Page 90 of Thrown for a Loop
Chase clears his throat. “Sorry. I should have returned your messages.”
“I wish you had,” I say brightly. “A million dollars is an expensive lesson. But we’re going to get it all back, right? You’re going to make social media swoon, and the PR department is going to get off both our backs. And while we’re making wishes, every single player is going to show up for my master class, so I don’t look like an idiot, either.”
We turn onto Eighth, which means I’m almost home. “They’ll show,” Chase says. “Players know that coaching sessions aren’t optional. Otherwise you can be fined.”
“Sure,” I agree quietly. As if fining them were a reasonable option for me. “This is it.” I pause in front of my sketchy little building, where my apartment is two flights up over a laundromat. I sweep my arm in a dramatic gesture, as if I’m finishing a free skate. “Home sweet home. It smells like dryer sheets all the time, but the rent is low.”
Chase frowns up at the building and then steps up to my narrow little front door, testing the knob with his hand. It doesn’t open, because it’s locked, but it rattles a little. “This doesn’t seem very secure. Maybe you should call…” He squints at the label on the door. “McManus Management and tell them your lock needs replacing.”
“Sure thing,” I say, as if I haven’t had that same thought. Daily.All I have to do is poke the key at the door and it pops open for me. “We can’t all afford a penthouse.”
But the joke doesn’t land, and he frowns at me. “I know that, Zoe. Believe me.”
“Sorry,” I whisper. “I’m not trying to throw shade on your fancy bachelor pad. You earned it fair and square.”
He turns his head back toward Twentieth Street, as if he could see his apartment from here. “Maybe it’s dumb, but I wanted you to see it. It’s a great situation I found myself in. Lucky to be there.”
My heart gives a little squeeze, and I hear myself blurt out, “Did youknow, Chase?”
“Know what?” He shoves his hands into his pockets.
“Way back then—did you have any idea that you’d become one of the highest scorers in the big leagues and own a sweet apartment in the sky? Did you feel certain? Or was it just a dream?”
Believe it or not, this is one of the burning questions in my heart. Because there were moments in my skating career when I was sure I’d win it all, and there were moments when I had the confidence of a soggy napkin at a barbecue. And I’ll always wonder whether my lack of faith is what did me in.
“No way, Zoe.” Chase looks up at me with a quiet gaze. “I didn’t know a damn thing back then. No matter how good I was at faking it sometimes.”
“Oh.” Our eyes lock, and the past seems nearer right this second than it has all evening. “Thanks for dinner.”
“It was really my pleasure,” he says quietly. He turns toward the street. “Night, Zoe.”
“Night!” I say cheerfully. As if spending time in his aura weren’t exhausting and heartbreaking in equal measure.
I expect him to walk away. Instead, he takes two quick steps and pulls me into a tight hug. I’m enveloped in his warmth, and thatfamiliar scent of spice and leather. For a split second I’m frozen, but then my body melts against his chest like it remembers exactly where it belongs. The steady thump of his heart echoes through me, and I have to close my eyes against the wave of yearning crashing over me.
Being held by Chase feels like coming home. It feels like being eighteen again, when everything was possible and my heart was still whole.
When he finally releases me, I’m a little unsteady on my feet. He gives me one last look, something unreadable flickering in his eyes, before he turns and walks into the night.
I stand there watching him go, wondering if I’ll ever stop missing him even when he’s right in front of me. Then I go upstairs to my dark little apartment and try not to brood.
Chapter 31
Nine and a Half Years Ago
It’s twilight by the time Chase parks the truck outside a trailer that serves as a campground office. “Wait here a second?” he says, and Zoe gives him a nod.
He knows her so well that he can tell she’s nervous, even if she won’t say so.
So he’s nervous, too. Nervous, but also unavoidably turned on. It’s a heady cocktail, and he barely absorbs the instructions he’s given by the old man in the trailer. “Glamping tent number eight. End of the gravel road. Park and take a left down the trail.”
Luckily everything is well marked. “How did you find this place?” Zoe asks as he kills the engine in the gravel lot.
“Uncle Google told me about it,” he says, snapping the keys from the ignition. “And it’s Sunday night, so there was plenty of availability. But, Zoe…” He chooses his words carefully. “If you’d be more comfortable sleeping in your own bed tonight, I won’t be offended. Promise.”
“No way,” she says, putting a hand on his arm. “This is our one chance. I mean…” He can see her cheeks turning pink, even in the low light. “Look, I’m sure you can tell that I’m not exactly…”
She looks to him for help, but he doesn’t say anything. Not yet. She’s going to have to say what’s on her mind, because he does not want to get this wrong.
