Page 32 of Dreams
“I told you not to get close.” His lips were close to her ear as he spoke. She jumped away from his touch. “Anyways, we’re here.”
Taylor followed his gaze to an old stone structure on their left. “Looks like it’s about to fall down.”
“Don’t judge it quite yet,” he said.
They walked closer, and he steered them around to the side. It was a stage that had been built right in the middle of the park.
“It looks like—” she started.
“A castle.” He grinned and took her hand. “Come on.”
“It’s roped off,” she protested as he pulled her closer. “Probably because it’s falling down.”
“It’s fine.” He lifted the rope for them to pass under and she acquiesced. “I come here all the time.”
“Why?”
“You’re going to think it’s stupid.”
“Try me.” She released his hand and sat down in the middle of the stage, not caring about the dirt covering the surface.
Josh sat and faced her with the bag of subs balanced on his knee. “Okay, but first I need to warn you, it has something to do with hockey.”
Taylor closed her eyes and released a sigh before opening them. She knew she couldn’t completely separate her worlds, but something in Josh’s eyes told her this was important to him. “Fine. Just tell me.”
“There’s a certain peace that exists in a hockey arena.”
“I always thought it was chaos,” she said. What she didn’t say was that at one point, that chaos was her favorite thing in the world.
“To the fans, yes. But, from down on the ice, it’s different. At least for me. My mind clears, and I’m just… there.”
“What does that have to do with this place?” she asked.
“Can’t you feel it?” He looked around. “It’s that same peace. Here, on this crumbling stage, it feels like you could do anything.”
She met his gaze and when he smiled, she found herself answering in kind. A true, genuine smile. There was no adrenaline eliciting the reaction this time. No, this was just her and Josh and a feeling that for the first time there was hope. Josh was right about this place. She felt like she could do anything, even be herself again. It had been too long.
* * *
“Was hockey always your dream?” Taylor asked once they’d finished eating.
Josh leaned back on his elbows and looked towards the sky. “I think so,” he finally said. “It’s all I’ve ever really known. I started playing when I was so young that I never thought of doing anything else.”
“I used to draw,” Taylor admitted. “For a little while, I even thought I could get an art degree.”
“Youusedto draw?” he asked, raising one eyebrow.
“Things happened. I quit.” She looked away from his questioning gaze and busied herself by picking up the trash from their lunch.
Josh sat up and reached out to still her hand. She stared at their touching hands but didn’t speak.
“Taylor,” he said. “Tell me about him.”
She didn’t know how this boy she barely knew could read her so easily.
“I’ve never had to explain him to anyone before,” she whispered. “Everyone in my life already knew him. All they want to know is how I’m dealing.”
“I met him once,” Josh said. “But it was brief. If you want to talk about him, I’d love to listen.”
