Page 19 of The Overtime Kiss

“Thanks, Asher.”

“Anytime, man. Anytime.”

“Dad, are you ready?” Luna calls from the kitchen. “I have to show Sabrina what I’ve been working on.”

Luna bounces into the room, her brown hair pulled tight into a sleek ponytail, exactly the kind Sabrina wears to every lesson. Exactly the kind Luna fashions when my mom takes her to the rink, which she does every chance she gets, indulging Luna’s love for figure skating. It makes my heart squeeze, the love this kid has for the ice.

“Let’s do it,” I say, waving goodbye to Parker and Asher, then trying to fight off the annoying nerves twisting in my stomach as we load into the car.

Seeing Sabrina again…I don’t know what to expect, or what expectation I could even have. We haven’t talked about all the things she said. All the tempting, sexy, sinful, inviting things that crossed those glossy pink lips. Not to mention all the things I wanted, and still do want to ask her, like,Did you really mean it that you want me to take you apart with my tongue? Do you truly fantasize about me running my beard across your thighs? Are you thinking about me late at night?

Like I fucking am about her.

But I push those down, focusing instead on Luna’s grinand Parker’s laughter back in the house. They’re doing so well in San Francisco after we moved here nearly a year ago when Los Angeles traded me to no better place than where my family lives. Mom’s here. My stepdad, my sister, my brother, and my grandma Birdie. Life is good. The only thing in my life that’s not great? My stats. Last year was an okay year—not bad, but not great. And okay is never acceptable in hockey. I’m thirty-two, I’ve logged ten good years in the pros. A couple of them were great, but not last year. When the season starts again in a few months, I need to get back in the great zone. If I do that, I can play a few more years and make good money, put plenty aside, and be all set when it comes to taking care of the two loves of my life. Something my own dad never did for my siblings and me, considering he walked out the door with barely a word when I was ten. I never heard from him again. He died when I was fifteen, and I’m not even sure I cried when I heard the news. What would I have mourned? The loss of a ghost? That’s what he’d become to me in those five years.Absent. A man who wasn’t there for his family.

I won’t be like him. Not a chance.

Which means…now is not the time for romance. My kids are young, still adjusting to a new city. I really should set aside any thoughts of asking Sabrina out for real. The timing is all wrong for so many reasons. There will be space for romance later. And, really, what am I even missing? It’s not like I had a great, passionate romance with Elle that I’m longing to replace. My ex and I were friends before; we’re still friends now. I’m not missing anything.

As I drive through the city toward the rink on the edge of the Marina District, Luna’s voice breaks into my thoughts. “Dad, did you watch the video I sent you last night?”

“Of course I did. Loved the moves and the song,” I say.

“Me too.” She beams. “I want to be able to do something like that. It’s so fun.”

She chatters on, her excitement contagious.

As we pull into the Sunnyside Rink parking lot where Sabrina hosts her lessons, I’m resolved. Time to face whatever awkwardness might come my way. Then to move on.

When Luna nails her axel with fierce determination, I jump to my feet and cheer. “That’s how we do it!”

She glides over to me, her cheeks rosy, her smile so big it could light up the rink. “Did you see that?”

“Dude, I literally just shouted loud enough for the whole rink to hear,” I say, though there aren’t too many people here—just a few others involved in private lessons happening at the same time.

“I know!” She grins, leaning against the boards. “I just wanted to make double, double sure.”

“You crushed it,” I tell her. “Now get back out there and finish strong with Sabrina, okay?”

“I will!” She beams, flying back to the center of the ice to tackle some footwork. I watch her for a moment, pride swelling in my chest. She’s so confident, so focused. But something’s nagging at me—Sabrina hasn’t skated over to say hi, and that’s not like her.

Shit. Maybe she feels bad. Maybe she thinks I’ll fire her.

The thought twists in my gut. When the lesson ends, I pull Luna aside before Sabrina can bolt. “Why don’t you play that arcade game you like for a few minutes?”

“I love Ms. Pac-Man,” she says. She’s been thrilled since we started coming here that the rink has a collection of vintage games.

I hand her some dollars that she’ll turn into tokens, and once she takes off her skates, she dashes off, already excited.

I draw a deep breath, steeling myself for this conversationwith Sabrina. I have no clue how it’s going to go, but I need to clear the air.

But before I can so much as move, Sabrina skates over with a smile that stops me in my tracks. “Do you have a minute?” she asks, her voice light, but something in her eyes makes my chest tighten.

That smile, those sparkling blue eyes, the memory of her soft, warm skin when I kissed her forehead in the hotel room—they all flood back in an instant.

Maybe it’s not such a bad idea to date my daughter’s skating coach. With the way she looks at me, it feels like a damn good idea. I don’t want to move on. I want to take her up on her offer—and take her out.

“Yeah,” I manage to say, my voice low and gravelly, my skin hot.

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