Page 41 of Skating the Blue Line
Seeing this woman with my name on her back is something I like seeing a little too much and I don’t want her wearing anything else.
Women wear my name on their back all the time, so seeing Chloe with it shouldn’t be any different, but it is.
She’s different in the best kind of way.
It’s times like this one where I know for a fact that the attraction I have for this woman is way to fucking strong.
I take a break from my warm up and skate over to Chloe and her friend.
The friend is the first to notice me, giving Chloe a nod in my direction.
The woman that has taken every inch of my thought process, turns to look at me and gives me a smile.
But it’s not the same smile that was ingrained into my mind from our days together. It doesn’t reach her eyes and there is no sparkle to it, which right away tells me something is wrong.
I give her a wave and she gives me one back, the small smile not going anywhere.
This woman may not have been a part of my life for that long, but I’ve come to learn how to read her.
I nod over to where there’s an opening between the stands and the ice, and both women walk over.
The closer that Chloe gets to me the more I can see that something is off.
But what, I don’t know.
“Hi,” I say to Chloe, wanting to reach over the barrier and kiss her, but I don’t.
She’s already freaked out about something, I don’t want to add to it.
“Hi,” she says back but her voice is so small I barely hear it.
What’s up with her?
“Are you okay?” I ask, my curiosity getting the best of me.
She doesn’t answer me with words. She just gives me a closed mouth smile and a head nod, before turning to her friend.
“This is my friend, Betty.” Chloe states, waving to the blonde next to her.
The friend doesn’t look as freaked out as Chloe does.Shelooks excited to be here.
“It’s nice to finally meet you! Been a fan for years,” she tells me, a huge smile on her face.
I give her a smile back. “It’s nice to meet you too. Glad you were able to make it.”
“Oh I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Even if my husband almost cried because I was going out and he wasn’t.”
I like this woman. “Next time I’ll make sure to invite him as well.”
“That would be great,” Betty answers before turning to look at Chloe.
She looks absolutely uncomfortable, looking down at the floor instead of up.
Betty must notice the same thing that I am because she clears her throat and gives me a smile.
“I’m going to go take pictures from our seats to send to Cole.” She says right before walking away.
I don’t know who Cole is, but I could care less. Right now, my focus is on the woman in front of me. It’s not even on the hockey warm ups that are happening behind me.
