On Thin Ice 2

by Victoria Villeneuve

  I shook my head. “It’s not your fault, Doctor Emma. I’m just... not very trusting.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’ve found someone to trust.”

  “Me too.”

  I left her office feeling conflicted. A part of me was elated. I was actually going to leave! I was going home! Another part of me still felt guilty about what I was doing. How dare I live the life that Suzette wasn’t going to?

  When I saw Daniel later that night, he was elated for me.

  “I’m glad you’re doing this, Kylie. I think it’ll be good for you.”

  “Yeah, maybe. I dunno. I’m a bit worried about it, to be honest. I really don’t know how I’m going to adjust to life outside of here now. I never really thought about it until, well, yesterday.”

  “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. You’ve done it before. Where are you going to stay?”

  “With my parents, I guess. They’ll be happy I’m ‘cured’. I’m their only child now, the only one they have left. They’ll be happy that I’m back.”

  “Do you want to stay with them?”

  I shrugged.

  “I don’t know. It wouldn’t be too bad, I guess. I’m just worried about moving back into my old circles too quickly. I’d like to find a place where I could just slowly ease back into my old life.”

  “Why don’t you come stay with me? My place has four bedrooms. I’m literally using one of them as a storage and trophy room right now, I have that little need for the space. You’d have a ton of privacy, your own bedroom, of course. You’re welcome to stay with me for as long as you’d like.”

  “What if I don’t want my own bedroom?” I couldn’t help but ask, biting my bottom lip.

  “Well, I’m sure we can deal with that,” Daniel replied, grinning. “And on that note, seeing as we’re finally going to be away from the rules of this place, I’d like to take you out on Sunday night, if you’re up for it.”

  “Absolutely! I’d like that.”

  “Cool. I’m... I’m glad you’ve decided to do this, Kylie. I really am. I didn’t want to have to leave here without you.”

  “I have you to thank. If it wasn’t for you showing up, I never would have made this decision.”

  “Consider it mutual. I wouldn’t be trying to get back into hockey if it wasn’t for you. I guess we’re good for each other.”

  “I guess so.

  * * *

  The next week absolutely flew by. It was funny, the closer we got to that Sunday, the more I was looking forward to it. I would have never expected myself to actually want something like this even last week. This was such a strange feeling. Hope, optimism, neither one of those were emotions I’d felt in a long time.

  There was also some nervousness. What if I immediately couldn’t cope, what if I went straight back to alcohol? What if no one I knew before wanted to associate with me anymore? What if I couldn’t hack it when I went back to medical school? What if my life was an abject failure, and I would have been better off not trying?

  I eventually forced the negative thoughts from my head. They weren’t helping. They weren’t helping at all.

  Daniel, on the other hand, was amazing. He was always willing to talk, he made sure I was actually comfortable coming to live with him, and he seemed to genuinely care about how I was going to deal with being back in society.

  Finally, Sunday arrived. I said my goodbyes to Fiona at breakfast.

  “I’m going to be following you on Tuesday, you know.”

  “I didn’t! Congratulations!”

  “Thanks. I’m looking forward to it. How about you, I guess now you can finally bang your hot hockey player. If I can make a suggestion, get pregnant as quickly as possible so he’s stuck with you.”

  I laughed. “Thanks for the motherly advice, Fiona.”

  “Hey, I’m not your mother, I have two of my own.”

  “And I’m sure they’re wonderful, well-adjusted boys.”

  “They absolutely are. They know not to get any girls that they don’t want to be stuck with pregnant.”

  I was going to miss Fiona. She had a good sense of humour.

  “Thanks for being my friend in here.”

  “No problem. Look me up if you ever want to get a coffee or anything.”

  “I will, thanks.”

  When the time finally came, I said goodbye to everyone else, was wished well, and went out with my suitcase and Daniel to the front of the building, where a cab was waiting.

