I'm flying across the ice, all my worries feeling far behind me. Jack is practicing his wrist shot from all different angles. I'm bundled up in one of Jack's hoodies that I have absolutely no intention of giving back. I practice one of my spins and when I stand up straight again, Jack is smiling at me.
"What are you looking at?" I call out, a dumb grin on my face.
Jack sends a quick shot into the back corner of the net, "My talented girlfriend."
I laugh shortly, pulling my hat further down on my head. Pushing my feet forward, I skate towards him, stopping within arms reach. "Keep up the compliments and you might make her very happy."
"Isn't it my goal to keep her happy? I'm pretty new at this whole relationship thing, but I'm almost positive that's how it works." He teases, winking at me playfully. Jack sets his stick on the ground next to the pile of pucks.
I was a little worried that things would be weird between us after Jack oh so romantically confessed his love to me by flying across the country and making it right before a snowstorm. But it hasn't been weird. It's been actually really great.
We've picked up pretty much right where we left off before we kinda stopped talking for a few weeks.
Jack told me how my dad happened to mention what I had said to him about Grady threatening to hurt him. I came clean about everything that happened when Grady flipped about the temporary restraining order.
But I don't think we have anything to worry about now that Dad's been made aware of everything. We've been working on our relationship. It's slow going, but it's better than it used to be.
The school has been made aware of the restraining order as well and Grady isn't allowed to use student access to my dorm anymore.
And both my parents, Pritchett, and Jack made sure that I'm aware if he comes near me, I'm to call the police regardless of whatever threats he makes.
"I think you've got it down, she must be pretty special if she was able to thaw your heart as cold as ice."
Jack raises an eyebrow, "Heart as cold as ice?"
I lean up to kiss him sweetly, "Uhuh. Something frozen that's capable of thawing under the right conditions. You didn't believe in love, but now you do."
"I believe in you Alondra. That's what I believe in. But, I also do love you." He smiles softly, grabbing ahold of me to pull me into his chest. I shiver slightly at the close proximity to my boyfriend. "I think I like seeing you in my clothes."
"Thought you liked me better out of them?"
"I feel like there's no right way to answer that so I plead the fifth. Your spins are looking good." He compliments and I wrap my arms around his neck.
"They feel good. I've been thinking about running through one of my old long programs just to see if I can do them without falling flat on my ass." I reply, shaking my head. "I don't know if that's possible though. I had plenty of time off."
"It was a year; I think if you wanted to, you could probably compete again," Jack says and I curl my fingers through the short hair at the nape of his head.
"Year and a half," I correct him. "That's plenty of time to get rusty. Especially in the figure skating world where people skate for hours and hours a day to stay at the top of their game."
"You were good Al. I know you said not to look up videos, but I did. Have you thought about it?" He asks, his baby blue eyes searching my face for a hint of a lie.
I hesitate because the thought has crossed my mind. After my talk with my dad a month ago, I'd started skating every day of break. I had to take a short recess when the team got back and Dad had to get them ready for games right away.
I'd done my short program successfully a few days ago after toying with the idea of it. But it doesn't make sense. I don't have a coach, I'm seriously out of shape compared to how muscular I used to be, and it just...It's a crazy idea.
"I have."
There's a spark in his eyes that makes me happy and apprehensive at the same time. "Do your long program."
My jaw drops, "Now? Jack I haven't-"
"Nobody is here but us. So what if you mess up in front of me? Falling on your ass is only going to leave a bruise. I'll kiss it better," He says and I glance down at my skates. "Please? I want to see it."
I bite my lip hesitantly, making a quick decision. "You can't laugh if I fall, okay?"
Jack grins, his dimples extremely pronounced. "Promise."
He grabs his hockey stick and the pucks he'd been using to practice to move them to the bench on the side. I plug in my phone to the speaker as Jack waits eagerly on the side as the song queues up. I tie my hair back and slip out of Jack's sweatshirt because it will mess with the height I get on the jumps. My long sleeve underneath is tight, but I feel a slight chill hit me.
The music starts and I let the muscle memory take over my movements. The goals aren't in the way so I skate around them. When I land the first jump, my smile is so wide because I actually landed it. I can't believe it.
I land my double axel, but I falter on my double toe loop and it ends up only being a single.
I feel free. That seems to be a common theme these days, but it's a good feeling. When I finish and turn to face Jack, I see Dylan and Coop clapping loudly behind him. "Where the fuck did you learn how to do that?" Dylan asks while Jack has a proud look on his face.
"I told you guys I knew how to skate." I say, pulling Jack's sweatshirt back on. "You're early for morning skate."
Coop flashes me a quick smile as Jack steps back onto the ice. "We wanted to see what you guys do while you're here. Dylan bet that you two would be making out on the ice."
"Sorry to disappoint, but we actually skate out here." I say as Jack wraps an arm around my back. If I thought he was bad about always physically touching me before we were really together, now that we're out as a couple, it's constant. It's not annoying though. It's soothing.
"Not everyone fucks in the living room with other people home." Jack retorts, laughing easily.
Dylan doesn't even look embarrassed by what he says. "Whatever bro."
"So you can legitimately skate," Coop says, kind of in awe.
