Page 30 of Pucking Snowed In With My Ex

I snapped my fingers, and Skye jumped, then laughed as music began to play. “You really are magic,” she said, her eyes glowing as brightly as the lights around us. “I love it, Cal. I….” She covered her mouth. “I’m just so happy.”

Wrapping my arms around her waist, I leaned down and kissed her lips, tasting the saltiness of her tears. “Merry Christmas, Sugar.” She kissed hard, and if she wasn’t careful I was going to pull her down to the snow and take her again. “Come on, I’m going to do something I should’ve done a long time ago.”

Her eyes turned skeptical as I took her hand and pulled her over to the bench.

“Oh no, I’m not skating. I’m a disaster,” Skye said when she spotted Hayley’s old skates.

“Do you really think I’d let you fall?”

She nibbled her lip and looked around.

“You promise?”

I crossed my heart.

“I swear you could talk me into anything,” she said and sat down. “But if I break a bone, you’ll never hear the end of it.”

“You’re the only Canadian who doesn’t know how to skate,” I teased and nudged her shoulder.

“I know, it’s a stupid fear, but I’ve just always been too scared to try. I didn’t want to embarrass you or myself. I mean, you’re an NHL player now. How was I ever going to keep up with that?”

“I could never be ashamed of you, Skye. I don’t care if you’re a great skater.” She looked away from me as she pulled on the laces and tightened the skate. Touching her cheek, I forced her to look at me. “You do know that I never wanted anyone else, right? I didn’t care about any of the girls that followed the team around.” I never understood why she would turn herself inside out over girls trying to get my attention. I mean, I got it because I felt the same way whenever a guy looked at her, but she had made herself physically sick over it. She would try to hide it, but I saw what the worry did to her.

“I know, but it was hard back in then Cal. I mean, to you, you’re just Cal Reeves, but you and your family always been a shining star and I was...well I was just me. Every girl at school wanted you, and if they weren’t flirting with you, they were tossing insults my way to try and get me to leave you. As hard as I tried to not let them get to me....” She sighed. “It’s difficult to feel worthy of someone like you. It wasn’t anything you did, you were always amazing. But, I was the girl who grew up next door to you, but I didn’t really belong on the street. You know?”

I finished tying my skates and got down in front of her to help her with hers as I tried to find the words I wanted to say.

“You may not have felt like you were worthy of me, but that’s how I’ve always felt about you,” I said, laying my hands on her knees.

“See, that’s the part I don’t understand. I’m not going to some fancy school or famous. I’m just…average.”

Standing, I held out my hand to help Skye. “Average is not what I see, and being famous doesn’t make you a great person. It just makes you popular in the eyes of other people. But, what happens when the lights are not on them is what I find important.”

“What do you mean?”

One small step at a time, I helped Skye onto the pond and laughed as her legs spread wide like a deer on the ice. Putting my arm around her waist, she clung to me as she straightened out.

Moving around in front of her, I took her hands. “It wasn’t because you were famous or rich or the most popular girl that I fell in love with you. I grew up with you. I saw you throwing up when you had the flu. In fact, I’m pretty sure you threw up on me.”

“Oh God, please don’t bring that up,” Skye said, her cheeks bright red. “I was mortified.”

I laughed. “The point is, you always showed me your heart. You were always fierce but kind. I remember when you were eight and talked me into convincing our parents to help volunteer at the homeless shelter. You turned it into a huge drive and there was extra food donated for months. Years later, I thought you were ridiculous for wanting me to go to the children’s hospital that first year I made juniors. Who would want to meet me? But you proved me wrong. I’d never been more touched to see the kids with painted faces in my team colors or already wearing my jersey.” I slowly started to skate backward and loved that she was so distracted that she didn’t notice.

“I can’t believe you remember all that. I always thought I was such a pest,” she said.

“Oh you could be a pest,” I teased and smirked as her cheeks turned a darker shade of red. “I didn’t always appreciate it, but as I got older, I understood what it was about you that I loved so much. You always could make me laugh and never took yourself too seriously. You were always ready with a kind word or helping hand, which was what I wanted for my life. You befriended everyone not caring about all the superficial stuff others so easily did. Every single day, you proved your beauty was more than skin deep. Why would I care about someone only after me because they saw the dollar signs and bright lights?” I turned in a circle and did a figure eight, making Skye smile.

“I was never a person to them. I was a piece of meat who could bring them fame. You saw the boy who skinned his knee learning to ride a bike and stuttered when asking you out. I could be myself around you.”

“And all the girls I saw you with all over your socials? None of them interested you?”

“Not even one.” I could see the doubt in her eyes. “Sugar, I haven’t seen you for three years, and the instant you got out of the car, my heart began to pound for what felt like the first time all over again. I lost count of how many times I looked over at the stands and wished to see you sitting there.”

“I felt like that too. That scared me the most about getting out of my car,” she said.

“Well, I’m glad you did.”

She smiled. “Me too.”