Page 105 of Captured Love

I take her hand and walk her over to the bench. I had everything set up before we arrived thanks to help of the coordinators here. Things have become really easy to schedule these days because I’m now in the NHL, playing for the DC Titans. With how crazy things have been between my career and her being in grad school to get a master's degree in psychology, this felt like the perfect date-day activity that allowed us to ignore the outside world for a little bit.

“I’m way better at ice skating than I used to be.”

I look up at her as I get my skates out of the duffel bag. “I know that, and I also know it’s, at least in part, thanks to me.”

She playfully rolls her eyes at me. “Don’t let it go to your head. I practiced a lot and watched a lot of YouTube tutorials.”

We switch out our shoes for skates, and I can't help but think about the first time we did this together. She was nervous but tried her best not to show it. Hell, she went from borrowing Isla’s ice skates to purchasing her own. I grin as I watch her lace her skates with the confidence of someone who knows what she's doing.

“Ready?” I ask, standing and offering my hand.

“Hell yeah,” she says, taking it.

We wobble together toward the ice, and I brace myself for her first few unsteady moments. Selene surprises me by gliding out with a grace that I wasn’t expecting. She's come a long way, and I couldn’t be prouder.

“Show-off,” I mutter, but I'm smiling.

She spins around to face me, skating backward with ease now. “Maybe you'll have to start watching out for your job,” she teases.

I burst out laughing. “Oh yeah? You think you can take on the pros now?”

Selene shrugs as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. However, her grin is huge, telling me that she’s joking even though I knew that she was. “Give me a few more YouTube videos and who knows?”

That makes me belly laugh to the point where it even takes me by surprise. I speed up to catch her, and she lets out a mock scream, turning just in time for me to grab her around the waist. We slow to a gentle glide as I hold her close.

“Seriously though,” I say, kissing the top of her head, “I'm really proud of you.”

“For my skating?” she asks, tilting her head back to look at me.

“For everything,” I say. “For putting up with my insane schedule, for killing it in your program, for still finding time for us.”

Selene's expression softens. “Knox, you know this works because we both put in the effort. It’s not just me.”

I release her gently and we skate side by side in silence for a moment. She's right. We've both worked hard to balance our dreams and our relationship. It hasn’t always been easy, but standing here now, it’s clear that every sacrifice has been worth it.

“Remember when you tried to teach me how to stop?” she says after a while.

I chuckle. “Which time? The second lesson where you crashed into the boards, or the third one where you took me down with you?”

“Both. You were so patient.”

“I had selfish motives,” I admit. “Any excuse to spend more time with you.”

“Well, it worked out pretty well for you, didn't it?”

“Yeah,” I say softly. “It really did. And I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Selene slows down, causing me to circle around her. She bites her lower lip, a telltale sign that she's deep in thought. I come up beside her and take her hand again.

“What's on your mind?” I ask.

She looks at me, then she looks away before her gaze meets mine once more. “Knox, I've been thinking...”

Oh fuck. Here it comes. The big “we need to talk” moment.

“...about how lucky we are,” she finishes, squeezing my hand.

Relief washes over me so intensely that I almost laugh out loud again. Instead, I just nod, trying to play it cool. “We are pretty lucky, yeah.”