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My relaxed, loving, playful Ash is back.
Loving Ash Johansson has never been so easy.
Spending the last week together, although hard at times, has been incredible. We’ve talked and talked. Man, have we talked. We’ve made love, tore each other’s clothes off, shared baths, mealtimes, and enjoyed just being us.
Everything in the world feels right again with him in my life.
I make small talk with some of the team and the players before they slowly filter out of the arena until it’s just Ash and I left.
“I forgot how huge this place is when it’s empty.”
The arena clean-up team gets to work, picking up discarded paper cups and disposable food cartons.
“Skates.” Ash places my skates by my feet.
“Did you bring these with you?”
“Yeah.” He toes off his dress shoes and pulls on the old skates he wore on our first date.
“You’re going to look silly in a suit and skates.” Fitting him perfectly, he wears that suit well and looks every bit the professional hockey coach.
“I think I can pull it off.” He’s right, he could wear a burlap sack and make it look sexy.
Ready to hit the ice, I step onto it and smoothly skate into the middle.
“You still remember?” Speeding past me, he does some fancy footwork my brain can’t comprehend. I’ve never been able to understand how he can move that quick, almost elegantly on ice, and yet can still stub his toe on the edge of our bed.
“Skating is like riding a bike, you never forget,” I counter.
“We won tonight because you wore your scarf.” He points at the cream scarf I still wear to every game, facing me while skating backward.
“You won because you are an incredible hockey coach.” I pause and stop in the middle of the rink.
He frowns, knowing I have a question. “Spit it out. What are you thinking?”
“I still have my doubts about you giving this all up.” I throw my hands out on either side of me. “I know you said it’s only for two months, but I think you’ve already decided you’re quitting.”
“Do you really want to know what I want to do?”
“Yes.”
Skating over to me, he takes both of my hands in his. “I want to spend the next eight weeks with my wife. Quality time. Restructuring your business together. Spending Christmas with our family, before, during, and after. Not just for the day. And then we’ll see what the New Year will bring.”
I tilt my face closer to his and look up at him. “You’re up to something,” I say with a note of suspicion in my voice.
“I am. But I’m not telling you until everything is finalized. Just trust me.”
I narrow my eyes and draw my lips into a thin line, pretending to be mad at him. “It had better be magnificent.”
“It will be.” His megawatt smile is brighter than a neon light, illuminating his entire face. He changes the subject. “We are standing in the spot where we had our first date.”
I look down at my skates and back up again. “So, we are.”
“It’s where I gave you my jersey with my name and number on it.”
“I have twenty-three now.” At my last count.
“I like you in my shirt.” He looks down at my yellow and blue jersey with his name and old player number on it.
