Page 65 of Skating to Him

“How?” Cummings stuffed pancake into his mouth.

“The way they look at each other.” With a soft grin, he shook his head. “Like a couple of love birds. Are you two in love?” His grin shifted into a smirk.

“I, uh…” My gaze swept to meet with Tyler’s. “We, um…” I scanned the table, Ace and Cummings both watching me. Shit, saying it now wouldn’t be special. It needed to be special.

Hodge swallowed hard. “What we have is between us.” He lifted his chin. “Right, Mackenzie?”

“Right.” Relaxing my shoulders, I blew out a long breath. Holy shit, that was close.

“Does anyone else know, or are there any rumors?” Ace studied Burns. “Because I think this needs to stay between us. You get me?” His gaze grew hard.

Burns widened his eyes. “No, no rumors that I know of.” Hisbrows lowered and he tapped his index finger on the table. “Look, I’m not a snitch.”

“Okay, good.” Ace patted Burns’s shoulder. “You’re a good guy, Burns. I’m glad we could be open with you.”

Wow, Ace was taking charge. With him being as good as he was, everyone admired him. It was great to have him on our side. “Thanks, Burns. We appreciate it.”

“No problem. I like you guys. You have good vibes.” He held out his fist, and we each bumped it.

We wonour next game against Denver, and Hodge and Burns were a big part of it, playing like real D-line partners and giving Ace the shutout he was looking for.

After we got home, Tyler and I got tested at Student Health Services and were now waiting on our test results. I wasn’t exactly worried…

Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving, I sat next to Tyler in our geology class as the professor ended the lecture, wishing us all a happy Thanksgiving. I closed my laptop and glanced at Tyler. “What are you doing after this?”

“Don’t know.” He slid his laptop and book into his backpack. “How about we grab some lunch?”

“Yeah? Where at?” Grabbing my bag, I stood and hefted it over my shoulder. With the physical therapy I’d been doing with our trainer, my knee was much better. I wasn’t even limping anymore.

“I was thinking…” He rose and grabbed the back of my arm, leading me out of the classroom. “Pizza?”

“Since we’ll be eating turkey and dressing for the foreseeable future, I think that’s perfect.” I strolled out the doors into a hallway filled with students and happy chatter. A lot of them were probably headed home tonight to be with their families. But I had a new one right here.

“How about Spinelli’s? We can walk there and won’t that be good for your knee?” He strode into the sunshine outside our building, along the palm tree-lined walkway.

“Hell yes.” The back of my hand brushed his as we made our way through students walking and riding skateboards and scooters. I twined my fingers in his. Nobody was going to care, right? They’d have to know who we were.

He squeezed my hand as we strolled to Mill Avenue and turned the corner onto a sidewalk, passing by shops and restaurants tucked away inside brick buildings.

My gaze caught on the jagged peak of “A” Mountain rising over the glass high-rises. I had another class this afternoon, but if he wanted me to, I’d ditch it. “What’s on the agenda for tonight?” No morning skate for tomorrow. We had a rare few days off, even though we were expected to train on our own.

He swung our hands between us, the sunlight shining off the highlights in his dirty-blond hair. “We could hit the bar or?—”

“Stay in and enjoy each other?” I raised the edge of my mouth. “If we hear from the doc at student services, I say we stay in.” Could we be so lucky? It had been three days.

“Oh, hell yes.” He kissed my knuckles and stopped at the pizza place, then opened the glass door. “After you.”

“Thanks.” I walked inside and looked around, taking in the wild art murals on the walls, the metal staircase leading up to an open second floor, and the big crystal chandelier over our heads. The place bustled with people already. “Want to sit at the bar?” I spied a few empty seats.

“Are we getting beer?” He hooked a brow at me.

Should I bail on my last class? No. “We don’t have to get beer to sit at the bar.” I pulled him past black chairs and long, colorful tables with more artwork on them and hung our backpacks on the back of our barstools before I hitched myself up.

“You have another class today, right?” He slid onto his stool. “I don’t. Do you mind if I get a beer?”

“I can’t stop you.” I eyed him. But damn, it sounded good.

The bartender stopped at us, dropped off menus, and Tyler ordered his beer while I got a lemonade. I’d wait for later. If I had to go to this damn class, I didn’t want to be nodding off in it.

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