17. Kayla

It’s pure torture not being able to touch Ash, and I’m only making it harder for myself by encouraging lingering touches and “accidental” body contact.

Izzy gave me a knowing glance, but I brushed it off. She can speculate all she wants — I don’t have to confirm it.

We grab some cotton candy and make our way through the hay-bale maze. I put the soft floss in my mouth. Ash’s eyes flicker to my lips, and I try not to laugh.

He grabs a piece and starts to analyze the maze. “Is there a method to getting out of here?”

I shrug. “I usually wander around and if I get lost I hold up one of the flagpoles, and someone comes to get me.” I point to the flagpoles left on pretty much every corner. “Sometimes we’d just come in to get lost and make out.”

He stops walking. “Is that why you brought me in here?”

I push my body against his until he hits one of the hay-bale walls. He looks stunned as I look up at him. I know what we agreed, but there’s no one around us right now. I reach up on my tiptoes and bring his face down to mine.

Our lips collide and my heart pounds in my chest. I let the adrenaline and lust take over, lightly biting his bottom lip until he groans. He quickly glances around us as he kisses me. There mustn’t be anyone there, because he grabs my butt and lifts me slightly.

My heart flutters in my chest as Ash deepens the kiss. For a moment, it feels like there’s no one else in the world. Just us, our racing hearts and a lot of groping.

I hear giggling approaching and we spring apart. The sound gets closer, and I bend down and pretend to tie my shoe as a group of teenage girls come through. Ash searches around us as if there are clues hidden in the maze.

The girls pass by us, oblivious to anything going on.

I pop back up, and Ash is pressed against me. “This is getting ridiculous.”

He looks down at me, a challenge in his eyes. “We could just make out in front of everyone and get it over with.”

I step back from him. “I think this is the opposite of what your coach wants. If you get caught with me, it could cause problems, right?”

I take his silence as confirmation. “And, I mean, it’s getting ridiculous how we’re acting like a couple of teenagers.”

He steps toward me, closing the space between us. He traces his finger down my face and tilts my chin up. His lips hover over mine. “You can tell me to stop at any time.”

My breath hitches. Damn him. He knows exactly what he’s doing to me.

I hear people approaching again, so I turn on my heel and walk away from him. I need a second to get my heart beating normally again.

This is what I was afraid of. Losing myself in him.

People flood the maze, and we don’t have any more incidents. In the end, we follow a group of teenagers who seem to know what they’re doing and make our way out of the maze.

We play a few more games, and Ash finally beats me. He chooses a polar bear with a hockey stick as his prize. He hands it to me. “To remember me by.”

A pit forms in my stomach. Another reminder that this is temporary.

His face drops. It must be hitting him as well.

Determined to turn this around, I suggest we go to The Roadhouse. They always rearrange the bar for line dancing when there’s a festival on.

Ash gestures to his tall stature. “I’m not exactly built for dancing.”

I push out my bottom lip. “Please. I promise it’ll be fun. Where’s the Ash that sang karaoke and arm-wrestled?”

He chuckles. “At the bottom of Izzy’s drinks.”

“That can be arranged.” I smile and bite the corner of my lip.

I watch as he weighs it up. “You know it’s going to make this” — he gestures between us — “harder.”

I nod. “It’ll be the perfect end to our day off.”

He sighs. “How can I say no to you?”

I start to skip toward the bar, but Ash clears his throat and gestures for me to walk beside him.

He looks around the crowded street. “What’s your favorite part of living here?”

“Oh, lots of things. It’s home. It’s the place I feel safe and protected. It’s like its own little bubble away from the world.”

He nods. “Does it ever feel isolating?”

I briefly meet his eyes. It feels like he’s asking if I’d ever leave. “Yes,” I answer truthfully, “but I’ve always found comfort in isolation. It’s how I like to process my thoughts.” I shrug. “I guess it can get lonely, but I have my brother and my friends and the town.” I gesture to everyone around. “You can live anywhere in the world, but not everyone knows their neighbors or can rely on them to pitch in when they need help.”

Ash nods. “That’s how I feel about my teammates. I know they have my back no matter what.”

I smile. I never thought of it like that. I think of Jack talking about the camaraderie of being part of a team. He always talks about his teammates. After seeing Jack and Ash together, I can see they have a strong bond — and that was only college hockey. Ash must have an even stronger bond with his current team.

I bite the inside of my lip. “Is it hard being away from them?” I know he’ll be going back to them soon, but selfishly, I want him for a bit longer.

He nods. “Yes and no. I think it would be harder watching from the sidelines.”

“What’s your favorite part of playing hockey?”

He laughs. “Other than the camaraderie, it would be having an outlet. It’s where I get out of my head for a little while. It’s therapeutic.”

“Smashing into people all the time sounds therapeutic!” I say, laughing.

He rolls his eyes and his voice drips with sarcasm. “Yes, hockey is just beating people up.”

