Page 28 of Ice Me Baby

Oli heads toward the kitchen and yells, “I’ll get the ice.”

I’m about to tell him I’m fine when Lewi removes my socks and begins to massage the swollen tissue around my ankle. I let out a hiss when he hits a tender patch of bruised skin. His eyes snap to mine, and his hands freeze. “That bad?”

My head thumps back against the arm of the couch as I groan. “I knew going that hard on the ice was a bad idea.”

Oli returns, hovering over the back of the couch as he hands Lewi a gel ice pack. “Let’s agree that you won’t go that hard on the ice again, alright?”

I smirk. “No promises.”

Vicy is sitting on the floor next to my head, his voice soft as he asks, “What’s he talking about, Roe Roe?”

Oli and Lewi both chuckle as I groan. “Yeah. Tell Vicy why your ankle is bruised and swollen, Roe Roe,” Lewi playfully scolds.

I send him my meanest glare before I turn to Vicy. “I worked on an ice-skating routine I’ve been practicing.”

Vicy arches a brow in confusion. “Why would that cause your ankle to swell that badly?”

My gaze shifts to Oli, then Lewi, who gives me another raised brow as if challenging me to share what happened to me with the guys, but he stays silent as his thumb teases the edge of my pantsnear my ankle. I debate if I want the others to know my secret. It’s not a secret because I’m ashamed of what happened, more so that I hate the looks of pity I get when people see the scars.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out with a heavy exhale and give Lewi a nod. He removes the ice pack before gently rolling up my pant leg to the bottom of my knee. My scars are now on full display. They, admittedly, look worse with the dark purple of my bruised skin.

There’s a unified hiss from everyone in the room. Gilly is the first to shuffle closer to the edge of the couch for a better look. He reaches out his hand but pauses and looks up at me. His eyes ask for permission to touch.

I give him a nod, and his fingers softly caress the pale scar that runs from my ankle to mid-calf. His brows pinch when he looks up at me. “You’re a figure skater?”

I give him a sad smile as I say, “Iwasa figure skater.”

“Youarea figure skater,” Oli growls. My eyes meet his as he continues. “Just because a hockey player retires or gets injured doesn’t make him any less of a hockey player. Why is this any different?” He taps a finger to my chest. “It’s here. You are a figure skater in here. It’s in your blood.”

My eyes blur as I shift my gaze back to Gilly. “I was a professional figure skater.”

His eyes shift to Oli, and a silent conversation passes between the two before his eyes narrow then meet mine as he stands. “Who are we killing?” Gilly demands.

I laugh wholeheartedly, my heart a little lighter from his sincere concern, but I shake my head. “No one. They’re not important anymore.”

Fenni comes up to stand next to Gilly. “Why does he sound so pissed? What does being a figure skater have to do with her ankle scars?”

The others follow suit and crowd around the couch, looking down at me. Not going to lie, it’s extremely intimidating to have nine pairs of eyes on you. I try to placate them by letting out a forced laugh, then say, “It’s not a big deal. Accidents happen, you know.”

Gilly points at my ankle and grunts. “That injury doesn’t happen if you’re a single skater. And I can see in your eyes that you don’t believe it was an accident. So tell me, Roe Roe, who am I killing?”

I see the moment realization dawns in their eyes, and I close my own. I don’t want to see their pity. Not before I catch a glimpse of Oli and Lewi’s faces, and they looked way too satisfied by the guys’ reactions.

“Some guy did that to you?!” Taz screeches. I wince because, holy shit, I didn’t realize a man’s voice could get that high-pitched.

Understanding fills the guys’ eyes when Tuck says, “You were a pair skater. Which means you had a partner you trusted.”

“He betrayed you,” Perri quietly adds.

I nod as I whisper, “Yes.”

“I’m with Gilly on this. Who are we killing?” Vicy growls.

Wanting to get off the subject of my ankle and Emmitt, I grumble, “He’s not important. Can we just watch TV or something?”

The guys all share a look before letting out sighs of their own. Vicy settles back down beside my head on the floor. “Yuri on Ice?”

Excitement bubbles in my chest as I nod, “Yes please!” I need the distraction, and the guys probably need it just as much. I hate thinking about Emmitt or being reminded of him in any way.Yuri on Iceis the perfect distraction. Plus who doesn’t love watching Yuri and Victor? Psst, a little secret between you andme; I shipped the two of them so hard and had the biggest crush on Victor.

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