Page 88 of Home Game

“Hey,” I stepped onto the ice. My mob of kids touched me and tried to skate with me. I went slow, asking them questions. Proud parents wanted to take pictures. I spent more time kneeling on the ice than actually skating while various kids hopped off and on my knee. I knew the number of times Zoey and Jensen lapped me. I could hear her laughter clear across the ice.

I would need to get creative. I looked down at the kids whose faces were upturned towards me in adoration. “Who wants to catch me?”

“I do, I do,” they screamed.

I skated backward, looking over my shoulder, weaving in and outthrough the dozens of people. And the kids followed. Still skating backward, I sidled up beside Zoey.

“Ryan!” Her breathless smile could have lit up the entire stadium. “Look, I’m skating.”

“You’re almost ready to go pro.”

The kids all caught up screaming with glee.

“You’re like the pied piper,” she laughed. “Wait, I want to take a photo.”

She took her phone out of her pocket and almost bailed.

Jensen whipped around and, standing behind her, put his arms around her waist, “I’ll hold you steady.”

His look was smug. I fought the urge to connect his face with my fist.

The kids crowded around me.

Zoey looked up from the camera and admonished. “Ryan. Smile!”

The little kids surrounding me were all pretty cute. I reached out and tapped one little boy on the nose as he laughed up at me.

“Ryan, we want to catch you again.”

“Okay, that’s my cue,” I glanced up at Zoey. She had a little smile on her face.

I took off backward and caught up to Mica who had his own mob of kids chasing him.

“Hey, man,” he smiled at me.

“How’s it going?”

“You know. Looking forward to a couple cold ones and the night off.”

I caught sight of Zoey and Jensen again. He shamelessly skated behind her so he could keep his hands on her hips. It made my chest tight looking at that.

“I think Zoey was hoping to skate with you."

He glanced up at Zoey and then back at me. “It’s like that then.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He lifted his cap on and off his head. “Yeah, I think Jensen was hoping for more kid time.”

He winked at me and took off. I watched him skate up to Zoey, tuck her under his arm and move away from Jensen.

I didn’t even get to skate with Zoey. By the time I had entertained and skated with dozens of kids, and taken countless photos, she was already off the ice. Now, most of the kids were off the ice. I wanted to stretch my legs and do a few laps before heading to the after event. I skated around the rink, going fast, winding between the few couples that slowly circled the rink. I missed being in love with skating. I was always thinking about my next shot, the next play, or how to set up my next goal.

How long had it been since I skated just because I loved the feeling of the cool air in my hair and the steady stroke of my blades against the ice? When I was a kid, I used to spend every waking moment, outside of chores and school, on the pond out back.

I missed skating. Which was ridiculous because I had spent every single day on the ice for the last 15 years, but there was something about the freedom in not thinking and just moving. A wave of homesick washed over me, making me miss the farm and my childhood. A time when everything was simple and easy.

I cut around the corner. Zoey crouched on the ice in her black boots and pink coat, with her phone focused on me. I headed straight for her and she shrieked in delight when, at the last moment, I zipped around her. Total trust on her part. I flipped around so I was skating backward, never taking my eyes off her face. She threw her head back and laughed. I circled around her, coming closer and closer every time I passed her, but she never flinched. She took various shots. I sped up, skating at top speed around the rink, hugging the boards. She put her phone in her pocket and was standing there watching me. Those blue eyes. On me. I came around the corner and I couldn’t resist.

---