Page 34 of Put a Rink on It

The driver pulls up to the runway, and Marina and I climb out. He gets the bag I stashed in the trunk earlier today and hands it over.

“Safe flight, Mr. Champion. I’ll be back to pick you up at our agreed-upon time unless your needs change.” He holds out his hand for a shake.

“Thank you, Raul.”

“My pleasure, sir.”

A member of the flight crew meets us at the bottom of the plane’s steps, and I follow Marina up them and into the small aircraft.

The cabin contains four leather club chairs facing each other, wooden tables, and plush carpet on the floor. A little farther back, identical chairs and tables offer more seats. The bathroom is beyond, and the cockpit is behind us.

“Whose plane is this?” she asks as she shakes off her outer layers and relaxes in one of the leather seats.

I remove my jacket and hat, stowing them for takeoff, and take a seat next to her. “An old teammate’s.” I hope it’s enough to satisfy her rather than having to go into whose it is and how I commandeered it for tonight’s festivities.

From across the small space, her eyes narrow in my direction. “How long is the flight?”

“About four hours. We can watch a movie or listen to the audiobook. I’m sure there’s a hockey game on. I’ve got a deck of cards in my bag, and there might be board games on the plane.”

“What direction are we going?”

“The one the plane points.”

“That’s…the one…ugh. Ne-ro. Stop being so secretive and give up the info already.”

I eliminate the distance between us by leaning my torso toward her. “Not going to happen.”

“Ugh. You’re...impossible!” She folds her arms over her chest, hiking up her breasts an inch.

There haven’t been many times in our friendship I’ve seen her so worked up, but I’m digging it. She likes to be apprised of the information, to know what she’s agreeing to ahead of time. Hence why I’m keeping all of it to myself until the very last second. It’s fun to watch her squirm.

Our conversation is interrupted by the flight attendant’s instruction to buckle our seatbelts. Marina tries to get info from her, but she’s tight-lipped as instructed.

Once we’re off the runway and in the air, I turn back toward Marina. “What’ll it be?”

“I don’t care.”

“That wasn’t on the list of choices I provided.”

Her eyes flash with something akin to disdain, but they clear quickly. “If you’re not going to tell me where we’re going⁠—”

“I’m not.”

“I want to finish the audiobook. But I’m not starting it over, so if your plan is to listen along, you’re gonna be confused. And you can’t pause it to ask questions about the things you missed. You’ll know how it feels to be kept in the dark.”

She’s serious, and I can’t help bursting into laughter.

What she said earlier about being excited about doing this flickers across my mind, and I’m inclined to agree with her.

We touch down in Minnesota three and a half hours later, and Marina’s still in the dark about our location. A car waits for us at the small airport, and it’s a thirty-minute drive to our final destination. Daylight is fading, and after this, I’ll hand over the rest of the day’s plans to her, allowing her the decision of when we head back to the East Coast.

Marina watches the scenery pass by out the window, her calculating gaze trying to piece together a puzzle. I’m hoping she’s thrown off enough not to know where we’re headed next. I’d like the element of surprise on my side.

The closer we get to the lake, the more nerves kick up. I’m not worried she’ll turn me down—she’s already agreed to this. Today is more of a formality, but something she deserves, something I’m happy to give her. Even if it won’t be real for us, to the rest of the world, I can’t skimp on it.

Kinda like her ring.

If we’re selling this, everything needs to be legit. I’d rather none of this blow up in our faces before we’ve even gotten started.