Page 50 of For the Love of Skating
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Granger
What happened tonight was the scariest moment in my life. Her scream is still echoing in my head, and the urge to hold her in my arms forever is strong. We weren’t even through the front door before she was tearing at her clothes frantically.
“Granger, help me. I need out of these clothes. Help me,” she gasps, her breathing harsh as she tugs at her shirt with desperate movements.
I help her strip in the foyer as soon as I set her down, letting her know I’m here for whatever she needs, that she’s not alone. Standing in just her underwear, I scoop her up into my arms again and carry her to the bathroom to place her under the hot water in the shower. She looks so lost as she glances up at me with wide blue eyes, water dripping down her face. She leans towards me the moment I step forward, and I close my eyes with my forehead against hers, breathing in her hot caramel scent.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to be just outside the shower door. Take your time.” Placing a tender, lingering kiss on her temple as I pull away, she stands frozen under the water, just watching me with lost eyes.
Not bothering to close the glass door, I slide down to the cold tile floor with my back facing her as I lean against the glass wall. I’d give anything to hold her in my arms right now, but I’m not sure my touch would be wanted now that everything is coming back at once for her. The only thing I can hear is the water hitting the floor and her slowly starting to move under the spray as the shower steam makes my clothes stick to my body.
“Talk to me, Princess.” I’m desperate to hear her say anything, to let me know she’s going to be okay.
“I thought it was you. I was skating and saw a silhouette of a man that I assumed was you. In my head, I thought fate brought you to me, because I was thinking about you the whole time we were apart. We always seem to be in the same place at the same time, like destiny.” She takes a deep breath, her voice shaking. It’s killing me inside to not hold her. “Granger, I’m sorry,” she sobs out, and at that point, I say fuck it. She needs me.
I’m under the shower spray in seconds, not caring how wet my clothes get as I gently pull her into my arms and swear she’ll never leave them again. She grasps my shirt into her fist and buries her head into my chest as her body shakes with sobs. Placing my cheek against the top of her head, I simply hold her to my body until her sobs turn into hiccups.
“Princess, you have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the fuck up, I should have ran after you instead of standing there, watching you disappear out of my life in seconds. I’ve held myself back because I was scared, and not everything is as it seems,” I choke out in a deep, raspy voice, my emotions swallowing me whole. This is the moment where it’s all going to come out, and I’m terrified inside for us, for where it’s going to lead us.
“I’ve been burned so many times that I guess in my head, I wanted what Victoria said to be true, because if not, it means you're the guy that I’ve been searching for, and I’m scared of losing you,” she mumbles into my chest, then she tips her head back to look at me with crystal blue eyes framed by long lashes, tears clinging to them. “I trust you, Granger. I have all along. It's the fear that made me run, but no more running for me.”
“Kat, I want you to know the whole truth, but fuck if the thought of you never being in my arms again doesn’t scare me. What happened tonight… I should’ve been there right from the beginning, and all that wouldn’t have happened. If I only wouldn’t have thought the worst when I saw you get into the car with that guy. I don’t even fucking care who he is, I trust you completely. I’m sorry, Princess, for letting you down.” My eyes water, burning with the pain I’ve caused us both, and I close them when she reaches up to place her hand against my cheek, running her thumb back and forth over my cheekbone.
“You're a good guy, Granger, and if I can’t see that, then I don’t deserve you. I was told once you find someone worth loving, to never let them go.” My eyes snap open to see she’s staring at me with a small smile, her bottom lip trembling.
“I fucking love you, Princess. I started loving you the moment you glided onto my ice with that wild pink hair and called me out for being an asshole.” I hold my breath, my heart pounding like waves crashing against the sea wall during a hurricane as she stands on her toes and grazes her soft plump lips against mine.
“Captain, I love you too,” she says quietly, her raspy voice bouncing off the tile walls. Her eyes flutter shut just as she closes the distance between us with a kiss that I feel down to my bones, erupting my world with thousands of stars bursting with each glide of her lips on mine.
