16. Josh

I’ve been teaching at the community center for over a year now, and what started as getting in some extra practice alone, soon turned into one to one sessions, and then a full on group. I’m here every Monday without fail, and being around these kids reminds me why I fell in love with ice hockey in the first place. I’m deep in teacher mode with the boys when the flash of something in the corner of my eye catches my attention. I spin and watch as Hallie steps onto the ice with Penelope tight on her heels, the two of them holding hands, and from my vantage point I can hear Hallie instructing her gently.

Penelope has been coming to the class for almost a year, pretty much since right after I first started it, and word quietly spread. I know her mom, Callia, from one of the diners in town, and she has always gone out of her way to be kind to me. I’m not sure what her back story is, but I know she is a young single mom looking after her daughter alone. So when Pen first started coming to the class, and Callia would run late to pick her up, I started offering to take her to the diner instead of her coming here. It took a few more weeks of lateness before she finally relented, but now we have a nice little agreement going, where I not only get to teach a great kid how to skate, but I also get to help out a struggling parent.

It’s been a couple of years since I have seen Hallie skate, and I’m surprised by how easy she still glides around the ice. She is holding both of Penelope’s hands now and is skating backwards with ease, pulling her along. The little girl has a huge smile on her face, and Hallie pretty much mirrors it. I’m not sure how long I stare at the two of them before one of the boys interrupts my thoughts.

“Josh, is that your girlfriend?” one of the little boys asks with a laugh, and I respond without thinking.

“No, she’s my wife.” It falls from my mouth with an ease I didn’t think I would ever be able to manage, but this is Hallie we are talking about, she has always been like family, and I guess in a way she now legally is.

“Ew, you got married, why?” Another boy cuts in, making the rest of them laugh, but before I can answer him, another voice beats me to it.

“Because I am awesome,” Hallie coos, flying around us in a circle with ease, Penelope still being pulled along with her, as she spins them both. “And we all know Mr. Josh here needed some more awesome so he isn’t a cranky pants all the time.” The kids laugh, falling for her infectious smile instantly, in the same way I did, as she adds, “Besides, who else is going to show you how to beat him?”

The kids all gasp, until Penelope gushes, “You know how to beat Josh?”

Hallie rolls her eyes, flicking her stare to mine. “I taught him everything he knows,” she tells them, and their tiny jaws hang open in shock.

This girl.

“You’re going to pay for that, Tink,” I warn her, skating over to the sides to grab two hockey sticks. If she wants to play then we can play.

When I turn back to her and hold them up all she does is smile. “Bring it on, lost boy.”

Skating back over to them all, I toss her a stick and then turn my focus to the class. “Kids, you wanna learn how to score and block a goal?”

“Yes!” They all scream in unison much to my delight, and I quickly grab my phone and set a timer as I look at my wife in delight.

“Then, game on.”

Hallie and I spend the next ten minutes in a battle of wills, flying around the ice with the aim of not letting the other score a goal. The kids are yelling furiously from the sides, in support of my new wife mostly, and every time she manages to slip a goal past me, I see Penelope’s smile get brighter and brighter. As the only girl in my class I have found that I have taken her under my wing more than the others, which I probably shouldn’t do, but everyone has favorites, right?

The score is two to three, and I am sure I am going to win, but just as the timer is about to go off and the kids start counting down, Hallie manages to skate around me with a trick I taught her in my backyard, sinking a goal and making the score even. Screams tear from the kids” throats as they skate towards us both, but all I can do is stand and stare in awe at her.

“I can’t believe you still remember that trick,” I say in surprise, closing the distance between us before the kids reach us.

She looks at me with a frown. “Of course I do, why would I forget?”

“Because it was like a million years ago.” We haven’t played in my backyard since we were both still in high school, but apparently that doesn’t matter, because all she does is laugh.

“Josh, trust me, when it comes to you, I never forget anything.”

Before I can make sense of her words, we are swarmed by the kids both cheering and teasing us, and begging to be shown the trick Hallie just pulled on me, and of course she obliges instantly, picking Pen to be her assistant. All I can do is watch as she digs herself deeper into the world I tried so hard to push her away from, and it’s clear to see that this won’t be the last time she comes here. The kids have all fallen in love with her instantly, and I know I won’t be able to get away with not bringing her back in future.

