Page 16 of Hat Trick (Titans Hockey #1)

Chapter fourteen

Emily

F amily day. At the arena. Fuck.

I know I'm just here as an extension of Annie, but I hate the nerves and insecurity threatening to choke me at any minute.

I pull up the to arena and unplug Annie from her car seat.

There's no point in bringing it, we won't be here long enough for her to fall asleep.

I grab her diaper bag on one arm, hike her on my hip on the other side, and we walk into the stadium.

I breathe deep. I love this place. If they could bottle this smell and sell it, I would buy it. I'd buy a lifetime supply of it.

Suddenly, a large, dark, brooding presence turns the corner of the hallway I'm in, and Gabe comes into view.

"Gabe." I say matter-of-factly. We've fallen into a tentative alliance. He doesn't hate me anymore, and I enjoy being around him, but we don't have the same relationship that I do with Carter and Luca. I'm still worried one wrong step, one wrong word and he'll hop back on his anti-Emily campaign.

He grabs my arm and tugs me towards him. Carter and Luca appear seemingly out of nowhere and greet us with hugs and kisses for Annie. Gabe wordlessly grabs Annie and hands her off to Carter, already in his skates. Carter and Luca turn, and I assume they're heading to the rink.

Gabe laces his fingers with mine, and goes to walk away, holding my hand.

I trail behind him, so confused as to what's happening right now.

He leads me to a counter where they rent out skates to the public.

A lot of the day the arena serves as a location for the Titans to work out and practice, but to off-set the expense, they open it to the public for certain nights of the week.

Gabe wordlessly drags me to a bench and pushes me down to sit. At least he didn't order me to sit like a dog. He disappears for a moment before reappearing with a set of skates.

"Are those for me?"

"Yeah, babe. If your shoes by the front door are any indication of your size, these should fit.

" He says, shoving beautiful white skates into my arms. I'm stunned.

I don't know what to say. The fact that he looked at my shoe size.

The fact that he's helping me pick out skates has me uneasy.

Uneasy isn't the word. Un-centered? Like someone's going to jump out from behind the lockers at any moment.

He drops to his knees in front of me and tugs off my Ugg boots. The position of him kneeling in front of me squeezes my chest and I find myself holding my breath. The touch, his hand on the back of my calf, him undressing me, feels indecent.

"What are you doing?" I whisper, looking around like I'm afraid of being caught.

He scoffs. "Do you skate?"

"I did in elementary school, but no. Not since then."

"If we waited for you to lace your own skates we'd be here until tomorrow." I cross my arms in front of my chest. Screw it. If he wants to kneel in front of me like a good little boy and tie up my skates I'm going to let him.

He pulls the shoe off my other foot, and I swear his touch lingers on my calf half a second longer than necessary.

He seems tense. I want to run my hands through his thick black hair.

It looks so incredibly soft from this angle.

I want to run my hand down the side of his face and feel his short beard under my nails.

I shake my head. Stupid thoughts. Being around three gorgeous men in the prime of their lives is doing wonky things to my libido.

Every day is a battle not to stare at their thick thighs, tight asses and hard stomachs.

Shit, I've even checked out their back muscles and forearms. It's truly the best kind of torture.

Second skate on, he rises before sitting on the bench next to me and tying up his own.

His thick fingers make quick work of the job and I take the opportunity to let my eyes rake over him.

It should be illegal for one man to be this sexy.

It's a crime against nature to put three fine men in one home.

"Done eye-fucking me?" He asks, his voice low and intimate and only for me.

My face flushes in embarrassment. I wasn't exactly eye-fucking him, but I sure was admiring his body.

I huff. He chuckles and stands, holding his hand out for me. Hesitantly, I put my hand in his and let him pull me to standing. Warmth radiates from his rough palm into mine and a little shiver runs through me. I'd love the feel of his callouses scratching down my back. Shit. Rein it in, Emily.

I wobble slightly on my skates. Gabe never lets go of my hand, letting me use him to balance. I follow him tentatively to the arena, where families and couples are already on the ice. I smile as I watch Carter skate by slowly with a grinning Annie on his shoulders, Luca following closely behind.

We pull off our skate guards and I step over the threshold and slowly step out onto the ice. Gabe steps around me and goes to pull me, but I tug back. "Can... can I just have a minute?" I whisper. He stops and raises an eyebrow at me.

I close my eyes and breathe in the experience.

This ice. My best memories of my family were watching the games with my brother and dad.

I've followed every player, every season.

I can rattle off stats better than most men.

This is a completely surreal experience.

The hair on my arms raises and my chest vibrates.

I have to even out my breathing before I cried with gratitude and awe.

"You really are a fan." Gabe says. It isn't a question, and it isn't an accusation. It's if he's cataloguing something important he should know about me.

"I've been watching games play out on this ice for my entire life. I've never stepped foot on it. It's..." I look him in the eyes, praying he understands without me having to find the words. Because there aren't any.

He nods. "I take it for granted. I've been playing in arenas like this since High School.

I understand why it's special for you, though.

Take all the time you need." He lowers our joined hands, but he doesn't let me go.

His thumb rubs small circles on the back of my hand.

I close my eyes and simply allow myself to feel all the feelings.

When the initial awe and nerves pass, I open my eyes to find Gabe still watching me.

I blush under his gaze. I smile up at him and nod.

He reaches out and grabs my other hand so we're facing each other before skating backwards and pulling me with him.

I wobble and squeeze his hands tighter. "Don't let me fall!" I shout.

"I won't. Keep your knees bent and you'll be fine.

" So, I do. He pulls us along for a few minutes before Carter and Luca join us.

Carter has Annie under the armpits and has her almost standing on the ice between his long legs as if she's skating too.

A wide grin splits her face, showing off her two top and two bottom teeth. I can't help but smile.

"You really can't skate, can you?" Carter teases.

"I could when I was a kid! My body's just not shaped the same way anymore." I huff. And now that I'm older, falling hurts.

Gabe doesn't seem to mind being my training wheels though, so I don't let go of him.

I'm terrified of running into other players or kids but Gabe seems to know where everyone else is and navigates us easily.

I suppose being a goalie means you have to be aware of where every single player is and where they're heading.

All three boys are incredible on the ice. Like they were born on it. I'm as wobbly and uncoordinated as a newborn fawn.

After a few laps, Gabe stops us and comes around behind me effortlessly. He grips me by the hips.

"Okay, shift your weight to your right skate and push off gently with the left."

I look at him over my shoulder. "You won't let me fall?"

"Of course not."

Arms held out to my sides awkwardly, I nod and do as he says.

It's not only the ice that's got me feeling off kilter.

Somehow in the past week asshole Gabe left the building.

This Gabe is surprisingly sweet. Still cocky, with a wicked grin, but his touch on my hips feels good.

He's being patient with me, slow. He didn't have to be here with me, coaching me and holding me so I don't fall.

I'm not sure what to do with this version of Gabe.

But if I've been having trouble focusing around asshole Gabe, charming Gabe is really dangerous to my libido.