Love and Skate (13 page)

             
N: Next time
wake me up. It’s not nice to leave me like that.

             
O: Like what? You were sleeping.

             
N: Even in my sleep I want to kiss you goodnight. 

             
O: What about me? I didn’t get a kiss either.

             
N: True.  Then it’s my turn to make it up to you.

             
O: Can I see u today?

             
N: Y

             
O: When?

             
I never got an answer. 
I waited for a while but eventually I fell back asleep.  I woke up a fe
w hours later and ran to
shower and get dres
sed.  I came back
and s
he was there in my room and more importantly on my bed. 

             
I knelt down in front of her so that we were face to face and without restraint pulled her to me.  Her mouth met mine in a hungry, desperate collision.  Her fingers knotted into the back
of my hair and when she wrapped her legs around my torso I nearly threw her on the bed and got lost with her.  We
stayed that way, holding on and pressing ourselves together until not even air could penetrate the space between us.  She pulled away slowly and placed softer kisses on my chin and along my
jawline
and made her way to my earlobe.  So I decided to beat her at her own game.  I ran my open mouth slowly across the base of her neck and hearing the swift intake of her breath let me know that I was onto something.  I made my way up to her
jawline
and then to her ear.

             
“I love you Nellie.” I whispered into her ear and waited.  I expected a laugh or a slap, but what she gave me back was nothing short of amazing.

             
“I’ve loved you since you asked me for gum.” She said as her right cheek was pressed against mine. 

             
I pulled back swiftly not expecting to hear those words.
I looked from one eye to the other making sure there was no deception in her confession.  And in those eyes I realized—how could I ever doubt this woman in front of me?

             
“Say it again.” I whispered and my top lip brushed hers as I spoke.

             
“I love you Owen.” She smiled as she said it and I could see the beginnings of a tear forming in the corner of her eye. 

             
Out of pure relief I rested my forehead on her chest
at the base of her throat and released a sigh that I swore I had been holding since the day I saw her.  She ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck and scratched my scalp with her nails. 

             
“Can you do that every night when I’m having trouble going to sleep?” I looked at her and smiled.

             
“
I would have last night but you were too busy leaving me.”

             
“Won’t happen again.”

             
“Promise?”

             
“Is that what you’ve been all pensive about?” I asked him.

             
“Yeah, how’d you know?” He looked shocked.

             
“‘Cause I know you like the back of my own hand.” I answered as we both stood up.

             
“OK, I’m taking you somewhere to meet someone special to me.”
I told him
enthusiastically
.

             
We left a little while la
ter after Owen put his shoes on in record time.  I laughed and raised my eyebrows at him.

             
“What?” He said.

             
“Do you do everything super fast?” We walked as we talked.

             
We reached my car and suddenly he had me pinned to the driver’s side door and his mouth was on my ear.

             
“No, not everything.”  I gasped and it made him laugh.

             
I slapped his chest and said “You love to shock me don’t you?”

             
“Yup. And I have some really bad news.” He looked downright sullen.

             
“What?” I looked around for the problem, but came up short.

             
“I’m never gonna fit in that little ass car Nellie.  Let’s go in mine.”

             
“Ugh, fine, ok.”

             
We walked over to his Bronco and I pointed here and there to the place I wanted him to go.  Cindi knew we were coming and she was as excited as I’ve ever seen her.  He followed me through the store and into the back office.  I poked my head around the office door and cleared my throat.  Cindi turned around. 
She had paired her black tank top and jeans with pink Doc Martens and pink earrin
gs and lid to brow pink
eyeshadow
. 

             
She waved me in and simultaneously did a little happy dance.  I tugged Owen in the office holding his hand and when he came into full view Cindi screamed and I squeezed my eyes shut at the piercing sound. 
She did a knees to chest dance and fist pumped until Owen took a step back. 

             
“Oh my God Nellie, he is one hell of a fine specimen.  You were right.”

             
Owen turned his head toward me and laughed.

             
“I did
not
say that Cindi.  Tell the truth.”
My hands were on my hips now. 

             
“Ok, ok, ok, you said,” and she put both fists up to her face and batted her eyes, “Oh Cindi he’s so gorgeous and he’s sweet and he spends time with his Mom and the way he kisses…”

             
“Alright, alright, jeez.  Don’t tell him everything. I’m so humiliated.  For this I could’ve taken him to see my real parents
.”

             
Cindi visibly shuddered, “Ugh, Hellie, don’
t give me the
heebeegeebees
talking about your Mom.
”

             
Owen interrupted our goofiness, “Cindi, it’s so nice to finally meet you.”

