Frozen Barriers (19 page)

About twenty minutes later, Jeremy drives us through downtown Newburyport and heads toward a small island community called Plum Island. It’s been years since I’ve been down this far, and with the increasing number of coastal storms the past few years, I’m surprised to see many of the houses on the island are still standing. We drive to the far end of the island near a lighthouse and boardwalk toward the ocean. I wonder why he would bring me here? After parking the truck, he reaches for a backpack from the backseat and hops out of the truck.

Once he’s at my door and opens it, I question, “I thought we had dinner reservations? I didn’t exactly bring beach attire.”

Smirking at me, he playfully says, “Don’t get your panties in a ruffle. We have a while before dinner. You just have to trust me.”

“Okay, but there is no way I’m skinny dipping, and you’re going to have to give me a piggy-back ride since I wasn’t aware I needed flip-flops tonight,” I tease back, shrugging my shoulders as I get out of the truck.

“Emily, if you ever want to hop on and ride me, you don’t have to ask,” he says with a huge cocky grin on his face. Opening the backpack shoulder straps for me, he helps me push my arms through and then bends over, saying, “Hop on, babe!”

Laughing at the ridiculousness of the scene, I grab onto his shoulders and pull myself on his back as he carries me down the boardwalk toward the crashing waves and blinding setting sun. Once he’s at the end of the boardwalk, he lowers me to the ground while he takes off his shoes and socks, rolling up the bottom of his pants. Handing me his shoes, he motions for me to return to his back as he carries me to a secluded clearing where he lowers me to the sand. He removes the backpack from my shoulders and opens it to reveal a large blanket that he throws over the sand. Sitting on the blanket, he takes my hand to pull me in front of him to sit in between his legs.

I watch as he pushes his heels into the sand, and I concentrate on his breathing as he settles his chin on my shoulder. We watch the boats go in and out of the harbor as the waves crash and the lowering sun glistens over the water. We’re quiet for a moment before he says, “You know, back when we were in high school, that night I dropped you off, I wanted to ask you to go to prom with me.”

Turning my chin to look at him, I say, “You had just met me. Why would you have wanted to ask me? I thought you wanted to go with Morgan?”

Looking into my eyes, he faintly says, “I never wanted to go at all; I only went for Josh, but after spending that afternoon with you…I don’t know. Something happened, but you never called, and I realized any chance I had to ask you slipped away each day that passed.”

I had no idea he thought of me like that back then. Although, knowing this now, I doubt I could have changed the outcome. Chances of going to his prom would have been slim to none if my parents had any say in the matter.

I’m not sure what to say to him to change the past, so I say the only thing I can think of at the moment. “Jeremy, I’m so sorry I never called you back after that night. Honestly, I had no idea you were interested. Had I known, it still wouldn’t have changed the last eight years. You still would have gone to college, and I still would have been living the
dream
my parents wanted me to.”

“I guess you’re right, but since I never got to dance with you at my prom, I’ll ask you now.” Pushing back away from me, he stands to walk in front of me and holds out his hand. “Emily Cameron, may I have this dance?”

Looking around the beach, I don’t see any activity. It is the middle of September, so most of the summer crowds are gone, but there are still boats in the water. Glancing up at him, I shake my head before placing my hand in his.

“You’re a strange one, Jeremy Page, but I’ll dance with you; however, it doesn’t appear you have any music.” I see him reach into his pocket to pull out his iPhone and push some buttons. As he wraps his arm around my waist and takes my other hand in his, I stare into his chocolate eyes, and we start moving. The music begins, and my heart skips a beat. The sound of the piano starts those four simple notes, and I know the song immediately. How? There’s no way he could know. Guy and Girl start singing, and my eyes glisten over with moisture. “How could you know?”

Resting his head on my forehead, he says, “A drunk hot chick left her iPod inside her car one night I drove her home, and somehow this was the only musical listed. I thought it
had
to have some meaning in your life. Emily, please tell me those are happy tears.”