The rest of the lesson soon flies by, especially given I am not teaching alone, and it seems like the kids get a lot more work done than usual, and are exhausted by the time their parents pick them up. Hallie and I accept some congratulations from those who have seen our wedding announcement in the paper, and when it’s just us and Penelope left, we move to leave.

Hallie and Penelope talk back and forth the entire drive to the diner. I swear it’s the most I have ever heard her talk before, and by the time we reach her mom’s work, she is walking in with a smile on her face.

“Why don’t you grab us a booth and we can get some dinner, while I go talk to Pen’s mom,” I tell Hals, and she nods, before I walk the little girl over to the counter.

“Josh, hey,” Callia sighs, clearing away some cups and wiping down the surface before her daughter sits. “How was it?” she asks, directing her question to me, given that her daughter isn’t usually much of a talker, but to our surprise she answers instantly.

“It was so much fun, Mom. You should have seen how Hallie beat Josh, it was awesome,” she gushes, and Callia looks at me in surprise as I shrug.

“My wife tends to have that effect on people.” Her eyes widen as she moves to grab her daughter a drink

“I didn’t know you were married, I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone,” she replies in confusion, and I can’t say I blame her.

I eat here every week after class, and it’s always alone, so I can’t lie too much. I therefore stick to the truth as much as possible. “The wedding just happened on Saturday, it was pretty quick, but we’ve known each other for a long time, our families practically grew up together.” It’s the last part of my statement that has her smiling softly with a knowing look in her eye. If only she did know.

“Well, congratulations, I’m happy for you. Do you want the usual?” She goes to the till to start ringing me up, but I stop her.

“Ah no actually, could I grab a couple of menus?” I know Hallie must be starving after watching me practice and then helping me teach, so I want her to be able to read through some food options.

Callia smiles in response. “Sure thing, I’ll bring them over.”

“Okay thanks.” I nod, turning to leave but not before I ruffle Penelope”s hair and bid her goodbye. “See you later Pen.”

The kid offers me a wave as I head over to the booth that Hallie has situated herself in, and I slide into the seat opposite her. She studies me closely, not saying a word even though I can see a million questions brewing behind those green eyes of hers. I can’t say I blame her, a couple of weeks ago we were barely on talking terms. Sure, I saw her all the time thanks to Maddie, but it had been a long time since we ever properly hung out just the two of us. Now here we are married, and I have seen her more in the last few weeks than I have in the last year. It’s weird yet comforting in a way, and it’s like I am seeing a whole different side to her than before.

Callia doesn’t take too long to deliver the menus, and I talk through some of the options with Hals before we finally settle on an order. Then we enjoy an actual dinner together, unlike the one we attended with my parents yesterday, and for the first time in years we talk about everything. I tell her about the teaching, and the interest I have been getting from scouts, and she tells me about her classes, and how the internship with her dad was in the summer, and now she thinks she wants to work there full time when she graduates. It’s nice, and it’s the first time in a long time where I have spent any extended amount of time with a female and actually enjoyed myself. And even more so, it’s the first time in years where I have opened up to anyone.

We also talk about the wedding and I show her the pictures on my phone, forwarding them to her as we speak. “It was a really beautiful wedding, I don’t think I told you that,” she whispers, studying a picture of the two of us closely.

“A beautiful wedding to go with a beautiful bride,” I muse without thinking, and her eyes flick to mine with a smile.

“You’re just being nice to me so I won”t punch you in the dick again,” she claims, and I can’t help but laugh, watching closely as she dips another salty french fry into her strawberry milkshake. She’s already blown through two cheeseburgers, and is now on her second portion of fries and milkshake.

I steal one, copying the exact same thing she just did and pretending I like it just as much as I respond, “Hals, there are plenty of things I’d like you to do to my dick, punching it isn’t one of them.”

Her eyes widen a little as she leans back in the booth and purrs, “Huh, think about me and your dick often do you?”

It’s only now I realize what I just admitted to, and I can’t exactly back down now, so instead I lean forward and double down. “Guilty as charged, but in my defense, you are my wife.”

