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“Tell you what,” Reed replied. “Come for one lap of the rink, and I’ll show you.” He held my gaze, and I had a feeling he was determined to get his way.
“Okay, fine.” I accepted the skates from him. It was one lap of the rink. How bad could it be?
It only took two seconds on the ice for me to realize it would be terrible. My skates wobbled as soon as I stepped onto the rink, and when I tried to push away from the boards, they instantly slipped out from under me, sending my feet flying up into the air. I was falling faster than I could blink, but instead of slamming onto the cold, hard ice, I felt Reed’s strong arms wrap around me.
“You’re supposed to wait for your teacher before you launch yourself onto the ice,” he said with a laugh. My heart was already racing with adrenaline from slipping, and the feel of his strong arms keeping me upright only made me more breathless.
“I didn’t realize it would be so difficult,” I replied. “You make it look easy.”
“Probably because I learned to skate before I could walk.”
“Well, I—” For the second time, my skates slipped out from under me, and my breath was stolen from my lungs. Reed gripped my waist tightly as he supported me, once again stopping me from landing on the ground. Reed had already seen me fall in the snow. I could only imagine how much more painful and embarrassing it would be to hit the ice in front of him.
“I’m beginning to think your explanation isn’t worth this,” I said as he steadied me.
He grinned. “You’re doing better than you think.”
“Not likely,” I muttered, which only made his smile grow wider.
I did my best not to look at him or, more specifically, his smile as we continued to skate. Whenever I glanced his way, I tended to send myself sprawling, which was something I very much wanted to avoid.
Reed was sweet as we skated and kept trying to encourage me. But I was a terrible student and constantly on the verge of pulling the two of us down. The only plus to the whole experience was the fact he didn’t let go of me once. That was definitely something I could get used to.
It was only after we finished our lap and I was safely holding on to the boards again that Reed started talking. “The story behind my scar is a little embarrassing,” he said. “I don’t like to talk about it. And if you ever tell anyone, I’m not sure I’ll be able to forgive you.” He was speaking quickly, and his usual confident demeanor was replaced by a hint of hesitation. Was he nervous?
“Is it really that bad?” I asked.
“It is,” he muttered. “But I guess I should just rip off the Band-Aid.”
I was genuinely beginning to worry.
“So, you were right, the scar was caused by an ice skate,” he began.
He’d told me as much last night, and I instinctively gripped the boards beside me a little tighter as I motioned for him to go on.
“And the skate did belong to a girl…”
“Okay…” I braced myself for what was coming.
“But that girl was my sister.”
It took a moment for the revelation to sink in. “Wait, are you serious?” I glanced at the scar again. “Cammie was the one who did that to you?”
“Yes, but it’s not what you think,” he added. “She didn’t throw the skate at me.”
"Then what happened?”
Reed drew in a breath before he continued. “When we were younger, my dad would work every Sunday morning, and my mom didn’t trust us boys to stay home alone, so my brothers and I would get dragged to Cammie’s figure skating lessons. We had the choice of joining in the lesson or sitting in the bleachers doing homework. I chose to pick out a pair of figure skates.”
He was struggling to meet my eyes, and it was clear he was embarrassed. I wasn’t sure why it would be such a big deal.
“Grayson outright refused to try, and Parker lasted half a lesson before he was kicked out for distracting the girls in class. But I was surprised to find I liked it. I picked up the moves easily, and I enjoyed focusing on the intricacies of skating rather than just the puck and my hockey stick. I didn’t do it all that long. My dad eventually hired someone to help with his workload so my brothers and I could stay home.
“I thought my figure skating days were over, but then Cammie needed a partner to practice with for a contest, so I offered to help. She’s an incredible skater, but she goes through partners like she’s trying to find a new outfit.” He pulled down his top to reveal his scar. “We fell while we were practicing a particularly challenging lift. She accidentally cut me with her skate. That’s how I got the scar.”
“You were figure skating?”
“Yes.” He grimaced. “And if anyone ever found out, it’s safe to say I’d never hear the end of it. I’ve been doing my best to hide the fact I’ve been covering Cammie’s figure skating class for the last couple of weeks. If anyone ever found out I could actually figure skate myself, I’d be laughed off the ice at my next game.”
