Holding my head high, I gather myself as best I can and march back to the bleachers. Jack hands me the skates, and I slip my feet out of my shoes and into the rentals, quickly tying them up. Jack shakes his head as I go to stand. “First lesson, you need to make sure your skates are laced tighter than that.” He kneels on the concrete floor and pulls my laces taut.
“Good?” he asks, peering at me beneath his thick eyelashes.
My heart flips in my chest at his care to ensure my skates are snug. I’ve always known that Jack wasn’t the gruff asshole he wanted the rest of the world to think he was, but I didn’t know he could be…this.
I clear my throat as a million butterflies flutter in the pit of my stomach. I can be clingy and want snuggles, that’s fine, but it’s too soon to let Jack know just how much of myself he has in the palm of his hand, not when I don’t fully understand it yet.
Jack holds out his hand, and I take it, wobbling as I try my first step with the skates. The minute my feet find the ice, I feel like Bambi learning how to walk for the first time.
My arms flail as I fail to find my footing, and Jack’s muscular arms wrap around me.
“Jesus, Dessy,” he laughs, hooking his hand around my waist and skating along my side. “You weren’t kidding about being bad at this.”
“How the heck are you so steady? They’re like wearing stilts on a slippery surface.” Another lightning bolt shoots down my side. “Fuck,” I whisper, trying not to show how much pain I’m actually in.
“I’ve had a lot of practice.” Jack shrugs, swinging me into him so we’re chest to chest. “And I also have an incredible motivation not to fall and crush the potty mouth threatening to sully my virgin ears, so that helps.”
“You poor angel, how you ever got tangled up with a scoundrel such as myself, I’ll never understand.”
“Simone warned me not to get involved. But the heart wants what it wants, and I’ve always had a thing for reformation projects.” He winks, and I’m instantly transported to that girl in the fountain, aimlessly searching for the ring she flung in a furry, rambling incoherently because, of course, this is how the guy she’d been in love with since she was little would find her.
“I hate you so much.”
“Didn’t seem like it this morning,” Jack says, pressing his hand on the small of my back and pulling me tighter against him. His eyes drop to my lips, and my breath hitches. With all the times we’ve embraced in the past few days, this action should be old news, but the anticipation of feeling his lips against mine still steals my breath away.
Pain hits me, more potent than it has all day, and the force almost knocks me to the ice.
I try to hide my wince, but this one is too great to keep from Jack.
My vision blurs.
My head swirls.
Black dots spot what little of the world I can see.
Oh no, no, no, no. Not here, not in front of Jack.
When I pass out, I try not to do it in front of people. They always make a big deal out of nothing. I get it; for most people, fainting isn’t common, and usually, it’s a symptom of something greater happening. But for me? I guess I’m just a weenie and can’t handle regular pain levels because I black out regularly, and not a single doctor I’ve mentioned the symptom to has been concerned.
Black creeps in.
I’m not in pain. Everything is fine. Pull yourself together.
“Aulie, are you okay?” Jack’s question sounds distant, but I know he’s here, holding me firm.
I need to reassure him. I need to tell him not to worry about what’s happening, so he doesn’t overreact. Everything is okay. “I’m fine. I’m just going to pass out.”
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Jack Parker
Play:You’re On Your Own, Kid by Taylor Swift
“Aulie?” Oh. Fuck. Aulie’s body falls heavy and unresponsive in my arms. I clutch her tightly, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Charlie!” I yell for the trainer I hired for my time up here—who’s unlacing his skates on a bench. He was a freshman when I was a senior in high school and loaded with potential, but an injury in college ended his chances of turning pro. When he graduated, he returned to Chawton Falls to help train the next generation of hockey players.
And suspended professional ones, apparently.
