Page 86 of Mother Pucker
I give a nonchalant shrug but don’t say much more. I don’t want Beckett to say anything to Shay before I’ve had a chance to speak with her, since it’s something I only started researching recently.
“How about you, me, and Cortney talk sometime soon?” he asks, sliding his hands into his pockets. “We’ve got some plans in the works, but our last chess piece is proving to be the most difficult one. And she comes in the form of a woman with venomous snakes in place of her hair.” He rubs a hand over his jaw, muttering as if he’s speaking to himself. “And since she tends to turn most men into stone, it’s going to take someone really ducking patient. Someone almost as stubborn as her . . .”
I eye him suspiciously. Has he been smoking the ganja? Or maybe living in this place has just driven him mad? Because, really, what the fuck is he talking about?
He waves his hand at me. “Nothing for you to worry about, hockey star. Just know, we’re on the same page.”
He follows his statement by pointing two fingers at his eyes before turning them toward me, repeating the movement a few times.
Yeah, he’s definitely high.
I squint. “What are you doing?”
“Telling you with a universal hand gesture that we’re on the same page.”
“That’s not the universal hand gesture for being on the same page. That’s the gesture for ‘I see you.’ The universal hand gesture for ‘we’re on the same page’ is waving your pointer finger between two peoples’ chests.” I demonstrate the gesture.
“That’s absurd. I’ve been using this gesture my whole life, and no one has ever had a problem with it.”
“Yourwhole life? Really? When would you ever need to use that gesture?”
“I just did!” he barks.
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Well, you’ve been using it wrong for your whole life.”
“No, I haven’t. No one waves between chests. That looks idiotic.”
I can see we’re going to clash, what with both of us being overconfident assholes and all.
I’m just about to argue again when Kai and Winnie whine, “Can we go now?”
I point my index finger between Beckett and me. “This isn’t over.”
He points two fingers at his eyes and then mine, doing his stupid, incorrect gesture. “We’re on the same page about that.”
“Alright, buddy, I want you to stay near the edges of the rink, in case you need to hold on to something, okay?”
We’re standing outside of the fairly busy ice rink, surrounded by shops and trees glimmering with holiday lights, fully bundled up in warm winter gear, with our skates on. Both Kai and Winnie haven’t stopped chatting about how excited they are to finally go skating together, with Kai telling her how good he’s gotten over the past month.
It’s true, he’s taken to skating really well, but he’s still a beginner, so while he has a good grip on the basics, he’s less confident with the more complicated moves.
Kai puts his thumb up to me, his nose pink from the crisp breeze. “Got it.”
Kai, Winnie, and I step onto the ice, with me holding Kai’s hand. He releases it in lieu of the edge of the rink as soon as we enter, giving me a sheepish shrug. I get it. He’s got a reputation to maintain in front of his friend and doesn’t want to be known as the kid who has to hold an adult’s hand while ice skating. Still, I make sure to keep an eye on the two of them as they skate ahead.
Winnie seems to have a good grasp on skating and Kai’s not lagging too far behind. He only wobbled for a few seconds before he got his footing and started to glide around right next to her.
A few strangers pass by us, eyeing me curiously, likely wondering why I look familiar. I nod at them before following behind the kids, making a mental note to tell Shay how well Kai is doing.
It’s a beautiful but chilly end of November day, and though it’s technically a workday for most people, there’s quite a lot of bustle amongst shoppers around the square.
Winnie makes a big circle on one foot, gliding with her hands lifted while Kai watches her, grinning. Puffs of steam rise in front of his face when he giggles.
“Bet you can’t do this, Kai! Don’t worry, you’ll be able to one day when you get as good as me.”
Kai’s smile wavers slightly as he recovers from the hit to his ego. “Rowan says I’m already pretty good. He also said I was the fastest learner he’s ever met. And he would know. He’s the best hockey player in the nation. Probably the world. Maybe even the universe.”
Geez, kid. Talk about raising me up to the sky.
