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Her eyes sliced to mine. “No, you won’t.”
I stifled a laugh and shook my head. “No, I won’t.”
Juliette rose to her feet and even though she told me not to, I fell into step after her as she walked over to the door. She reached into her pocket, pulling out her earbuds, and put them in. The blades of her skates hit the ice and she skated away, leaving me where I was standing.
I headed out onto the ice and chased after her. Juliette moved like a skilled skater, her edges cutting through the surface as she navigated the rink. I was completely captivated by her. Power rippled through my muscles and I pushed off and moved behind her. We circled around the rink three times with some distance between us before I said fuck it.
Juliette was unsuspecting as I crept up behind her. Reaching for her, I plucked one of the earbuds from her ear. Her eyes widened and she spun around to glare at me as she began to skate backward.
“What the hell, Sullivan?!” she yelled at me over the loud voices echoing within the glass perimeter.
A smirk lifted my lips. “If you want it, come get it.”
She was still in shock as I quickly ducked past her and took off around the rink. My stride was longer and I stayed ahead of Juliette, but she was applying the pressure. She was on my heels, chasing after me. As I skated past the left corner, I shifted sideways, my skates cutting deeply into the ice as I abruptly stopped.
Juliette didn’t anticipate the movement and I didn’t realize how close she was. She tried to stop, but was a fraction of a second too late. She crashed into me, showing no mercy as her hands went for mine. Laughter spilled from my lips and I tried to brace the brunt of the collision as we both fell onto the ice. The surface was cold and wet, soaking through my pants as Juliette laid on top of me.
The lilt of her laughter warmed my soul as we fought over the earbud. Her fingers were wrapped around mine and I relaxed as I let her wrench them apart before closing them again. She fought against me and we were both out of breath as she finally pulled my hands open and picked up the earbud that was in my palm.
“You’re so goddamn annoying,” she huffed, the laughter still in her voice as she pushed away from me and rose to her feet. A smile was on her lips as she held her hand out to me.
I took it and climbed to my feet, our hands still latched together. “Let me skate with you.”
She stared at me for a moment, pursing her lips, her chest still heaving with every breath she took. She held her other hand out to me, giving the earbud back to me as a ghost of a smile danced across her mouth. Her eyes shimmered under the lights above. “Fine.”
I let go of her hand and accepted the AirPod before putting it in my ear. The sound of the music she was playing beat against my eardrum as my heart pounded in my chest. We fell into stride together as we began to skate around the rink. She didn’t leave me behind, opting to stay with me the entire time.
There was already a crack in the walls she had put up around herself.
And I was determined to tear them to the ground.
CHAPTER TEN
JULIETTE
“Juliette. Do you have a few minutes to talk before you leave?”
Dante’s voice broke through the silence as I was untying my skates after practice. Lifting my head, I looked up at him and sat upright while cleaning the ice from my blades. Anxiety instantly balled in the pit of my stomach. I nodded, keeping my mouth shut. All of the kids were on their way out of the rink and the next group was getting ready to go on the ice for practice.
“Perfect,” he said with a smile and a nod. “Come see me in my office when you’re finished.”
A week or so had passed since I last spoke with him in regards to me working a paid position for the club. Dante excused himself from the locker room and I finished getting my things together before I headed off to find him in his office. It was a small room with a desk in the center. Trophies were on a shelf behind him, along with framed jerseys and pictures of winning teams from tournaments.
Dante looked up as I knocked on the opened door. He smiled brightly when he saw me and motioned for me to take a seat across from him. “How was practice today?”
“It went really well. It’s been so enjoyable coaching these kids and watching them progress.” I paused for a moment as I sat down. “They all seem to love it so much.”
“We have heard nothing but great things about you, Juliette. We are so glad to have you here with us. The kids are really thriving with your help.”
Heat crept across my face and I nervously tucked a hair behind my ear. Compliments weren’t something I was good at accepting. They tended to make me feel uncomfortable. “Thank you. Thank you for such an amazing opportunity and for taking a chance on me by letting me help.”
“You’ve become a vital part of the team here. I know we had already spoken a bit already about the paid position, and the club would like to move forward with that.” He paused, his eyes searching mine. “If you are still interested, that is.”
My heart skipped a beat in my chest as excitement washed over me. I had been working a job I absolutely hated, and this was my chance to leave that all behind to do what I actually loved doing. “I am definitely interested.”
“Perfect. The plan is for me to shift into more of a general manager position, where I oversee everything with the rink and essentially the bullshit. We’d have you as the youth development coordinator, so all things with youth hockey would go through you.” Dante pulled out a packet of papers and handed them to me. “Also, I think your marketing background could be extremely beneficial to the club.”
I nodded, my eyes briefly scanning over the job description and duties. “What about coaching?”
