. Sophie also was a Directioner.
However, in that moment, with the warm mid-October air streaming in through the windows, ruffling his still slightly damp hair as he cruised down the backroads, he couldn't care less about what they thought.
His phone buzzed with an incoming text, cutting into the music for a brief second and making him jump as it vibrated against the dashboard mount.
He quickly glanced at the screen as the notification appeared.
For a second, he debated ignoring it, figuring it was just one of the guys wanting to hang out or a message from one of his coaches. But curiosity got the best of him.
Liam guided his truck onto the shoulder of the winding road, letting the engine idle as he shifted into park.
With one hand still on the wheel, he unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned over to grab his phone.
The mount, however, had other ideas. He tugged once, nothing.
A second time, still nothing. The cell phone holder was worn from years of use and had an annoying habit of holding onto his phone a little too tightly.
Muttering a few choice words under his breath, he braced the palm of his hand against the dashboard for leverage and with one final sharp tug, the phone finally popped free but with more force than he expected.
The momentum knocked him off balance, and his shoulder slammed into the driver's side door with a dull thud.
“Seriously?” he grumbled, wincing as he pushed himself upright in the seat, rubbing his aching shoulder while shooting a glare at the phone mount as if it had insulted him.
Once the pain in his shoulder had dissipated a bit, he adjusted his grip on the phone and with a quick swipe, unlocked it, going straight to his messages app. Right at the very top was Sophie's name in bold indicating an unread message. Tapping on it, he leaned back in the seat and read her text.
Sophie: Hey Li! I just wanted to wish you luck before your game tomorrow night! I know you're going to do great and I can't wait to see you again! Love you! [Kissing face emoji]
Sliding the phone back into its holder and pulling back onto the road, Liam couldn't help but smile as he thought Why wait until tomorrow night? He decided to head to Sophie's house to surprise her now instead.
After making a pit stop home to change out of the clothes that he wore to practice, he headed out to his garden to cut some flowers before hopping back in his truck to drive to Sophie's house.
SOPHIE
Sophie was curled up on the swing that hung on her front porch, reading a romance novel from one of her favorite authors. She was so absorbed in the story that she almost didn't notice the familiar rumble of Liam's truck coming up the road.
Her heart skipped a beat as saw his dark blue pickup rounding the bend and heading towards her house. Snapping the book shut and tossing it onto the cushion next to her, she bolted inside and made a beeline for her bedroom.
Once inside her room, Sophie yanked open her closet and began rifling through the hangers trying to find something better than her current outfit of an oversized Blades team t-shirt that actually used to be Liam's but she had “borrowed” it and an old pair of sweatpants.
After a brief pause, she decided on a simple black T-shirt that was soft but slightly fitted and her favorite pair of jeans. Something cute but effortless.
She changed quickly, tossing her old clothes onto the bed.
Moving to the full-length mirror attached to the back of her bedroom door, Sophie ran a comb through her long brown hair, smoothing out the tangles that had formed from the slight breeze outside before pushing it back over her shoulders and taking a small step back, glancing over her outfit one last time.
Sophie took a couple of deep breaths, trying to shake off the nerves before rushing back outside.
It was ridiculous, really. It was just Liam.
Her Liam. She'd spent countless days and nights with him over their nearly four years together, and yet, even after all this time, he still gave her butterflies every single time .
She still wanted to look good whenever she was around him even though he probably wouldn't notice the difference between her current outfit and the oversized T-shirt she was wearing just moments ago.
Shaking her head, she took another deep breath, ran her hands down the front of her jeans to smooth them out, and turned toward the front door.
Hearing the sound of gravel crunching beneath the tires as he pulled into her driveway, she reached for the door handle, stepping out onto the porch just as Liam climbed out of his truck.
His dirty blond hair was still slightly damp and tousled in that effortlessly messy way that she loved.
His well-worn gray hoodie hung loosely on his frame, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows revealing his tanned forearms and the start of a sleeve of tattoos on his left arm.
His jeans, slightly wrinkled but fitting him perfectly, hung low on his hips, and his favorite pair of tan cowboy boots, scuffed from years of wear, completed the look.
Liam could make anything look good. It wasn't fair, really. Whether he was in his hockey gear, in a suit, or like today - just a hoodie and old pair of jeans, he always pulled it off.
Today was no different.
“Hey babe, what are you doing here?” she asked, her voice full of surprise as Liam made his way up to the porch with the bouquet of flowers in hand. “I thought I wouldn't see you until tomorrow night at the game. Not that I'm complaining.”
Liam chuckled softly as he walked up to her, handing her the flowers and giving her a quick peck on the lips.
The scent of his cologne: clean, a little woodsy, and entirely Liam, wrapped around her.
“I know, but I couldn't wait that long to see you.
You're always on my mind, so I figured a surprise visit would be the best way to show you just how much you mean to me and let you know how much I'm looking forward to having you in the stands cheering me on tomorrow night. You're my good luck charm.”
Sophie's eyes lit up as she took the bouquet from him.
“These are absolutely gorgeous! I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm so lucky to have you in my life,” she beamed, her voice filled with emotion.
“You always know how to make me feel special and I honestly don't think I could ask for anything more.
I'm going to head inside and put these in water.
You can come inside with me if you'd like - or you can stay out here and relax and I'll be right back.”
“I think I'll wait for you out here. It's too beautiful of a day to be cooped up inside.” Liam replied, making his way over to the porch swing as she went inside to take care of the flowers.
When she stepped back outside a few moments later, she paused in the doorway, taking in the sight of Liam lounging comfortably in the swing, one arm casually draped over the backrest, the other holding the book that she had left behind.
His brows were slightly furrowed in concentration and his lips were parted just enough to tell her that he was mouthing the words as he read.
“Liam, are you seriously reading my romance novel?” she asked, amusement lacing her voice as she closed the screen door behind her.
Liam startled, his cheeks turning pink as he looked up from the book at her with a sheepish grin.
“Well, I was waiting here all alone, and it was just sitting there so I thought I'd see what it was all about.” he explained, closing the book but keeping a finger between the pages to mark the spot where he stopped reading as if he wasn't quite ready to part with it yet.
Sophie crossed the porch and slid onto the swing beside him. “So, what do you think?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
“I'm not gonna lie, the story is pretty good, but I have some thoughts.”
“Thoughts?” She repeated, raising an eyebrow. What kind of thoughts could her rugged hockey player boyfriend possibly have about a romance novel?
“Yeah, my first thought is that this guy, Blake, needs to get it together. It's so obvious that he's in love with her, but instead of telling her, he just keeps on pretending that he doesn't have any feelings for her,” Liam said, laying the book on the table next to the swing.
“Well, it's not always easy admitting that you have feelings for someone and if Blake here,” Sophie said, reaching over and tapping the cover of the book, “admitted that he loved her right off the bat, there wouldn't be much of a story, now would there?”
“You have a point there,” Liam mused, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her in closer to him.
“But I still think it's silly. If you love someone, you should tell them so instead of doing everything you can to avoid saying those three little words.
When you finally decide that you're ready to, it might be too late.”
“You know, that's a surprisingly deep take from a guy who teases me fairly often for reading these books,” she teased, playfully nudging him.