Page 39

Luka

“ W hose idea was this?” Lily asks as her feet slip out from under her.

Her arms windmill as she starts to go down. I reach out to catch her, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her up to my chest.

I laugh as she grunts while trying to steady her feet again, but she fails miserably. Her skates have a mind of their own, apparently. That, or she’s the most uncoordinated person I know.

“Don’t laugh at me! This is hard for us un-sporty types, ya know. Give me a book, and I’m in my element. Put me in skates, and I’m a baby learning how to walk.”

“Is that what we’re going to call it? Un-sporty? Is that even a word ? Wouldn’t it be non-sporty? ”

I can’t help but chuckle at Lily. She looks like a baby deer trying to stand for the first time. Her knees knock against each other, her feet are wide, and she rocks awkwardly to move forward instead of opening her stride up.

She sighs, realizing I was right. “Hey…shut up.”

I laugh, my head falling back. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

She narrows her eyes on me for several seconds before rolling them and looking away before smirking.

“Fine. You might be a little right.” She looks back at me and lightly jabs a finger in my chest. “But unsporty is a word.”

Still smiling, my face scrunches in curiosity. “What’s the difference? ”

“Unsporty is unsportsmanlike behavior. So, when a player singles out you or one of your teammates and constantly attacks you, that’s unsporty. I , however, am non- sporty. I would rather read than sweat my butt off on a field, and I’m not agile enough.”

I smirk. “Ha! I got you for once. I’d never heard anyone use it before.”

Rowan smirks as he skates by. “Non-sporty? Our Lily? I don’t believe it for a second.” He winks playfully at her as he walks by just to annoy me, which makes Lily chuckle.

Lily laughs and raises one eyebrow as if to say I told you so.

I chuckle again. “Give me your hands.” She offers me both of her hands. “Now spread your feet apart a little. Your knees shouldn’t touch, button.”

Her nose scrunches up. “Button?”

“You look cute as a button,” I say with a wink.

“So funny, har, har, har. ”

“Thank you! I’ll be here all night,” I say as I take a little bow, careful not to jostle her too much on my way down and back up.

“Now, hold on to my hands and open your stride. Push out a tiny bit on the outer parts of your feet as your thighs power you forward.” I skate backward, pulling her with me. I’m careful to keep my speed slow so she can do as I instruct her to.

“You’re such a freaking show off.”

My smile is broad. “I’m not trying to be. I was born in skates. Just give it a try.”

“There you go, Lily Pad!” Rowan shouts in encouragement.

“Hey! That’s my nickname for her!” Stella shouts as they all race around us in the skating rink.

It’s a Sunday night, and the place is pretty dead except for the seven of us. When Stella asked if we all wanted to go skating for the night, I thought it was a good idea to get Lily out of her apartment and away from the library.

Classes and nights I have a home game are the only two places she’s been in weeks. She always comes to my games, wearing my jersey and cheering me on. I fucking love it. I wish I could have her at every game, but I understand. With everything going on top of her full course load, it’s not an option—for right now . I hope all that changes once we figure out how to break this damn curse.

So, here we are. Lily, Stella, Rowan, Tessa, Nash, Beau, and I, skating at a roller rink at 8:00 on a Sunday night and having the most fun we’ve had in a long ass time.

Lily throws her head back, giddy with excitement, as we slowly make our way around the roller rink. This is the happiest and most carefree I’ve seen her in weeks. Her vision has weighed heavily on both of us. She’s had that dream more frequently than either of us would like to admit, and it’s only increased in intensity.

The conversation with her grandmother didn’t go as we had hoped it would. Grandma May didn’t know anything about our theory that the numbers two and fourteen held a significant meaning with the curse. All she could confirm was that her mother’s accident happened at 2:00 p.m. on May 14. It was a blow to both of us, and we’ve spent every free minute researching omens, numerology, and anything else we can think of to help us.

She needs this more than either of us realized.

Her eyes light up with mischief as she suddenly throws her full weight against my chest. I’m surprised by the move, but my years of experience and training on the ice kicks in, and I right my footing before she can push me over.