I stuff my hands into the pockets of my hoodie, trying to thaw the chill in them despite the fact I'm wearing gloves. "Yup. My last competition would have bumped me up to senior level if I had finished it. I had just started working on my triple axel when I quit." Olympic level but how do I say that without sounding like I'm bragging?
Things might have been really different if I'd stuck with the same path.
I smile at my friends and lean into my boyfriend. "C'mon, are we just going to stand around or are we going to skate?"
Jack laughs and it's a marvelous sound, "Wanna race?"
"Catch me if you can!"
*********
"Is it just me or are people staring at us?" I ask as Jack threads his hand with mine as we walk through the library, getting ready to leave.
He looks around, a frown forming on his face. "No, it's not just you."
My anxiety starts to stir in the pit of my stomach and I hold on tightly to his hand, "I'm sure it's nothing."
Is it too much to hope for that things can just be simple and easy now and I'm just being paranoid?
"Are you coming over tonight?" He asks and I nod slowly.
"Yeah. Pritchett has plans with Eli, and Margot is supposed to FaceTime her boyfriend tonight so I'm all yours. I do have plans with them tomorrow though."
He smiles, "Great. I was hoping we could do a raincheck on that low-key night since you bailed on the last one."
I bump him with my hip, "You could have chased me and told me how you felt."
"I guess I could have."
Some guy I don't recognize comes up to us that Jack seems to recognize. He knows everyone though.
"Hey, I heard about your dad. I wanted to say I'm sorry about everything you went through."
And then our happy little bubble pops.
Jack flinches, his hand slipping out of my grip. "Excuse me?"
I look wide eyed at Jack as his demeanor cracks, "Your dad? Didn't he try to kill your mom and you called the police? That's why he's in prison," The guy continues and Jack stares at him slack-jawed.
What the hell is happening?
"Where the fuck did you hear that?" He asks quietly and I adjust my backpack resting on my shoulder.
"It's all over campus dude. Everyone's talking about it. I heard it from one of my friends on the football team." The guy says unsurely and Jack's jaw clenches. I reach for his arm and I can feel how taut his muscles are underneath his hockey team jacket.
"Jack," I say softly and whoever the hell this guy is gets the hint he shouldn't have said anything to Jack about it. He backs away, leaving without saying goodbye. Probably for the fucking best. You don't just go up to someone and say I'm sorry about your life?
"I-I'm fine," Jack chokes out.
"How did people find out?" I ask, realizing that's why everyone is looking at us, only they weren't looking at us. They're looking at Jack.
He sucks in a short breath, "I know exactly how it got out. I've got to go Al, I'll see you later." Jack says, kissing my cheek briefly, his mind clearly a mile away.
I hold on tightly to his arm, "Don't do anything stupid."
And then I notice a figure hovering in the far corner of the library, leaning against one of the stacks of books. Dread fills my veins and Jack follows my gaze. I might have been able to talk him down if I had more time, but the fact he's here right after Jack found out everyone knows about his past makes that impossible.
He breaks away from me, heading straight towards Grady. "Jack please," I say, but Jack shakes his head.
"He can't keep getting away with this shit."
I watch in horror as Jack walks straight up to him, Grady having his typical fucking smirk on his face. Whatever Jack says causes it to drop from his face and Grady finally takes the first swing at him.
He misses to my relief, but Jack doesn't. He hits Grady straight in the face and there's a collective gasp from all the tables in the room. I think one of them came from me. Jack shakes out his hand, walking away from him. This was a long time coming. I'm a little surprised he only hit him once.
There isn't a hint of the Jack I know and love in his demeanor, but when he makes eye contact with me, his eyes soften. He doesn't walk towards me though.
He exits out the front doors of the library leaving me standing behind shocked.
I'm sure all he wants right now is space but I'm not sure if that's the best thing for Jack. I don't want him to retreat back into the hole of fear he just crawled out of.
I follow quickly after, catching sight of him after he rounds a corner and I jog after him. My backpack is uncomfortably hitting my back with every step, but I catch up to Jack relatively quick.
"Jack!"
He drags a hand through his hair, "Al, please. I just want to be alone right now."
I frown, "No. I get that you might want to be alone, but that's not what you need. Don't shut me out. Please tell me what's going through your head right now."
"I'm thinking that I'm tired of Grady getting to wreck fucking havoc on our lives. What's next? What's fucking coming next because this feels awful. I only just really came to terms with everything that happened because of my dad and now everyone knows? What the fuck is wrong with this guy?" He asks, voice breaking as he shakes his head.
"Everything. Everything is wrong with him."
He sighs, a frozen cloud of condensation appearing. "I didn't mean to leave you in there, I just needed to get out of there." He says frustrated, and I take a few steps forward looking at his hand.
"I know. It's fine, I just want to know if you're okay?" I ask, scanning his face to try and read it.
Jack closes his eyes, "I'll be fine."
"You don't have to lie."
"I'm not lying." He leans down, pressing his lips shortly against mine. "I seriously think if I even see him around campus, I'm going to punch him in the fucking face again."
"If I didn't think I'd break my hand, I'd be right there with you." Jack smiles, but it doesn't meet his eyes. I cup his cheek gently, "Jack?"
"Are you...did it scare you that I hit him?" He asks carefully.
"Not at all. I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to get in trouble."
He sucks in a short breath. "Thank you." Jack presses a kiss to my forehead. "I love you."
"I love you too."
And I do.