Melting Away The Ice (THE ICE SERIES) (9 page)

Chapter 14 – Lucas

I wasn’t really nervous about our date tonight, but I was definitely excited. When Rachel gave me that business card the night of the special meet and greet I didn’t understand why she left her number as “in case of emergency.” Then it dawned on me today that I didn’t know where to take Sara for our date.

Yea
h, it has been a while
.

My focus ha
d been work, hockey and winning the Cup, not dating or women. So, maybe I did need a little help. I knew that Max and Marc were out because, well, they were guys. Max was more of a sports bar kind of guy and Marc could hardly speak English.

“I knew you would call,” she said as she answered the phone.

“Alright, are you going help me out or not?” I laughed.

“Well, I have an idea.
Would you like to hear it?” Rachel told me her idea. After thinking about it for a minute, I knew it was perfect.

“I owe you Rachel, thanks,”
I said, and I was off to get ready.

I had to do everything in my powers to keep
my eyes in my head when Sara opened the door. She was stunning.

“Hi,” I said breathlessly. She smiled and nodded.
“Are you ready?” She nodded again and I saw her turn around to grab her purse on the table.

“Have fun
, you two. Don’t do anything I-,” I heard Rachel say from the living room before Sara shut the door on her.

I grabbed her hand and headed straight for the stairs.
We didn’t speak on the way down.
No wonder she has great legs
.

We made it out to my car and I opened the door for her.
She smelled just as amazing as she did the other night. It was not overpowering just a hint of fresh linen – the perfect clean smell. I really disliked girls who wore too much perfume, especially flowers and fruits.
She is going to kill me being so perfect.

“So, where are we going?” she finally
spoke when I jumped into my car.

“I told you
, it’s a surprise.” I smirked.

“Could you at least tell me if I am dress
ed properly?” She ran her hands down her jeans like she was unsure about her outfit.
Man, her thighs are amazing looking
.

“You did see what I am wearing right?”
I had on a pair of light-colored jeans, gray fitted tee under my black leather coat, and my black working boots.

“Oh,
okay.” She seemed to be satisfied with my answer.

“I promise we are not doing anything fancy on this date.
Maybe next one.” I winked at her and I saw her cheeks get pink. I pulled the car out of the parking spot and headed down the street.

“Can I at least get a hint?”
she asked, smiling.

“It isn’t that far away,” I
grinned back to her.

We made small talk in the car.
She was telling me about a case that she was thinking about taking and how Charity was the greatest assistant. I noticed that she beamed with pride talking about her work. I could tell that it was something she really loved to do. We chatted back and forth until we reached our destination.

“Where are we?” she asked w
ith a confused look on her face, peering out the window.

“We
’re going skating,” I declared.

“
What?” She whipped around, shock spread across her features. I got out and came around to her side. We were at the practice arena. My plan was to want her to like my sport as much as I loved it. I had to pull a few strings for it to be opened but I was okay with that. I could feel her hand shaking as I took it in mine.

“
Okay.” I turned to her and put my hands on the side of her face right before we walked into the arena. “Listen, I talked to Rachel and she said that you can skate. I thought it would be nice to teach you hockey. If you remember, I told you I would. Don’t be scared or nervous. I won’t let you get hurt.” I looked deeply into her green eyes.

Wow they are beautiful.
She is so perfect.

Sara
looked at me for a moment and then nodded. I could tell she was still nervous. “I haven’t skated in a long time and I don’t have skates,” she finally said.

“It’s like riding a bike and I have that covered,” I told her.
Rachel had told me her shoe size and I went out and purchased a pair for her. We walked out to the bench where my skates were, as well as the pair I bought for her and two hockey sticks.

“You
’re serious about this.” There was panic in her eyes.

“Yep, I am.” I sat on the bench and began to unlace my boots.
I figured she would follow suit or run off screaming. She sat next to me and unzipped her boots and a smile crept on my face.
Man, those are hot boots
.
Focus Sharp don’t push fast
.

I stood up and
shook off my jacket. As soon as she finished lacing her skates, I helped her stand up and she got her balance.

“You ready?” I asked.

“To break my leg? Sure am, Coach,” she shot back. I laughed. I stepped onto the ice and she followed. She wobbled for a second but gained her balance quickly. I skated backwards, still holding her hand to make sure she didn’t fall or get hurt.