“You little shit! Are you trying to make me fall?”

“I would do no such thing,” she answers with a smirk.

“That’s it.” I grab her around her waist and toss her over my shoulder.

“ Luka! ” she cries before breaking into a fit of giggles. Her tiny fists playfully hit my ass as I skate around the roller rink with her on my shoulder.

“That’s cheating, Lily,” Tessa smirks as she laps the two of us, skating backward before turning and taking off ahead of us.

“Who knew Tessa could skate?” I ask absentmindedly.

“Not me, but she’s good at everything, so I’m not surprised,” Lily answers.

“Brother, you know your girlfriend’s ass is on full display for all of your hot friends to look at?” Stella asks as she skates up beside us.

I grunt when I realize she’s right and move to put Lily down. She giggles all the way to the floor .

“Are you laughing at me?” I ask.

She nods enthusiastically. “A hundred percent, yes . Did you somehow expect my butt not to be in the air after you threw me over your shoulder like a caveman?” she sasses, putting a hand on her hip and popping it out boldly as she picks on me.

Unfortunately for her, that confident movement causes her to lose her balance on the skates, and she falls into my chest.

Lily groans. “This is really not my thing.”

I laugh because she is absolutely right, but she’s so damn cute when she tries.

As she leans tighter into me, I kiss the top of her head. “Maybe we should leave the athletic part to me and the brains to you. Between the two of us, our kids are going to be epic,” I say.

It doesn’t even occur to me to think about what that implies. I don’t need to—I know it’s a sure thing as long as she wants me just the same. I want this woman to be my wife. I see us sitting on her grandmother’s porch swing, watching our two kids and dog run around the farm. Vision be damned.

A sad smile tugs at her lips. “Kids, huh? Isn’t it a little early to be thinking about kids? You know, with this curse…” She trails off as she leans in to whisper so none of our friends can hear us. “What if that’s not in the cards for us? What If our story ends—”

I waste no time interrupting her. “No, baby, I won’t even consider that possible outcome. I want to grow old with you. It would be one thing if you didn’t want to grow old with me, but I will not accept any future world where you aren’t in it.”

“Luka, you need to be realistic here,” she pleads, but I shake my head as I gently pull her around the roller rink.

“You don’t understand,” I say.

“No, I understand perfectly, but I’m terrified to let myself consider that life with you.” She chokes up. “ I want it . I want it so bad that my heart aches just thinking about it. But I can’t. I just can’t .” She shakes her head before pushing away from me, carefully pulling her hands from mine. Her arms windmill again, and when I go to steady her, she pushes me away again. “I need a minute. ”

I lower my arms when I hear the desperation in her voice. She somehow manages to skate to the side of the rink without falling, then exits before making her way to the bathroom.

“What’s wrong? Is she okay?” Stella asks as she skates to a stop beside me. Her worried gaze also follows Lily all the way off the rink and to the bathroom door.

I’ve never lied to my twin, partly because I know she’ll know I’m lying and partly because I’ve never had to. Lily doesn’t want anyone else to know about everything because she’s worried everyone will look at and treat her differently. I respect it even if I don’t agree with it. I think we could use all the help we can get.

I answer as honestly as I can without breaking Lily’s trust. “She needs a friend right now, not a million questions and a full-blown investigation. Just a friend who listens. Can you do that for me, Sister?”

Her brows knit together. “What kind of question is that? Of course, I can, but it wouldn’t be for you. I’ll do it for her,” she says without a second thought before skating off to check on Lily in the bathroom.

I stand there, feeling helpless and overwhelmed with the monumental task of protecting the woman I love against something I know nothing about and never even knew was possible. Not until Lily’s grandmother confirmed everything she had said. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe Lily. It’s just a lot to swallow.

However, hearing May tell the stories—well, it made everything very real. Now that I’m entirely on board, I feel like I’m fighting an invisible enemy, outnumbered, out-skilled, and wholly unprepared for what’s to come.

Whatever the hell that is.