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“I’m undeniably good on skates. I can learn a few moves. I can promise I won’t let you fall.”
He pushes at my chest with his small hand, and it does nothing to move me. He’s so petite. I’m not used to petite men. Even the men I fucked after Jack were large. Usually other hockey players.
“Are you going to be annoying about this?” he asks.
“Yes.” To prove my point, I lift him over my shoulder and skate around the ice with him. I spin and skate backward, all while he pounds on my back. It’s like a fly trying to beat on a grizzly bear.
“Put me down,now, Rhett, or I’m fake not putting out.”
It’s my turn to laugh as I place him safely onto the ice. His face is red. “You’re not winning this argument,” I say. “Teach me.”
“Listen here, gorilla, I don’t have time to teach you.”
I shrug. “Tell me what I need to learn, and I’ll hire a skate coach to teach me. Today, I’ll simply act as your safety net.”
He facepalms. “This is fucking stup?—”
“You’re running out of ice time and if you think I’m missing a minute with Jack, you’re wrong.”
“You’re ruining my ice time.” He sighs. “Fuck it. If you want to be a human cushion for me today, fine. You’ll probably be irritatingly good at this. We’ll try something simple. We’re going to spin around like we’re dancing and then we’ll jump and spin in the air together.”
We do a practice round so that he can show me what he means, and we mimic the dance without the jump.
“Can you handle that?”
“Seems easy.”
I know I lack the grace, but I shock him to death when I can, in fact, pull it off.
“Ugh. I was right. It’s annoying that you picked up a move I worked months on, in a few minutes.”
“I’m Rhett Elkington and I can do anything.”
“Okay, okay. I think there are a few other things we can try since you were able to do that.”
“Admit it, I’m helpful.”
“You’re an overprotective buffoon.” He’s smiling, though, and that’s something unexpected. I was growing used to his scowl. He’s cute when he scowls.
We try a few other things and I lose my grip on him. He moves so fast, and while I wouldn’t say it’s hard for me to keep up, it takes practice to have your hands in the right places at the right time. Even when I lose my grip, I keep my promise and act as a human cushion for him, never letting him fall to the ice, only on top of me.
“Okay, I think that’s enough for today, Elkington. You’re going to get an injury and then what? You won’t be able to play hockey. There’s got to be a clause against dangerous activities in your contract.”
I would argue, but I catch the time and know Jack’s going to be here soon. He’s usually fifteen minutes early. Guess having a baby’s changed tha?—
In the stands, waiting in his gear, Jack’s watching us. He appears to have been watching us for a little while. I didn’t … didn’t even notice him.
“Aren’t you two cute,” he says. “You’ve got the grace of a hippo, Rhett, but it’s just like you to catch onto a brand-new sport in seconds.”
“Jack.” Dropping Logan like a hot potato, I skate over to the man I’m going to eventually have children with. Having a family is important to me. I want boatloads of children. They can all have Jack’s green eyes.
Logan follows. “Thank God you left the poop machine at home. I know Merc said he’d watch him, but I had a bet with myself that you’d convince Merc to join and bring it with you.”
“Ha! You slipped up and said ‘him’,” Jack says. “Better be careful or you might have to admit he’s human.”
“Never,” Logan says.
As if on cue, Merc exits the dressing room with a baby bundled up on his chest. On Mercy’s feet are a pair of ice skates.