He did this for me. He found the one song that had the meaning of hope and connection no matter how different we are. I’m so lost for words right now, but once I speak, I’m even more speechless. “Miluju Tebe.” The words flow from my lips, and Jeremy glares at me as though I’m crazy. Right now, I think I may be. Why those words slipped from my mouth I don’t know. I basically just quoted a line from the musical where Girl tells Guy “It is you I love” in her native language. I can’t possibly love Jeremy, but my feelings are so strong at the moment, it’s my only reasoning for saying them.

“I’m not even sure what you said, but I do have one more thing to ask before we head to dinner.”

Grabbing something from his front pocket, he backs away from me and kneels down on one knee before me. My eyes shoot out of my head. He cannot be doing this.
No freakin’ way!
I need to stop him, but it’s too late. He’s already started talking. Raising a black velvet box toward me, he slowly opens it while saying, “Emily Cameron, will you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend and escorting me to the first home game of the hockey season?”

Opening my eyes in relief that it isn’t a marriage proposal, I glance at what’s inside the box. A sterling silver necklace sparkles in the sunset along with an opal birthstone, a diamond hockey stick pendant, and a round silver disc hand stamped with a number “3.”I can only assume the three is his hockey number because I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know my birthday is in March. Placing my fingers over the necklace, I stare at it silently for a while before I realize he’s still kneeling there in the sand waiting for my answer. Oh my god. He just asked me to be his girlfriend. How will that work between us? Our lives move in such opposite directions, and the next few months will be even worse than the past week.

I don’t even know when his hockey game is or if I can make it, but at this moment, I’ll move mountains if it means making him happy because nothing else matters to me. No skating medal has ever made me this happy.

Reaching out to rest my hand on the side of his face, I look right into his wondering eyes and nod my head. “Yes. Jeremy Page, I will be your girlfriend.”

Sweeping me up in a bear hug and swinging me around, he gently lowers me before pulling the necklace from the box and placing it around my neck. “You like it?” he asks as he places his hands on my shoulders.

“I love it, but you could have just asked me to go to the hockey game with you,” I say as I place a soft kiss on his cheek.

“Yes, but this way, if you’re wearing this, people will know that gorgeous blonde girl in the stands belongs to me, and you have no idea how happy that makes me right now,” he says, pushing the flying blonde hairs out of my face. Making his way to the blanket, he starts packing everything back into the backpack before motioning for me to get back on his back. “Now, it’s time to feed
my
girl, so let’s go have our first dinner as a couple. Shall we?”

Laughing because I still can’t believe this insanely hot weirdo is my
boyfriend
now, I say, “As long as there aren’t any martinis involved at dinner, I’d love to celebrate our first night together.”

I still can’t believe she said yes. I thought for sure she would have hemmed and hawed over the question. I mean, I’m not complaining, but Emily is one of the most indecisive women I know. It took her eight years to realize she is worth fighting for and actually go on this date. It shocked the hell out of me when in less than a minute she accepted the idea of being my girlfriend.

It will be one of the most tested dating experiences I think I’ll have to endure, ever. I’m still not convinced that something won’t happen to screw this up. Starting next week, I have regular morning skates and training camp continues with the whole team. Once that’s over, it’s right into the exhibition games, and then the season officially kicks off. I’m not even sure where I’m going to find the added time for Emily, but if I can see that smile or hear that laugh through a phone call, I’ll take whatever I can get. I just hope she thinks the same about me and wants us to work just as badly.

Our table isn’t ready for dinner yet, so Emily and I sit outside at the bar overlooking the harbor. I’ve brought her to The Black Cow for dinner, one of Newburyport’s finer dining establishments. The sun has just set below the water, and the boats are bobbing up and down against their moorings below us. Glancing over at Emily, I see her staring out at the water, watching the people come and go on their boats. The necklace I gave her twinkles on her neck in the fading light. She must sense me staring because her attention turns toward me.
That’s right, I’m the crazy motherfucker under her spell.
God, she’s beautiful, and she’s mine.