“When was the last time you skated?” I asked.
The way she was acting it seemed like forever, but she actually skated well.

“Rachel and I use
d to skate a lot when we were kids but I haven’t skated as an adult in a long time,” she shared.

“You are doing great.” I let go of her hand to go grab the sticks. “Alright, Ms. Smith, are you ready to learn hockey?”

“If I get hit in the face with that puck, I will be very upset,” she stated sternly as she took the stick from me.

“I promise no slap shots to the face.” I held
up my right hand. “I swear.” She rolled her eyes but smiled.

”
Okay,” she huffed out, “teach me hockey, Coach.” And just like that I handed her the stick.

After spending a long time on the ice I could tell Sara was freezing.
She did have the basics down and didn’t fall once. I taught her the differences of the lines, the most commonly called penalties, each player’s position, and took a few shots on the net. I was trying to show her some defense moves and she did well, even took a few shots with her stick. She was almost a natural. The best part was her smile and laughter.

“So, what do you think? Are you a hockey fan?” I smirked at her as we
sat on the bench and changed back into our shoes.

“Well, I do understand it better, I will give you that much,” she
smiled.

“I guess I will have to keep trying then,”
I replied. “Now, how about some food? I am starved.” She nodded.

“Sounds great.”

I grabbed the skates and sticks and then we headed out. I made sure to call security to close up the arena and thanked them for letting me use it as I placed the equipment in the trunk.

On the way to
my favorite pizzeria, she continued to ask me more questions about hockey and the NHL. The conversation was fun and I could tell that she wanted to know ever part of the sport.

“But, you guys fight all the time. Isn’t that, well, wrong?”

“Well, yes.
However, with your adrenaline running high and wanting the win it is hard sometimes to rein in your emotions.”

“I thought Rachel said that you were friends with your rival teams
.”

“Some of them I
’m very close too, but not when we are on the ice,” I tried to explain without sounding two-faced. “Think of it this way, you are friends with other lawyers, but not in the courtroom.”

“Well, that is true.”

We arrived at the packed pizzeria, I was happy I had called ahead so they could keep a back booth open for us. We slid into the booth and the waitress brought us menus. It was then that I noticed that Sara was searching around the restaurant, like she was plotting an escape route. She did this every time I was alone with her.

“May I ask why you do that?” The words came out before I could stop them.

              “Do what?” she asked.

“Since the first time I met you, you are always
looking around like you are plotting out a route to escape. Why?”

“I am just over
ly cautious. In case there is an emergency or zombies attack,” she laughed nervously. I knew that laugh was fake but I smiled at her anyway.
She is hiding something.

I knew that she was
n’t going to spill her life secrets to me so I changed the subject. “How about we order a deep dish and beer?”

“Perfect.”
She smiled brightly and looked grateful for the subject change.

I reached across the table and grabbed her hand.

“So, I know you play hockey, went to Wisconsin, and that’s about it.” Sara cleared her throat as she squirmed in her seat and talked.

“Don’t forget I am Canadian,” I laughed.

“True. Now I have a few questions.”

“Shoot.”

“What was your major in college?”

I laughed
. “Education. I wanted to get a teaching degree.”

“You wanted to be a teacher?”

“No, I
want
to be a teacher. I figure I have six to eight good years left in hockey and then I want to teach. Just like my mom.”

“You said you were close to your mom and her side of the family.
What is that like?”

“Actually, it is great.
My aunt is like another mom. She has a daughter, who is a few months younger than me, and we are very close.”

“Wow.
Okay, what do you in your spare time?”

“Well I love movies, being outdoors and hanging out with friends.
I guess the usual. What about you?”

“I read a lot, love watching Friends re-runs, I enjoy my work and currently I am learning about hockey
.” She laughed which made me laughed too.

“Why did you become a lawyer?”

“I wanted to do something worthwhile. However, corporate law is where the money is at. So, I do a lot of pro bono work on the side.”

“I think that is great. Really
.” She smiled. I stared at her lips and all I could think about was kissing her again.

As the pizza
arrived, she asked me some hockey questions about games that were coming up and other players in the league. It was great to talk about hockey with her. Even if, there were a couple times she looked confused, at least she was trying.

“I never asked if you have been married,”
I thought I would get the basics out of her.

“Nope, never married.
You?”

“Please, I have been too busy trying to win the Cup to be married,” I scoffed. “I have
n’t even been in a relationship in a while.”