The Trouble with #9 by Piper Rayne

Iwatch from the team hallway to the arena. I should save Paisley. The kids want to see a Fury team member and they were promised one. But that day in her office when she laughed, she also put her hand on my chest and pushed me away, saying she had it under control and that my presence wasn’t necessary—or wanted.

The kid is embarrassed that he fell, and from what I gather, he’s the leader of their group. How he reacts, what he does, will be what the others follow. So I’m not surprised to see the rest of them getting off the ice in comradery with their friend.

I look down at my jean-clad legs and skates. I need to just skate out there and take control whether Paisley wants me here or not.

She looks at the ceiling and her eyes close for a moment. Jana comes up next to her, putting her hand on Paisley’s back.

Yeah, fuck it, I’m going in.

I walk out, open the door to the ice, and glide out with my stick in hand. Without granting them any attention, I hit the puck Jana pitifully tried to handle. I do a few fancy tricks, nothing crazy, then backhand the puck into the goal.

When I skate around, all the kids are watching me in awe. Gotta say, I never tire of that look. I switch my focus to Paisley. She’s wearing the slightest of smiles, but I know there’s gratitude there. I’m doing my best to respect her boundaries, but sometimes people get in their own way.

“Hey, guys,” I say.

“Maksim Petrov?” the kid who made a spectacle of himself says.

I nod.

“How did you do that?” he asks.

“It’s easy, I could do that,” the red-haired kid says, and all the kids disagree in unison. “It didn’t look that hard.”

I hold out my stick for him. “Want to give it a try?”

“Well, um…”

I smile. I like the kid’s confidence though.

“Want to see another one?” I ask.

“Yeah!” they all scream.

“I’ll need Miss Paisley to come and assist me.”

Paisley’s already shaking her head. “I don’t know how to skate.”

The girl in braids holds out a stick to her.

“Then let me teach you.” I skate over to the opening, holding out my hand.

All the kids cheer her on. She must realize she has no chance of declining in front of the kids because she takes my hand. I accept the stick from the girl in braids, holding both in my one hand while I clench Paisley’s hand with my other so she doesn’t fall on the ice.

“I’m not any good,” she whispers once we’re in the middle of the ice.

“It will do them good to see you fall. Make them understand this isn’t easy and they’re not going to get it their first time,” I tell her. A whiff of her perfume floats up to my nostrils and all I can think about is how she looked in her bra that night, lying on the hotel room bed.

“Maybe you should be the one who falls,” she says.

I shrug. “I’m the one they look up to.”

Being unable to stop on her skates, she falls right into me. Her soft breasts press against my hard chest. “Exactly.”

“Okay, okay. But I’ll have to do some move that’s crazy skilled before that happens.”

She laughs.

We skate around the oval once, and when she’s a little steadier on her skates, I hand her the stick. “Ready?”

Although she looks as though she might throw up, she nods. I love how determined she is. I’m easy on her, me skating backward and her forward toward me.

“Just glide toward me slowly. I’m here if you fall,” I softly say so it’s only us who can hear.

“GO, PAISE!” Jana screams.

“GO, MAKSIM!” the boys chant.

“Keep coming.” I pretend to get the puck, but she hunkers down and slaps the stick on the ice, getting it away.

Since she has no shot, I grab the puck and move it between us again.

“Thanks,” she says.

“You’re going to be the one that scores,” I tell her and she shakes her head.

“Listen to me. All you have to do is skate closer to me, get the puck in the middle of the stick, knock it to the right, and pick up the stick and place it on the other side, knocking it left, and it will go right into the goal.”

“You’re kidding me, right? I can barely stand up straight in these skates, let alone direct a puck.”

“I got you.” I wink.

For a moment, it’s only us here. There aren’t a bunch of little eyes watching our every move.

“You better have me,” she says.

“Trust me.” I meet her gaze, and she gives me a quick nod. “Okay, ready. Set. Go.”

She directs the puck and lifts the stick just in time. When she hits it to go into the net, she doesn’t hit it hard enough, so as I pretend skate to stop the puck from going in, I give it a little tap and the buzzer goes off. Everyone cheers.

“Let’s see your celly,” I say.

“Celly?”

“Your celebration move after scoring.”

Paisley stops skating, holds on to the edge, then claps.

I shake my head. “That’s no celly, am I right?” I yell over to the kids.

“No!” they holler back.

I skate over, dropping my stick, and pick her up and skate her around the ice. “Raise your hands and celebrate.”

She does, and her smile is so genuine and pure, my heart aches, wishing it were for me. I set her down back where we started.

“You did this so you could touch me, didn’t you?” she whispers.

I shrug. “You’ll never know. Come and introduce me to the kids.”

I take her hand and we skate over to the group, her releasing my hand immediately once we get there.

“Very impressive,” Jana says.

“She did great.”

Paisley rolls her eyes but starts the introductions. “This is Maksim Petrov, for those of you who don’t know. He’s the defenseman for the Florida Fury.”

“My mom says you’re scary,” Marin says.

“I love it when you fight,” Dru chimes in.

“And when you sprayed water on that one fan who wouldn’t leave you alone? Awesome,” another kid whose name I didn’t catch says.

“Glad you like the way I play, but my job as a defenseman is to help out my goalie. Have his back, plus protect my center and wingmen. Sometimes fights are necessary to make sure they know I’m watching.”

