her learn to move, stop, and turn, I just stared at both of them.
Without all his usual gear on, he was this surreal combination of Jase Kelly the professional hockey player and Jase, the man I was somehow dating, and together, they were teaching my daughter how to ice skate.
She quickly went from wobbling like a newborn fawn to moving confidently on her skates. Still slow, still doing just basic maneuvers, but she was steadier now than at the start. She fell a few times, but Jase had taught her how to land without hurting herself, and she quickly learned to get up on her own. By the time the two of them skated to a stop in front of the bench, she was doing impressively well, at least by my standards.
“I think that’s enough for one lesson.” Jase smiled. “You’re doing great.”
She turned to him, beaming. “Really?”
“Definitely. Little more practice, and this will be as easy as walking.”
Dallas rubbed her hip gingerly. “How long did it take you to learn to skate the way you do? That fast, I mean?”
Jase chuckled. “A while. Hockey moves a lot slower when you’re little, believe me.”
“Little?” I asked. “How old were you when you started playing?”
“Three.”
“Three?” Dallas and I both asked.
“Yep. My parents are both big hockey fans, and they thought it would be cute to watch us play when we were that little. Plus I wanted to do what my big brother was doing, and anyway, it gave us something to do in the winter besides try to kill each other.”
“You sure they weren’t secretly hoping you’d become pro hockey players?”
“Oh, I wonder sometimes. But I mean, it’s pretty low key at that age, and it meant we could go burn off some energy when it was too cold to play outside.”
“So instead of fighting with your brother,” I said, “they sent you to fight with other hockey players?”
Jase shrugged. “Hockey players wear pads and visors and stuff. And there are rules. When it was me and my brother on the farm?” He grimaced. “That shit was no holds barred.” He glanced at Dallas. “Err, I mean, it was no holds barred.”
She giggled. I rolled my eyes.
“So, before we’re totally done, can I, um…” Dallas blushed, dropping her gaze.
“Hmm?” Jase asked.
I nudged her shoulder. “Go on.”
She glanced up at me, then looked at him. “Can you show us the way you skate?” She gestured at the ice. “It’s so cool watching hockey players skate.”
Jase grinned. “Sure.”
And with that, he skated away from the wall, and…holy shit, that man could skate. I knew he could. I’d seen him do it. But watching him like this? Alone on the ice without any of his gear? There was something mesmerizing about the way he moved. The distinctive sway of his shoulders when he slowed down. How low he got when he was fast. The sharp turns. The sudden stops with the spray of ice chips Just the speed.
“Dad. Don’t drool.”
“I am not drooling.”
Beside me, she was grinning almost as big as she had the night the Snow Bears had played for her and me. “You have the coolest boyfriend ever.”
“Yeah. He’s pretty cool.”
And watching him skate is nowhere near as amazing as watching him teach my kid to skate.
Jase joined us at the bench again, and he was a little out of breath when he stopped. “Skate like that, you mean?”
“Yes!” Dallas beamed. “That is so cool! Will I ever be able to go that fast?”
“Maybe. Just have to practice and work up to it.”
She turned her grin on me. “Maybe I could play hockey!”
My stomach dropped into my feet. “Uh…you might have to take that up with your mother.”
She tsked and rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, Dad.”
I laughed. “Go put your shoes on.”
Jase helped her out of her skates, and then Dallas took her bag and went into the restroom to change clothes. As soon as we were alone, I turned to Jase and wrapped an arm around him. “Thank you. I think you just made her entire month.”
“Good. Glad to hear it.”
“And, um…” I glanced in the direction Dallas had gone, then looked up at him. “By the way, I told her she can tell her friends that you and I are friends, and that you’re teaching her to skate. So she can still tell them all about this without outing us. Or you.”
“Oh. Yeah, that’s cool. I’m glad you thought of it.” He smiled and pressed a quick kiss to