  We climbed in, Daniel putting my bag in the trunk. It felt strange, being free all of a sudden. I mean, it’s not like I was in jail or anything before. But that building was the only thing I knew now. I never had the desire to leave before. I thought I was going to be there for years to come. And yet, now as we sped down the highway towards Daniel’s place, I knew it was in the past, that I would never go back there again.

  “I was thinking for our date tonight we should do something simple. How about just dinner?” Daniel asked.

  “Dinner sounds fantastic. I’m actually kind of looking forward to having some different food. The cooks at the center aren’t bad, but it’s like they have a list of ten things they like to cook and never deviate from it.”

  “I know a place that does amazing pizza, I bet it’s been a while since you’ve had a slice.”

  “Oh God, it has. I don’t know when the last time I had pizza was. That sounds great.” My mouth actually started salivating at just the thought of a nice, hot slice of pizza.

  “Awesome, we’ll head to my place and freshen up, then we’ll officially go out.”

  When we arrived at Daniel’s house, my mouth dropped open. There was a gate at the front that Daniel had to punch a code into, leading into one of the most amazing modern homes I could possibly have imagined. It wasn’t the biggest house I’d ever seen, but it was close.

  “Holy shit, you live here?”

  “Yeah,” he grinned. “I couldn’t resist buying it when I signed my last contract. Bought it with my bonus.”

  “If you ever get traded, can I have it?”

  Daniel laughed. “I’d hope you would come with me! Anyway, let’s go inside.”

  He carried my bags into a foyer that made my mouth drop open. The hardwood floor glistened, a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling as a huge staircase led to the upper level of the home. This place exuded class. It wasn’t at all the frat-boy type place I imagined rich young hockey players preferred. This was nice.

  “Let me show you to your room,” Daniel told me, carrying my bags upstairs. He led me to a bedroom down the hall to the left. The Queen sized bed seemed to take up only a quarter of the room. There was so much floor space, a rug in front of the bed, a chest of drawers along the side wall and a bathroom on the other side.

  I went into the ensuite and gasped. I stood on the marble floor, looking at a Jacuzzi tub and a rain shower. Even the toilet looked expensive! There was a double sink with plenty of counter space for all of my things.

  “Is this really where I’m staying?” I asked.

  “Yeah. This is my guest suite. It’s pretty nice, huh?”

  “Pretty nice is an understatement. Holy crap!”

  “Well, I’m glad you like it. It’s the best rent-free room in the city, that’s for sure.”

  “Yeah no kidding. It’s amazing!”

  “Well, I’m going to let you and the room get acquainted, why don’t we meet in the foyer in an hour or so and we’ll grab some food?”

  “Sure. Hey, thanks again for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem. It’s the least I can do.”

  Ten minutes later I was in the shower, letting the water clean my body and the steam clear my head. This still felt a little bit unreal, but it was nice. My new room was amazing. I figured I’d probably call my parents the next day and let them know I had left the center, but tonight all I wanted was to have that real date with Daniel.

  I spent way too long trying to figure out what t
o wear. I was really glad we weren’t going out to a fancy dinner, since I definitely didn’t have anything suitable to wear to that. Eventually I settled on a pair of skinny jeans with a pair of kitten heels and a long, black tank top. I looked at myself in the mirror. Did I look presentable? I guess so. It had been so long since I’d been on a date, I had practically forgotten what to do.

  When I came down the stairs and met an already-waiting Daniel in the lobby, I knew from the grin that formed on his face that I’d made the right choice.

  “You look amazing,” he told me as I came down.

  “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself,” I replied, looking him up and down. He had given up his usual athletic wear for a pair of black slacks and a light blue button up shirt. He looked good.

  Daniel led me out the front of the house where his car was already waiting. My mouth dropped at the sight of it. I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised. After all, Daniel was a young millionaire athlete, sports cars were pretty much designed for that demographic. But the black Mercedes convertible I was looking at still blew my mind. I got into the plush leather passenger seat and watched as Daniel grimaced lightly getting into his seat.

