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“Let's find out.” We rush inside to escape the freezing cold. Once we're seated and our food comes, I ask, “Are you ready for Christmas break? Does your family have any special traditions?”
“Nothing special. I just really want to go see my grandparents. They're getting older and not as healthy. I go see them every break.” Lucy's voice softens. “They took care of us and raised us after my parents died, so I want to make sure I visit, especially since their health seems to get worse after every visit. They are doing well right now, though.” She attempts to give me a smile, but it falls too quickly to be a real one. “What about you and your family?”
“We travel for Christmas to get a break from everything. We're going to the Bahamas this year.”
When she laughs, I'm lost, but I smile anyway. “Good. You could use some sun.” I look down at the skin on my hand since my arms are covered by my long sleeved t-shirt. I'm not really tan, but I'm not pale either. The color is somewhere in between. I've never given it much thought before. Lucy laughs again. “Grant, I was kidding! You look fine, promise.”
“Fine? That's how you reassure someone?” I shake my head with a grin. The girl is something else.
“What can I say? I have a spectacular way with words.”
As we discuss finals, I realize that this is probably one of the last times I'm going to be able to spend a decent amount of time with her this year. After finals, we're both leaving until next semester. It's still on my mind as we leave, and I drive us to the rink. Lucy hasn't said what we're doing yet, which makes me notice she didn't bring her camera. Maybe I was wrong.
It's not until we're at the player's bench that I say, “Okay, Lucy, what are we doing here?”
“Well,” she starts, her cheeks flushing a deep scarlet, “you know that I like photographing you when you're in the net and I've been thinking that I want to experience that. Being in the net like you are, I mean.” She reaches for my helmet, looking down at it while turning it over in her hands. “What do you say?”
I take my helmet from her and put it on her head with a smile. “I say you look pretty damn hot right now.”
She laughs and blushes, shaking her head at me. We get my pads and gloves on her and then I put on a pair of skates, grab an extra stick and a bunch of pucks before we step onto the ice. Since Lucy hasn't ever been skating, I let her go without them for now. It'll be a little easier for her to keep her balance this way.
“Are you sure you want to wear all that? You would be fine with just the glove and helmet.”
“Full experience, Grant,” she reminds me.
“Okay.” I line up the pucks in a row and smile when she crouches, ready in case I slap one towards her. She acts like she knows exactly what to do when I haven't told her anything. “Try and glove the shots or let it bounce off your arm.”
She nods, so I do my best to aim and shoot one at her. It's not often than I'm on this side. It's a pretty soft shot, but she misses. It takes her a few more times, but she finally gloves one. After about twenty minutes of her attempting to block various shots, she tells me she's done.
“Let's take all this stuff off.”
I guide her back to the bench and remove all my gear. “Do you want to learn how to skate?”
“Yes, please.” She puts on the extra pair, and I tie the laces for her. “You know, I don't think I could ever be a goalie,” Lucy says it like it's something she would consider one day. “I wanted to flinch so many times and the puck wasn't even coming at me that fast. I thought you were fantastic before, but now, I think you're pretty amazing.”
I help her to her feet, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Thanks. You're a pretty talented photographer. I never really paid attention to things like that before.”
“Looks like we both i
ntroduced new things to one another.” She places her hand on the back of my neck, pulling me closer for our lips to meet. “Now, teach me how to skate.”
“Whatever you want, Lucy.”
Her grip on my arms tells me how nervous she is about falling. We move slowly as she gets more comfortable, my comments staying on the task at hand.
“Okay, go a little faster,” she says confidently.
I skate backwards with a little more speed, but it's a tad too fast for Lucy and she starts to fall forward. Lucky for her, I have as good a grip on her as she does on me, so she doesn't fall. I almost expect her to be embarrassed, but she starts laughing.
“Sorry, I pictured it in my head and it looked funny.” She shakes her head and takes a deep breath. “Something tells me a face plant would have hurt so much worse than if I had fallen backwards. Good thing you saved me from that.” Her grip with her right hand tightens as she lets go with her left to move her hair out of her face. Between her laughter, her smile, and every damn thing about her, she's beautiful.
“I'm going to miss you,” I sigh, pulling her against me so I can wrap my arms around her.
Lucy's lips fall into a frown. “Miss me? Where are you...oh, you mean because of Christmas break?”
“Yeah. I don't know what I'm going to do without you around, asking for favors.”
“I'll make a list of all the things I want you to do while your gone then.”
