Page 158 of Break the Ice
I never want to leave this moment.
A shiver rolls down my spine, the heated chill colliding with the frantic current coursing through me. Between us.
Elijah’s phone goes off again. And when he tears himself away from me, disappointment wrenches at my gut.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs into my hair, his arm coiling around mywaist, keeping him tethered to me while he pulls his phone from his pocket. “Shit.”
“What’s up?” Jayden instantly stiffens.
Dread sinks to the pit of my stomach. “Who is it?”
“Coach,” Eli mutters.
I’m sure he’s going to decline the call when Jayden plucks the phone from his hand and tells him, “You need to answer it.”
He does.
A call from their coach is like the call from the President or a king... they can’t ignore it. Especially not after today.
Turning in Jayden’s hold, I burrow deeper into him while Elijah takes the call.
“Coach.” There’s a stretch of silence before, he says, “We left early.”
Elijah’s eyes flash up to Jayden’s. His arms wrap around me while Elijah clutches my hand in his.
Today is a good day, I keep telling myself,nothing bad is going to happen.
It can’t.
“Tomorrow morning?” Elijah’s expression screws tight, eyes falling to our laced fingers as he squeezes my hand in his. “8am. In your office...”
No bad news.Please.
“Yes, Sir. I’m heading to bed now… I’ll be there.” Another longer pause where he’s nodding at the floor. “Thanks, Coach. Good night.”
Pocketing his phone, he takes a moment before he finally looks up at Jayden and me. His expression is a mix of nerves and uncertainty, tinged with hope.
“He wants to talk to me tomorrow morning about training,” he tells Jayden and me.
“Did he say anymore? He spoke quite a bit...” Jayden’s arms snake around me tighter.
“Just that he was looking for me at the party. He was hoping to get a moment, but we were gone before he arrived.”
“Okay... doesn’t sound bad,” Jayden sighs into my hair.
“He wants to watch me train with Doc tomorrow. That’s all he said.” The two of them are silent for a beat.
The quiet exchange ending with a nod from both of them.
“I’ll walk you guys back,” Jayden murmurs, planting a tender kiss on the top of my head. “You need to rest. To be in good shape tomorrow. He's watching you train for a reason, so...”
“Yeah... I don’t know...”
“Let’s go home,” I tell him, using our joint hands to lift his face to mine. “If he wanted to talk to you at the party, it’s not going to be bad news, right? People don’t give crappy news at parties...”
Elijah shakes his head. “I don’t know.”
“Fin’s right. Coach is not that kind of person, and after you and Coach Hollinger saved our asses tonight, I think he wants to see where you’re at. The two weeks are almost done, and we’re all fucking desperate to get you back on the ice.”
