THREE DAYS LATER, Zoey and I walked into the arena for the Skate for Kids charity event. Her arm was officially out of the sling and she proudly wore her pink puffy jacket. In fact, she never seemed to want to take it off. Who knew punk rocker could rock pink as hard as Zoey, but she was and she looked adorable doing it.
I was carrying her skates I had forced her to let me buy.
“So how does this event work?” Zoey sounded nervous.
“Well, people can buy tickets to come skate with our team. All proceeds go to a children’s charity.” I signed her in for a visitor pass. “We skate with everyone and there is food and hot chocolate. It will be fun.”
She didn’t look convinced.
“Come on,” I put my arm around her shoulder. “You can show off that new jacket of yours.”
“Ryan!!” A high voice sounded through the corridor. Zoey gave a long-winded sigh.
“Bianca,” I watched as she rushed towards me. She looked polished with her cream dress coat and high heeled black pumps.
“I’ve been waiting for you. There are so many people we need you to meet. And the media is here.”
“Well, Zoey and I were just about to get on the ice.”
Bianca weaved her arm through mine. “Zoey will be fine, won’t you?”
Zoey stared straight ahead and avoided interacting with Bianca. Zoey didn’t talk to Bianca and Bianca didn’t talk to Zoey. It was an uncomfortable truce, but one I was willing to take.
“Okay, but just for a couple minutes.” I handed Zoey her skates. “Wait for me, okay?”
She nodded.
An hour passed before I could extract myself from the dozens of people that Bianca felt I needed to talk to. I put on my skates in the locker room and walked to the ice, looking forward to teaching Zoey to skate. She wasn’t on the bench. I looked out on the ice.
There she was. She looked as wobbly as a newborn baby deer in her pink puffy jacket. And she was laughing and looking up at Jensen. Who was fucking skating backward and holding both of her hands.
Something dark and ugly washed over me. I had this insane urge to skate over there and yank her away from his grasp.
“Ryan, Ryan!” A dozen kids surrounded me. “Ryan, will you skate with me?”
“Hey,” I stepped onto the ice. My mob of kids touched me and tried to skate with me. I went slow, asking them questions. Proud parents wanted to take pictures. I spent more time kneeling on the ice than actually skating while various kids hopped off and on my knee. I knew the number of times Zoey and Jensen lapped me. I could hear her laughter clear across the ice.
I would need to get creative. I looked down at the kids whose faces were upturned towards me in adoration. “Who wants to catch me?”
“I do, I do,” they screamed.
I skated backward, looking over my shoulder, weaving in and out through the dozens of people. And the kids followed. Still skating backward, I sidled up beside Zoey.
“Ryan!” Her breathless smile could have lit up the entire stadium. “Look, I’m skating.”
“You’re almost ready to go pro.”
The kids all caught up screaming with glee.
“You’re like the pied piper,” she laughed. “Wait, I want to take a photo.”
She took her phone out of her pocket and almost bailed.
Jensen whipped around and, standing behind her, put his arms around her waist, “I’ll hold you steady.”
His look was smug. I fought the urge to connect his face with my fist.
The kids crowded around me.
Zoey looked up from the camera and admonished. “Ryan. Smile!”
The little kids surrounding me were all pretty cute. I reached out and tapped one little boy on the nose as he laughed up at me.
“Ryan, we want to catch you again.”
“Okay, that’s my cue,” I glanced up at Zoey. She had a little smile on her face.
I took off backward and caught up to Mica who had his own mob of kids chasing him.
“Hey, man,” he smiled at me.
“How’s it going?”
“You know. Looking forward to a couple cold ones and the night off.”
I caught sight of Zoey and Jensen again. He shamelessly skated behind her so he could keep his hands on her hips. It made my chest tight looking at that.
“I think Zoey was hoping to skate with you.’
He glanced up at Zoey and then back at me. “It’s like that then.”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He lifted his cap on and off his head. “Yeah, I think Jensen was hoping for more kid time.”
He winked at me and took off. I watched him skate up to Zoey, tuck her under his arm and move away from Jensen.
