Page 71 of Hockey Halloween
I moved on, hoping he’d stop complaining. Once we had the pairs sorted, I volunteered Larry and me to beItto start, and the kids skated away.
It wasn’t a perfect way to handicap people. Danny, the eight-year-old, simply picked up the toddler and skated with her, and the others had a hard time catching up to Danny. Larry and I were faster than any of them, so that helped us to keep on top of anyproblems, and since we let people catch us, we made sure to tag Danny often.
We tried a race after, where the older kids had to start at the far end and the younger ones had a shorter distance to cover. Danny won, which made him a lot happier. He was willing to help some of the younger kids with their skating while Larry and I worked with older ones, teaching them to stop and skate backward.
We tried a big line, littlest in the middle, Larry and I on the outside, and skating in a big circle, the outer ring going faster and farther than the inside ones. I was running out of ideas, so I was relieved when the pizza break was called.
We shepherded our charges into the room where the food and drinks were laid out. The kids met up with their older siblings or cousins or neighbors, and Larry and I got a break to grab some pizza without looking out for anyone else.
He reached for the Hawaiian and I yanked his arm back. “No!”
He turned to me, brow furrowed, the makeup now streaky from where he’d been sweating. Mine probably was too. “What? Is there a problem?”
“You cannot eat pineapple on pizza.”
A grin crossed his face. “One of those, are you?”
“Those?”
“Pizza snobs. Purists.”
“It’s not being a snob to refuse to desecrate pizza.”
He extended his left arm, the one without a cuff, and grabbed a slice of Hawaiian.
“No!” I stretched past him, reaching for the offensive item. Larry didn’t move, just kept his arm where I couldn’t reach it.
I’d pressed myself against him, full body, breasts in the ridiculous costume rubbing on his fabric-covered chest. Since I was on tiptoe, our faces were almost level. I stared, and his grin dropped, something charged in the air between us.
“Hey, Hanny!” His teammate’s voice interrupted us.
I dropped to my flat feet and stepped back, only to be jerked forward as Larry turned.
“Got a cop here. If you can convince him you’re not supposed to be cuffed, he’ll unlock you.”
Suddenly the evening was a lot less fun.
Larry
The story didn’t sound any less ridiculous telling it again to the patrolman who’d been sent to release us. My baggy costume didn’t help me seem any more trustworthy, but the guy was a Blaze fan and in a rush since it was a busy night for the police. He pulled out his key, and fortunately, it worked. The cuffs opened and I rubbed my wrist, enjoying the freedom.
Kelli was doing the same. There was a red mark around her slender arm. I’d tried to be careful, but skating with someone like we’d been doing made it impossible to not pull on her frequently. She’d been a good sport, and a lifesaver with the little kids we’d been dealing with.
She looked up, a smile appearing and dropping quickly.
“Since I’m free, I can get a Lyft.” She stopped. “Damn it, I don’t have my purse.” We’d left her mom’s place so quickly we hadn’t taken it.
“Do you need it now?”
She shrugged. “It’s got my phone and my keys, as well as my wallet.”
“I’ll give you a ride back to get it. It’s the least I can do after all your help.”
“But you’re not done here.”
Was she anxious to leave? I’d hoped, after that moment we’d had, that maybe something was there between us. “I can call an Uber for you, or if you’re willing to help out a little longer, I’ll give you a ride when we’re done.”
She looked away. “I don’t want to put you out.”
