Page 68 of Shot to the Hart

YOU DIDN’T LET ME FALL

We have a bye-week since the playoffs are next weekend, so the team is hosting family skate night at the rink. It took a lot of persuasion, meaning six orgasms and chicken nuggets, but I convinced Kodi to come and try to skate with us. I’ve never had anyone to bring to these except my dad and Bella. Kodi is holding Bella on her hip, her free hand wrapped in mine, and I don’t attempt to suppress my goofy grin as we all walk into the arena. Kodi’s best friends, Tatum, my dad, and Kodi’s mom are following behind us.

The lights of the arena are bright, a hot chocolate bar set up on one side, and skates of all sizes on the other. I spot Dom and Collins tying up their skates on a bench and guide everyone in that direction.

“Hey, you all made it!” Dom, as usual, is super enthused to see everyone. “Let me take my niece for a spin.” He makes grabby hands towards Bella who giggles and reaches back to him.

“Perfect, I can focus on getting everyone set up and teaching Kodi how to skate circles around you guys.”

“That's never going to happen.” Collins is right, but I give him that look that lets him know to shut up, so he adds in, “Sorry Kodi.”

She crinkles her nose but says, “Trust me Collins, I wouldn’t even attempt to move that quickly on the ice.”

Collins, Dom, and Bella head onto the ice while the rest of us grab our skates, everyone gets tied up and heads out except for Kodi and I. She’s sitting on the bench as I get my skates on, her leg bouncing, fidgeting with the rip in her jeans. “Baby, why are you so anxious about this?”

“I don’t want to embarrass myself out there.” She gestures towards the ice where almost everyone is gracefully moving around the rink.

Placing my hand gently on her knee, I say, “Hey, I’m not gonna let you fall or get hurt. If you fall, I’ll just go down with you.”

She laughs at that. “You don’t have to do that for me.”

“Well I want to, we’ll go down together.” I shrug and move to my knees in front of her to help her get her skates on and laced up. “Just trust me to catch you when you lose your balance, Darlin’.” I don’t know if she catches my double meaning there, but I mean it literally and in whatever time we have together going forward.

“You ready?” I stand, reaching a hand out to her.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She takes my hand and we walk out onto the ice. I place her on the wall for a second before I show her how to get started, but I notice her knuckles turn white almost immediately with the grip she has on edge.

“Okay, so don’t think of it as stepping, think of it more like gliding. Don’t lift your foot, just push it back. Like this.” I glide a little ahead and then make my way back to her. “Take my handsand I’ll get us moving, then you just focus on staying upright. Make sure you use your core then, when you’re ready, push yourself forward.”

She grabs my hands and I slowly move backwards, she wobbles a little bit but finds a steady position. After a moment, she attempts to move her feet, and like a baby deer they immediately crumple beneath her, but I’m able to catch and steady her before we go down. Holding her close to me, her eyes are closed and her nose crumpled like she was preparing for an impact that never came.

“Kodi, open your eyes.”

“Oh.” She nervously laughs. “You didn’t let me fall.”

“I told you I wasn’t going to.” I place a gentle kiss on the tip of her nose that's turned pink from the cool air in the arena.

“You guys are disgusting,” Sin says as she glides by for what feels like the fifth time since we got on the ice. Kodi sticks her tongue out at her. “I’m ready to try again.”

The more time that passes, the more steady she’s becoming on her feet. “Are you ready to let go?” I know that she can do it, I can see how easily she’s moving with my support.

She gives me an apprehensive smile but nods her head. Letting go of her hands, I stay close enough she can grab me if she needs me. She’s beaming at me as she skates towards me, following my lead around the rink. Nik has joined us with Bella in his arms, but when she sees me she starts reaching for me, so I scoop her up and skate beside Kodi hand in hand. We make it around the rink twice before Kodi almost falls, Collins just happened to be nearby and helped her regain her balance before she calls it quits.

“I’m proud of you,” I say as we take a seat with our hot chocolates. “Thanks for trusting me.”

She beams at me. “Thank you for being confident enough for both of us.”

She doesn’t realize that if it means I get to keep her by my side, I will continue to be confident enough for both of us. Or that I would swim across an ocean every day to have her smile at me the way she did when she was skating without my assistance.

40

MAVERICK

THE JERSEY STAYS ON

The arena is loud and boisterous. We made it to the Stanley Cup by the skin of our teeth and get to play on our home ice.

Our music begins to play, screams erupting throughout the stadium, and we skate out being led by Nik onto the ice. I make it around the rink looking to where my girls are seated. Kodi and Bella are both wearing their jerseys, huge smiles on both of their faces. My dad and Grace sit on one side with Tate, while Darcy, Sin, and Harley sit on Kodi’s other side with her mom. Pointing my stick to my girls, I place a hand over my heart and take my position on the ice.

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