  “Are you ok to drive with your knee? I can always do it.”

  “Oh no, I’m good thanks. It hurts a bit when I sit down, but the pain passes quickly and then I’m fine.”

  “Cool.”

  Just then, the engine roared to life as Daniel pressed the button to turn it on. I grabbed the side of the seat as Daniel pressed the gas and we zoomed out of his place. It wasn’t that he was speeding or anything; he wasn’t. It was just that I could tell the engine was so immensely powerful, it felt like Daniel was holding back a cheetah that had just spotted a herd of zebras on the other side of the plain.

  My old car had always puttered along at 30, going up hills always seemed like a challenge to it. When this car reached a hill it seemed like it was being set free, like it could accelerate for eternity. I had never thought of driving as potentially being fun, and I knew I now never would, but I could see why others might see the appeal of it as we drove in this car.

  Eyes turned to watch as Daniel parked the car along a street downtown. We got out and Daniel led me a half block down to what he called his favourite pizza place.

  It was kind of a diner style, with big booths and a counter up the front. We sat down at one of the booths and a waitress came by with menus.

  I glanced through the menu, getting to choose what I wanted to eat for the first time in what felt like ages.

  “I didn’t realize how much I missed choice,” I said, laughing as I realized absolutely everything looked delicious.

  “I know. I basically want to order one of everything. Should we get a large pizza, go half and half?”

  “Yeah, I like that. I was thinking of getting the Hawaiian.”

  “Cool. I like the Mexican Taco pizza, how’s that sound for the other half.”

  “Good! I’ve never actually tasted any pizza with those ‘gourmet’ type flavours, I usually stick with the classics: pepperoni, ham and pineapple, meat lovers. But Mexican Taco sounds good, it sounds interesting.”

  “It is, you’ll like it. You have to live a little. Eat pizza outside your comfort zone!”

  “That I can try, happily.”

  The waitress came back and took our orders, bringing us some pop to drink, and Daniel and I leaned back and chatted lightly.

  “So what was life like, growing up in Canada?”

  “Really, it was a lot like here in a lot of ways, but different as well. I grew up in a suburb of Toronto, which being on the east coast, the weather was the real difference. I actually played hockey outside in the winter long before I played on an organized team. My mom has pictures of me as a three year old in the rink in our backyard that my dad would set up every year. When I moved here, the fact that the temperature almost never drops into the negatives was the major change.”

  “That must be nice, I can’t imagine living somewhere with colder winters than here.”

  “Well, you get used to it pretty quickly. It’s nice not having to bundle up in about twenty layers before you leave the house, that’s for sure. How about you, did you grow up here?”

  I nodded.

  “Yeah, I’m Seattle born and bred. Lived here my whole life. I thought when I applied to a whole bunch of medical schools out of state that I might have to leave, since I never really expected to get approved here, but when I did, I was pretty glad. I know I would otherwise have had to suck it up and learn to live somewhere new, but I do really love it here. I was glad I didn’t have to leave.”

  “I can understand that. Moving is tough, especially when you do it for the first time. You don’t know anyone, you don’t know where anything is, the first few months can be hard. But still, you get used to it quickly. You find new places, like here.”

  Almost right on cue the waitress came by with our pizzas. The next few minutes were spent digging into what I had quickly decided was my new favourite pizza joint.

  I tried a slice of the Mexican Taco and secretly swore at myself for never daring to try “non-traditional” flavours of pizza before. The succulent beef, red onion and jalapenos were a perfect combo, and dipping the slice into some sour cream just made it perfect.

  “Damn, I missed eating here, and I was only gone for like, a month,” Daniel said before practically devouring another slice of pizza.

  “It’s definitely good. I can’t believe I didn’t know this place existed. You’ve lived here for what, a quarter of the amount of time that I have, and yet I’ve never tried this pizza.”

