Page 31 of Christmas on Ice
My hand flew to my mouth as Ryleigh and her team jogged onto the mat from the backstage area. She was arm-in-arm with a little boy, and they almost tripped getting to their spots. I quickly pulled out my phone to record.
“You got this, Ryleigh!”
“Go, Ryleigh!”
“Get it, girl!”
Her uncertain expression turned to sheer confidence, then sass as Trask and his teammates cheered my little girl on. It was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. Trask wasn’t just winning my heart, but Ryleigh’s too. My hand shook a little as I held up my phone to record the performance.
“Let me get that so you can watch.” Trask’s warm breath in my ear and his thoughtful suggestion, on top of him being there, was making me all gooey inside. I briefly closed my eyes and took a deep breath, pushing aside all my fears. Trask was such a good man.
Wordlessly, I passed my phone and mouthed the words “thank you” as one of the little girls called “Set!”
The athletes posed with their partners in their beginning positions. Ryleigh crossed her arms and leaned back-to-back with the little boy. As Shakira’s “Try Everything” blared, they fell to the ground into forward rolls.
Ryleigh sassed her way through the routine, nodding her head, shaking her booty, and stretching her face into over-the-top expressions. I laughed and clapped along, yelling for my girl and so proud of how far she’d come in her tumbling and dancing ability in just a couple of months.
“Give it up for our Lil’ Chargers!” The emcee returned to the mat as the noise reached deafening proportions. The team ran off stage, and we moved with the crowd back to the bleachers.
“Thanks so much for coming,” I said to Trask.
“It was our pleasure. I’ve got to get back to the rink. We’ll see you at the skate later?”
“We’ll be there.” I lifted my arms, then let them fall. I wanted to hug him, but… He must have sensed my hesitation, because his eyes lit up and he pulled me to him in a giant bear hug. My entire body tingled, and my heart shifted. Impulsively, I wound my arms around his polyester warm-up jacket and squeezed.
“I’m counting on it,” he whispered into my hair.
I was, too. Now that my arms knew what he felt like, they wanted more.
Iwanted more.
I was sure of that now.
17
Trask
The burn of Kami’s hug didn’t dissipate as I entered the cool ice arena. I’d made up my mind to ask her out tonight. If she friend-zoned me, I’d take it. I just wanted to spend more time with her—and make it abundantly clear I was interested.
I was a few minutes late for the skating event. The Flying Stars were a team of kids that the Plex sponsored. The athletes had varying disabilities, some physical, some mental. We had a warm-up session with them now, before the public event. Several wouldn’t be attending the open skate due to reasons related to their condition.
Each of the Voltage players were partnered up with a buddy. My buddy was Susie Jefferson. She was seven years old and could skate circles around me, despite losing one of her legs to cancer when she was a baby.
She spotted me the second I stepped onto the ice. “Trask! I got a new leg! See?” Susie kicked her left leg out in front of her as she skated over to me. Grabbing onto my arm, she lifted her pant leg to show me her prosthetic. “Now I won’t wobble so much when I walk!”
“It’s nice,” I replied, swallowing the lump in my throat. This girl had been through more in her short life than anyone should have to experience in a lifetime. My mother had that kind of strength, too.
“It’sverynice,” she corrected. “Let’s skate fast today, okay?”
I held out my hand. “You might have to pull me along. I’m feeling kind of slow.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, puh-lease. It’s your job to skate fast. Let’s go!”
With a yank of strength that challenged my balance, Susie and I were off to skate laps. She chatted the whole time and didn’t stumble once.
“Your laces are loose,” I observed. We slowed to a stop on the side and I bent down to retie her boot.
“Thanks!”
