My heart hammered in my chest. My throat tightened and chest squeezed tight. Fear raced down my spine. Damn it, I should have insisted she wear padding and a helmet. I fucking had them here. Why didn’t I put them on her?
I powered over, chasing her faster than I’d ever chased a puck before.
Carina shrieked.
She fell backward, her arms flailing. The scarf fluttered to the ice in slow motion.
Zeus barked a high-pitched yip, and I watched as he curled his claws, digging them into Travis’s shoulders and getting ready to launch himself to try to help.
Travis watched in horror, his arms full of a dog that was clawing at him to let go. He held tight to a barking Zeus and pushed off, trying to get to Carina. He stretched his arm out but was too far to reach.
Rusty’s “Fuck” was from well behind me. I was the only one who could get to Carina.
I pushed harder.
The few yards between us stretched out as wide as the Gulf.
Time slowed, each split second stretching out to an eternity.
It was as if I was skating through treacle, that old nursery rhyme deciding now was the moment to pop into my mind.
Carina’s hair was touching the ice, her whole body only a split second away from hitting it.
But I was there.
I scooped my hands under her arms and lifted her until I could slide my skates under her butt. I deposited her on my feet so she was sitting down and rasped, “I’ve got you, beautiful.”
My hands shook. The shot of adrenaline I’d been pumped full of waned. The band around my chest loosened, and I sucked in a breath. I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly, forcing my panic into submission.
Travis and Rusty were by our sides in barely a second.
Zeus stopped barking, and “I Will Survive”was the only noise in the rink. The irony wasn’t lost on me.
Carina choked out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob, and I brought us to a stop. “I’m going to stand you up, beautiful.”
She nodded, and I helped her up, then turned her around. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, and her lip quivered.
She threw her arms around my shoulders, and I pulled her close, steadying her. “You saved me,” she cried. “I survived.”
I snorted out a laugh and held her tighter. “I’ll never let you fall.”
The irony wasn’t lost on me. She might not be falling, but I was a goner. I’d dived in headfirst without checking the depth. I was completely and utterly in love with her.
I breathed her in, her solid presence in my arms a reassurance that she was okay.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered against my chest. Her voice wavered, and my heart broke. “I should have let you hold my hand.”
“I’msorry. I should have insisted you wear all the protective gear instead of taking shortcuts with your safety.”
Rusty passed Carina her scarf and ran his hand down her hair. He pressed his lips into a forced smile. “Are you okay?”
“I am.” Her smile wobbled, and she wiped the tear that spilled down her cheek with the heel of her hand. “Thank you.”
Zeus barked his attention-seeking yip, and Carina twisted in my arms to get to him. She wrapped her scarf around his neck, and he wagged his tail so hard, it was going in circles again.
“Fuck, dog. Nuts,” Travis grunted.
But Zeus didn’t give a shit. He clawed Travis’s shoulders again, trying to get closer to Carina. She leaned in and petted him. He licked her face, headbutting her with his overzealous nudges.
