I was hooked the moment I stepped out on the ice.
Taking my seat, I look out over the rink. There are fewer people here than usual, only Thorne, Connor, Jett, and Theo. It's not unusual for numbers to swell and shrink at random during summer practices.
And Thorne is a dedicated man. I'll give him that.
Since there aren't enough players to scrimmage, they are doing some kind of drill, skating as hard as they can to the end of the rink, then racing back and firing a puck toward the goal. The ping of the puck hitting the back and bouncing out again, in regular intervals, is almost musical.
Theo zips down the length of the rink, his face mottled pink with exertion. And he has a smile on his face.
That smile echoes in me, ricocheting around my body. I haven't skated since I broke my ankle in three places.The accident.
Five seconds in time that changed my life forever.
I long for the burning in my legs as I push off, the sound of my skates on the ice, the feeling of flying when I stop skating and raise my hands to glide. The yearning is almost overwhelming.
I sit down and pull out my phone to mask my emotions while I wrestle with them. No one else needs to see this raw need mixed with abject terror. Because if I try to skate again, there is no way I can be sure I won't fall again. My ankle wasn’t the only thing inside me that broke that day.
I'm staring hard at my phone, zoning out, when Thorne skates up to me, fast. I flinch. "Fuck, you scared me."
He casts a glance behind him, then arches a brow at me. "Everyone else left. Are you waiting to get some shots of the empty rink for some reason?"
"No. I got lost in thought."
"Thinking about anything in particular?" His eyes gleam.
It makes my mouth go dry. "N-no."
"You sure about that?" He smirks, scratching his chin.
I pin him with a glare. "Are you ready to go?"
His smile widens and he skates backward. "I'll meet you at the exit in five."
I gather my stuff and slowly head to meet him. When he arrives, his duffel slung over his shoulder, he smirks again.
"Productive day?"
"It's 10 a.m." I huff out a breath. "Unfortunately, Juliet gave me an annoying new assignment."
"Oh yeah?" He opens the passenger side door for me before tossing his stuff in the backseat. "What's that?"
I climb in and get my seatbelt fastened before muttering, "It's you, Captain America. I'm spending the next week following you around, filming a lot of behind-the-scenes material. You may be a jerk, but you draw fans in."
Thorne looks far too pleased with himself. "Can I help it if I'm irresistible?”
"Ugh. Drive the car."
When he parks at the end of the dock, we head down the row of houseboats and get inside. "I have to take Gordie for a walk."
"I can walk him. I want to... uh... be a good guest."
This is a lie. I mostly want to escape the house and be alone with my thoughts. Plus, Gordie seems like good company.
He arches a brow. "If it were any other dog, I would say that you're too tiny to pull him back if he starts chasing squirrels. Gord is the best boy, though."
"Gordie? Want to go for a—" I'm interrupted by Gordie casually walking up to me with his leash in hismouth. "Who taught you that trick? You're so fricking cute."
"Take your phone just in case," Thorne tells me.
