We climb up stairwell after stairwell. Five levels. Six. The concrete stairs are spaced just far enough to be a literal pain in the ass. I’m not an overly cocky human, but I know that I am in incredible shape. I should be. My college tuition, my team, and probably my future all depend on that fact, but even this is giving me a tough workout.
Natalie, to her credit, isn’t showing that this climb is wrecking her.That’s my girl.If I weren’t sure we had a connection, it’s times like these that would solidify the theory. Natalie doesn’t look miserable, but I canfeelher pain, and she’s pushing through so fucking much right now.
Sciatica pain. Pain in her abdomen. She’s out of breath and her lungs ache. A faint, phantom pain claws at me in each of these spots of my own body. I want to scoop her up, carry her the rest of the way.
But I need to let her be her own person. It’s a fight I’ve had inside of me for years—especially every time she’s had a flare in my apartment and I couldn’t acknowledge it.
Level seven. Eight.
Finally. Finally. We get to the top floor. Natalie pushes open the stairwell door and a rush of cold air slaps our cheeks. It steals what little breath I had left. We both pause with our hands on our hips.
“No elevator?” I manage between breaths.
“I uhm—I sort of hate elevators.” Natalie pulls at her fingers. “Usually, I have my parents drive up here, but I…didn’t want to invite them. They kind of took the hint and decided to watch the parade on a friend’s boat. They’ve always wanted to do that anyway. I hope you’re not mad I didn’t accept their invitation, because it did sound cool, but I kind of wanted to be alone.”
Alone. With me. She wanted to be alone with me? How the hell could I be mad at that?
Even if watching a Christmas parade on a boat does sound dope.
“Next year we can buy your parents a boat. And an enormous wreath to be delivered to the house. I think my contract will cover both.”
I wince. Next year. Just like last night, I’m saying shit that comes off too confident, too sure. Yeah, I want Natalie to be mine. I believe in my bones she should be, but am I playing my hand too strong with this shit? I don’t know.
“So you are planning on going pro?” she asks. “I didn’t know if you were planning to where you’re still in school. Dillon couldn’t leave college fast enough.”
I nod, trying not to fight back the smile that wants to spread wide across my face because Natalie didn’t call me or fight me on the “next year” part. “I think so. Probably. My dad wants me to anyway. My mom would rather me do something good ‘with that brain of mine.’ Funny enough, she doesn’t say that to Caden.”
“She probably doesn’t like it when you get splayed out on the ice and loose a few brain cells, either.”
“Not her favorite,” I grimace. The cut on my eyebrow has barely healed. Those are the kind of hits my mom hated and I try to avoid them as much as possible. Usually, I’m agile enough that I do. I should have seen the player that demolished me this last game, but I was so in my head about being with Natalie, without Caden, that I missed him. “She stopped coming to my games around the time they got divorced freshman year.”
“Was that hard for you? Caden doesn’t talk about it, but I can tell it gets to him.”
“I think he took it harder than me,” I nod. “Well…maybe not the divorce itself, we knew that was coming, but when Momstarted dating someone else and calling them her soulmate, he didn’t care for that.”
“But you didn’t mind?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I, uh…something happened to me around then that made me sympathetic to her story.” I smile softly at her. “My brother’s not as much of a romantic. I’m secretly the softie.”
Natalie rolls her eyes, but she can’t hide the blush creeping to her cheeks. She’s starting to understand how gone for her I am.
We get to one corner of the garage and Natalie shakes out a blanket and puts it out on the ledge of the roof.
I swallow. “You want to sit on there?” I point as she slowly climbs onto the ledge. The woman has the grace of a freakin’ deer taking its first steps, but she’s just climbing onto the ledge of a parking garage? Yeah okay. Try to give me a heart attack, sure.
“Yeah! It’s the best view in town!” She pats her hand on the blanket.
I stare at her. “You’re freaking afraid of elevators? But this, this is fine?”
She shrugs. “Won’t get stuck here.”
“Oh yeah, you’ll just fall to your death, so much better.”
“Wait, are you scared of heights?”
“No,” I say flatly. “I’m scared ofyoufalling to your death.”
“He cares so much about me.” Natalie holds her hand over her heart. “I think I’ll swoon.”
