by Lauren Marie
“Hey boss,” Zack called out. Jay looked across the ice and waved. “I’m out of here. Thanks for the night off. The wife waited up for me. Do you want me to lock the doors?”
“No. Leave it open, I’m expecting someone.” He watched Zack leave the building and thought of some things he could do to improve the atmosphere. He jumped up and ran for the stairs. He went up to the sound booth and picked a couple of CD’s out of the racks that he thought would be good for a skate around. He dimmed some of the lights, but left them on at the front door. He didn’t want her to think the rink was closed.
He once again tried to read the paper, but it didn’t work and he decided to re-string a bunch of the rental skates. He was putting them back on the shelves when he heard a quiet voice.
“Hi, Jay.”
He turned and smiled. “You came over, great.” He was both relieved and excited at the same time.
She held a box in her arms and walked to the table where his empty coffee cup sat. She put the box down and took her coat off. Jay realized he stared at her from the counter and moved around it. He walked up to her and still smiled.
“Kate, do you want a bottle of water or pop? I have a new pot of coffee, too. We have both hot and cold.”
“Water’s fine, thank you.” She smiled.
He ran over to the concession stand and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. When he headed back he saw her look out at the ice. He set the bottle down. “What do you think? Are you ready to give it a try?”
She looked up at him. “It’s been a few years. I’ll either split my pants or pull something.” She sat down and took a Scrunchy off her wrist. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
Jay watched her and said, “Oh, oh, hair’s going up. This is serious.”
“No, it’s not serious. I just don’t want my hair to fly around my face.” She bent over her feet and took off her sneakers. Sitting back up straight, she looked at him. “You were planning to skate tonight, too?”
“Yes, yes I am.” He sat down and took off his shoes. “I hope you don’t mind hockey skates.”
“They’ll be on your feet, so, no problem.” She opened the box and pulled one of the skates out. The laces were stuffed into the boot and as she took them out, the blade guard fell off.
He glanced over and was surprised. “Wow, those are nice. Where do you get the blades sharpened?”
“I don’t remember. It’s been a while since they’ve been out of the box.” She put the guard back on and leaned over to put it on her foot. She did the same with the other skate and tightened the laces. She stood up and bounced a little on the blades. She looked down at him. “If I fall on my butt a lot you have to promise you won’t laugh your head off.”
“No, ma’am. I’d never laugh at you on your butt.” He smiled and arched an eyebrow.
“Ha, ha.”
Jay watched her walk toward the entrance to the ice. She knelt down and put her hand on the frozen surface, moving it over the ice. He could see her lips move and then she patted the ice. This little ceremony that she did looked familiar and he thought he remembered where he knew her from, but something just didn’t add up.
She stood up, removed the blade guards and slid out. He stood up and walked over to the rail. He watched her flow over the clean surface and couldn’t believe how smooth and graceful her moves were. He remembered where he knew her from and couldn’t believe his luck. The only problem was her name. Kate Beck wasn’t the name he remembered.
She stopped mid-ice and turned. “Are you going to skate or not?” she asked.
“Yeah, sorry.” He took his guards off, set them next to hers and stepped onto the ice. “Where did you learn to skate?”
“In Portland.”
“You’re very smooth.” He approached her and circled around.
“You have good ice. It’s not mushy.” She turned and started to glide the rest of the length of the rink.
“What was the kneeling thing you did?” He moved up along side of her.
“I used to have a friend who said that I should always make friends with the ice before I went out on it. He was Arapaho and I always said the prayer before I’d skate.” She turned and started to move backwards.
“Did it help?”
“Sometimes.”
“You said he told you. Was he someone you were close to?”
“Hmm...we were good friends and I think we were nine or ten years old.”
Jay nodded and watched her continue to move backwards. “That’s wise for someone so young. We probably should have warmed up.”
“For just a skate around? No, we’ll be okay.” She stopped and looked up at him. “There is something I should say though.”
Jay leaned against the boards and waited patiently.
“Our kiss this afternoon was very nice, but...”
“No, no, no buts. The only butts out here tonight are the ones God put right here.” He smacked his rear end.
She smiled and then frowned. “I’m not a very good catch, Jay.”
“Now, why do you say that?”
“I’m not experienced with good relationships and I have a lot of baggage. I wouldn’t want to load you down with it. You seem like a great guy, but I don’t want to burden anyone with my history.”
“We all carry around loads of bad memories. I’m still pissed at the guy who helped me mess up my knee.”
“Well, my bad memories are more than I can take sometimes and I ignore it as much as I can. If it feels like it’s getting too close, I pack up my bag and hit the road.”
“So that’s why you’ve moved around so much. Maybe it would help if you shared it with someone. Like me, for instance.”
“No, it wouldn’t help,” she said quietly and turned. “It’s nice of you to offer, but I wouldn’t want to give you the wrong impression and, as I said, you don’t need to be burdened with my crap. I do tend to leave a place pretty quick if things don’t feel right and I wouldn’t want to hurt you in the process.”
