Two days later they were at the game again. It started at 1 pm, but they were there pretty early, because Viktor wanted to talk to some of his teammates before the game. It was an important one. Two more wins and they’d clinch a playoff spot.
Jane watched him with his teammates. She’d forced him to take the crutches with him. For a good ten minutes he’d complained, but in the end he’d taken them with him, even if it was just to shut her up. One and a half more weeks and they could start skating. Not fast and not much, but a little. Just so much that he’d get a feeling for the ice again.
Patrick Sharp gave her shoulder a little shove from behind. He hit a sore spot, making her gasp.
“What’s wrong?” he asked concerned.
“The scar on my shoulder is acting up again. And you hit just the right spot.”
Patrick pulled her shirt a bit away on her back and peered down at her bare back. He didn’t mean anything by it. After all, she was like a sister to him. “Which one of all the scars do you mean?” He was shocked. He’d known her for years, but this was the first time he saw these scars. “How did you even get all these?”
Jane pulled away quickly, and rearranged her shirt. Great. Patrick was one of the people who should never have seen her scars. He’d ask her again and again and find out about her past eventually. If he didn’t know about it already. But so far he’d never said a word to her.
“That’s none of your business, Patrick.” She narrowed her eyes at him, but she couldn’t be mad for long. “There’s a big, pink one on my right shoulder blade. It’s getting better again.”
“You really don’t want to tell me how you got these scars, do you?”
“Right.” Jane nodded, focusing her attention on Viktor again, who was laughing with his friends. Suddenly she felt Patrick’s strong arms around her shoulders, squeezing her tight.
“Okay. But you know that you can always come to me to talk about what’s on your mind. The same goes for Abby. We’re both there for you.” He knew that Jane didn’t have family. Well, her family existed, but she wasn’t in contact with them except for her little brother, who didn’t live with his parents anymore.
Jane didn’t want to cry right there and then, but Patrick’s words had touched her. She knew all that, but hearing him say that, made her realize once again what a great friend he was. He was family. Jane took a deep breath before she turned her head towards Patrick and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“That’s what family’s for. I know you never experienced this before, but you know that you can always come to us.”
“Stop it right there, Patrick Sharp, or I’ll start crying. I’m trying very hard not to do this, so please… I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of your teammates.”
Patrick chuckled as he gave her a pat on the head. Viktor looked over at them, losing the smile that had been on his lips only a second before. He said goodbye to the others before he walked over to the two of them.
“What are you two so close for?” He looked at them, leaning on his crutches to relieve his foot a little.
Patrick put his arms around Jane again and pulled her against his chest. He looked at Viktor over Jane’s head. Making fun of him was always easy.
“You know that we’re close.” He put his head on top of Jane’s and grinned. “And Abby loves her just as much as I do, if you know what I mean.” Viktor scowled at them, but Patrick couldn’t suppress his laughter for long. “That was a joke, Viktor. Relax! As if I’d share Abby with anybody.”
“Oh, but you’d share me with the whole world?” Jane stepped out of his embrace.
“Well, you’re all Viktor’s. So that’s his choice to make.”
Viktor draped his arm over Jane’s shoulder. “Damn right. She’s all mine and I’m not a person who likes to share. At least not when it comes to women.”
“Hello? I’m still here.”
“We know.” Patrick grinned at her. “Now you two go and watch the game.”
And they did. Jane didn’t want to argue about what had just happened, so she just kept quiet. They joined Abby and watched the game. Jane hadn’t told her about the kiss, yet, but she’d have to do this soon. It was driving her crazy. She didn’t know what to do, especially because Viktor had said that he wouldn’t give up easily. Still, Jane already had an idea what Abby would say. That Jane should just go along with it. She should have fun with Viktor. What could she lose?
He could find out about her past. And, knowing Viktor, he would definitely find out, probably even hear it from her. He’d nearly made her tell him everything once before. She had to keep her guard up around him.
After the game, which the Hawks had won, they went straight to Viktor’s apartment, so that he could put his foot up and put ice on his knee. He was healing well and fast, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t in pain. He still had to take it easy, if he really wanted to start skating soon.
When they closed the apartment door, Viktor’s phone rang. He put away his coat and answered it.
“Really? That’s great news! I’m so happy. Of course I’ll come by. Thank you for letting me know. See you tomorrow.” He hung up and turned towards Jane with the biggest grin on his face.
“What happened?” She stepped closer, peering at his face as if she might find the answer there.
“Nathan’s got a heart and they’ll operate him tomorrow. His Mom asked me to be there when he wakes up, because he’s been asking for me. So we’ll go to Sharpy and then we’ll head to the hospital. It was about time they found a heart for the little guy.” Viktor’s grin was so contagious, that Jane found herself smiling like an idiot.
“That’s amazing!” She threw her arms around his neck, making him let go of the crutch he’d still had in his right hand. He put his arms around her and held her close, dropped his gaze to look in her eyes. “I’m so happy for him.”
“So am I.” Viktor ran a hand through her hair, but still held her close with one hand on the small of her back. Her bright eyes and the smile on her lips, made him lower his head and put his lips on hers. She immediately leaned against him, her hands caressed the back of his neck. When he put his hand on her butt, Jane broke the kiss and leaned her forehead against his chest.
“We can’t do this,” Jane whispered and squeezed her eyes shut. On the one hand she wanted this, on the other hand she didn’t. It felt good to be with Viktor this way, but it would bring o many problems for her, too many explanations.
“Yes, we can.” Viktor lifted her head and looked in her eyes. “Don’t tell me that it’s because you work for me again. Because that’s not a problem at all.”
“I just can’t, okay?”
“Is it because of what happened to you in the past?” The stiffening of her whole body was answer enough. “It’s not hard to figure out that something must have happened. I’ve been with you for weeks now, and you didn’t want to tell me the truth about your scars. You should know that I won’t judge you, no matter what you did or what happened. Some things happened to me that I don’t want anybody to know about, but I did talk to a couple of people and realized that it was good for me.”
“I should go.” Jane took a deep breath, rose to the balls of her feet and kissed Viktor’s cheek. “There’s dinner in the fridge and I’ll pick you up to drive to Patrick’s place tomorrow.”
Viktor knew that she would go, no matter what he said, so he simply nodded and let her go. He’d said what he’d wanted to say and he’d try again and again. As he’d said before, he wouldn’t give up.