They’d lost. 6-1. Unbelievable. Even a day later Jonathan couldn’t believe it. Going to the rink with April was just what he needed. A nice way to concentrate on something else and not obsess over the game and what had gone wrong. They’d leave for Los Angeles the following afternoon. Until then he’d try to think about something else than hockey. They’d start talking on the plane anyway.
“These are for you.” After April had sat down on the bench, he handed her the skates he’d organized for her. He sat down next to her and laced up his own skates. “I hope they fit.”
April took off her shoes and put on the skates. For a moment she watched him, before she tied her skates. “Yes, they fit perfectly.”
“Good.” He got up and towered a bit over her, extending his hand to help her up. “Then let’s get on the ice.”
“Okay, I can do this,” she said to herself, before she put her hand in his and carefully got up. Her ankles wobbled a bit, but she felt okay. Slowly they walked on the ice. April immediately let go off his hand and held onto the boards. Meanwhile Jonathan started skating once around the rink, twice and stopped next to her.
“See, it’s not that hard.”
“Oh, come on! You’ve been doing this for years and you’re earning your money with this.” She scowled at him and kept holding on with only one hand. It was progress.
“But I started out the same way. Just go slowly.” He started skating backwards in front of her. Finally she let go of the boards and skated after him. One foot after the other. She looked up for a short moment before she concentrated on her feet again. And that was when it happened. She lost balance and landed with a loud thud on her butt.
“Are you okay?” Jonny immediately stopped and held out his hands to help her up. Legs stretched out in front of her, hands folded in her lap, she looked up at him and started grinning.
“I’m fine. Perfectly fine.” She got up with his help and brushed of the ice that clung to her jeans.
“You wanna take a break?”
“Are you kidding me? Now that I’ve fallen I know that it’s not so bad. Nothing to be scared of.” And with that she started off on her own, this time keeping her eyes straight ahead, not on her feet.
Jonathan watched her for a moment before he went after her. Skating alongside her was fun. He could watch her, see the concentration on her face and just skate for fun. This was different than training and it had been a while since he’d last done something like this.
“You’re getting better and better.” Despite a little wobble here and there, everything was fine. She hadn’t fallen down again or held onto the boards. He’d expected it to be a lot more difficult.
“Thank you. I really like it. But I can already feel my thighs burn. I’m not used to this kind of movement.” She skated a little slower while she was talking to him to avoid falling down. A nice hot bath sounded like the right thing once they got home. It would warm her up and make her relax.
“Do you think you’re ready to learn to shoot?” He’d already put his stick and a couple pucks aside. The net was in its place, ready to be shot at.
“What do you think?” April stopped beside him and looked up.
“I think we should start before you freeze your butt off.” He skated back to the benches, got the pucks and the stick, and took his place beside her again. “First you need to have the right grip on the stick.” Jonathan showed it to her, before handing her the stick. Gingerly he rearranged her hands to show her how to do it.
“Like this?”
“Yes, that’s perfect.” He dropped a puck on the ice in front of her. “Now just move the puck from left to right and back. Just to get a feeling for this.” April did as she was told. Very slowly at first, then a little faster. “Good, now let’s see how you can shoot.” He took the hockey stick from her and showed her the movement, making sure that she was watching. “Now it’s your turn. Just try it.”
He handed her the stick back and stood back a little to watch her. She looked a little clumsy. Cute. A smile curved his lips up just as she looked his way.
“Was that a smile, Jonathan?” With a grin on her own face, she looked in his eyes. “You should do that more often. It’s quite contagious.”
“Yeah, well,” he cleared his throat. “How about a little challenge, if you want to call it that. You have two pucks and I want you to hit the goal from here with one of them.”
“And what do I get when I accomplish that?”
“Whatever you want, but if you don’t I get what I want.”
“Okay.” April looked at him long and hard. Now or never. “If I hit the back of the net, I’ll get one of those breathtaking kisses.”
“Deal.” Jonathan didn’t even have to think about it. He could do that. And if she didn’t score, he’d get whatever he wanted. He couldn’t lose. “Okay, then.”
April took one last look at Jonathan, before she turned towards the net. Her heart was beating in a rapid manner, after she’d just said what she wanted from him. Gripping the hockey stick a little harder, she concentrated on the goal and shot. It went past the goal and hit the boards. Okay, she still had another shot. She wouldn’t look at Jonathan. That would only distract her further. It had been that damn smile on his face that had thrown her off. One of his smiles could make your knees go weak and your heart do somersaults. She’d never really experienced anything like that. That a guy could make her feel and think all kinds of things with just a smile.
She took a deep breath before she took her second shot. The puck hit the glass above the net and fell down to the ice. Well, there went her hopes of having another kiss.
“That was really impressive.” Jonathan skated up to her and stopped right in front of her.
“Yeah, but I didn’t score.” She bit her bottom lip and looked up at him, heart still pounding in her chest. “So, what do you want, now that you’ve won this?”
Instead of saying anything, he rapped his knuckles over her cheek, spread his fingers over her throat. With his thumb he delicately grazed her jaw. He pulled her close, putting his free hand beneath the cardigan on the small of her back. April’s breath hitched and her eyes drifted shut even before his lips touched hers. Instinctively she leaned into him, put her hands on his shoulders and clung onto him for dear life. Without him there she would have probably lost her balance.
A little moan escaped her lips, when she opened her lips beneath his, urging him on. She ran her hand through his hair, pulled him even closer. He dipped his tongue in her mouth tasted her, devoured her and didn’t want to let go. His hand dropped down to her bottom, holding her to him.
Her lips tasted sweet, like cherries. When he finally ripped his lips from hers, he needed a few seconds to compose himself. He leaned his head against hers, a content grin on his lips, his eyes closed.
“I thought the kiss should be my reward if I scored a goal.” April whispered against his lips. This statement was so unexpected that it made Jonathan laugh. “What is so funny?” April opened her eyes to look at him.
“And it was my reward because you didn’t. We both wanted the same thing.” Every so slowly he straightened and took her hands in his. “But we should go home now, before you freeze off any body parts. We don’t want that to happen.” He let go of her hands to collect the pucks.
“I actually feel kinda hot right now.” April said before skating to the bench to take the skates off.
“You’re not the only one,” Jonathan mumbled to himself. This was all nice and well, but he didn’t know what would happen now. Kissing her was one thing, but there were different things, scenarios that could follow.