Jay watched her skate down the ice away from him. She picked up speed and toward the other end of the rink went into a spread eagle, came around to face forward and stepped into a triple axel. His mouth hung open. “How did you do that? That was a great axel.”
****
When Kate landed that jump she wanted to whoop for joy and weep at the same time. She hadn’t done it for a couple of years, and it felt so good to know that the jump that caused her downfall was still in her arsenal of jumps. She skated backwards and then swung around into a death drop, and then a camel spin. She slowly straightened up into a scratch spin and stopped. She looked down the ice at Jay and heard her mother say she just showed off and no one is impressed with her abilities. She suddenly felt embarrassed and slowly made her way down to where he stood.
“I thought we were skating tonight? You keep leaning against the boards and your mouth is hanging open.”
He looked at her and smiled. “That was incredible. How did you do a triple axel? And that death drop. Wow.”
She crossed her arms and circled around him. “How is it, a guy who played hockey knows the names of figure skating moves?”
“Ah that, right.” He started to move around with her. “See when athletes aren’t playing their sport there is a lot of down time with nothing to do. I’m not sure what city we were in, but I started channel surfing on the TV at a hotel where we stayed. Some of the guys watched daytime soap operas. General Hospital was a favorite. I couldn’t stand that stuff and on one of the sports networks I got to watch the National championships and later caught the Worlds. I really liked to watch the women skate. They were hot. I just caught on to the jump lingo and other stuff. Can you do a Biellmann?”
“Not anymore. I haven’t skated enough and lost the dexterit
y to do that spin.” She couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. It impressed her that he even had a clue what a Biellmann looked like and could name a jump she’d just done.
“Did you ever skate in the Nationals?”
Kate suddenly realized she danced on the edge and was getting too comfortable. She didn’t want to go there. “No.” It felt like only a partial lie and if he found out the truth, hopefully he’d understand, but she wasn’t about to tell him what happened to her at Nationals.
“Why not? You are great, even though you haven’t skated for awhile. I suppose it’s like riding a bicycle. It’s something you never forget. Why didn’t you skate in the Nationals?”
This was not a discussion she wanted to continue. She turned away from him and headed to the entrance. She picked up her blade guards and stared at them. Jay slid up next to her.
Kate looked up at him. “Lost dreams, nothing but lost dreams.” She shrugged and bent over to put the guards on her blades. She straightened up and looked at him.
“I bet it’s a long story. I have the time,” he said and took her hand.
She stared at their hands and then pulled hers away. She backed up a step. “I should go.” She walked around him and off the ice. She tried to figure out why she let him see her skate. She’d never done it before and she knew he might be smart enough to put two and two together. She sat at the table and unlaced her skates.
“Kate, wait a minute.” He came over and started untying his own skates. “Listen, I get that you have a history that bugs you and it would be great if you’d let me help, but I won’t be pushy. Nosey, yes, but you can tell me or not. I like you and hope we can spend some time together.”
She tied the laces on her shoes and put her skates back in the box. This guy made it difficult for her to think and she became so confused. She thought he might be someone who’d listen and not judge her, but she didn’t know if she could trust him. They’d only really known each other since this morning. Jay used the two H words, hope and help. She hadn’t heard those words in a long time.
“Do you know how to play Broom Ball?” he asked.
She looked up at him. “What?” Her brain found it difficult to sort the question from the confusion in her brain.
“Broom Ball. It’s played with sawed-off brooms and a rubber ball about the size of a cantaloupe. It’s sort of like hockey,” he said.
“No, I’ve never played.”
“I know you’re off work on Monday’s and it just so happens there will be a game here tomorrow night...wait, I mean tonight. Now I’m confused. It’s Sunday now, right?” He shook his head. “Anyway, it starts around six in the evening. It’s a bunch of jerks I went to high school with and their girlfriends and wives. Lark and Charlie will be here. You met them at the diner. Sometimes kids come along and play, but this week is adults only. We’re serving beer. What do you say? We could have dinner after.”
“I don’t know.” She felt completely flummoxed. She felt like she’d run in two different directions.
“Think about it. I’ll give you a lift home tonight.” He stood and plucked his jacket from a chair.
“Jay, I only live two blocks from here. I can walk it.”
“Nope, won’t happen tonight. I’d be a terrible date if I let you walk alone and some jerk tried to attack you. It would be wrong of me to let that happen.”
“I understand this is a pretty safe neighborhood and this isn’t really a date.” She watched as he put on his coat.
“Sure it’s a date. We ate food earlier and...well, this isn’t like going to the movies, but it is a date.”
“You’re not going to give in, right?” She laughed.
“Right.” He held out his hand.
She looked at him and continued to laugh. “I have to carry my box.” She picked it up in both hands and stood. He tried to take it away from her, but she said no. She could carry them just fine.