“Will you teach us to skate like that?” Dru asks.

“Please, this is stupid. When are we ever going to do this outside of a rink?” Malcolm says. “We live in Florida, not the North Pole.”

Dru looks at his friend. “True.”

“Yeah, he’s from Russia. He was probably born with skates,” the girl I think is Lark says.

“Well, that would’ve hurt my mom,” I joke, but I can see I’m losing them, so I set my eyes on Malcolm. “Give me ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes for what?” he grumbles.

“In ten minutes, you’ll be able to skate around the rink. Maybe nothing fancy, but you’ll be able to skate.”

He waves me off. “Whatever.”

“Are you afraid?” I pin him with a stare.

Dru’s eyes widen. But I know that a kid who acts like Malcolm will back down when someone says he might be afraid.

“No. I just think this whole thing is stupid,” Malcolm says.

“Fair enough. Feel free to sit out. How about you, Dru? Ten minutes?”

Dru looks at his friend and bites his lip. “Nah, man, I’m here.” He sits down next to Malcolm.

“I’m game!” Lark raises her hand.

“What the hell?” Dru says.

Lark looks at Dru and Dru eyes Malcolm. “If he wants to sit there and act tough, I don’t care, but we’re here and will probably never have the chance to learn from someone like him again.” She comes out to the ice, holding on to the side.

“Okay, Lark. Hold my hands.”

She puts hers in mine. She wobbles a bit, but she doesn’t let go, instead getting a look of determination on her face.

“You skate forward, I skate backward, and I’ll help you balance.” I start skating and she follows me. “One foot and then the other.” At first, she’s trying to walk. “Glide. Push off with one foot.”

Ten minutes later, we’re all watching Lark skate on her own. Sure, she loses her balance once in a while and looks like she might fall backward, but she’s doing it and I’m damn proud of her.

“Anyone else?” Paisley asks.

“Me.” Marin comes out with me and picks it up quicker than her friend did. Five minutes later, she joins Lark, the two of them skating side by side.

After that, most of the kids come out and ask to learn. Our time is about to end and only Dru and Malcolm are still on the bench, pretending they’re bored. I decide to give it another shot, leaving Paisley and Jana to manage the group on the ice.

“When I was little, I was afraid to skate. Sure, I was a lot younger than you, but I’d go on the weekends and watch my dad skate in a men’s league. Some of the guys would leave with blood gushing out of their mouths and broken noses. The game was much rougher then than how it’s played now. Maybe that’s because it was Russia.” I shrug. “But my friend Armen told me he wouldn’t do it if I didn’t do it. He picked it up immediately, while I didn’t. I just couldn’t get the hang of gliding and would always end up face-first on the ice or in a snow pile because I couldn’t stop.”

“And?” Malcolm asks with an attitude and bravado only a kid his age can have without getting beat up.

“And one day he took me to a pond and taught me everything he knew without anyone watching.”

“So?” Malcolm says.

“So I’m willing to do that for you.”

“Who said we want to?” Dru asks.

“I’m not an idiot. We both know you guys want to get out there, but you’re saving face. I’m only offering this once. Next time you guys are here, I’ll make sure it’s just you two and me on the ice for a bit. None of your friends here to see anything. What do you say?”

I can’t tell if they’re thinking it over. Dru looks at Malcolm. It’s clear he’s going to be the decision-maker on this.

“Last chance…” I cross my arms.

Malcolm nods and shrugs. “Okay.”

“And you?” I ask Dru.

He nods and smiles widely. “Hell yeah.”

“Okay then. But there’s no giving up, got it? When you leave here, you’ll know how to skate.”

They both agree, then the bus driver and chaperone come in to get the kids. We say goodbye, and after they’re gone, Jana says she’s going to change. I want to say she should’ve done that a long time ago, but I’m smart enough to keep my mouth shut.

Paisley and I sit beside each other on the bench. She bends over and struggles to untie her skates. “I guess I owe you a thank you for showing up anyway.”

I grab her leg and put it over my lap, then work the laces loose. “You just had to let me be a part of it in the first place.”

I slowly slide the skate off her foot and set it down before doing the same thing with the other one.

“I was embarrassed, Maksim. I offered myself to you only to be turned down.”

I sigh. “I didn’t turn you down.”

“Yes, you did.”

I shake my head. “I only turned down a one-night stand.”

“What?” She wiggles her toes.

I take her right foot in my hands and massage it. “I don’t want only one night with you, kotik, and I’m going to prove I’m not that type of guy. I don’t take relationships lightly. I’m drawn to you like no one before you, and yeah, I want to sleep with you so bad my dick is throwing tantrums every day, but I’ll beat off to my imagination until I convince you I’m not the guy you’ve typecast me as.”

She sighs and slides her legs off my lap. “It’s not that easy. I was hurt by the first man I ever loved, and I know all men aren’t like that. I know there are good men out there and I have no doubt you’re one of them. But it’s still here.” She presses her hand to her heart. “Some scars refuse to heal.”

I place my hand over hers. “Give me one shot. Dinner. Tonight?”

She takes so long to answer, I fear maybe she won’t, but then it’s there, so small and so soft I almost miss it. “Okay.”

I exhale a sigh of relief. Now I just have to pull out the red carpet and plan one helluva date with hardly any notice. I’ve done harder things.