Frozen Barriers

by Sara Shirley

  Not wanting to be rude to Milton, I respond, “Yeah, they did a great job. Guess I’m really going to have something to prove when I hit the ice in January for Nationals. Fingers crossed, right?”

  With a big grin on his face, Milton leans the shovel against the wall and turns to say, “Well, if I don’t see you before January, best of luck to you, sweetie. We’ll all be rootin’ for ya’ here, but I’m sure you’ll do great.”

  “Thanks, Milton. It was nice talking to you,” I say as I skate my warm-up laps around the rink. Feeling the need to do a quick run through of my programs before I work on jumps and spin, I crank up my iPhone and speakers. This year, I’m apparently into dark themes. I really don’t know why; I just feel a sense of impending doom. The story of my life. A lyric-free version of “Breath of Life” from the Snow White & the Huntsman movie fills the rink. My mind is on autopilot. I’m just moving around the ice, each move calculated just right. Double axel…spiral into footwork…sit spin…crossover into back outside edge…turn…stroke…gain speed…turn…triple lutz, triple toe…all calculated. No room for error. I screw up the short program, and there’s no coming back. My mother’s voice in my head instructing me to be perfect plays over and over, and I just want it to go away.

  I don’t know what has changed in me. Normally, I am able to come out here day in and day out and handle all the pressures that go along with being a Cameron. I find myself sitting on the ice as my music continues onto my long program. The love theme from Romeo & Juliet rings through my ears as tears well in my eyes. What the hell is the matter with me? Sucking in a deep breath, I begin to stand when I hear my music suddenly stop.

  “Anything I can help you with? I’ve got moves you won’t believe!” I hear someone say from behind me. Turning around, my eyes shoot up to see Dave standing in the players’ bench area.

  Drying my eyes, I skate over to him. “What are you doing here?” I ask because there is no way anyone could know I would be skating here this morning.

  He laughs to himself. “Well, when I checked the books to see a last minute ice block under the name ‘Gideon Cross,’ I found it a little odd since I’ve never seen that name before. I came to check it out and…well…here you are, ‘Gideon.’” Ah, one of my many pseudo names I’ve started since last year. If I reserve anything under my actual name, cameras tend to show up around here.

  I raise my arms. “You caught me. Are you going to have me arrested for using a false name?” I say, teasing him. Really, I’m just trying to keep his eyes focused on my face after the last time I saw him. I might be covered at the moment, but it’s still awkward to know he’s seen me naked from the waist up. Then again, I did see all his goods too, so perhaps, we’re even now.

  “Emily, Emily, Emily, I should have you arrested for what you did to Jeremy back in high school, but after my phone call with him yesterday, I’d say you’ve more than redeemed yourself in my book. I hear congratulations are in order. You are officially my best friend’s girlfriend. That means we are certainly going to be getting to know each other better,” Dave says with a wink and a soft punch to my shoulder.

  “Oh, God. I don’t know if I should be scared of that or not, but I can tell you I should probably get back to practice.” Trying to make any excuse to avoid that conversation, I skate backward away from him, hoping he’ll walk away.

  “Yeah, you probably should. From what I saw, you kinda sucked,” he says, laughing at me. “Are you gonna be at Sunday dinner this afternoon?” he asks.

  “I should be, unless someone has me arrested,” I mock back, trying to be sarcastic.

  I reset my iPhone and get my long program ready to run through as I see Dave pushing the doors to the lobby open, shouting, “See ya later, Gideon!” Skating back to the middle of the ice without hesitation, I realize my momentary feeling of dread has been replaced with a joyous expression.

  As I’m leaving the team’s Sunday morning skate in Manchester, my phone chimes from my pocket. It’s a text message from Dave. Narrowing my eyes, I scratch my chin, wondering why he’s contacting me. I thought he was working at the rink this morning. He is planning on coming over later for dinner with the family since everyone, including Sue, is supposed to be there. There’s something going on there with him and her, but I’m not about to ask. Pulling up his text, I have to look at it twice to make sure I am reading it correctly.

  Your girl is here skating-Or she was. She’s sitting in the middle of the ice crying right now. What do you want me to do?

