Leaving was for the best, if not cowardly. I’d pledged to dedicate myself to hockey the next three months. She’d dumped me, even if she did love me as my brother claimed. If we’d started something up again tonight, we’d probably regret it in the morning.
I wasn’t convinced my regrets weren’t happening right now, though. Not one bit.
41
Grand Gesture
Naomi
Kaitlyn dragged me away from Pax, claiming she wanted to borrow some mascara, but I knew better. I’d told her about the grand gesture, and she’d prevented an early reconciliation. They were all conspiring to force me to make my grand gesture.
I was pissed yet relieved she’d interrupted my pending good time. When I’d returned, Pax was gone. Multiple times I’d texted him and not hit send.
We both needed to get through finals week, and then we’d have unpressured time to figure out where we were going. He’d mentioned at lunch one day that he was hanging around during break rather than going home. I didn’t blame him. If I had a dad like that, I’d stay on campus, too. In fact, I’d fly home on Christmas Eve and return right after Christmas. That’s all I would be able to tolerate of my dad’s girlfriend.
Regardless, my make-out session with Pax bolstered my courage. He wanted me, too. While rejection was still a possibility, I felt better about it.
Finals week had been long and brutal. I’d done well on my tests, the last one being yesterday. I’d spoken with Pax a few times when I’d run into him on campus. He’d been friendly but distant.
Secretly, I’d met Patrick a few times to plan my grand gesture, which involved skating. Each time, I had a panic attack and was unable to step onto the ice, even with Patrick’s promises to hold on to me so I wouldn’t get hurt.
Tonight was the hockey alumni skate, and I waffled between carrying out Patrick’s plan and forgetting I’d ever agreed to such a terrifying proposition.
Kaitlyn rapped on my door. I opened it, still wearing my bathrobe.
She looked me up and down. “What the fuck is this? The guys are already headed to the rink. Everything’s set up for your grand entrance. And you’re not dressed.”
“I’m not going. I can’t do this. I’ll freak out when I’m on the ice. I can’t do it.”
“Oh, no, sister. You’re going. If I have to knock you over the head and get security to carry you out to my car.”
“I can’t do it. I’m not prepared. It’s a deep-seated phobia. I need more prep time.”
“Guess what? You don’t have more time. Tonight is the night.”
Kaitlyn crossed the room to my small fridge. She opened the door and looked inside. After grabbing a bottle of wine, she opened it and poured two glasses.
“Drink. It’ll help.”
Under Kaitlyn’s firm eye, I drank a glass of wine, hoping a little liquid courage would go a long way. My intentions of skipping tonight disappeared when I saw her determined expression. One way or another, I was going. I dressed and put on my makeup.
“You look great. Let’s go.”
“I don’t have skates. I thought you were bringing skates.” I’d been relieved to see her skateless. I might still get out of this.
“Patrick has them. You’re ruining my date with Lex the longer you stall.”
Her guilt trip tipped me over the edge. I steeled myself for the inevitable.
We got there a few minutes after the event had started. Essentially, it involved skating as couples to music with mood lighting and Christmas decorations. A banquet table and bar provided refreshments. This event was a huge hit with the alumni, and the players enjoyed it, too. Not to mention, it was a lucrative fund-raiser for the hockey program. My dad would be here, not sure about his girlfriend. Right now, my dad was the least of my worries, though I suspected he’d be humiliated by my paralyzing fear of skating and complete ineptness on the ice. When he’d suggested a grand gesture, I was positive he hadn’t had this public display in mind.
This wasn’t about my dad. This was about Paxton and proving how much he meant to me, doing something beyond words.
Kaitlyn ushered me to where Patrick waited in a remote part of the arena away from prying eyes. He handed me a box.
I stared at them in surprise. “Are these—?”
Patrick smiled at me. “He never returned them.”
Those skates had probably taken the bulk of Pax’s monthly budget, and yet he hadn’t returned them. Pax didn’t forget stuff like that, which meant his keeping them had been intentional. Tentatively, I opened the box. The skates were pink, and they were beautiful. I held one up and examined it.
“I—”
“Put them on. We don’t have all night,” Patrick insisted with a hint of impatience.
I pulled them on. They fit perfectly. Patrick bent down and laced them up tight. He straightened and gave me an encouraging smile.
“You’ll be fine,” Kaitlyn said.
“Okay, you ready?” Patrick stood and grabbed my hand. Kaitlyn and Lex watched with grins on their faces.
“It’d help to have less of an audience. I appreciate all your support, but please start your evening. Patrick and I have this.”
“You aren’t going to run, are you?” Kaitlyn narrowed her eyes and gave me her death glare. No one had a death glare like her.
“No.”
“I won’t let her,” Patrick insisted. “You two go have fun.”
Reluctantly, Kaitlyn took Lex’s outstretched hand and disappeared around the corner, pausing once to look back at me and wink.
“Ready?”
I drew in deep, calming breaths, attempting to tamp down my rising panic. I must do this. I will do this.
Patrick hauled me to my feet, and I clung to him as we made our way down the too long hallway. Our blades clacked on the floor. I wasn’t wearing guards because Patrick didn’t want to impede my progress by having to remove them before I got on the ice.
I hesitated at the gate onto the ice. I surveyed the scene before me to plot out the most direct path to Paxton with the least amount of people in my way.
My dad had been skating with his girlfriend when he saw me. He did a double take and started to skate toward me. I shook my head and pointed to Paxton, still unaware I was here. Dad grinned and nodded. He got it. He knew what I was up to and approved. His nod of endorsement gave me an extra needed boost of courage.
Patrick stepped onto the ice, grabbed me around the waist, lifted me into the rink. He held me until my legs stopped shaking—somewhat.
“You got this.” He turned me so I faced in Pax’s direction.