             
Cindi ran over to him and hugged him around the middle and he smiled at me over her head.  We both showed him the store and Cindi went on and on about me making changes when I take over.  I hadn’t even
told her that I wanted to take ownership and she assumed I was. 

             
Eventually, Cindi threw us out but not before she hugged the life out of Owen again.

             
We got back into his Bronco and went to eat.  Then we we
nt to the movies
.  It was a romantic comedy but Owen never complained once.  He even laughed at the goofy parts right along with me. 

             
Before I knew it, it was time to go back home and get ready for our next bout.  Owen stayed with me and drove me to the skating rink.  We were up against a really rough team this week and it was our last bout of the season. 
I came out of the locker room and looked out at our opponents.  Owen came up beside me with Amber and Dylan and they looked concerned.

             
“What?” I asked.

             
Owen spoke up first. “Nellie these girls, have you seen them? Two of them were fighting each
other during warm ups and they’re on the same team.
  Please, please be careful.”

             
Amber and Dylan were having their own conversation and Owen began to whisper to me.

             
“What’s the protocol here?  Can I kiss you in front of your team or does that make you look like a
wuss
?  ‘Cause you look hot as hell in those little black shorts.”

             
“If you kissed me right now, I would almost guarantee that the whole room would be jealous of me.  Single, married and otherwise they would all get a taste of the green monster.”

             
“Hmmm…”  He stalled and acted aloof.

             
So I made up his mind for him.  But then my skates had a mind of their own.  In my greed my lips went one way and my skates went the other.  He ended up having to catch me half way down.  Then he lifted me the rest of the way so that
my skates dangled and
kissed me until I didn’t think I could stand up, much less skate.

             
I went to warm up and Amber was showing off as usual.  Then the other team got on the rink and we gave each other a ‘what the hell?’ look. 
They were big girls, like weight lift a car
,
big girls.  And before the bout even started one of them got in a fight with some girl
who was just a spectator. 

             
The bout started out fine and they were really kicking our asses.  
Then we tied up the score and that’s when
things really started getting
ugly.  It was like we flipped a switch and the niceties were thrown out of the window, not that there are many niceties in roller derby, but still.  Before I knew it half of the team was bleeding from one place or the other and everyone was bruised and battered. 
  But we were tough and we tried like mad to get ahead.  I saw Amber’s hand and she almost had pulled me through the pack when I felt a piercing, sharp pain in my side and I hit the floor still holding Amber’s hand.  I heard whistles and
people scrambling around me from all angles.  Then Owen was above me and he was lifting up my shirt and then he cussed such a long string that it was almost funny.

             
I attempted to sit up but
Owen’s
hand gently kept me down.  He talked to me for a few minutes and then backed away when the paramedics arrived.  I kept my eyes locked on him for as long as I could
and then I was loaded into an ambulance and taken away before I knew what was happening. 

             
I heard sirens and smelled alcohol and plastic and metal. 

             
“Where’s Owen?” I said to no one and everyone at the same time.

             
“That man of yours? Honey, he’s in the car right behind us.  Don’t you worry.”
The paramedic asked me all kinds of questions and made me talk almost all the way to the hospital.

             
We got to the hospital and after a bunch of jostling and wrangling I was in a room and there were x rays and blood samples and people shined flashlights in my eyes.  Things were written down, charts were filled out.  And after all of the commotion I heard one of them say,

             
“Ok, you can come in now.  She’s stable.  We’re waiting for the doctor to look at the x-rays and then he’ll come in.  Are you the next of kin?”

             
I heard his voice and my hand reached out for him.

             
“No ma’am, I’m just her boyfriend.  Her friend has called her parents.  They should be here soon.”

             
Oh great.  Who told them they could do that?

             
The nurse was apparently satisfied and I heard a door shut.  And I know I should have more important things on my mind but all I could do was smile at the fact that Owen just called himself my boyfriend.  My hand still flexed, opening and closing wishing that it was wrapped around his.  Just then my prayers were answered.  I heard a chair’s metal wheels screech and grind against the floor and then his hand
s enveloped my free one
. 

             
I looked over at him and tried to smile and then he brushed some of my hair out of my face and gave me this fake tight lipped smile like the ones I reserve for strangers. 

             
“Hey, I’m ok.  It’s gonna be fine.”

             
“I think I took some of your team out when I saw you go down.  Your parents are on their way.  I know you aren’t happy about it
but Amber couldn’t find your insurance info so we had to.  So, I don’t want to start any drama.  Do you want me to leave before they get here?”

             
“No, I want you right here.  I
need
you with me.”
        

             
“And I need you to be ok.  What would I do if something happened to you?”