Page 39 of Icing the Cougar
Here goes.
I jump, wrap the fabric around my forearms, and haul myself up. Every muscle in my body screams that this is the wrong way to use them. My core wants to split in half; my legs aren’t sure what to do except flail and look ridiculous. I hear a couple of guys in the stands start to cackle, but that only makes me clamp on tighter.
I hook a knee, lock it in, and force myself to breathe. Pull, wrap, lock. Repeat. My shoulder twinges, but I ignore it. It’s not about the pain. It’s about not letting her down.
Halfway up, my arms are shaking. I risk a glance down, and there’s Trinity, still at the edge of the ice, mouth covered by both hands. Her eyes are locked on me, huge and shining. Nova is next to her, grinning like she’s about to win a bet.
I grit my teeth and keep going. Pull, wrap, don’t think, just do.
The last three feet are hell. My grip slips once, and I almost drop, but I manage to catch it and keep moving. The silk burns myhands, but I don’t stop. When I finally hit the mark—ten feet up, dead center in the spotlight—I plant both feet, let the fabric split around my hips, and hang upside down with my arms out. Just like Trinity did that first night.
The noise in the arena is insane now. Cameras flash. Someone blows an airhorn.
I scan for her, and there she is, face tilted up, tears streaking down her cheeks even though she’s smiling now, full and bright and real.
I let myself hang there a second longer, then flip up and hook my leg, sliding back down the silk in a half-spin. The impact rattles my teeth, but I manage not to eat shit in front of everyone. I grab the mic again, breathing heavy.
“This isn’t just about showing off,” I say, and I realize my voice is shaking, but not from fear. “It’s about showing up. For you. For us.” I reach into my pants pocket, pop open the ring box, and hold it up so it catches the spotlight. The audience starts to get it now. Whistles, claps, and a few gasps ring out.
“I’m not asking you to marry me,” I say, and people laugh, relieved. “Not unless you want to. However, I am asking you to give me another shot. To be the guy who’s never too scared to climb for you. Even if it means falling on my ass. Even if I have to do it a hundred times.”
I walk to the glass and press my forehead to it. “Trinity,” I say, “will you come down here?”
Nova shoves her so hard she nearly falls out of her seat. The crowd parts like the Red Sea as Trinity makes her way to the rink entrance, eyes locked on mine. She’s shaking her head, but she’s smiling now, a real one.
I walk over, meet her at the gate, and slide the ring box across the ice to her. She bends down, picks it up, and looks at me like I’m the biggest idiot in the world, which is probably true.
She opens the box, then closes it. She doesn’t put the ring on.
She reaches out and grabs my hand. Her fingers are warm, steady, and I feel the world slow down for the first time all night.
The crowd explodes. Someone starts a chant. I think it’s Nova, but soon the whole lower bowl is yelling, “Trin! Trin! Trin!”
I pull her in for a hug. Her voice is right in my ear. “You absolute maniac,” she says, but she’s laughing, and that’s all I care about.
I drop the mic.
“I want to keep climbing. For you. With you. Even if I fall again. Even if I look like an idiot. I want to try for as long as you’ll let me.”
She’s shaking her head now, but it’s not a no. It’s the kind of shake that means “You’re so fucking dumb, but I can’t help loving you for it.” The kind of shake that makes my chest go wild.
“I love you,” I say, and the words just hang there. “I’ve never said that before. I didn’t even know what it meant until you.”
Trinity covers her mouth. The tears are running in streaks now, but she’s laughing, and she looks at me like I’m the only person in the world.
She leans forward, puts her hand on my chest.
I grin so hard my face feels like it might split open. We stand together under the spotlight, the silk swaying above us, and I don’t care about the noise or the cameras or anything except the way she feels in my arms.
“I love you too, Jasper,” she whispers, and it’s the only thing I ever need to hear.
I kiss her, right there in the middle of the rink, and the world around us goes insane.
Chapter 20
Trinity
I don’t remember the noise. Not the chanting, not Nova’s cackling somewhere behind us, not even the shitty PA system blasting “I Gotta Feeling.” What I remember is his hand in mine, cold and shaking, and the way Jasper never once let go as he led me off the ice and into the blinding dark of the service corridor.