Pax stood in the center of the ice, watching people skate around him. His pasted-on smile was forlorn, almost lost. He turned and glanced my direction. His head snapped back around, and he took a longer look. He blinked several times.
“Ready. Go!” Patrick gave me a push across the ice.
I wobbled and wavered and stiffly glided toward Paxton, waving my arms in a desperate attempt to keep my balance. He gaped at me as if not understanding what the fuck I was doing.
He was so far away, and my heart was pounding so hard my legs trembled, and my throat closed off. I began to gasp for air, fighting for control of my panic. My eyes met Paxton’s. I never took my eyes off him. Concern was etched on his handsome face, but he held himself back, as if instinctively knowing I had to do this myself.
“Naomi, you don’t have to do this,” he called to me. But damn it, I was doing it.
Within five feet of him, one skate slid in the wrong direction and tangled with the back blade on the other. Flashbacks hit me. Panic surged through my veins, robbed me of oxygen, and strangled me in its unforgiving clutches. I struggled for control of my mind and my feet.
I floundered, arms waving wildly.
I was going down.
42
Pink Skates
Paxton
At first, I thought I had to be hallucinating.
But I wasn’t. Naomi was very shakily
skating toward me on pink skates, the very skates I’d bought her and she’d given back to me when she’d dumped me.
Not that I’d call what she was doing skating, exactly, but she was on skates, and she was upright. I gave her a zero for form and a ten for execution.
Mr. Smith skated up beside me. I didn’t take my eyes off Naomi. I feared if I did, she’d panic and fall. Determination and blind fear warred with each other on her beautiful face.
“What’s she doing?” I asked.
“The grand gesture. Just like I told her.” Mr. Smith beamed at his daughter, not that I chanced a glance at him, but I knew from the tone of his voice.
Grand gesture?
Wasn’t that the thing they did often in romances where the guy, usually, did some huge thing to impress the love of his life? Only this time, the guy wasn’t the one. I had no problem with that. I wasn’t into male-female stereotypes.
“Naomi,” I said in a hushed voice. She faltered at the sound of her name, a disaster in the making as one skate decided to rebel and wrap itself around the other. She was about to go down in a tangle of arms and legs.
I wouldn’t let her grand gesture end that way.
In one swift stride, I had her in my arms. She clung to me. Sweat beaded on her brow. Her breath came in panicked gasps. Her heart pounded against my chest. I held her tight, barely noticing the cheering going on around us.
“You’re going to be okay. I’ve got you,” I murmured in her ear, knowing what I said didn’t matter as much as a calming tone. She wrapped her legs around me, spearing my shins with her skate blades, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered but this beautiful, courageous woman in my arms. After a while, her breathing began to return to normal and her heartbeat slowed. She carefully placed one foot on the ground then the other, standing on her blades.
She looked up at me and grinned in triumph. “I did it!”
“You did.” I grinned back, so very proud of her.
“I did it for you, Pax. For us.”
“I know,” I croaked out with misty eyes. The last thing I was going to do was cry in front of this tough crowd. I hugged her tight, pressing my face into her hair, and held her until I had a handle on my emotions. “Do you want me to help you back to the bleachers?”
“No, I want to skate with you.”
“You do?”
She nodded. “Just promise you won’t let go of me.”
“I promise.”
Carefully, I turned while holding her waist, keeping her close to my side. I skated with slow, even strokes around the rink. My teammates made way for us, cheering as we skated past. Some of the women had suspiciously wet eyes and a few of the guys.
Patrick fist-bumped me and winked. He beamed at the two us. “I knew you could do it,” he called to Naomi.
“Thank you, bro.” I grinned at him, knowing he’d had a part in this.
We skated slowly to several Christmas songs until Naomi begged for a break. I safely sat her down and retrieved hot buttered rums from the bar. I sat next to her, and we sipped our drinks and watched the skaters.
“Why did you do it?” I asked finally.
“Because I was a fool to break up with you, and I wanted to prove how real this thing is between us. Words weren’t enough. I needed something bigger.”
“And you came up with skating?”
“With the help of your brother. I’ll never forgive him for this.” She laughed and so did I.
I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her with every ounce of emotion in my body. Drawing back, I framed her beautiful face in my hands.
“I love you, Naomi. There’ll always be room in my life for you and hockey.”
“I love you, Pax.” She leaned forward and showed me how much. “I guess I’m going to have to get used to the rain next fall.”
“I guess you are.”
Patrick joined us in a group hug, while Naomi’s father stood nearby with a happy smile on his face.
Look out, Seattle, here we come.
T H E
E N D
Thank you for reading Gametime by Jami Davenport. Did you know there’s a fun bonus epilogue for Naomi and Paxton? Click here to get it.
You can get all the links to the next Moo U books right here. Or turn the page for more great recommendations for Jami Davenport and World of True North titles!
You Will Also Enjoy…
More Moo U Hockey
More Moo U Hockey:
Blindsided by Victoria Denault
Slapshot by Rebecca Jenshak
Holdout by Jaqueline Snowe
Overtime by Kat Mizera
Halftime by Kim Findlay
Darkroom by Kate Willoughby
Playmaker by Sierra Hill
Snowballed by Melanie Ting
Goalkeeper by Andi Burns
And more!
Jami Davenport’s Sports Romances:
The Scoring Series
Seattle Sockeyes Series
Seattle Steelheads Series
Acknowledgments
A huge thank you to Sarina Bowen for the opportunity to write in her world with all these amazing authors. I’m humbled by the faith you’ve put in me to write in your world.
A special shoutout to bestie Kat Mizera for collaborating with me to bring the Graham twins to life.
Thank you to Stacy for always being there when I need you (even when your world has been turned upside down) and giving this a final read-through.
Gametime: A Moo U Hockey Romance Page 22