Page 19 of Fear of Falling

I blinked, half expecting to find she was an illusion. But no, she was really here. The lighting in the practice rink wasn’t the greatest but despite the shitty lights Josie looked beautiful.

I watched her look around, tucking her hair behind her ears like she wasn’t sure if she should be here. I couldn’t deny that I was curious as to how she got in, considering it was a private training arena.

How did she get past security?

“Are you lost, sweet cheeks?” One of my teammates called out, and Josie’s head snapped towards the ice, taking in the entire team before her eyes landed on me.

I found myself skating across the ice before I realized what I was doing. Pulling my helmet off, I shook my head, loosening the sweaty hair stuck to my forehand. Our eyes met, with her wide, brown eyes and flushed cheeks. Nothing could wipe the smile from my face.

Fuck…she looks even prettier than she did in the elevator.

Then again, the light was better here than in the elevator and I felt like I was seeing her properly for the first time. I skiddedto a stop at the edge of the ice, running my gaze over her as she walked towards me.

Once again, she was wearing a tight pair of jeans that looked like they were glued to her long, sculpted legs. The thick green sweater she wore looked comfy and warm. Today her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, showing off her cheekbones and the light freckles across her nose.

“Hi.” Her voice brought me out of my awkward staring.

“Hi,” I returned the greeting. It felt surreal seeing her again, almost like I’d imagined our encounter in the elevator.

“Sorry for barging in like this, I hope I didn't interrupt anything.” Her eyes drifted behind me, no doubt the entire team stood there watching us. They weren’t exactly discreet.

“You’re totally fine. Practice just finished anyways.”

“I can tell.” A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. I ran a hand through my sweaty hair and held back a grimace. Here I was, standing in front of her, sweating like a pig, while she stood there looking gorgeous.

“I—”

“What—” We said at the same time. Laughing, I gestured for her to go first. “After you.”

“I hope it isn't too weird that I just showed up. I’d thought about asking the apartment building manager your apartment number, but I figured he wouldn’t tell me. So then I considered coming here, but didn’t want to look like a stalker.” She smiled wryly as she rambled.

“But then I figured, what the hell? I knew you guys practiced here, so I took the chance. Which now seems way more stalker-ish now that I’m standing here.” A smile formed on my face as I watched her talk, remembering that she’d told me she was prone to ramble until someone stopped her, but I enjoyed the sound of her voice.

“It’s not stalker-ish, I promise,” I managed to say, before she could speak again, and her cheeks flushed again. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her I’d considered doing the same, but I held back. I silently thanked whoever it was up there for bringing her to the rink.

“I just wanted to return this.” It was only then I noticed my jersey in her arms–I’d forgotten I’d given it to her in the elevator. She held it out for me. “I washed it, I hope that's okay. Didn’t know if you had some sort of ritual with it or not.”

I chuckled under my breath. A lot of guys do have superstitions about not washing their jerseys. Thankfully I wasn’t one of them.

“Thank you.” I reached for the jersey, but before I could grab it, someone else swiped it from her. My head snapped to the side to find Trevor standing there, grinning like a fool.

“Well, hello. Who do we have here?” He looked between Josie and I, a mischievous look in his eye that I knew too well. Sighing, I introduced them. “Trevor, this is Josie. Josie, this is my dumbass friend, Trevor.”

“Don’t forget about me,” another voice piped in. Glaring, I turned to Bryton. Of course, these two just had to come over and butt in.

“I’m Bryton, this asshole’s other best friend.” He shoved me with his shoulder, grinning widely at Josie. I glared at my two best friends before turning to Josie. She stood there smiling at the three of us.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Her smile eased the tension from my shoulders–tension that steadily built up over the past three days.

I quickly glanced over my shoulder to make sure no one else was coming up behind us but most of the team were making their way off the ice. Probably courtesy of the two guys beside me.

“I see you have his jersey,” Trevor said, and I turned back to see him holding it up.

“Figured I’d better return it before someone thinks I stole it.” The cheeky grin she gave me almost made me melt into a puddle.

“So, I’ll take it you’re the girl from the elevator,” Bryton butted in a second later.

“That would be me.”

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