She swirls another fry in her milkshake before she takes a bite and flirts, “And how terrible of you to have bad thoughts about your wife.”

Her words make me groan, not just because of how she said that, but because of the images it paints in my mind too. “Come on, Tink, don’t say it like that.”

Her smile is innocent, her eyes are anything but, as she asks, “Like what?”

I flick my stare around the diner casually, cracking my neck in the process to prolong my answer before I reply, “Like you’re mine for the taking.”

Now she just looks amused, “How come? What if I were yours for the taking?” I can see the mischief written all over her pretty face, and I can feel how easy this game would be to play with her, but I have to remember the stakes.

“You don’t want me to take you, Hallie,” I tell her firmly, reminding myself why I never let myself get attached to women, and the light from her eyes vanishes slightly.

“Why not?” she asks, and I can tell she truly wants the answer.

“Because all I would do is break you Hals, I’d take all those colors that burst out of you every day, and ruin them with my darkness.” I am as honest as I can be, and I’m sure she understands given she grew up pretty much right alongside me.

She saw the mess that was my parents’ marriage, and she knows the scars I wear that were burned into me from my father’s words. I’m fucked up and jaded by his lack of love and affection, so how could I ever expect myself to be normal and have a real relationship.

I’m sure my words will have done the trick, but instead of looking resigned or disappointed, all she does is take a slow sip of her milkshake, my eyes locked on her lips and the straw before she purrs, “Well you know what they say?”

I flick my stare back to her. “What do they say, Tink?”

Her smile is blinding as she tosses back another fry with a wink. “You can’t have a rainbow without a little rain.”

After that nightHallie and I fall into somewhat of a routine. With the goal of being seen together, we spend our time side by side. We meet each other after class most days, she comes to all of my hockey practices accompanied by Maddie, and she even helps me teach the class at the center. All of that also ends with us having dinner together most nights, either with my housemates, or alone at her house, and we have pretty much seamlessly fallen back into the strong friendship we once had. She even manages to make Sunday dinner at my parents’ house bearable, to the point where I almost feel like thanking my father for forcing my hand and bringing her back to my side.

There is just one problem in all of this, and that is the fact I am married to her.

Hallie and I have been in each other’s lives a long time, so much so that I can barely remember what life was like before that. I’ve seen her with braces, watched her cry over boys and movies, and yes I admit there was that one time I tried to kiss her and she pushed me off that rock, but through all of that she has been my friend, my best friend even. Except now, instead of just being my best friend, she is my wife, something that our rings and her proximity remind me of daily.

I have to admit I had gotten used to keeping her at arm”s length, and though I missed her, it was definitely easier, because now she is everywhere. She has invaded every part of my life just like she did when we were kids, only this time there is no escape. She’s my wife. My wife. And to most people that must sound great, being married to an absolute ten who is also your best friend, it would be great. Except this marriage, our marriage, is completely and totally fake. Something I’ve been having to remind myself of almost daily.

And what’s worse than that is she knows me, like truly knows me, which means she sees through my moods and bullshit and doesn’t put up with any of it. Do you have any idea how many dick punch threats you can receive in just two weeks? One hundred and seventeen, that’s how many.

“I can’t believe Lincoln still hasn’t sent me anything,” I complain from my spot on the bed, and I swear I can practically hear Hallie rolling her eyes from across the room.

“He hasn’t even been home for a week, give the guy a chance to get back into the swing of things,” she tosses back, as she meticulously coats her lashes in mascara for the second time.

“Hals, the guy is supposed to be the best, and his services aren’t cheap, I expected to have something by now.”

Lincoln was away for a close friend”s wedding last week, but now he’s home and back to work. He was grateful for the files I managed to download from my father’s computer that day in his office, and has slowly been digging into all the information I found, but is yet to send me anything useful in return.

Hallie isn’t convinced he will find anything at all worth my time, but I told her she doesn’t know my father the way she thinks she does. I know him too well, which means I know fucking his secretary behind my mother’s back isn’t going to even crack the top five of terrible things he has done. Lincoln will find something for me to use, I’m sure of it.

