My Hockey Alpha Chapter 254: My Hockey Alpha Nina “Okay,” Enzo said, flashing me a bit of a smile as he sat across from me. “I trust you. And I think I will play some hockey tonight.” Enzo’s words made my heart leap in my chest. I was so happy that he was willing to play hockey again. Even if the world was going to crumble around us in the next few days,
I just wanted to see him happy and doing the one thing that he loved most in the world, even for just a few hours. Things could go back to doom and gloom after that for all I cared; I just wanted these next few hours to be full of smiles and laughter.
We finished eating quickly after that, both too excited to waste any time. I decided to go with Enzo and watch him skate. He didn’t admit it out loud, but I felt as though he didn’t want to let me out of his sight; I didn’t want to let him out of my sight, either. After we finished eating and paid the bill, we walked back to campus and headed straight to the hockey arena.
While Enzo got changed in the locker room, I sat by the rink and studied for my classes. It really did feel as though we were just a couple of normal college students for the first time, and it made me smile — so long as I didn’t think about the Luna or the Crescents. Enzo eventually came back out into the arena with his uniform on and his helmet under his arm. There was a cheeky grin on his face as he walked up to the bench and put his skates on, and that grin widened when he stepped out onto the ice with his hockey stick.
I couldn’t help but put my books down and watch as he skated. It was as though he had never stopped playing at all. He moved across the ice so fluidly, so naturally, as though he had been practicing this whole time. The smile on his face never faded for even a second, and as he expertly maneuvered around the rink and flicked the puck into the net time and time again,
I found myself leaning on the barrier and watching with tears in my eyes. At one point, however, Enzo stopped and noticed those tears. His smile dropped and he quickly skated up to me before I could hide the tears. “What’s wrong?” he asked, coming to a smooth stop in front of the barrier. “Are you okay?” I nodded quickly, wiping away my tears with the back of my hand. “I’m fine,” I replied. “Don’t worry. I’m just happy to see you skating again. I’m happy to have you back.”
Enzo looked at me for a few long moments, his brown eyes scanning my face, before he suddenly pointed behind me. When I followed his finger with my eyes, I realized that he was pointing at the rack of rental skates against the wall that were usually reserved for public ice skating nights. “Put some skates on,” he said, almost in a demanding tone of voice. I turned back to face him and shook my head. “No, it’s okay,” I replied. “You’re enjoying yourself. I’ll just slow you down since I don’t really know how to skate, and I don’t want you to spend your practice session constantly picking me up off of the ice.” Enzo frowned, still pointing at the rack of rental skates. “Now,” he demanded. My eyes widened at his insistence.
“O-Okay,” I said sheepishly. Enzo waited by the rink entrance while I jogged over to the rack. I picked out a pair of basic figure skates in my size, then ran back over to the bench. When I slipped them on, I found myself struggling with the laces and Enzo wound up coming over to tie them for me. It caused me to blush, and reminded me of the first time we ever skated together. So much had changed since then, but at the same time so little had changed. Even though this semester felt like it was years long, it had still only been a couple of months since I had met Enzo.
Our relationship was still fresh, still in the honeymoon phase, and it was times like this that gave me butterflies around him. When he was finished, he stood and held out his hand for me. I took it, and he led me over to the rink entrance. He then held out his arms for me as I stepped onto the ice and let me use him for balance on the slippery surface. “Come this way,” he said, skating backwards a bit. I hobbled after him, struggling just to stay upright, but his grip was strong and I knew that he wouldn’t let me fall. “I got you.”
He led me out into the middle of the rink. I wobbled there for a few moments before looking up at him with a sheepish grin. “See?” I said. “I can barely stay upright.” “It’s only your second time on the ice, like, ever,” he said gently with that mischievous smirk that I had become so familiar with . “You’re already doing better than I did my second time on the ice.” Enzo’s words made me blush again. But as I was blushing, he suddenly did something unexpected. He dropped my hands and skated away. “H-Hey! Enzo!” I called, holding my arms out to keep my balance as I began to teeter forwards and backwards on the ice. “Come back!” Enzo just laughed and skated circles around me with his hands behind his back. “You’ll have to catch me,” he said with a grin. “
You’re so mean!” I shouted. I reached for him, and my fingers brushed his jersey, but he quickly moved out of the way. I lunged after him again, but once more he moved away just before I got a grip on him. This went on for some time, and the entire time Enzo just laughed and teased me. And soon, I was laughing, too. Finally, I managed to catch him. I caught ahold of his jersey and pulled myself closer to him, out of breath and laughing so hard my belly hurt. “Caught you!” I teased, leaning down with my hands on my knees to catch my breath. But Enzo wasn’t laughing anymore. He was just smiling. “You’re a natural,” he said.
I shook my head. “No I’m not.” Enzo laughed. “Look where we are.” Sighing, I looked up, and my eyes widened. Earlier I had been in the middle of the rink, but now we were all the way on the other side. In fact, I realized now that we had been skating in massive circles all around the rink, and I hadn’t fallen once. I let out an incredulous laugh, and when I looked up at Enzo, he was beaming from ear to ear.
“You’re really good,” he said softly. “You should consider skating more seriously. Have you ever thought about it?” I furrowed my brow and shook my head, still baffled by my abilities. Maybe it was just beginners’ luck. “No,” I replied. “I’ve never considered it.” Enzo’s grin widened, and he reached out and took my hand. His cheeks were red from the cold and from the exercise, and his eyes were shining brighter than ever. “Let me teach you how to skate,” he said.
