Page 49 of Heat It Up (Off the Ice)
I run my finger along the thickest line, the surgical scar. The others are from when the side window shattered and shards of glass dug into me. Sofia finds the one that is usually hidden under my t-shirt, the one on my shoulder. She leans over and kisses it as if that will wipe away the memory. I wish it would. I wish her kisses could erase everything about that night.
I cup my hands against her cheeks and lower my head to meet her soft lips. The heat squeezes in on us but that doesn’t stop me from exploring her mouth, tasting the longing that fills me as much as it fills her. By the time we stop a few minutes later, we’re panting from the dry heat as much as from the kiss.
She grins, but it isn’t just a happy grin that tells you all is right with the world. It’s a grin lightened by mischief. “Have you tried the birch branch experience yet?” she asks.
I frown. “The what experience?” Sounds kind of painful.
She grabs a small branch covered in leaves from next to her on the bench, and dips it into the bucket of water on the floor. She then slaps the branch and leaves against her skin. “It’s supposed to bring the toxins to the surface, or something like that.”
Okay. If she says so. Looks kinky more than anything.
Kinky or not, I take it from her and whack my body like she demonstrated. I can’t say it does anything for me, but since it’s supposed to be part of the sauna experience, and I’m all for new experiences with Sofia, I do it anyway.
We stay in here for a bit longer, until I’m squirming from the heat. “True or False,” I say. “You would rather spend the next thirty minutes in here than jumping into the lake and cooling off.”
She scrambles down from the bench. I join her, and we run the short distance to the dock. I beat her, place my glasses at the edge of the dock, and jump into the lake. The fucking. Freezing. Lake. It was cold before, but after the sauna, it’s the equivalent of Antarctica.
I break the surface as Sofia leaps in. She reappears a moment later, shrieking, “Oh my God! It’s cold!”
I swim over to her and wrap my arms around her. Shit, she’s as sexy as hell with her wet hair pulled away from her face and her hard nipples pressing against the wet fabric of her bikini top. “I can warm you up.”
She shivers. “Trust me. Nothing can warm me up. I’m ready to go back in the sauna.” She squirms out of my arms and swims to the dock before hoisting herself up the slippery wooden steps. The weight of the water pulls down on her bikini bottom enough to fuel my fantasies for a month.
I follow her, grabbing my glasses from the dock on the way up, and we run back to the sauna. Fortunately compared to the water, the late afternoon air is a lot warmer. I have no idea how Finns manage this in the fall or winter. They must be crazy.
Sofia and I repeat the cycle of sitting in the sauna and jumping into the lake a few more times. We don’t make out in the sauna again. It’s too damn hot for that. But we do tell each other stories about when we were younger, while continuing our game, and share about things we have in common. Even after we’re finished with the sauna, and we’re sitting around the fire, cooking our dinner, we share about our life. Yet, I can’t bring myself to talk about the accident and how I used to play for the NHL. I don’t have any regrets about keeping the truth from her. It has nothing to do with Sofia, and I want to keep it that way, to keep our memories happy.
Sofia bites into her sausage. “Mmmm. I wish we could get these back home. I’ve been craving them since the last time I was here.”
She’s right. They are amazing. “When was the last time you were in Finland?”
“I was fifteen. It was just before my father cheated on my mom and the student went psycho bitch on him.”
“Did your mom ever remarry?”
“No, but she recently started dating someone.”
“Do you know him?”
She shakes her head. “She started dating him after I left to come here. She seems pretty happy but she didn’t want to tell me much else, in case it doesn’t work out…It just feels weird knowing she’s ready to move on.” A wistfulness sneaks into her tone.
Just like I need to move on after what happened to me. But like Sofia, I’m not sure I’m ready to yet.
I drink back some beer. At least with Sofia I don’t have the burning urge to get lost in the buzz. She does that for me. She’s like my guardian angel, sent to help give me a second chance at life. Too bad what we have between us is only for the summer.
Sofia glances at the beer and sadness washes over her face. “Are you okay?” She nods at the bottle in my hand.
“I’m fine.” I stare at the fire crackling in the pit. Its flickering warmth mirrors the same warmth in my veins from sitting so close to her. Even with the smoke drifting in our direction, I smell the occasional whiff of her apple scent. “I have no reason to get wasted tonight.” I press my lips against her temple, telling her she’s enough for me. For now.
A small smile curves on her mouth then vanishes. “Someone I once cared about let alcohol destroy him.” She places her cool hand against my face and strokes my cheek with her thumb. Her eyes lock with mine and I could get lost in her beautiful blue eyes. “I don’t want the same to happen to you.”
“It won’t,” I whisper.
The flicking light catches on her pendant. I reach out and finger the delicate silver swan.
“My parents gave it to me,” she explains. “We were visiting Santa’s Village in Lapland when we found it. Swans have always been my favorite bird. I used to want to be one.”
“Santa has a village in Lapland? I thought he lived in the North Pole.”