“He’s allowed to have a social life, Joshua. Damn, maybe he met the love of his life at the wedding he went to and is too busy fucking to go through your files,” she muses, moving onto her lipstick, painting and then rolling her lips against one another, spreading the red stain across them.

I can’t help but watch her, mesmerized as she takes far too long to get ready as usual. “The things that come out of your mouth sometimes.” I shake my head, but when her eyes meet mine, they calm down the anger simmering beneath my surface. “And no one falls in love at a wedding, Tink, that’s just a cliche, and besides, love is for fools.”

She tosses her makeup back into the bag and turns dramatically clutching her chest. “Oh my husband says the sweetest things.”

I climb from the bed and move towards her. “You’re such a drama queen, do you know that?”

All she does is smile. “And you’re such an asshole, do you know that?” She pushes past me, sitting down on the edge of my bed to finally put on her shoes.

“Please tell me you are ready now, if you take any longer I won’t make it in time for warm up and coach will have my ass if I’m late,” I tell her, picking up my bag for the game and moving towards the door.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” she drawls, moving to her own overnight bag in the corner to grab a jersey.

She hasn’t spent the night here since the wedding, me usually opting to stay over with her and Maddie instead so I can sleep on the sofa, but tonight there is a big party at my house after the game, so we agreed it would be easy if she just stayed here. You know, to keep up appearances to everyone.

Which is how I’ve found myself here waiting for her to be ready, so we can leave and head over to the rink together. I told her she didn’t need to come with me but she insisted. Now here she is, in tight fitted jeans that are practically molded to her thighs in a way that would have my own pants tightening if I looked too long, and a little tank top that shows off far too much of her flawless skin. Thankfully, she covers it with one of my jerseys for the game before I can become too distracted.

“Okay, I’m ready,” she finally beams, flashing me that sunshine smile of hers, as she moves towards me.

“Finally, let’s go.” I toss my bag onto my shoulder and move to grab the door, but before I can, she slides in front of me and blocks the way.

“Ah, ah, hold on a second,” she beams with a smile, one that promises my demise, and feeling that anger coming bubbling back, I can’t help but huff.

“Oh my god, what now?”

Hallie straightens her shoulders and looks at me with a teasing glint in her eye. “Tell me I look pretty,” she demands, her smile not wavering in the slightest. There is no shame or embarrassment, just this girl that is the bane of my existence, making me speechless once again.

“What?” I ask, totally baffled, but it doesn’t seem to faze her at all.

In fact, all it does is spur her on more, as she presses herself against the door so I can’t open it at all. “You heard me, Joshua, tell your wife, who just spent an hour getting ready for your game, knowing that she is going to be looked at by everyone, that she looks pretty.”

“Hallie,” I warn, needing her to not try and push me like this, not when I need to get to the rink and get ready for said game, but of course she stands her ground.

“Joshua,” she tosses back in a mocking tone, and I have to inhale a deep breath to calm my now rapidly beating heart.

Her eyes are still firmly on mine, a tempting sparkle in them that tells me she knows as always that she is pushing all of my buttons, so, I decide to push hers right back. I close the distance between us, bringing my body just to the point where it’s almost touching hers, but not quite. Then I lean in close and bring my mouth to her ear, not missing the blush now creeping up her neck for a second.

“My wife looks like the most perfect doorstop I have ever seen,” I whisper, as my hand curls around the door handle, and I use my other to pull her away from it so I can open the door.

“You really are an asshole,” she scoffs with a huff, and I have to smother a laugh as she pushes me out through the doorway, slamming it behind us. “But it’s okay, maybe I can find a new friend at the game to tell me I look pretty,” she adds with a wink, and that anger comes flooding back.

“Only if you want to spend your evening watching him bleed,” I toss back, knocking on Daemon’s door as we pass.

Of course he opens it almost instantly, as if he was waiting for us, and he falls in line behind us silently, but that doesn’t stop my wife from flashing him her smile. “Hi Daemon.”

And unlike with any other person, he actually answers her. “Hi Hallie.”

The two of them have formed a friendship based on simple greetings, and honestly it’s nice to see him coming out of his shell a little more around her. Landon and Levi are barely here when she is, which is good considering Levi gives her a weird look every time he sees her, but at least Landon isn’t bothered either way. In fact, he seems convinced that this thing between Hallie and I has been going on for years. I guess he’s dumber than I thought. That, or we just put on a really good show.

