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Chapter Twenty-Six

“Heart-eyes emojis. A whole line of ‘em.” Penni’s Puckleberry Tea

Novy

I bounced in the passenger seat of Boh’s truck as he pulled into the parking lot of the Killbillies’ new facility. New to us, anyway. “Did you ever practice here? Before Renegade Ice was built?”

“My first year, yeah.”

He parked next to Berry’s gold muscle car. One day I’d remember the make or model or whatever detail I was supposed to know about the shiny vehicle, but today I was too excited.

I’d awakened in Boh’s bed this morning. Just as I’d done the last few mornings. He’d made my citron tea and left the mug at the end of the counter when he went down to the gym to work out. He’d switched up his plans today so he could tag along to our first practice in our new digs.

He shoved out of the Range Rover and I hopped down from my side to meet him at the back of the truck. His hand wrapped around mine.

The tiny fantasies I’d allowed myself these last weeks didn’t measure up.

I squeezed his fingers. “You’re going to be bored.”

He pulled me closer, sweeping my equipment bag from my shoulder to his. “Impossible.”

“We’ll be doing drills. There’s nothing exciting about derby drills.”

He grunted. “Would be better if you’d worn your Novacaine Nellie gear, but I’ll still be entertained.”

I twisted to show him my back, my derby name scrawled across the black hoodie I wore in bright pink. “I’m in Novacaine Nellie gear.”

He slapped my ass. “Not the gear I was thinking about, má meruňka. ”

I whirled around and skipped backwards ahead of him toward the door. “Boh Zacha with the derby fetish. Got it.”

“Boh Zacha with the apricot fetish, you mean.”

He swooped ahead of me then, catching the door before I backed right into it. “Careful, Novy.”

“I was distracted.”

“I have that effect on women.”

“Wow, Novy,” Scout said, as we passed into the lobby of Fernbrook Center. Inside we found Kitty, Seeley, Berry and several others from the derby team. “Nearly smashed into the door. What kind of blocker runs into a door?”

Kitty piped up with her answer. “The kind with hearts in her eyes.”

“Why does that make me think of the emoji?” Seeley asked.

“Where do you think it comes from?” Kitty said. “But where does the saying come from? That’s a better question.”

Boh tugged on the hand he still held. “Where’s your practice going to happen? Where’s a good spot for me to plop my ass down and watch?”

My heart thumped. The words almost spilled out then. Only Herculean strength of will kept me quiet.

Berry hustled into the lobby then, weighted down with a stack of miniature traffic cones and three too many equipment bags. I reluctantly dropped Boh’s hand and took two bags from her.

Berry nodded her thanks then addressed us. “Let’s get set up, ladies! The rest of the gang will be here any minute. I think some of the Littles are even coming to celebrate the new home turf. Let’s get rolling!”

Boh and I picked up the rear as we all headed to the area that held ice when Fernbrook housed the Renegades practices. Now, we’d use the huge area for practices and bouts.

“Who or what are Littles?”

“The underage derby team sponsored by the Killbillies. Seeley and Kitty coach them, though all of us help out sometimes. Savage bunch of kids. I love ‘em.”

Over the next few hours, Boh rubbed shoulders with my friends and people I considered closer than family. At one point, the older brother of one of the Littles hit him up for a selfie and he posed without batting an eye.

My grumpy roommate helped lay out the interlocking tiles making up our training area. He helped one of the younger Littles set out the cones under her sister’s supervision. Her sister, Cooper, sent me a wink. She’d been a Killbillie for years, though had recently taken a hiatus to get married. I grinned back at her, more than happy my fella was settling in with this group so well.

Berry sidled up beside me at one point, her eyes on Boh where he laid out a row of chairs at track level. People could sit up in the stands, but for practices we still needed chairs nearby. “I think you have a winner there, Novacaine. You’ve worked a miracle. To hear Scooter tell it, he was barely housebroken when you went to live with him.”

“He was never that bad,” I said quickly. “Besides, he was on crutches and still recovering from his accident then. He’s nearly well now. Of course he’s in a better mood these days.”

“What happens when the babysitter gig is up?”

Great question. One I continued to avoid thinking about and definitely hadn’t brought up. It was silly, childish. A simple conversation that two adults in a relationship should have.

But there was a huge part of my heart that didn’t want to rock the boat. As a child, I’d never been one to stand up for myself. A lifetime friendship with Scout, though, had taught me to go after what I wanted and I wanted Boh.

I wanted to spend time with him. I wanted to spend the next hundred years learning what made him tick. I wanted a life with him.

I collapsed onto his chest, sucking in air as I struggled to catch my breath. Boh’s fingers threaded through my hair, holding me tight. With my ear pressed against his pec, the sound of his heart pounding reverberated through me.

He gently tugged my hair and I lifted my head for his kiss. His lips feathered over mine, soft and warm. His hands stroked my back and for several heartbeats we stayed just like that.

I eased away, ran my hand over his cheek, the feel of his beard making my palm tingle. The words bubbled to the surface again and this time, they slipped free. “I love you.”

He shuddered beneath me, then crushed his lips to mine and I forgot how to breathe.