I glance out the window, stalling, as my fingers fidget in my lap. Finally, I take a deep breath. “Never found anyone worth my time.” It feels like a safe answer. Aneasyone. Because the real answer is much more dangerous.
He chuckles. “You never did sugarcoat the truth.”
“Be honest, that’s why you like me,” I remind him.
“Well . . .mostof the time,” he says.
I smack his arm playfully. “Maybe you couldtryto sugarcoat the truth about me.”
He lets out a full-bodied laugh that’s still my favorite thing in the world. It reminds me of late-night conversations, Chinese takeout during study sessions, and lying under the stars to see who could spot a shooting star first. We had so many laughs together. After we broke up, I immediately felt the void.
Even though I tried dating other guys, I’ve never found another person who made me feel like that. Every other relationship was tangled up in expectations—how I performed on the ice, who my family was, how much success I could have. With Leo, it was different. He made me feel like I mattered, no strings attached.
I stare out the side window. “What about you? Have you dated much?”
“It’s been a while since I’ve dated anyone seriously,” he says, keeping his answer conveniently vague. Does this mean he’s had a bunch of flings? I’d rather not know, even though I’m aware of how sought after professional athletes are.
He taps the steering wheel with his thumb. “Hockey gets in the way. And I’ve discovered I like to stay home more than go out since I travel for away games. Maybe Tate is rubbing off on me.”
“Tate? Is he the bookish one?” I ask.
“Yeah, the straitlaced grump who thinks he’s the fount of knowledge. It’s gonna take quite the woman to win him over.”
“Maybe he just needs someone who’s the opposite of him. A woman who will break him out of his shell.”
“Know anyone?” he asks.
“I’m still the new girl in town, but I bet Sloan and Jaz do.”
Leo pulls into the parking lot of Boots and Buckles, which looks like a dive bar from the outside. Pickup trucks line the lot. A few guys in hats stand outside, shooting the breeze.
He parks the car between a rusted Chevy and a jacked-up Jeep. When he kills the engine, the muffled strains of a steel guitar drift outside.
I’m not sure if this is the type of place where I’ll be shoved on stage and forced to sing a Patsy Cline song, but I don’t want any surprises. “Nothing embarrassing happens when you’re with your pals, right?”
“Naw,” he says, getting out of the car. “Sherrie owns the place, and she treats us like family. Just don’t do anything stupid.”
“Define stupid,” I say as he opens my door. “Like trying out the mechanical bull after eating a basket of cheese fries?”
“Definitely that.”
The cool air makes me shiver. Leo grabs an extra coat from the backseat, draping it over my shoulders before looking back at me. “I meant, don’t let any guys hit on you... or leave with anyone but me.”
Does he really think I’d do that? I’ve barely left my apartment in the last six months. “Your teammates are the exception, right?”
He turns to me just outside the restaurant door, where greasy smoke fills the air. His brow furrows. “Especially them.”
I’m not sure if he’s just being overly protective, but it’s freeing to have someone watching out for me. I can finally have some fun, something I’ve badly needed for a long time. When you’re a figure skater at my level, there’s no time to let loose,ever. It’s all about earning the accolades, working until you’re bone tired, and somewhere along the way, losing who you really are.
I’m not sure I even remember how to have fun anymore.
He reaches to open the restaurant door, and I put my hand in the way, stopping him. “Leo, do you remember when you used to make me promise that when I went to a party, I’d always have a safety buddy with me?”
He frowns slightly. “Yes.”
“Could you be my safety buddy tonight, then?”
A hint of a smile ghosts his lips, and I mentally add it to the tally. “Yeah, Vic. I’ll be your safety buddy.”
