Page 71 of Not A Chance

Could a bruised ass hurt when I breathed? It seemed like it.

“You learned to skate here?” I was confused. We’d both spent our childhoods in the suburbs of San Jose. I’d assumed that Theo had learned at one of the arenas in the city.

The expression in his eyes softened, but his jaw clenched minutely. He cleared his throat before speaking.

“Uh, yeah. Not here in Toronto, I mean. But Vancouver, yes.” He paused on another inhale. “I don’t remember exactly why, but Momwas still working jointly with the University of British Columbia, even though she’d officially left her adjunct professor position there.” He rubbed the back of his head, looking a bit uncomfortable with the turn in conversation.

I didn’t know if it was right or wrong to talk about his mom. I’d loved Alice too, but Emery rarely wanted to discuss her mom, and I wondered if Theo was the same. On the other hand, what if he wanted to and he never had anyone to listen before?

“I don’t want to upset you, Theo. You don’t have to tell me more unless… you want to?” I kept my tone soft but wanted to show him Iwashere to listen if he wanted to share with me. I looked up at him from under my eyelashes, trying to show I was paying attention but not staring at him as if he were under a spotlight.

Why the hell was it so hard to communicate sympathy-empathy-understanding-protectiveness-openness-true-interest in just a few words? There was that messy, gooey feeling again.

Theo turned his head to look me in the eye. “No, it’s okay. I want to tell you.”

I didn’t say anything in reply, not wanting to fill the space between us with empty words. It felt surreal to have Theo being this vulnerable. I was afraid if I breathed the wrong way, I would screw up the moment.

“So, yeah. Mom was back up in Vancouver for whatever reason for a couple months, I guess? Since it was the fall and the height of Dad’s football coaching season, she brought me with her, and I stayed with Gong Gong during the day while she was at work.” Theo’s voice was quiet; the only competing sound was the scraping of his blades on the ice.

Because, let’s face it, he towed me along more than I was actually moving my feet at this point. My knees were locked straight, despitehis previous reminders to keep them loose.

I’d only had the chance to meet Theo’s grandfather once during a quick girls’ trip with Emery and Abbie. What I did know was that he’d been Theo’s biggest fan.

Theo’s lips tightened briefly. “Having a three-year-old in the house full-time must have been a big change. But I never remember him getting frustrated with me. Anyway, somehow, he or Mom must have thought skating lessons would be a good activity to keep me busy. He and Por Por had emigrated to Canada before Mom was born, but neither of them had been skating before. Somehow, Gong Gong sweet-talked the instructors to let him learn along with me. I don’t know if Mom ever knew about that part…” He laughed. “God, as an adult, all I can think now is we were lucky he never fell and broke his hip or something.”

I squeezed his bicep that I’d been holding on to for dear life but offered him a gentle smile.

“I think it’s pretty amazing that he would do that for you. From what I’ve seen, adults typically don’t really go out of their comfort zone unless it really matters.” I couldn’t think of one thing my parents had ever changed with me in mind.

“And then skating lessons led to hockey the following winter.” He smiled.

I left his relationship with his dad alone. There were enough difficult emotions coming to the surface for a first date.

Hell, I’d pretended to date a guy throughout my four years of college in order to keep my parents off my back, and we’d never shared a single childhood story with each other. That could have been because our parents were family friends and we’d basically lived the same life, but we’d never gotten past complimenting the other’s appearance on our many “dates.”

A thought leaped to the front of my mind. “Didn’t your Gong Gong go to all of your home games?” I bit my bottom lip after asking, afraid I had just made Theo sadder.

He reached up with his free hand and gently tugged my lips from between my teeth, brushing his hand along my jaw on its retreat back to his side.

“Don’t worry. You’re not going to upset me. And to answer your question, yeah, he did. I had a standing season ticket for him from my very first game with the Frost. He even tried to make it to most of my games up in Abbotsford. I’d try to tell him that it was too far for game days, but he always said that the drive was worth it. And I’d always cook him a terrible breakfast before he drove back the next day. He never complained, and I never gave him food poisoning, so that was a win.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I can’t cook either. If I can’t buy it precooked or eat it raw, it just doesn’t happen.”

“I know.” Theo smiled warmly. “It’s on your list.”

“Ugh.” I wanted to rub my face in embarrassment, but I dared not let go of the pillar of stability next to me. “I wish you hadn’t seen that.”

“I’m glad I did.” Theo was unrepentant in his purse-sleuthing activities. “I’d go with you, you know. Somewhere we could learn not to poison people with our cooking.”

The thought of Theo in an apron and an oversized chef’s hat had me smiling at him in return.

“I’ll think about it,” I offered.

“Okay, are you ready to try this on your own again?” he asked.

I realized he’d taken us on a full loop of the rink while we’d been talking.

“No. Can’t you just pull me over to the side? I bet it would be greatto watch you skate from the players’ bench?” I looked at him hopefully.

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