Page 67 of Heat It Up (Off the Ice)
Except, what the hell do I dare him to do while he’s driving that won’t end in an accident? A shudder goes through me, and I steer my thoughts away from where they’re headed. “I dare you to…I dare you to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
He throws me a that’s-the-best-you-can-do? look. I shrug.
I’ve never heard him sing before, but the moment he sings the first few lines, my mouth flops open. His deep, rich voice sinks into every cell in my body, warming me like a fleece blanket on a chilling morning.
“I didn’t know you could sing. Instead of the physics club, you should have been in the glee club.”
Now it’s his turn to shrug. “Singing never did anything for me. Not like learning how different hockey uniforms can affect your skating speed due their variation in aerodynamics. Or that skate blades are sharpened so only a small fraction of it touches the ice, which means less friction and faster skating speeds.”
I pull my feet up on the seat. “I’ve mentioned how much your sexy physics talk turns me on, right?”
Kyle laughs. “But not my singing?”
“Oh, your singing definitely turned me on. But since we’re spending the next forty-eight plus hours being on our best behavior”—and that includes at night, when Kyle and I will be sleeping in separate tents—“the last thing you should be doing is turning me on.”
He chuckles. The sound of it warms me like his singing. “And maybe trying to turn you on, when we can’t do anything, will make mushroom picking more interesting.”
I pout. “Tease.”
That only makes him laugh harder.
Four hours later, we arrive at our destination, a forested area near Joensuu. Kyle parks behind Joni on the side of the road, where a few other cars are parked, and we hike a short distance into the trees. Each of us carries a large basket. Muumu and Aino lead the way, trucking along with their wooden walking sticks. For once, they’re uncharacteristically quiet, scanning the ground for their desired treasures.
A welcomed peace embraces us as we weave through the forest of birch and pine and along the worn dirt path. Leaves rustle in the warm breeze. Birds chat and sing their enticing song. I breathe in a lung-full of pine-scented air—and I feel like I’m home.
I glance over my shoulder to see how Kyle’s doing. The narrow dirt path prevents us from walking together. Joni is in front of me, ever ready to assist his grandmother if she needs help.
We’re not walking fast, but even at this speed Kyle is limping slightly. Not enough for the others to notice, but enough for me to know that his leg is bothering him.
I stop and turn around. “Are you okay? You’re limping.” I say it quietly so the others can’t hear me.
“I’m a little stiff from the drive. It’ll be okay once I’ve walked it out a bit.” He indicates for me to keep walking, end of discussion.
We walk another fifteen or so minutes before Muumu calls out and points to the ground. Littering the area are mushrooms that look like yellow golfing tees but with slightly larger caps.
“Chanterelles,” Joni explains.
Muumu hands me and Kyle each a paring knife, then she and Aino continue a few yards ahead of us. Joni finds his own patch of mushrooms to harvest not far from where Kyle and I are working.
“Only pick the chanterelles,” Joni says, busying himself with the ones by his knees. “Finland has two thousand varieties of mushrooms. Many are poisonous. You wouldn’t want to eat the wrong ones. You might end up with only a stomachache…or you might end up with something worse.”
His glance flicks to Kyle and back to me.
“Why do I get the feeling he wouldn’t mind if the latter happens to me?” Kyle mutters.
I let out a heavy sigh. “He just doesn’t know you. It’s not like you guys have tried to be friends.”
“It’s hard to want to be friends with someone who’s interested in the same girl you are. We’re dealing with a pretty strong conflict of interest here.”
Kyle’s words startle me. What kind of conflict of interest is his talking about when he and I are just friends with an added bonus? Not that Joni knows this. It didn’t exactly come up when he and I went to see the movie earlier this week. If anything, he avoided the topic of Kyle.
“I don’t think that’s the issue. He thinks you and I are dating for real now.”
Kyle snorts. “Trust me. It doesn’t make a difference. If he likes you, he can’t just turn off his feelings like that.”
What Kyle doesn’t say, but I can hear it in his voice, is that you can’t just turn off your feelings for someone you love, even when she’s gone. He might never be over his wife. He might never have room for me in his heart.
A dull ache fills my chest. I brush it away. What the heck am I thinking? This summer wasn’t about finding love and a long-term boyfriend. It was about escaping the pain and betrayal back home. It was about becoming a new and improved me. It was about me having fun again, and that’s what I’m having with Kyle. For now.
