“You ain’t seen anything yet, baby,” I joke.
I take the chance to show off a little, skating side to side before picking up speed. Then I build momentum to launch into execution of the most ridiculous, over-the-top, figure-skater worthy spin landing it perfectly with one leg out extended behind me.
In my opinion, it’s Olympics ice-skating competition worthy.? But I’m not trying to win any awards tonight.
I’m just trying to win Rosie’s attention.
Her laughter explodes across the ice, full and unrestrained. Her head’s thrown back, blonde hair glowing with the moonlight and frosty air, and she’s clutching her sides laughing.
She’s never looked more beautiful to me.
“Oh my god. What was that, Boone?”
Grinning, I skate around her in a wide circle, laughing with her. “They teach us stuff like that to protect ourselves. The more fancy moves you know, the better chance you won’t get an injury. But I’ve taken a special interest in learning some figure skating tricks. It doesn’t hurt that my mom put me and my brothers in gymnastics when we were little.”
“She did?” Her eyes are wide.
“Yeah, it’s the only way I’ve been able to stay in the league this long with just a few minor injuries.”
She wipes her eyes, still giggling. “Can you do a backflip?”
“On land? Yes. On ice? I tried it once and almost broke my back. Don’t ask me to attempt it again because I will just to show off for you, but you might be carrying me to the hospital after.”
She smiles. “Please tell me you’ll pull one of those spins during your next home game.”
“Not a chance in hell,” I reply, circling around her.
Rosie wobbles again but she’s finding her rhythm now, her smile softening as she looks around the empty lake.
“It’s magical out here tonight,” she says, her voice dreamy. “Sometimes I look out at the frozen lake on the weekend’s and wonder why no one else is doing this. It’s like something out of a Hallmark movie where the couple go ice skating on a date except there’s no one here. I like it even better this way.”
I like that she watches Hallmark movies. And I like that she thinks this feels like one because being out here on the ice is my home. And if she feels the same way... well, hell, I can’t think of a more perfect moment to do what I’ve been planning for weeks.
Skating toward her, I reach into my pocket for the ring that I’ve been carrying around. The pink diamond with a silver band that feels more like her than the one she has to wear for the cameras.
There’s excitement buzzing under my skin as my fingers curl around the smooth, leather box. I’m giving this to her. I’m going to explain to her how I’m feeling and what I hope for our future when all this is done.
But just as I’m about to make my move, the tip of my skate catches on something—a branch or a stump frozen beneath the surface that I didn't see. And I crash.
“Dammit,” I hiss, twisting mid-fall the way I’ve been trained to. But without my protective gear, and one hand in my pocket, I still fall way too hard.
My hip slams into the ice with a sickening thud, pain jolting up my side instantly. I can tell it’s not broken, but it’s going to have a nasty bruise come morning.
Coach will be pissed if this impacts our next game.
“Boone!” Rosie’s panicked voice cuts through the cold, and I glance up to see her rushing toward me as fast as she can. My stomach drops because the crack I heard when I fell wasn’t coming from my hip. It was coming from the ice that’s surrounding me.
“Don’t!” I shout, raising a hand to stop her, but it’s too late. She doesn’t know about the unseen fractures in the ice, spiraling around me like cobwebs. She doesn’t know that coming closer will only make things worse.
The ice groans, the popping sound is louder now, spreading outward like splinters beneath her feet and causing deadly divides.
“Stay back!” I yell again, but the words are swallowed by the sharp, echoing split of the ice as it gives way. And then—She falls.
The scream she lets out is pure panic as the lake opens and consumes her whole. Icy water crashes up around her like jaws snapping shut as her hands reach out toward me, fumbling to grab onto anything.
“Rosie!” Her name tears out of me in a wail.
“Boone! Help me!”
