Page 48 of Offside for Christmas
About halfway through the afternoon the roads were still not cleared, and Cole disappeared outside.
Ellie lasted approximately five minutes before following him.
She found him on the back porch again, leaning against the same railing, staring out at the snow-covered woods. The sun was bright on all that white, making everything sparkle like someone had dumped glitter across the entire landscape.
"You okay?" she asked, moving to stand beside him.
"Just needed a minute." He didn't look at her, but his shoulders were tight with tension.
"Too much team bonding?"
"Too much... everything."
Ellie leaned against the railing, giving him space but staying close. "Want to talk about it?"
Cole was quiet for a beat, then: "This is weird for me."
"What is?"
"This. Them. Being included in something that's not just hockey." He ran a hand through his hair—the same hair Ellie had been playing with earlier. "Mac invited me to help coach the kids' skating next week. Luke asked if I wanted to go Christmastree shopping with his family. Jamie wants to know if I play guitar because apparently he's starting a band."
"And that's... bad?"
"It's unexpected," Cole said carefully. "I'm not used to teammates who actually... care. About anything other than the game."
"They're good people."
"Yeah. They are." He finally turned to look at her. "You are."
Ellie's breath caught. "Cole—"
"I don't know what I'm doing here, Ellie. With any of this. With you."
"Join the club."
A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "So we're both clueless?"
"Completely." She hesitated, then asked, "Does that bother you?"
"Honestly?" Cole took a shaky breath. "I'm terrified. Of how much I want this. Want you. It's been two weeks and I can't stop thinking about you."
Ellie reached up, cupping his face with one hand. His stubble was rough against her palm, and when he leaned into the touch, something in her chest cracked wide open.
"I can't stop thinking about you either," she whispered. "And that scares me too."
"What are we doing?" he asked, and he sounded lost.
"I don't know. But I want to find out."
Cole pulled back slightly, his expression shifting to something more determined. "Rules. If we do this, we need rules."
"Okay." Ellie's hand dropped from his face, suddenly nervous. "Like what?"
"We keep it quiet. For now. Until we figure out what this is." He paused. "I don't want the team or the town in our business before we even know if there's business to be in."
"Agreed. What else?"
"We're honest. Always. Even when it's hard. Even when it scares us." His eyes held hers. "No pretending things are fine when they're not."