Eventually, we break apart for air as we pant for breath, our foreheads resting against each other’s, never once glancing away. The water starts to run cold, and she vibrates along my body once the chills set in, so I lean around her to shut the water off, only the sound of our breathing filling the quiet space.
“Can you lie with me tonight? Just hold me? I need to feel just your hands on my body. Only ever you,” she whispers as I wrap a fluffy towel around her. I strip out of my own clothes before pulling her close again to absorb my warmth.
“I’ll never let you go, Princess, I fucking promise.” The promise carries in my voice, my meaning in every word. I bring her into the bedroom where I pull her in close to cuddle her body along mine as she lays her head on my pillow, facing me.
I play with her wild hair, staring into those blue eyes I love so much before she starts to fall asleep on my chest. My mind plays back everything that’s happened tonight as I watch her sleep, her face relaxing, and I’m just fucking lucky she’s in my arms.
I’ve never been that mad before tonight, but it was like tunnel vision—the only thing on my mind was to tear Jeff to pieces for touching my Princess. I barely had control over the desire to cause Jeff unbelievable excruciating pain with my fist, but the thought of my girl being by herself held me over. I got my hits in before the cops showed, and knowing that he’s behind bars puts me somewhat at ease, but I’m worried about Kat. She’s been through so damn much, and I just wanted her to find happiness, even if that meant at the time that I wasn't part of it. But she said she loves me, and I’m going to prove to her that I’m worthy of that love.
“Night, Princess. I’m here,” I whisper against her temple before my eyes start to drift closed.
* * *
“Yeah,Coach, everything is fine over here. She’s doing okay right now, andI’m watching over her. Thanks for calling to let us know. Okay, good. I’ll see you tomorrow to go over everything that happened, and if something comes up before then, I’ll let you know. Bye.” I tried to be as quiet as I could as I talked to Coach, before hanging up and walking back into my room to find she’s awake and sitting up in bed, waiting for me.
Her hair is a crazy, bedhead mess around her head, just the way I like it, and her eyes are clearer, the sun coming through the windows turning them into a shining crystal blue. She smiles, her pink lips curling up at the corners, making it easier for me to breathe at seeing her smile. She scrambles to her knees and crawls to the end of the bed the moment she sees the cup of coffee in my hand before I hand the mug over.
“That was Coach, he wanted to check up on you and to let us know that Jeff has been kicked off the team for good and is behind bars in the county jail. I’ll have to give my parents a call to help.” I blow out a breath, running my hand through my hair before going to sit by her side on the bed, as she places the cup on the nightstand. “I feel like all of this is my fault. I should have chased after you and kept trying to talk to you.”
“I’m not blaming you for coming to conclusions when you saw me get into Donald’s car, because I did the same with Victoria. Donald is the man my father wants me to marry to merge his company together with theirs. He told me he had information on my father and mother, so I got in the car for all of a few minutes. Mary and Beast were my backup, and they met me outside the library to make sure he didn’t try anything. I was going to tell you everything after your game, since I didn’t want you to get distracted. As for your parents, they found out some information on my family as a thank you for opening their eyes,” she says, glancing up into my eyes and showing so much trust in me with just a single look. “I’m going to be okay, Captain. How could I not be with you right here? You’ve healed me in ways I didn’t know were broken when you showed me it’s okay to love. I can take it, place your trust in me.”
Looking down at my hands, I’m not sure where to begin. It still scares me to tell her, but I know without a doubt that she’s not going to run.
“Victoria did lie, but not about everything.” Her hand grasps mine with a reassuring grip, and it helps me gather the courage I need. “There was a baby. A baby I was told was mine, but it wasn’t. I didn’t know that, even after she told me she got an abortion.” My throat feels like it’s closing in on itself, and old pain nestles into my chest. That moment…I thought I was going to be a dad, and then it was gone.
“Jeff…” She trails off with a horrified expression before anger takes place. “It was Jeff’s baby. She told you that it was yours, and then did that to the baby? Oh God, Granger.” She tightens her hold on my hand, and I look away to blink back the tears filling my eyes before glancing back at her to see tears trailing down her cheeks.