With the others already gone, the three of us all decide to walk over to the rink together, while Hallie animatedly chats away about some documentary she watched last night. Daemon is as silent as always, but I can tell he is actively listening to her, and I make a note to thank him later for being so nice and welcoming to her.

By the time we reach the rink, I have about thirty-seconds to get to the changing rooms before coach rips me a new one, and before I can even say anything, Hallie moves to walk in the opposite direction.

“Hope you don’t fall, break your leg, and die,” she tosses over her shoulder, her hips swaying as she moves to walk in the other direction of the seats, and I am reminded of her demands earlier in my room.

So before she can go, I reach out and grab her by the belt loop on her jeans and pull her back against my chest. “If I do fall, will my wife kiss it better? Because just like every day, she looks so fucking beautiful tonight.”

I release her before she can reply, knowing I am playing with fire, because even though she has my ring around her finger, she still isn’t mine, nor does she want to be. She’s my friend, my best friend, and nothing more.

Leaving her behind I head into the locker room, praying that coach doesn’t notice my arrival, but of course he does, the man has a nose like a damn bloodhound. “Peters, you’re late,” he yells across the changing room, and I know better than to argue with him over the sake of a couple of minutes.

“Sorry coach, I was waiting for my wife to get ready,” I reply without thinking, causing some of my teammates to start hollering around me.

“I can just imagine your wife naked,” Reign quips instantly, and the glare I give him just makes the bastard laugh.

“Don’t forget hot,” Gray cuts in. “Naked, hot, and sweating, just dripping everywhere,” he drawls, taking a bite of his protein bar and giving me a wink.

I throw my bag to the floor and turn to step towards him, but Daemon is there in an instant blocking my way, and when I flick my stare to him, he shakes his head slightly.

“Last fucking warning, Gray,” I tell Archer, pointing my finger, but he doesn’t lose his smile, not until his Captain whips him with a towel that is.

“Stop fucking fantasizing about his wife you fucking creep,” Nova tells him, coming around the lockers from coach’s office already dressed and ready for the game.

Archer steps into his pants, his tattooed chest on complete display as he throws back, “Should I go back to doing it about his sister?”

The look Nova gives him is nothing short of lethal, and before I can even warn him, Nova beats me to it. “Not if you value your life.”

All the while Daemon stands between us, hands on me to keep me in place, but eyes on Archer, his stare filled with warning, and something else.

“Alright, don’t get your knickers in a twist,” Reign jokes, grabbing Archer and physically turning him away from everyone else, before lowering his voice and adding, “You really like to poke the fucking bears, don’t you kid?”

Archer only shrugs. “Maybe I have a pain kink.”

With fucking teammates like these it’s any wonder we manage to play a decent fucking game, and when I move my stare away from them, I find Nova watching me carefully.

“Got a problem, Darkmore?” I ask, because I don’t care how much my sister cares about him, I still think he’s a giant prick.

“You know, Peters? I haven’t had a problem since the moment your sister started sleeping in my bed every night, isn’t that funny?” he smiles, and it takes everything in me not to react and cause yet another fight with him.

We have butted heads numerous times over the years, but I promised Maddie I would stop starting shit with him, and right now I am finding it very hard to keep that promise.

“If you want a problem, I can give you one, Captain,” I spit in disgust, squaring my shoulders, and flexing my fists in preparation, but just as I step forward we are cursed out.

“Will you bunch of little pricks pack it in and get ready for the fucking game!” Coach Locke yells from his office, storming from around his desk. “I have an eighteen year old daughter who doesn’t gossip and whine as much as you little shits, and she’s a damn nightmare.”

I move my focus back to getting ready, heeding his warning, but I still hear Archer wonder out loud, “Damn, I didn’t know Coach had a daughter.”

“Me either, I wonder if she’s hot?” Reign tosses back, only for Coach to come and smack them both on the back of the head.

“Keep your little pervert minds away from my daughter,” Coach spits, and then smacks Archer’s head again. “And keep them off Peters’ wife and sister too.”

After that I can’t help but smile as I suit up for the game.