“Maybe I need to give it a go.”

He pauses and then bursts out laughing. “I would pay to see that.”

“What?” I say, pouting. “You think I couldn’t take them?”

“The opposite.” He smiles. “I think you’d scare the pants off a few of the guys. You’re pretty terrifying when you want to be, you know?”

I smile and then chomp my teeth together.

He pretends to be frightened. “See? Terrifying!”

I wonder if he’ll tell them about me when he goes home. It’s not something I want to think about.

I try to come up with something else to talk about. I don’t want to focus on him leaving. “What about your future? After hockey, of course.”

He twists his lips to the side. “I try not to think about it too much. Either commentating hockey games or coaching.”

I nod. “Would you stay where you are, location-wise?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “I’m open to anything.”

My heart leaps. I know he’s not talking about us or our future, but he’s igniting the tiny flame of hope inside me.

He takes in all the chaos as we continue toward the bar. “What about your future?”

I look up at him with a confused expression.

He chuckles. “Do you think you’ll stay here? Travel? Jump into a different career?”

Screwing my face up, I reply, “I haven’t really thought about it, to be honest. I wouldn’t mind traveling, but if I have a family, I’d like them to grow up here.”

Ash pauses and looks around. “It seems like it would be a nice place to grow up.”

“It is,” I reply, smiling.

A mischievous grin spreads across his face. “Although, it sounds like Jack still managed to get himself into trouble growing up.”

I laugh. “I think that’s more about the person than the place.”

He nods. “True. I think he would’ve been a troublemaker wherever he grew up.”

“You can’t talk!” I reply, lightly smacking his arm.

“True,” he smirks. “Jack is definitely the responsible one out of us two.”

I give him a snarky look. “A toddler is more responsible than you.”

He feigns hurt. “Wow, harsh.”

We both laugh as we finally reach the bar. It’s going to be very entertaining watching a giant hockey player try to line-dance.

We start with a shot of whiskey.

Ash shakes his head and smacks his lips together. “I’m going to need a few of those to get through this.”

The bar has been rearranged to give plenty of space to dance.

We have a few drinks and watch for a little bit. Ash gives imaginary dialogue to the people dancing as if he’s commentating on a hockey match.

I’m laughing so hard my belly aches.

We get one more drink, and I turn to him. “Enough procrastinating. Time to dance, big fella.”

He bursts out laughing. “Okay, little lady. Let’s do this.”

He puts out his hand and I take it. Tingles shoot down my arm. Maybe the alcohol was a bad idea; while it’s made us both confident enough to dance, it’s also made us a lot more affectionate.

We’ve made a game of trying to touch each other accidentally. It just makes us laugh more.

Ash is a lot better at dancing than I thought he’d be. I don’t understand how he looks so good line-dancing. He looks good doing everything.

The next dance involves dancing with a partner. They’ve sectioned off an area to the side of the dance floor for people to learn. The people who already know the dances head straight to the main area.

Ash turns to me with a smirk. “May I have this dance?”

I roll my eyes, but on the inside I melt. “You may.”

Nathan and Izzy demonstrate what we need to do. I narrow my eyes.

Ash notices my expression. “You think there’s something going on there?”

I smirk and nod.

He copies them and twirls me around. “If she’s focused on him, she won’t be focused on this.” He slides his hands from my hips to my waist, and I shudder involuntarily.

I turn out of his grip and back in again. “There are other people here.” I gesture to the crowded bar.

We match Izzy and Nathan as we continue to twirl around. It’s a line dance but with a few twirls and dips.

I can tell he’s enjoying having a valid reason to touch me.

Izzy winks at me as we practice. I return her wink and give her a questioning look. She rolls her eyes and shrugs.

I hope she and Nathan are dating. He’s exactly the type of guy she needs.

We move to the main dance floor. The music starts, and everyone gets into it. I try to focus on keeping with the beat, but a hunky hockey player keeps throwing me off. I look up at him and smile. I don’t mind one bit.

Ash laughs as he spins me one too many times and I stumble into him. We’re not very good, but we’re enjoying ourselves. We stand closer than most as we get into the actual line-dancing part, and I’m thoroughly aware of Ash’s eyes on my body as I move.

Finally, it’s time to dance with Ash, and I relish the familiar way my body responds to his touch. I can’t stop laughing as he forgets that he’s meant to be dancing and is too busy feeling me up.

We get into a rhythm. His eyes twinkle as he knows the next part involves our bodies pressing together. He twirls me out and back and then dips me, taking the opportunity to move his hands up and down my back. He holds me there for a moment, and my breath catches in my throat. An invisible energy vibrates between us, a deep desire pulling us closer, making the world disappear.

Observers start to clap along, jolting us back to the crowded room. Everyone breaks into their own dancing, but we’re still entangled. We’re both panting from the dance and smiling ear to ear. This really has been the perfect day.