My Hockey Alpha novel Chapter 25

Nina

Enzo skated over to the edge of the rink, gesturing for me to come. I felt strangely magnetized to him and walked over to meet him at the railing, which he leaned on. As he leaned and gazed at me with his shining brown eyes, I felt my heart skip a beat.

“Skate with me,” he said, his voice a little stern.

I blushed and looked around. “I… I don’t know how,” I said.

Enzo simply shrugged, his lips turning up a bit at the corners in a bit of a smirk. “I’ll teach you,” he said. “Don’t worry.” He gestured toward the rack in the corner where the rental skates were.

I hesitantly walked over to the rental skates and picked out a pair in my size, then sat down on a bench to put them on. It was hard to lace up the skates and get them tight enough; Enzo must have seen me struggling, because he came off the ice and got down on one knee in front of me.

“Give me your foot.”

My face was officially beet red now as I stuck my foot out and watched Enzo lace up my boots. When he was finished, he stood and held his hand out for me to help me up. I put my hand in his, noticing how small mine was in his palm and how light I felt when he helped me stand.

We walked over to the rink and he got on the ice ahead of me. My knees were shaking, partially from the nerves of potentially falling on the ice, but also because of being close to Enzo like this.

“Don’t worry,” Enzo said softly, taking both of my hands as I nervously stepped onto the ice. “I’ve got you.”

I bit my lip and put one foot on the ice, then the other… and immediately slipped.

“Woah!” Enzo caught me in his strong arms with a chuckle. He held me there for a few moments before helping me stand upright. I could feel his heartbeat against me as he held me, and the campfire scent that always surrounded him filled my senses. I hated to admit it, but I suddenly got a bit wet at the thought of his muscles beneath his hockey uniform.

Once I was able to stand without my feet slipping out from under me, Enzo slowly started skating backwards and holding both of my hands. I felt like an awkward baby deer on the ice as I hobbled forward, but Enzo was encouraging.

“You’re doing great,” he said. “Keep your weight shifted forward. There you go. Now shift from one foot to the other, keeping the skates on the ice.”

I followed his instructions, and soon, I felt a little more confident and wasn’t quite as shaky as before. I started skating while only holding one of Enzo’s hands for a bit.

“See?” Enzo said. “You’re a fast learner.” I blushed again and kept my head down, focusing on not falling.

Suddenly, Enzo dropped my hand. I nearly fell from the shock of it, windmilling my arms to keep myself up, and frowned at him as he skated a little ways away from me.

“Where are you going?” I said angrily, curling up my fists at my sides.

Enzo laughed and smirked at me.

“You’ll be fine!” he said, stopping several feet away. “Just try to come to me.”

“I can’t!” I said, tears welling up in my eyes.

“Yes you can,” Enzo replied.