Sitting back down at her desk, she scratched at her scrubs. Daydreams of it being quitting time filled her head, and they all included going home and changing into a nice comfy pair of blue jeans and relaxing on the couch to something on Netflix. A solo evening took a turn when her mind added Luc to the mix. Curled up on her couch watching Netflix together.
Her mind wouldn’t stop bringing up memories after seeing him last night. At the game, she and Quinn had been sitting so close to the ice that Kassie could see the smirk that crossed Luc’s face when he noticed her in the crowd. That look alone made her heart race. Then the dancing. Oh, the dancing. The way his body moved with hers. She fanned herself at the recollection.
Shaking the daydream away, she focused on the papers in front of her. Regardless of what her mind thought she should be doing, she had work to finish. Her purse sat on a shelf under her desk, and it began to vibrate, obviously with a text message. She tried ignoring it, but the purse shook again. This time she stopped what she was doing to check her phone. There was a text from Luc.
Luc: Want to meet up after work today?
It had been a few days since they’d met for lunch and gone bowling. Things had gotten intense towards the end of that afternoon, and then last night things boiled over, almost. She wasn’t sure she was ready to see him again just yet. The way her heart raced at the thought of him, maybe her body was anticipating another meeting more than her brain thought was wise.
Kassie: Sure.
Luc: I hoped you’d say that. I’m over at the rink working with the trainer. How about we meet up here? I’ll buy you a hot cocoa. Four o’clock?
Kassie: Um, okay. Sure. See you then.
Luc: Great. :)
Smiley face emoticon. She chuckled to herself as she put her phone away and finished the patient paperwork on her desk. But she wasn’t focused on her work. Instead, her daydreams kept going to Luc.
Why was he asking her to meet him at the practice facility, though? That was just odd. Although, there was a small café in the building. Maybe that was where he wanted to have cocoa. He was working this afternoon, so maybe they were just meeting at the rink for convenience.
Luckily, a few patients kept her busy, and busy meant that time passed quickly. Kassie checked her watch after the last patient for the day was checked out. No more appointments, and all paperwork was filed. It was three forty-five. She gathered up her purse and quickly said good evening to her coworkers before running home to change. She wasn’t going to meet Luc in her itchy pantyhose and blouse that reminded her of a Sunday school teacher. It was fine for work but not for a date, if that’s what this was.
She didn’t live that far from the clinic, so running home was a quick stop. She tossed her hair into a ponytail and changed into a cute pair of blue jeans, a pink top that was snug in all the right places, then topped the outfit off with a zip-up sweatshirt. She did a quick spin in front of the mirror before going to meet Luc.
Kassie entered the lobby of the Three Rivers practice facility, and her nerves crept up. There was a definite temperature drop between the lobby and the outside. Being October in Pittsburgh, some days were hot and steamy, but the nights were chilly, sometimes even cold. She’d spent time here with Ali watching Kaden practice, so she knew to dress in layers.
“Hey, Kass. Over here,” Luc called from across the café. He stood in the doorway between the café and the ice rink, holding the glass door open. “C’mon.”
Confusion set in as Kassie looked at him holding the door open. “I thought we were meeting for hot cocoa?”
“We are. I was hoping you might like to go for a skate first?”
“Skate? Um, yeah. Sure. We could do that.” A hockey player asking a girl to skate with him. It was cliché, but she didn’t hate the idea. It wasn’t that she couldn’t skate, because she might just be able to skate circles around him. He just seemed to make her nervous, no matter where they were or what they were doing. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her shoulders back. “Can I rent a pair of skates somewhere? I mean, it’s a skating rink, so I’d assume I could.”
“Sure.” Luc let the glass door close behind him. He strutted past the lockers and benches, only stopping to look at her when he opened the door to the currently closed skate rental booth. “What size skate do you wear?”
“Eight.”
Kassie looked around the quiet vestibule, while Luc fumbled around in the skate rental room. She could hear him moving things around, but her focus was on how empty the building was. Sure, the store and the café were fully staffed. Folks were shopping, and some were eating, but the rink and locker area were free of kids and adults. Maybe it’s still too early for after school practices. She knew how much time Kaden had spent at the rink practicing and working out when they were growing up. She just expected to see this place full of kids and parents.
Luc appeared before her and handed a newer pair of ice skates to her. “I went with hockey skates. But if you prefer figure skates, I can go grab a pair.”
“No,” she shook her head. “Hockey skates will work just fine.” Figure skates were easier to stop in, and better for beginners. Without looking at him, she nervously slid off her shoes and worked at getting the ice skates nice and tight.
When she finally looked up, Luc already had his skates on and was standing with his hand out to her. “Ready?”
Kassie looked at his outstretched hand and was tempted to take hold of it. But she was more than capable of standing up on her own. Pushing off the bench, she stood up on her own. As she met his glance, she answered, “Yep.”
Luc just smirked at her. That same smirk sent chills through her body and ignited a warmth in her chest that she chose to ignore. Damn, he looks sexy in his tight blue jeans and blue flannel shirt. This is just a friendly… skate? Date? What is this exactly? She looked past the empty hall, towards the rink. “Is this open skate hour?”
“Open skate? No, not exactly. C’mon.”
“Not exactly? What does that mean?”
“It’s more of a closed, open skate.”
“Closed?” Kassie had a feeling she knew what he meant by that, but the question left her lips anyway.
Luc had already started to walk towards the rink. He held out his hand for her again, and when she didn’t take it, he smirked once more and went ahead. “Closed. Since I rented it out for the hour.” Luc paused at the glass door leading to the rink. “Shall we?”
Ice skating always ended up being romantic, or at least it did in every television movie she’d ever seen. Maybe this was a bad idea, or maybe she had just watched too much TV. What if Kaden showed up?
She hesitated to step out onto the ice. She knew how to skate, and she was pretty good at it. But for some reason, Luc made her weak in the knees, and that made her nervous. His deep brown eyes focused on her as she stood, frozen, trying to predict how this was going to end before it even started.