Frozen Barriers (45 page)

I have to stop her rambling. It’s true; she has changed. This is not the seductive little minx full of surprises. This Emily is not the same one I left before the accident. Somehow I knew I would find her buried deep within her soul, but for now, I need to comfort her and take care of her. Making my way around to her side of the bed, I sit next to her, turning my body to face her. “Emily, listen to me. You and me, we’ll work out our shit. Will it be today or tomorrow? Maybe not. Who knows? All I know is I love you, and if I have to spend every night telling you how sorry I am for hurting you and leaving you when I did, then I’ll do it. As long as I have you in my life, I’m complete.”

I can feel the late February sun coming through the windows warming my face, but that isn’t what wakes me. The warm arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me against him as his fingers slide under my waistband of my flannel pajama bottoms. That’s what wakes me up. I’ve missed having him in bed with me.

Once everyone finally left Jeremy’s mini welcome home party last night, I was wiped out and could barely keep my eyes open. I really can’t wait for the doctor to finally remove this boot, so I can start rehabbing the ankle completely. It never required surgery, but given the results from the x-ray, they wanted to make sure it was aligned correctly before taking the chance of removing the boot. I’ve come to terms with the fact that foot won’t be going inside a skate boot anytime soon, and I’m fine with it for now. I need to talk to Jeremy some more about my plans and see where he’s at and where our future is together. There is still a lot to be said, even after our talk in bed last night.

During one of our talks on the phone, he said he understood how traumatized I was that night at the hospital and how we both said things we probably didn’t mean. Although I knew I needed to figure out things in my life, I also knew that didn’t mean I had to throw away my relationship with him. His simple text messages would always make me smile, even when I knew there wasn’t much he could have done during my recovery, and I always had my girls by my side to make my days just a little better, too.

Six months ago, if someone had told me this was where my life would be now, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. I would have never predicted in a million years that my parents would be getting divorced, selling the house and Daddy’s company, and removing themselves from my life. Nor would I have believed that I’d gain a new family of seven, well, eight if you include Aspen, who shows me more love in one day than I have ever experienced in twenty-two years of my life. Sometimes, I need to pinch myself just to believe this is my reality and that I’m not in a dream anymore.

I’m removed from my thoughts when I hear Jeremy groan behind me. “Woman, shut those blinds. It’s way too early to be getting up, especially when I don’t have a morning skate today.”

Smacking him on the arm, I say, “I would, but someone thought it would be funny to confine me to the bed, so he threw my walking boot across the room last night. If you would be so kind as to fetch it, I really have to pee.”

Throwing back the covers, Jeremy pads over to the boot and brings it back to me. “Need any help?” He yawns through his question.

“Nah, I’ve become a pro at this,” I say as I place the boot on and wobble to the bathroom, but not before turning up the heat on the thermostat in the hall. Looking out the front window, I notice a few inches of snow fell again last night. Shivering and wrapping my arms around my body, I feel a cold chill run up my spine as thoughts of the accident enter my mind again. Squeezing my eyes shut to ward off the memories, I feel unexpected hands come around my waist, and I startle.

“Jesus, Emily. It’s me, babe,” Jeremy says as he runs his hands over my arms, and I rub my face with my hands.

“I’m fine, really. It’s just a flashback. We do have to talk today, though. Do you mind starting the coffee for me? I don’t know what’s in the fridge for food. Courtney usually gets whatever, but I’m trying not to eat any of it. My ba-dunka-dunk could shed a few inches.”

“Babe, did you really just say the word ‘ba-dunka-dunk’?” he questions as he moves about in the kitchen.

“Might I remind you that you did leave me with Dave to cover ‘Emily Watch Third Shift’on certain days?” I playfully tease as I head to the bathroom.

When I come back into the kitchen, Jeremy already has the coffee brewing and is standing in front of the open fridge staring inside. He pulls a carton from the shelf as I sit at the kitchen table and watch. Aspen paws over to rest his head on my leg. The fridge door shuts, and Jeremy stands there perplexed.

“Babe, I don’t even want to know, but this carton does say
EggBeaters
on it, so I’m going to assume there is some kind of egg in it. However, why is it liquid?” he asks as he heats up the skillet and begins cooking us something to eat.

Once he’s finished making the healthier version of eggs and toast, he brings the coffee over to me and sits at the table. After a few sips of coffee and a couple of bites of toast, I feel as though I can tell him where I am with everything. Placing my mug gently onto the table, I stare up into his eyes. He leans back with his arm resting over the back of the chair while bringing his foot up to rest on his knee. “Tell me what you need to tell me, Emily,” he says, resting his coffee mug on the table.

