Page 40 of Uniquely in Love

“Fuck, El.” He rubbed his forehead. “Why?”

I raised one shoulder and then dropped it. I wasn’t ready to talk about why. Not when it had everything to do with him. And that wasn’t fair of me. It wasn’thisfault I’d messed up my routine during a competition and landed wrong during one of my jumps. Nor was it his fault that I’d given it all up afterwards. My heart just wasn’t in it anymore. It wasn’t about failing or getting hurt. Even after I’d healed, the ice symbolized everything I’d given up. I couldn’t tell him about the anxiety attacks when I tried to skate, either. And by the end, I’d already been second guessing my dream of competing in the Olympics.

“I meant what I said earlier, Ellie. I want us to be friends again. I want to know about everything I’ve missed.”

What did I even say to that? I bit my lip. “Me too, Owen.” He used to be my everything. I’d confided everything in him, and I missed having that. Moving here to chase after him might have been a crazy choice, but I wouldn’t give up on this opportunity. Even if it was just being friends, at least he’d be in my life.

That was more than I could say before.

I gave him a hesitant smile. “So, you’re still number eight, huh?”

He’d worn the number eight on his jersey for as long as I could remember, and I was glad it hadn’t changed in all these years.

Owen laughed. “Out of everything you could ask, that’s what you go with?”

“Why not? I’m curious.” He’d never told me why he picked the number originally.

He smirked. “Is your favorite color still yellow?”

It was my turn to smile. “No.”

His brows furrowed. “It’s not?”

“Guess people change,” I said, looking down at my lap. We both had, though the physical chemistry between us hadn’t disappeared. It was explosive when we’d come togetherin May. But that didn’t mean we could just pick up where we left off after all this time.

The Hendrix brothers came back to the table, finally leaving the stoic guy at the bar alone as they carried back another round of drinks for all of us.

Maybe it was strange to hang out with a bunch of pro hockey players, but being in a new city where the only person I knew was Owen—and my new teacher friend Maggie, plus the fourth graders I’d just started teaching—it felt good. Like things were going right, for once.

Just friends.

I could do that, right?

FOURTEEN

Owen

NOW

Not your girl, huh?” Brooks said during our practice the next morning, a devilish smirk on his face.

“Fuck off,” I said, adjusting my gloves during a break. Coach Donovan was really throwing everything at us this week, and I knew he was just trying to weed out the best of the best. Some guys would end up getting sent down to our AHL team, and the rest would be cut. It was hard to know that guys we’d spent the last month with would be gone soon, but I tried not to get too attached to anyone.

That rule applied to my personal life, too.

“She’s the one, isn’t she?” Brooks asked, shifting his weight back and forth between his skates. “The one who broke your heart.”

I grimaced. “I never should have told you that.”

“Ah, but you did. And you’re not denying it, which means it’s true.”

Fuck. I walked right into that one. “Yeah. Ellie’s my ex.”

“So, what’s she doing up here? I thought you said she lived in Portland.”

“You heard her. She got a job up here as a teacher. I don’t know.” I shrugged. After all, if I let myself think too hardabout why she had moved to Seattle, the hope in my chest would swell, and I couldn’t afford that.No attachments.It was why I’d told her that maybe we should just be friends again.

That, and I was dying to be close to her, even if I couldn’t be with her. All I’d wanted to do last night was to growl anytime someone got near her. Which was absolutely ridiculous, given our relationship was over. Though it hadn’t felt that way when we’d slept together a few months back. No, in that moment, it felt like we had never ended. That we’d simply been waiting for each other all this time.

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