  Emily never mentioned that she reserved ice time at the Forum for this morning. Why would she be crying? Everything with us was good yesterday. We both had practice, but talked last night, and she was excited about coming over to meet my parents this afternoon. I type a quick text back to Dave.

  Didn’t know she would be there. If she’s crying cheer her the fuck up asshole & do NOT hit on my girlfriend!

  Laughing after I hit Send, I know he’s going to try to flirt with her. It’s just who Dave is. It’s like trying to keep a moth from a flame, but he knows she’s mine, so he’ll cheer her up with his cockiness.

  Before I know it, it’s already three in the afternoon, and everyone should be arriving for dinner soon. Once I get home, I shoot Emily a text telling her to bring her swimsuit, since Dad spent hours cleaning out the hot tub for the celebrity coming to dinner. I haven’t heard from Dave or her since this morning, so I assume everything worked itself out. Emily has a strong head on her shoulders. If she was crying, something was definitely going on. I plan on finding out what prompted her little meltdown after dinner today.

  As I’m about to call Emily to see where she is, I hear footsteps coming up the stairs. Assuming it’s Emily, I put away my phone. Dave throws open the door and storms in, causing the smile on my face to immediately disappear. “What, not happy to see me, asshole? You should be. I saved the day with your girl this morning,” he says sternly before smacking my shoulder and heading to the fridge for a beer.

  “I thought you were Emily coming in, that’s all,” I say, disappointed it isn’t her.

  “Dude, you didn’t know she was here? I saw her and Sue heading into your parents’ house before I came up here. Sue was basically dragging her in, but I think she was just trying to get away from me. That chick’s been avoiding me since we slept together. I’m not sure how she couldn’t not want another piece of this fine specimen.” Dave glances down at himself before running his hands over his abs down to his crotch.

  Shaking my head at him, I can’t help but think he had to have been dropped as a baby. “Well, I know after what I saw here last week I don’t ever want to see your junk again.” Making my way to the door, I call Aspen to go over with us. “Let’s go. I’ve got to save Emily before Mom and Dad get to her. I’m pretty sure Mom will have already made my wedding plans before dinner if I don’t intercede.”

  Walking into my parents’ house, I hear Mom in the kitchen giving orders to Dad about setting out the good china on the table. Good china? We have good china? Is the Pope showing up for dinner?

  Moving further into the house with Dave on my tail, I smell Mom’s famous meatballs simmering on the stove. My stomach growls, so I move to snatch a piece of Italian bread off the counter before she catches me. Too late. “Jeremy Page, that’s for later!” Mom scolds while hitting me with her dishtowel. Dad and Dave stand in the doorway just watching the scene unfold.

  With my mouth full of bread, I ask, “Where’s everyone else?” Then, I hear the girls laughing hysterically, and I know they are downstairs in the family room. “Never mind. I know.” Before I make a move out of the kitchen, Mom grabs my elbow and whispers into my ear, “She’s absolutely wonderful, Jeremy. So sweet and polite. You screw this up, and I’ll disown you. You hear me?” Nodding, I try to make my quick escape to the family room, but not before I hear my mother say from behind me, “Grandchildren, Jeremy. I’m not getting any younger.” This is why I never dated regularly or brought girls back to the house
.

  I make my way down the basement stairs with Dave behind me. When I get to the bottom landing, my heart stops. Literally, it stops dead in its tracks. Dave nearly tumbles into me because I’m standing motionless. I mean, I am a defensive hockey player. I’m not going over easy. There, before my eyes, are Emily, Sue and Courtney all singing and dancing along to Pitch Perfect. Josh is sitting on the sofa shaking his head. The girls are swaying their hips, grinding, and singing along with the movie as all of them pretend to have a role. My eyes never leave Emily’s hips.

  Josh sees us and sits up. “Dude, this movie sucks!” That gives away our position, and the girls all turn to us. Courtney starts laughing, but keeps humming along to the music. Sue moves to sit opposite Josh on the sofa, but diverts her eyes toward Dave. Seriously, I know they slept together, but what the hell? They’ve been friends for years. Eventually, those two need to talk. Emily stalks over to me, still lip-synching along to the movie and fist pumping the air. Once in front of me, she wraps her arms around my neck and leans in to whisper into my ear, “Were you standing there long?”

