Ice Breakers
Page 15
“Thank you.”
I let Eric’s hand drop, completely forgetting I had had it in the first place. It was weird how used to something I was, even after years of not being together. I almost hated how easy it was to fall back into our routine.
I locked eyes with him, tilting my head to the side. “For what?” I asked.
“For believing in me,” he said, “even when no one else did. Hell, there was a moment when I didn’t know…” He let his voice trail off.
“No, Eric.” I shook my head.
This time, I shoved my hands behind so I wouldn’t be tempted to touch him at all. I didn’t want to offer him comfort. I was too afraid it would turn into something more, and I didn’t know if I was ready for that just yet.
“Granted, I’m not going to tell you I automatically believed you,” I continued. “I didn’t think you were capable of such a violent act against a woman, but people change. But you hired me to do a job and I promised you I would see it through until the end, no matter what I found.”
“Was that it?” he asked, reaching out to curl a stray strand of hair behind my ear. I leaned into his touch before I could stop myself and he swallowed slowly. “You helped me only because I hired you? No other reason?”
I didn’t want to do this. Not now. Maybe not ever.
“What do you want me to say, Eric?” I asked.
I avoided his eyes, tugging at my fingernail. Part of me wanted to rip it off and flick the nail away. The other part wanted to leave it alone because if I ever wanted to walk into a nail salon without being embarrassed, I needed to stop picking at them when I was uncomfortable.
“I want you to tell me the truth,” he said.
At that moment, someone poked their head out of the locker room.
“Five minutes, Foresburg.”
Eric nodded but didn’t acknowledge him otherwise. His eyes were firmly on me, as though nothing else mattered.
I waited until the player went back into the locker room, giving us slightly more privacy.
“The truth about what?” I asked.
“Us.” He took a step towards me. Every instinct in me screamed to take a step back, to get away from him, but I couldn’t. I was rooted in place. “What happened between us, Meeks. I want you to tell me –“
“What?” I interjected, throwing my arms out. I clamped my mouth together and glanced around. The last thing I wanted to do was attract attention. “What could you possibly want to know?”
“I want to know if you still have feelings for me.” Another step. He was closer. I was suddenly hit with a sense of déjà vu, how this was nearly the same position I had been in with Beech after IPD arrested Kevin. “I want to know if you feel something between us. I want to know if you still care.”
“Why?” I asked. “Why do you need to know? Why do you care? You broke up with me.”
“It was the worst mistake I ever made,” he said. I knew from the glint in his blue eyes that he was sincere. He wasn’t lying. “I told you this. I was hoping that maybe you felt the same way you did then. About me. About us. I was hoping that you might want to try things again. Start over. I know I don’t exactly deserve it. But I thought maybe, if there was a chance you might still want to, we could try and make it work.”
I looked away. Eric was not one to talk and he had already said more words now than he had in three of his last interviews combined.
I just didn’t know what I wanted to do. I didn’t know how I felt. To be honest, this came out of nowhere. I wasn’t prepared for it.
“Mika?” He reached for me.
I still didn’t move. I closed my eyes, wincing. I wasn’t sure if I wanted the caress. I wasn’t sure I could trust myself around him at all, especially if he touched me.
“Foresburg!”
I cracked open an eye. Eric dropped his hand to his side, craning his neck in the direction of the locker room.
“You should go,” I said, my voice soft. “They’re waiting for you.”
“Mika, I want to talk to you about this, about us.” He turned, heading for the locker room.
I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. I leaned against the rigid wall behind me, trying to make sense of what happened. It still boggled my mind that Kevin was responsible for everything. Sure, Ashley played her part but Kevin was the mastermind behind it all. I just –
A hand grabbed my face and before I realized what was happening, Eric’s lips were on mind. I stiffened, not expecting the kiss, not expecting anything from Eric at all. And yet, here he was.
Slowly, I relaxed in his arms. My eyes closed and I slipped back into the way I used to be when we were together. It was easy to kiss him because I knew exactly how to. Some things changed, sure, while others stayed the same.
I kissed him back, my lips parting for him. Everything about this was safe, comfortable. Even his smell took me back to all the good luck kisses he demanded from me before he went on the ice to warm up.
His kiss was gentle, almost tentative, like he wasn’t quite sure he should be kissing me at all. I didn’t know if he should, either. But I wasn’t pulling away and I didn’t know why.
After a moment – it could have been a second, it could have been an hour – but we were both more comfortable with the fact that we were kissing and relaxed into each other. I sighed and pulled back, but only to catch my breath.
I locked eyes with him and saw they darkened. He wanted me.
A sense of power washed over me and I wanted to make his eyes even darker and I wanted his eyelids to droop even further. I was about to tilt my head up, to kiss him again, when a voice interrupted us.
“For the love of all that is holy, Foresburg, I will bench you –“
My father.
We sprung apart. It amused me to see Foresburg, a grown man, shrink down at the sight of my father. I pressed my hand against my lips to keep from giggling out loud.
“Meet me here after the game,” he told me. “We can talk.”
Without another word, he headed for the locker room.
Finally, I was alone. I took a moment to catch my breath. I placed my hand over my racing heart, trying to calm it, trying to think sensibly.
But I couldn’t.
What I did know was I had every intention of meeting Eric here after the game.
What I didn’t expect was meeting George Probst, the Buccaneer’s key enforcer instead, asking for help.
What I didn’t expect was Eric not showing up at all.
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Acknowledgments
My family
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My friends
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Heather Marie Adkins - for the amazing cover
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Lea for your amazing edits!
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Hockey
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My husband
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My children
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And last but not least, my readers
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