They got into his Jeep and Kate sat with the box on her lap. She watched him from the corner of her eye. He stopped by the sidewalk in front of the house and pulled the brake on. He turned to her and put his hand on her cheek. She felt warmth come from his palm and covered his hand with hers. She closed her eyes.
“You are a mystery, Kate Beck. Will you skate with me again, soon?”
“Maybe.” She opened her eyes.
“Can I give you a good night kiss?”
She nodded and closed her eyes again. His lips brushed over hers lightly and she felt his tongue trace the line in her lips. She opened and his tongue swept over her teeth and touched the roof of her mouth. She put her hand on his cheek and ran her fingers through his hair. He sucked on her tongue and lips and then pulled her into a hug. He nuzzled against her neck and she felt his warm mouth kiss up to her ear. He lightly bit at her ear lobe.
“I have to go in, Jay.” She backed up and put her hands against his chest.
“I’ll see you tomorrow or later today, I guess. There’s a class at eleven o’clock.”
She nodded, but didn’t answer him. “Good night.” She grabbed her box and opened the door.
After she got into her apartment and locked the door, she slid down to the floor. She’d wanted to ask him in, but what did she have to offer? She didn’t even own a coffee maker. Her throat started to tighten and she felt tears well in her eyes. This was her life and whether she liked it or not - and right now she didn’t like it a whole lot - she’d have to accept this was the way it would be. If she started to tell him about her past and then just up and left, she’d be more broken than she’d ever been. Jay was such a nice man and she didn’t think he carried any mean bones in his body.
She set her box with the skates on the floor and brought her knees up under her chin. As much as she’d like to try a relationship, she couldn’t do it to him. She’d just have to stay away from the rink and not see him anymore.
Chapter Seven
When Kate didn’t show up at the rink the next morning, Jay did some work and then got into his Jeep. It was Sunday and his employees could handle the rink for the day. He drove over to the house where Kate lived and parked along the road. He went up to the front door and rang the bell. An older lady answered and said Kate lived in the basement. Her door was at the back of the house. He went down the driveway, found the door and knocked.
When it opened, he smiled. She wore a pair of gray sweatpants and a navy blue hoodie. Her hair was in a pile on top of her head and she held a book in her hand. As far as he was concerned she looked great.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
He stared at her and looked at her beautiful blue eyes. “Do you wear contacts?”
“Ah, no.” She stared back at him.
He saw a questioning look form on her face. “Sorry, I just wondered if you’d like to go zip-lining? The park we were at yesterday has a whole bunch of lines and I called. They have a ton of openings today and I didn’t have to make a reservation.”
“I don’t think so. I’m a bit chicken about doing that kind of stuff. I’m not a risk-taker, but thanks.”
“How about a movie or something?” He realized he sounded desperate and wanted to kick himself around the block. “Look, I’m sorry. I said I wouldn’t be pushy. Let’s just pretend I didn’t show up at your door.” He turned and started up the drive.
“Jay?”
He stopped and turned back. She stood barefoot on the mat outside her door.
“Jay?” she said again.
He saw her look into the apartment and then back at him. There was something in her eyes and he prayed he read it right. He stepped forward and then stopped, but the momentum got the best of him. It took three steps and he held her in his arms with his lips pressed against her warm, full lips. He heard something fall onto the front step and realized she�
��d dropped her book. She pulled her legs up around his waist and his hand wandered down to her butt. He pushed her back against the door-jamb as their tongues twirled and danced with a primal force. Her warm hands were wrapped around his head and her fingers pulled his hair.
He stepped into the apartment and held her, wrapped around his upper body. She moved her hand and shut the door.
They continued to kiss and then she started to pull his coat off. Jay breathed hard. When his lips separated from hers, all he wanted to do was pull her back and continue the kiss, but she pushed at his coat which slid down his arms. She moved her legs down, stood in front of him and started to unbutton his flannel shirt. He reached down to the hem of her hoodie and pulled it up. She looked up at him and for a second he thought he’d gone too far. She smiled and raised her arms. He pulled it over her head and his penis came to life.
She wore a white, lacy bra and her breasts were gorgeous. She opened his shirt and her fingers traced over his muscular chest. He heard her whisper Nice and then her mouth was on his skin. Her tongue snaked around his nipples and she lightly nipped at them. His shaft throbbed against the zipper in his jeans.
He lifted her back up, kissed and sucked on her bottom lip. Her legs wound around his waist again. He pulled back slightly and half opened his eyes. “Where?” he whispered.
Kate pointed over her shoulder to a short hallway. He carried her into the bedroom and saw her bed. He set her down on the mattress and put his hands on both sides of her face. He leaned over and found her lips waiting for his, and they were warm and passionate. He pushed her down onto the bed and her hands moved the shoulders of his shirt off. With her help he got the shirt completely off and looked down at her.
“You’re sure?” he whispered.
“Yeah, you’ve got protection, right?” She put her hand on his chest.