  Shaking my head no, I tell her, “Long enough to know your hips do magical things in and out of the bedroom.” Hearing Dave choking behind me says I wasn’t subtle with the delivery of my words, and by the blush on Emily’s face, I know the whole room must have heard my response. Great, just great.

  Before anyone can question my slip of the tongue, Dad appears at the top of the stairs to announce dinner is ready. Thank God! As everyone begins running for the dining room, I need a minute alone with Emily before heading into the lions’ den. “Hey, is everything okay today? Dave said he saw you at the rink this morning, crying. Wanna talk about it?” I ask her.

  “No, I’m good. I just had a moment, but it’s all good now.”

  Reaching over to run my fingers across her cheek, I move my lips down to hover over hers before giving her a warm kiss. “All right, if you say you’re good, then let’s go up to the interrogation room. Are you ready for this? It’s going to be worse than Twenty Questions, but I’m right here if you need saving,” I say as I start walking toward the stairs.

  Behind me, I hear her laughing before she says, “As long as they don’t ask about sexual preferences, I think I can handle the paparazzi.”

  Dinner is more pleasant than I imagined. His parents don’t poke or pry any more than concerned parents would. Travis asks me to sign the Globe feature article for him and says he is framing it for his sports wall. Jeremy gives Travis a pensive look since he has never been asked to sign anything before. Travis then tells him, and I quote, “You’re my fuckin’ son. I can get an autograph whenever the hell I feel like it. This girl, she’s not only destined for the fuckin’ Olympics, but she’s the first girl to get invited in to meet your mother and me. That my boy, makes this autograph worth a million bucks.”

  I feel bad not gorging myself like the rest of them do. Jeremy was right when he said she would try to get me to eat way too much food. I manage to appease him and eat a decent amount of pasta, salad, and half of a meatball. After eating all that and washing it down with a smooth Cabernet Sauvignon, my stomach is ready to burst.

  Grace doesn’t allow me to help with any of the cleanup. She says the boys handle the kitchen cleanup since she slaved over the cooking all morning. Jeremy kisses me on the forehead as he leaves to help clear out the dishes. I notice his mother wiping at the corner of her eyes as they disappear into the kitchen.

  After dinner, I relax in the living room with the girls. Sue has been relatively quiet all night, which is unlike her. Courtney tells her mother about my skating ventures to Europe and how someday she hopes to have the chance to see it. Europe is a photographer’s dream come true. I wish I could have had more of an opportunity to see its history and landscapes while I was there.

  Taking me out of my train of thought, I hear Grace ask me a question. “Emily, I can’t help but notice that necklace you are wearing. Is that a hockey stick?”

  My heart swims with happiness as I think back on Friday night when Jeremy gave it to me. “Yes, Grace. Jeremy gave it to me when he asked me to be his girlfriend. I thought he was pro… well, I wasn’t sure what he was doing. I mean, he was down on one knee and holding up the black box with the necklace in it. I didn’t know what to think. When he opened the box, he asked me if I’d be his girlfriend and escort him to the Monarchs home opener.” Grace and Courtney stand and run over to me, checking out the shimmering necklace around my neck.

  “Travis!” Grace yells. “Travis, come in here. You have to see what Jeremy gave Emily.”

  Courtney chimes in by asking, “So, where did you go? What did you do after that?” Oh my gosh. You’d think I was the first girl he ever brought home. Apparently, this family doesn’t have many steady relationships, or this wouldn’t be considered big news.

  I’m not about to burst their happy night, so I say, “Well, he asked me on the beach at Plum Island at sunset…” Queue awws. “…then he took me to dinner at The Black Cow, and we went for a walk along the boardwalk.” I purposely omit that he proceeded to play Twenty Questions with me and gave me the best orgasm with his mouth since the dawn of time. Yeah, that last part I’m keeping to myself.

  The guys pile into the living room, and Grace pulls Travis over to show him my necklace as Dave and Josh all cough what sounds like “pussy whipped” into their fists before taking their seats next to us girls. Dave moves over next to Sue and says something quietly into her ear. Turning her head as they stare into each other’s eyes, she nods and they stand to leave the room and head downstairs. Weird. Oh, well. Josh eyes them leaving and I have to think whether he knows about them sleeping together and if that is why she is so quiet. I remember they dated in high school, so I guess it can be awkward, but then again, I’m not exactly a relationship expert.