A small chuckle slips from her lips as she stares up at me. “What?” she asks.

Trying to find the right words, but knowing I’ll screw up whatever I say, I lean toward her, grab her chin and move my lips down to hers. I pull away slowly, moving my tongue over my lips and tasting her lip-gloss. “You taste like coconuts and smell like warm vanilla.” It’s a heady combination, causing a stirring of sorts in my stomach.

A slight moan escapes her as she rubs her lips together. “You keep that up, and we’ll never make it through dinner,” she says while trying not to laugh.

Emily turns away to look at the boats again while sipping on her sangria. She is not going anywhere near martinis tonight. Not that I didn’t mind her little striptease the other night, but I really want her to remember tonight for the rest of her life. Tonight I want to get to know the real Emily Cameron, not the one the world knows from a three-minute clip they see on television before she performs during a competition. I’ve seen the YouTube videos with the stories they put out there about how her so-called loving parents have supported her throughout her career and how they always knew she was a hidden talent as a child. What the segment neglects to show is her mom yelling at her as a child at the rink, or how her parents have messed with her head so much that she hasn’t been able to fully open up to anyone until recently.

I stand behind her as she sits on the bar stool, my hands massaging her shoulders. I hear the hostess call my name, and we both turn to make our way to the dining room. Emily grabs her bag and drink as I urge her in front of me while keeping my arm wrapped around her waist. We have a seat near the large windows that overlook the water. Small tea lights flicker on the tables, and fresh fall flowers adorn all the tables, adding to the nautical theme.

After we slip into the booth, the waitress hands us our menus, and I order a local microbrew, while Emily is content with water. Eyeing her suspiciously, she says she has a morning practice set up, so she can’t risk having too many sangrias. I reach out and grab her hand in mine on top of the table, continuing to rub my fingers over her smooth knuckles. I want to ask her to skip her practice tomorrow, but I know she won’t and can’t. Plus, since I’ve already stolen her for Sunday with my family, I may be pushing my newly acquired boyfriend status. I just want to spend time with her because I know it won’t always be like this.

The waitress comes back with our drinks, and we order dinner. I order the roasted statler chicken, while Emily sits there staring at the menu a little longer.

“You are not ordering a salad, just in case that’s what is about to come out of your mouth,” I say, stone-faced.

Laughing, she looks up from her menu at me and sassily says, “Oh, so you think you know me that well?” I nod back at her in agreement because that’s all I’ve ever seen her eat besides the toast I made her last week. That’s when she totally throws me a curveball. “I’ll have the grilled salmon, hold the crème fraiche, and a side of jasmine rice, thank you.” She turns her eyes back to me and winks, while handing the waitress our menus.

“Aren’t you the little daredevil tonight? You’re full of surprises.” I lean back into my seat. “First, you don’t even make me beg you to be my girlfriend, and now you order a full entrée for dinner. Any other surprises you have up your sleeve?”

Very flirtatiously, she pulls her bottom lip under her teeth and says, “Well, perhaps after this, you can search under my shirt to see what else I’m hiding.” My eyes bug out, and my dick wakes up.
Calm down, killer. Just ‘cuz you got a taste of her the other day does not mean it’s a sure thing tonight.

“Babe, remember. I’m following your lead. If you need me to do a full-body search, I’m good with that.”

Dinner is served, and even though Emily doesn’t eat much more than a few bites of her salmon, she is at least trying something new. I commend her for that. We talk as though we’ve known each other for years. Technically, we have, but this is the first time she’s been willing to open up and give me a shot. I’m not sure what changed her mind, and I’m not sure that I freakin’ care. She’s here, and we’re finally trying this relationship. For once, she is making her own decisions instead of someone else making them for her.