Page 54 of Power Play with My Brother's Irish Friends

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PATRICK

Iread and reread the message from Miranda. “I’d love to go ice skating! I’m in the middle of helping Michael after his little fiasco last night, so you may have to wait a while, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

No one would ever accuse me of being the world’s most patient man, but waiting for Miranda was a no brainer. I’d practically came out and told her I loved her. Maybe not in those exact words, but close enough that she had to understand the depth of my feelings. The chill from the skating rink settled around me. It was a comforting feeling, a familiar one after years on the ice. With no practice today, the stadium seats were empty, the place quiet as a church house in the middle of the week. I had all the time in the world and nothing to do but wait and take advantage of the fact that I’d not taken Miranda on a date yet. After our little agreement in front of Austin’s house, I’d bided my time before springing the ice skating question. It wasn’t a date, per se, but a way for me to spend time with Miranda away from everyone else.

I drummed my fingers on the seats stretched out to either side of me and kicked my feet up on the barrier separating the rink from the stands. My skates clinked together in a discordant rhythm. I hummed under my breath.

“That has to be the worst melody I’ve ever heard.” Charlie’s familiar voice rang out from the hallway that led down to the locker room. He stalked up the bleachers, his face cold and hard. “What are you doing here?”

“Hanging out.”

“With your skates on?” Duncan joined Charlie, the two of them scrutinizing me. Their skates hung around their necks by the laces, the white leather and glistening blades making both men appear dangerous. “Not the kind of clothes you usually wear for practice, or when you’re goofing around.” He pointed at my burgundy sweater and matching knit beanie. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re waiting for someone.”

“And who would I be waiting for?” If they knew about my non-date with Miranda, they were playing it pretty cool.

“Miranda.” Charlie dropped onto the bench seat beside me, rattling the structure with the force of his body. “You’re trying to sneak in some extra time.”

“Why do you think that?” I sat forward and lowered my feet. “I’ve not gone on my date yet. Maybe this is it.” I pointed at Charlie, and then Duncan. “And, according to our rules, if this is my date with Miranda, you’re not allowed to interfere.”

“Is it your date?” Charlie dug in, the jut of his jaw and hard stare locking in with missile firing precision.

Did I want to claim this as my official date? I opened my mouth to answer.

“You’re all here?” Miranda’s breathless question came from below us. She stepped around the edge of the bleachers, coming from the side where Coach’s office cut into the corridor leading to the locker room. She wore jeans and a blue sweater that changed her gray eyes to a smoky, iridescent blue. Her usually slick hair stood out in frizzy tufts, and she looked around with a kind of frenzied awareness I’d never seen her use.

“How’s Michael?” I shoved the question into the empty space, hoping to distract her from Charlie and Duncan.

She scraped her loose hair into a quick braid that draped over her shoulder. “Hungover. Poor kid doesn’t remember much. It helped that he looked wretched when we took him out of the police station. Everyone could see the remorse and guilt eating him up. He made it through the statement and Coach is working on a full press release. He’ll need to step up his public appearances once this dies down.”

“He’d have been toast without you.” Duncan spoke with quiet conviction, taking the words right out of my mouth.

Miranda shot him a grateful look. “Why are you all here? Patrick made it sound like it was just the two of us.” She winced a tiny bit at the admission. “Did something happen?”

“We thought we’d all skate.” Charlie shot me a look, the silent dare begging me to argue that I wanted them to leave. “Funny coincidence that we showed up at the same time.”

A kind of curiosity overwhelmed me. I wanted to see how Miranda acted around all three of us. If knowledge was power, then knowing how she felt would help all of us figure out what to do next. We’d refrained from talking about our time with Miranda. Me because I’d had sex with her before the whole date bet even started, and the others because none of us wanted the others to have any leverage.

“You in?” I stood and held out a pair of skates I’d bought for her on my way to the rink.

Her cheeks darkened to that rosy hue I loved so much. Nerves or excitement? Or embarrassment? She made it difficult to tell for sure when she ducked her head and climbed the bleachers to stand with us. “I haven’t skated in a while, but sure. Why not. If I’m going to embarrass myself, might as well get it all over with at once.” She seemed about to say more but took the skates and sat after pressing her lips together.

Duncan and Charlie scrambled to yank on their skates and join us when I held my hand out to Miranda and pulled her to her feet once her laces were tied. She moved with me, her steps slow and a bit cautious until she touched the ice and glided at my side. “I’d forgotten how much I love skating.”

“Did you ever play hockey or skate competitively?” I could see her tearing up the ice, teeth bared and fury in her eyes. She had that same competitive edge that pushed all of us.

A flash of a grin appeared, the dimple in her cheek popping out. “Not much. Competitive skating didn’t really thrill me. I’m athletic, but my mind is my most used muscle. I’d rather argue and try to find solutions to problems than be part of a physical game.”

“So no racing across the ice to see who’s faster?” Charlie skated past us, turned with a flip of his foot, and skated backward while watching Miranda. “None of those triple axel things?”

“Not for me.” She held out her arms and twirled with dizzying speed. “That’s about as creative as I get.”

“Amazing.” Duncan closed in on her other side and crouched with his knees slightly bent and his shoulders forward. “I took a few classes. My coach in Ireland thought it would help keep me light on my feet.” He pushed off with his left foot, blazed a trail halfway across the rink, then jumped into the air, spun twice, and landed on his right foot with his arms outstretched.

Miranda whistled and clapped. “I can’t believe you’re able to do that.”

Duncan shrugged. “Biggest guy on the team. I had to have more than brute strength to keep me in the game.”

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