  Jeremy sits next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. Leaning in, he whispers, “Did you bring your swimsuit?” I nod yes as I glance over at him. “I’m about to head back to the garage to change if you want to join me in the hot tub.” He winks at me. “Not sure if anyone else is going in, but I am for sure.”

  I can’t argue. Soaking in a hot tub sounds absolutely wonderful right now. The nights have been getting significantly cooler around here, and the relaxing air jets will do wonders for my tired muscles. Standing to leave, Jeremy grabs my hand and excuses us from the family conversation, saying we are going to change and use the hot tub.

  I grab my suit from the car on the way back to his place and use the bathroom before I change. I pull my long hair up into a loose bun on top of my head before adjusting the straps on my bikini, making sure everything is contained where it should be. Slipping on my flip-flops, I make my way back into the living room where Jeremy is sitting on the sofa playing on his phone. Hearing my flip-flops, he turns his head to look my way, and his jaw instantly drops.

  “What?” I ask as if I don’t know what prompted his jaw to drop. I deliberately brought my Victoria’s Secret string bikini with black and white stripes and turquoise blue ruffles outlining the top triangles and bottoms that hardly leave anything to the imagination.

  “Emily, are you purposely trying to kill me? Oh my God! We’ve got to go now before I untie everything on you, and we never make it to the hot tub,” he says as he pulls my hand toward the door.

  Laughing under my breath, I follow his lead. I can’t help but notice his perfect abs and chiseled arms right before me. He thinks he’s having a hard time controlling his desires. I want to tell him it’s a good thing we’re heading into the hot tub, because I’m already wet just thinking of all the fun things I can do to his very lickable body.

  I make it to the backyard without any issues controlling my libido. Fido stays down like a good dog. It isn’t hard, no pun intended, considering the minute I round the corner from the garage I see the rest of the crew already in the hot tub. Well, that kills any pool action with Emily. I’m not surprised they are all in there, though; we
typically do this on Sunday nights once the weather cools. It’s even more fun when there’s a fresh coating of snow on the ground, and we all make a mad dash for the hot steaming water while our feet are numb from standing in the snow. Dad sets up strings of twinkling white lights on the bushes surrounding the hot tub, and with the snow, it’s actually really cool.

  Dave shouts from inside the tub, “C’mon, you two love birds! Get your asses in here, and please, make sure everyone knows whose legs they’re touching when in the water.”

  A muffled groan sounds from my throat. “Really, Dave?” I ask as if I expected anything less.

  “Hey, I’m just saying if people start getting frisky in here, it’s better to know beforehand, right?” Dave holds his hands up innocently as he takes a pull from his beer can. Courtney kicks Dave’s shin and tells him to stop being gross. If he so much as tries to touch my little sister, I will cut off his hand. Although, Josh is the one having more trouble than me right now as he watches Dave snuggle into Sue’s side. It also appears she might be in fact rubbing more than his leg under the water. Hey, I’m not going to judge. I’ll probably be doing the same thing to Emily once we’re in there. The bubbles and foam create a nice barrier to conceal actions, and the dark night sky is an added bonus.

  Hopping in first, I make sure to sit next to Dave and put Emily beside Courtney. Dave gives me a stink eye as if wondering why the hell I’m sitting next to him.

  Laughing, I say, “Oh, like hell I’m putting Emily next to you in here.” Dave shrugs his shoulders and leans back to put his arm around Sue. Emily and Courtney must see the same thing as me, because not a minute later, they get a nodding smile from Sue, confirming what I can only assume is that they are a couple now. I eye Josh at the other corner of the tub, while Courtney and Emily whisper something to each other. Josh is running his hands through his hair, sighing in frustration, and then he leans back and shuts his eyes. I’ve never understood his thought process with Sue, but he thought she would have been better off without him after he started working for the Massachusetts State Police. When he broke up with her, I knew it hurt him more than her. He’ll never admit it, but I know he still loves her. Love, it’s a funny thing sometimes.