I take a deep breath before saying what I need to tell him. “After the accident and after you left, I wasn’t in a good place. I couldn’t process what had just happened. One minute I had the world in my hands. I was finally going to the Olympics. I was finally doing something for me, and I owed it all to you. You made me realize something you love was worth fighting for. That night on the ice in Boston, it finally hit me that I really did love skating. It took standing up to my parents to figure that out.” Jeremy brings his chair closer to mine, reaching out to grab my hands in his. I continue my confession, “Then, in a flash it was all gone. I didn’t have the Olympics. I didn’t have skating, and my own parents left me once they saw I wasn’t able to make them all the money and notoriety I used to. What hurt the most was that I didn’t have you after that night either. It was
all
gone. I can’t blame you for leaving. You had to do it, and I had to tell myself it was the right decision not to ask you to stay with me. It took a long time for me to see what I needed to do and where I wanted to go in life. I called Suzy one day, and I met with some of the board members at the Boston Skating Club last week. Once I finally get this boot off, I’ll be one of the newest members of the children’s skating program at the club. I’ll be teaching a few days a week and will be able to provide private lessons once all the paperwork is in order.” I look up at him to see if I can tell what he’s thinking or feeling about everything I just told him.

“Babe, I’m so happy for you! I couldn’t be more proud that you finally worked out everything, and you’re going to be doing what you love. Being away from you made me realize how much all of this,” he throws out his hand, pointing around the room before continuing, “means to me and how much I missed everyone. The NHL career, it’s not what I want for my future. I love making my average salary with the Monarchs. I want to be with my family and friends. I don’t need the big life to be happy. I may have back in college, but that all changed over time. It became a definite the minute you walked back into my life. We’ve spent more time apart than together, and once I get back to the Monarchs, I’m going to make sure I’m here for good. If that can’t happen, then I’ll find something else to do. All I know is I’m not leaving you ever again. I love you more than any career. It’s you and me and Aspen for good now. Do you think you can handle that?” Jeremy asks as he starts to stand.

Holding back happy tears, I nod and tell him, “I think I can handle you.”

Grabbing me out of my seat and into his arms, he begins walking toward the bedroom. He gives me a kiss on my cheek before his naughty side comes out to play. “Good, because I’ve got something that you can handle right now, and it’s in desperate need of being inside you.” He winks at me as he places me onto the bed.

I sigh at him as though I’m uninterested. “Oh, I suppose. Besides, Gigi’s batteries are completely worn out.”

“You ‘suppose’? Dear God, I really have been gone way too long, especially if Gigi isn’t fully charged. I need to fix this right now.” He laughs as he strips off his boxers and takes off my clothes slowly until we are both naked. I watch as he tries to make up for the last six weeks. My heart is finally whole again, and I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long time.

Jeremy places kisses along my neck, and I’m instantly aroused. Gigi has superpowers, but nothing compares to actually having Jeremy work his magic. His hand slinks its way between my legs until his thumb circles my throbbing bud and two fingers push inside me. I gasp in pleasure as he sucks on my nipples, arousing all my desires. My hands clutch his shaggy hair, and I pull his mouth to mine. His hands are now feverishly running themselves over my waist and legs as I try to catch my breath in between kisses.

“Emily, I need to be inside you soon, or this is going to get real interesting.”

Reaching my hand around his cock, I pull him toward my entrance. “Jeremy, if you don’t stick your cock in me soon, I’m going to take over control of this situation.”

“There’s my little minx. Glad to see she came out to play this morning.” He gives me a devilish grin before he pushes himself deep inside me. Whatever nervousness I felt last night was just tossed out the window. Jeremy slowly moves in and out as I lift my hips. I feel him throbbing inside me as we stare into each other’s eyes. Feeling bold again, I reach down and begin pleasing myself as Jeremy watches with his cock still buried in me. “Babe, that’s so hot,” he says before he speeds up his pace. My finger continues to speed up as well, until I’m on the edge of coming.

“I’m close,” I say as I look into his eyes and then with one last hard thrust, we’re both coming and everything we thought we lost in six weeks has all come back to us in this moment.

Pulling his head back from my chest, he looks me in the eyes, saying, “I love you so much, Emily.”

“I love you too, Jeremy.” I smile back at him.

A few weeks have passed since I’ve returned home, and things with Emily have been wonderful. She and I are closer than ever before. However, due to some scheduling issues with the Monarchs games, we have to celebrate Emily’s birthday at the end of March, instead of her actual birthday on St. Patrick’s Day. Mom says it’s fate that brought us together because how could two people actually be together and have holiday birthdays is just unheard of.

Emily has been able to remove the boot on her foot and is rehabbing it every day. The doctor says she might be able to put it in a skate boot by June. She just isn’t going to be landing any triples anytime soon. When the doctor told her that news, you’d think he’d just handed her the moon. She was absolutely ecstatic. It’s funny how her feelings about skating changed once she realized the pressure of winning and competing was no longer on her shoulders.

She still can’t drive a car, but that doesn’t matter. Today, I’m taking her out for her belated birthday, and she has absolutely no idea what I have planned. We drive around the city until we arrive at our destination. Looking at me with a raised eyebrow, she asks, “Jeremy, what are we doing here?”