  “Yeah, well, Seattle’s a big city. I’m sure you know tons of places here that I don’t know. In fact, maybe for our next date you choose where we go.”

  “Our next date, huh? That seems a bit presumptuous of you,” I teased.

  “I just figured there’s no way you’d be able to say no to my enormous charm,”

  “Yes, I love a man with a string of cheese on his chin,” I replied, and Daniel scrambled to wipe it off with a napkin.

  “Liar, there was no cheese there.”

  “No, there wasn’t, but I made Mr. Cool, Calm and Charming panic for a minute.”

  “So, are you accepting my invite for a second date, or not?”

  “I don’t think I can resist. Deal. I know a cafe that do a great brunch, we’ll go on Sunday.”

  Daniel grinned at me. “I knew I was too sexy for you to resist,” and I threw a napkin at him.

  As much as I knew Daniel was joking, I couldn’t help but be all too aware of the fact that my body did think he was ridiculously sexy. I could feel my body shudder uncontrollably when he looked at me, my sex clenching, my panties moistening.

  Tingles ran down my spine every time Daniel flirted with me. I had never wanted him so much in my life, and here we were. We could do whatever we wanted. Daniel knew it as well. I wondered if we were going to do anything. It had been so long since I’d had a boyfriend, and I had never really done the one night stand thing, I didn’t really know how these things were supposed to go.

  Eventually we finished eating. We sat together in the booth for a while, talking. I liked Daniel. I liked hearing about his life.

  “So you’re going to go back to medical school in September?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, I think I will. I think I’ll be fine by then. There’s still over a month to go before classes start, so that should give me some time to readjust I think. I want to call my parents tomorrow, and maybe one of my old friends, as well.”

  “That’s a good idea, I think. It’s nice to be around people you know. Next week I’m going to start training at the same time as the other guys again, and even though I’m obviously not going to do the same stuff as them, it’ll be good to see them again.”

  “Are you finding it weird, being back out here, in the real world?”

  “A little bit, yeah. I imagine it’s worse for you though. I sort of looked at i
t as an extended vacation. I’m just really glad my knee doesn’t hurt anymore. I know I have to stay away from any sort of strong painkillers. It’s funny, I grew up thinking I was invincible. I had never suffered a bad injury before. I didn’t think I’d get addicted the first time I had to take something stronger than Tylenol.”

  “We do tend to think we’re invincible, don’t we? It took me ages to accept that I was an alcoholic. I just tried to rationalize it to myself. Until my parents basically held an intervention, I was convinced I didn’t have a problem. I was convinced they didn’t understand me. And they didn’t, really, although they were right about the disease.”

  “It’s going to be way harder for you to avoid alcohol than it will be for me to avoid pills. I’ll make sure there’s never a drop of it in the house.”

  “Thanks, if you want a beer or anything though, I don’t want to deprive you. There’s so much space in that place you probably have more than one fridge.”

  “No, it’s fine. There won’t be a drop of alcohol in the house, I promise you that. Hey, did you want to go for a walk? It’s a nice evening out.”

  “I’d like that.”

  In reality, I would have preferred going back home and letting Daniel ravage me until the sun went down and came back up again, but a walk did sound like a good idea. This felt like a real date, something I hadn’t done in a long time.

  After a few minutes Daniel slipped my hand inside of his, and I felt that same familiar spark passing in between us. Tingling radiated through my body from where Daniel’s hand touched mine. We walked mostly in silence. It felt nice, enjoying the nice evening, hand in hand with this guy that I was getting closer and closer to.

  Finally, we made our way back to the car.

  “So is this the part where I ask if you want to come back to my place?” Daniel joked.

  “And if I say yes?” I asked, flirting back.

  “Then I’m going to break all kinds of laws to get back there as quickly as possible,” he replied. He stepped on the gas, although he didn’t go any faster than the speed limit. I think he automatically realized that there was no way I was going to be comfortable in a speeding car, and he was right. That wasn’t something I was going to be able to handle.