I didn’t even get to skate with Zoey. By the time I had entertained and skated with dozens of kids, and taken countless photos, she was already off the ice. Now, most of the kids were off the ice. I wanted to stretch my legs and do a few laps before heading to the after event. I skated around the rink, going fast, winding between the few couples that slowly circled the rink. I missed being in love with skating. I was always thinking about my next shot, the next play, or how to set up my next goal.
How long had it been since I skated just because I loved the feeling of the cool air in my hair and the steady stroke of my blades against the ice? When I was a kid, I used to spend every waking moment, outside of chores and school, on the pond out back.
I missed skating. Which was ridiculous because I had spent every single day on the ice for the last 15 years, but there was something about the freedom in not thinking and just moving. A wave of homesick washed over me, making me miss the farm and my childhood. A time when everything was simple and easy.
I cut around the corner. Zoey crouched on the ice in her black boots and pink coat, with her phone focused on me. I headed straight for her and she shrieked in delight when, at the last moment, I zipped around her. Total trust on her part. I flipped around so I was skating backward, never taking my eyes off her face. She threw her head back and laughed. I circled around her, coming closer and closer every time I passed her, but she never flinched. She took various shots. I sped up, skating at top speed around the rink, hugging the boards. She put her phone in her pocket and was standing there watching me. Those blue eyes. On me. I came around the corner and I couldn’t resist.
When it came to Zoey, it seems like there was little I could resist.
I skated right towards her. I know she was expecting me to zing around her. Instead, I stayed on course. Right before I mowed her down, I reached out and grabbed her around the waist. I lifted her up and skated with her in my arms.
“Ryan,” she gasped. Her arms snaked tightly around my neck.
“I never got to teach you to skate,” I said. “Wrap your legs around me.”
I felt her legs tightly squeeze my waist. With my hands on her little ass, I hauled her further up. “Hang on.”
I picked up speed. I zigged. I zagged. I whipped around people and even skated backward. In my ear, her laughter was breathless. I couldn’t get enough. She smelled so good. Like strawberries or something fresh.
She pulled her head back and looked into my eyes. Our noses almost touched. “It feels like we’re flying. Is this what if feels like when you skate?”
No, this was about a thousand times better than any other time I skated.
“Usually I skate faster than this, but this is more fun.”
She stared into my eyes. Our lips almost touched. “I’m never going to forget this.”
All my good intentions fled. I didn’t care that we were in public. Or that people had cameras. I wanted to kiss this chick like her life depended on it.
“Ryan!” A shrill voice called from across the ice.
Zoey stiffened in my arms.
“Fuck,” I breathed.
Zoey didn’t break eye contact. “Your ball and chain wants you.”
Bianca stood at the boards. I glanced up. High along the top of the red seats, Jensen watched us with a dark expression. When he caught me looking at him, he disappeared from sight. I stopped short in front of Bianca.
“You’re needed at the after event, Ryan.”
Zoey shifted in my arms. With reluctance, I set her down on the ice. God. I was rock hard again.
“Yeah sure, I’ll be right there,” I said, taking off again. I needed another lap or two to get Zoey and kissing off my brain. I concentrated on my strokes to calm my cock down.
Bianca’s voice carried across the ice. “Those photos aren’t your property. They belong to the Ryan Parker brand. And I administer that brand.”
Zoey cowered.
“Give me your phone,” Bianca said. Her face was a mask of impatience.
In five strokes, I stopped short in front of them. “What’s going on?”
Bianca pressed her hands together in front of her mouth like she was saying a prayer. She shut her eyes for a moment, thinking. “Ryan. I’m just trying to do my best for you. And it’s very difficult when I don’t get everyone’s full cooperation.”
Zoey’s eyes were huge. “It’s my phone.”
Bianca took a measured breath. “I was just suggesting that Zoey share the photos with me. For Twitter and for your website.”
I shrugged. “Does it have to happen right now?”
Bianca looked shocked. “Well, no. But my question is why can’t I see Zoey’s phone? Those photos ultimately belong to you, Ryan.”
I stepped off the ice and looked at them both. “The phone belongs to Zoey. The photos on the phone belong to Zoey. If she doesn’t want to share them with you that’s her choice.”
