Page 38 of Interference
Fear rolls through me as she steps back onto the ice.
“Emery…”
“If you’re worried, you should join me.” She nods toward the bench.
I look over and see my skates.
Son of a bitch. This is a setup.
I don’t know if this was her idea or Wyatt’s, but I know he was involved. Emery never would have pushed for this if it wasn’t for him. Besides, who would have given her my skates if not him?
Note to self: Never let him take her dinner when I’m stuck in class. Who the hell knows what they will come up with next.
My heart constricts as I watch her skate further away from me. If she were to slip, there’s no way I would be able to catch her before she hits the ice.
Without giving it a second thought, I kick off my sneakers and sit down. On autopilot, I put on my skates and lace them up. Once I’m ready, I move.
Emery laughs, clapping her hands. “Yay!”
“What has you so excited?” I ask as I pull her into my arms.
Her eyes twinkle under the rink lights. “You didn’t even stutter when you got on the ice. You skated right to me.”
I look down at the ice and smile.
Will you look at that?
I’m on the ice…with Emery. In all the years we’ve been together, we’ve never been on the ice at the same time. Her white skates look so small compared to my black hockey ones.
It’s not just us, though. Our child is here too. Without thinking about it, my hand moves to her stomach. Her stomach is still flat, but we know there’s a baby in there. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer and she’ll start to show.
She places her hand on mine. “Crazy, right?”
“You can say that again,” I mutter.
Emery skates away but grabs my hand as she does. “Come on, skate with me.”
Hand in hand, we skate around the rink. We move slowly and slowly work our way up. Nothing crazy, but at a more natural pace.
“How does it feel?” she asks after several minutes.
“Good. Better than I thought it would,” I confess.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch her nod.
“I’m glad. Do you know what that means?”
“What?”
“This means that you can start playing again.”
I sigh. “Emery.”
“No, wait. Before you say anything, I need to get this out.” She looks over at me, so I nod, giving her the all-clear. “I don’t want you to give up hockey. Not for me and our baby. You are one hell of a player, Brett Woods, and it would be a shame for you not to keep playing. If you want to quit because you don’t love it, that’s one thing, but I don’t want you to quit for us. If hockey is your dream, we can make it work. I know we can.Besides, it would be really fucking shitty of me not to support you and your dreams the way you support me and mine.”
This woman slays me.
Even when her dreams are on pause, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make sure I’m happy as well. Even if that means conning me onto the ice.
