Page 42 of Ice Me Baby

“Was it something I did?” I ask, biting my lip with worry.

He shakes his head. “Old demons coming out to play. He just needs a moment, and then he’ll be alright.”

I look toward the door again before gathering up my stuff. Oli grasps my forearm and asks, “Where are you going?”

I point to the door. “After him.”

He shakes his head. “That’s not a good idea. He often says things he doesn’t mean when he’s in one of these moods.”

I tug out of his grasp and smirk. “Someone has to drag him out of his head. Who better than me?”

“Liz it isn’t smart. He’s going to say something and later regret his words. He can’t help but lash out when he’s like this,” he pleads for me to understand.

With a soft smile, I say, “I promise I have thick skin, Mac. I will keep your words in mind when he lashes out.”

After a moment, he deflates and lets out a heavy sigh. “Fine. Just… be careful with him. He acts tough, but he’s more broken than he lets on.”

I can’t help but lean forward and press a kiss to the top of his head before backing away. “It’s a good thing I’m familiar with handling broken things.”

He shakes his head with a laugh. “He’ll be at the rink. Most likely on the ice.”

I nod and hustle out of the building, toward my car. It’s not long before I’m pulling up to the hockey rink. I use my badge to get in since it’s locked up for the night. This place is a little creepy when all the lights are off. Using the flashlight on my phone, I make my way to the ice.

The moment I step through the doors, I hear the scrape of his skates across the ice. It doesn’t sound like he’s doing anything hockey related though. As I get closer, I see him skate across the ice in no specific way, but then I hear him singing.

Keeping myself out of sight, I take him in. He’s wearing headphones while he skates, slicing his feelings into the ice. The longer I listen to him sing, I realize it’s Lonely by Nathan Wagner. His voice echoes around the empty rink as he sings the hauntingly beautiful melody.

I watch, enraptured by both his skating and his voice. When the song ends, I’m about to make myself known, but then hejumps straight into another song. The lyrics to Tattoo by Loreen slip between his lips, and it reminds me of a guy I once watched sing this on TikTok. Deep and melodic but also extremely sad.

This man has more scars and demons than I thought. It’s like he’s fighting between the man he wants to be and the man he believes he ought to be. I’m not sure whose standards he is trying to meet. His own or another’s.

I can’t stay hidden in the shadows anymore. Not when he’s this distraught over something I don’t know how to help or fix. It’s a moment before he sees me, and he does a double take, almost tripping over his skates.

“Liz?” he chokes out.

I give him a shy wave. “Hey.”

He looks around for a moment before back at me. “Did… did anyone else come with you?”

I shake my head. “No.”

He doesn’t move from his spot as he asks quietly, “How long have you been there?”

I shrug, trying to play it off like I haven’t been here long, but his eyes narrow, and he asks again, “How long have you been there, Elizabeth?”

Ouch… using full names now. “About halfway through Lonely, I think.”

“You think?” he asks with a raised brow.

I shrug again as I reply, “I mean… I don’t know the exact halfway point between the beginning and end of the song. It’s a rough guess.” Something flickers in his eyes, and I realize that he’s about to do exactly what Mac warned me he would.

“You don’t belong here,” he grunts.

I don’t back down. “I have every right to be here just as much as you.”

His eyes narrow. “I didn’t say youcouldn’tbe here. I said you don’t belong. Fuck off, Elizabeth.”

Squaring my shoulders, I stand a bit taller. “No.”

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