Once we stepped onto the ice, it was obvious she hadn’t exaggerated. She pushed off with ease, gliding like she’d done it yesterday.
“I grew up in upstate New York,” she said as we skated side by side. “It’s a small town, and there is this pond just down the street from our house that freezes over every winter. My siblings and I practically lived out there.”
As she spoke, her hands moved with the story, painting the picture as vividly as her words. I remembered how animated she got when she talked, like she couldn’t help but bring you into the moment with her. I’d noticed it that first time we’d met in New York, too. I’d liked it then, but I liked it even more now. She seemed to have been hiding it earlier when she was around Alex and his family, and I was glad she was obviously feeling more comfortable with me.
“Claire, my older sister, was insanely good. Like,Olympic-level-in-her-own-head kind of good,” she said with a laugh. “She made the rest of us look like baby deer learning to walk. I always wished I could skate like her.”
Her fingers brushed against mine as we skated, and I tried not to reach out and grab her hand. It seemed like such a natural thing to do, to hold her hand while we glided along the ice together. But she kept talking as if she hadn’t been affected at all by our accidental touch, so apparently it was just me who thought it seemed natural.
“My younger brother, Ethan, was more into sports. Football, soccer, hockey, anything with competition and trash talk,” she said, rolling her eyes fondly. “We used to have tobeghim to come skate with us. But he always did. Even if he complained the whole time.”
“Are you three still close?” I asked, fascinated by this picture she was painting.
“Oh, yeah, we’re really close. We have a sibling group chat that can get pretty ridiculous,” she said with a huff of laughter. “They are my best friends.”
I watched her as she talked, her breath puffing out in little white clouds, hands flying midair, eyes lighting up with every memory.
It hit me again how different we were. She talked about her family like they were home. Like safety. Like warmth. But I didn’t have any experience with that.
I didn’t know what it was like to grow up wrapped in love and belonging. To have memories that didn’t come with sharp edges.
And yet, somehow, Belle made me want to believe in it. In all of it.
She made it look easy—love, joy, connection. Like maybe the world wasn’t as cold as I’d always thought it was.
And for the first time in a long time, I found myself wondering what it might be like to feel all of that too.
Chapter 11
Belle
December 20th
I glanced over at Holden,whose gaze was focused ahead as we skated a slow loop around the rink. I wanted to ask him questions about the people who mattered to him in his life, but I knew it was a touchy subject. The little bit I’d gleaned from Alex and his mom about him and his childhood was enough to have me treading lightly.
“What about you?” I asked gently. “Is there anyone in your life you’re close with?”
Holden was quiet for a second. Not in a closed-off way, more like he was considering the question seriously.
“The closest thing I’ve got to a best friend is Zeke,” he said eventually. “We played on the same team for a while. He retired last season.”
“You still talk?”
“Yeah, here and there. He checks in. Tells me when I’m being dumb.” He smirked a little, and it softened something in me.
“What about your current teammates?”
“They’re fine. They’re good guys, and we get along. I’m probably the closest with Ryder, the team’s forward. But it’s not the same. Everyone’s got their own lives. Families. Stuff to get back to.”
He didn’t say it with bitterness, just matter-of-fact, like it was something he’d gotten used to.
I wanted to ask more, dig deeper, but the look on his face made me pause. There was a quiet there, something tender, and I didn’t want to push too hard and make him retreat.
So instead, I bumped my shoulder lightly into his. “Well, you’ve got me now. For skating, emotional support, and cheesy jokes.” I added a wink for good measure.
He raised a brow, the corner of his mouth twitching. “Cheesy jokes, huh? That’s supposed to be a selling point?”
I grinned. “Absolutely. Want to hear one?”