Zoey moved past me, head down, arms in the pocket of her jacket, before disappearing from sight.
Bianca sounded disappointed. “I understand none of this, Ryan. I’m only trying to help you.”
Fuck me. We should have hired the older lady who liked to give out hugs.
“Listen, can you go easy on her?”
Bianca threw her hands up in the air. “What about me? Did you ask her to go easy on me?”
“As a matter of fact, I did.”
She crossed her arms. “Fine. I’m sorry. I don’t understand why you let that girl impede your career.”
“No one is impeding my career. This is a fun event, okay? Let’s have fun.”
She took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“I’ll see you upstairs.”
ZOEY WAS silent on the drive home. I glanced at her a few times, but she remained removed and distant. I felt bad about Bianca’s heavy-handed approach with her. When we pulled into the parkade, I turned off the engine and looked over at her.
“Want to go do something?”
Her cute face reflected her curiosity. “Where?”
I shrugged. “We could go for a walk and grab a bite to eat.”
A smile played on her lips. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
WE STOOD OUTSIDE A JAPANESE RESTAURANT, called “Eki.”
“How about here?”
Zoey wrinkled her nose. “No, thanks.”
I laughed. “Come on. Be adventurous.”
“I don’t know how to use chopsticks.”
I put my hands on her slight shoulders and steered her towards the door. “I promise you, you’ll love it.”
The restaurant was one of those open kitchens where there was a grill between the patrons and the chef, and all the servers wore kimonos. Zoey sipped her cocktail that had more fruit in it than a salad and she watched the chef with wide eyes. He juggled his knives, lit towers of onions on fire, and cracked eggs open mid-air with his spatula. The two of them belonged to the same mutual admiration society, because he seemed to focus all his attention on her, and he cracked cheesy jokes that made her giggle into her hands. When she struggled with her chopsticks, he gave her a special lesson. And when she figured them out, he presented her with a flaming specialty appetizer to celebrate.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
“Your boyfriend must love you very much,” he winked at her. “He can’t stop looking at you.”
I took a sip of my beer. Thanks, buddy.
She glanced up at me. “Oh, we’re just friends.”
He clutched his heart and pretended to stagger around. “You made me the happiest man in the world.”
Her smile lit up the entire room. And that smile earned him the biggest tip of his career.
“SO, DID YOU LIKE DINNER?” We slowly walked back to the apartment.
Her sigh sounded happy. “That was the best meal of my life.”
“Glad you liked it.”
“When you go on dates, do you take them to fancy places like that?”
Honestly, I couldn’t remember the last time I had taken a woman on a proper date. Hook-ups from nightclubs were more my style. “Not really.”
Her eyes glittered in the dim light. “You should. That’d really impress them.”
You’re the only one I want to impress. “You think?”
“Definitely.”
“I don’t date.”
She frowned. “Why not?”
I took in a big breath. “I’m not that good at it.”
“You could turn that around if you included that restaurant in your dating repertoire.”
It was cute she thought that restaurant was fancy, which made me want to take her out to a high-end restaurant. I wanted to buy her a meal that cost an arm and a leg so I could watch the staff treat her like a queen. We passed by a small grocery store. I grabbed her arm. “Come on. I need chocolate.”
We stood in front of the chocolate bar section. “What do you want?”
Her silence made me glance down at her. She stared at the back of the store with huge eyes.
“Zoey?”
“Let’s go.”
“Don’t you want chocolate?”
She put up her hood and ducked her head. “I’ll wait outside.”
I looked around the store. Zoey was already halfway to the door. I caught up to her. “Hey, you okay?”
She hunched in her pink coat, her eyes cast down on the ground. “We need to go.”
“Okay.”
She began to speed walk. I looked behind, but no one followed us. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“See a ghost?”
She shook her head. “It’s fine.”
But she glanced behind us four times while we made our way back to the apartment. Fear etched every movement of her body, but she wouldn’t tell me why.
When we got back to the apartment, she asked me twice if I had set the alarm before she disappeared into her bedroom.
