Page 64 of Blind Luck

He ignored that and moved off, taking me with him, and I let out a squeak as we left the safety of the barrier.

“I’ve tried it, okay? We can go now.”

“Lean forward a little and bend your knees, then it’s harder to land on your ass.”

“Don’t let go of me.”

“I won’t let go, I promise.”

And he didn’t. We managed a slow lap of the ice, Rusty smooth and elegant, me bumbling along and trying desperately not to fall. I worked out that if I just pointed my feet forward and let him pull me along, it wasn’t quite so daunting.

“Have you ever been surfing?” I asked.

“Once.”

“You didn’t enjoy it?”

“I spent more time in the water than on the board.”

“Great. I’m taking you surfing as payback for the ice skating.”

“When? I’ll pack my Speedos.”

“Wearing Speedos on a surfboard is illegal.”

“So I should bring my mankini?”

“You don’t have one of those.”

“Yeah, I do. I got it as a Secret Santa gift last Christmas.”

A voice came from behind us, and I jumped out of my freaking skates. Rusty grabbed me, and by some miracle, I stayed upright.

“Hey, buddy. Who the fuck let you in?”

Rusty wrapped an arm around me and gripped my belt as he half carried me to the side, where a tall guy withshaggy hair was watching us. His Nevada Storm jersey suggested he belonged here.

“Greg said we could borrow the ice for an hour.”

Rusty didn’t let go of me as he gave the guy a bro hug, and then he introduced us. “Erin, this is Brick, defenseman for the Storm. Brick, this is Erin.”

Brick offered a hand, and Rusty’s arm tightened as I extended mine.

“Don’t make me fall over,” I begged.

“First time on the ice?”

“How did you guess?”

“Relax, this shithead is a good teacher.” Brick turned back to Rusty. “Didn’t hear you’d moved on.”

“It was time.”

“So, uh…” Something unspoken passed between the two men, and Brick backed away. “Catch ya later, bro.”

“What was that about?” I whispered.

“Forget him. Let’s skate.”

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