SWNOVELS Skate the Line: Chapter 25
I glance at the window.
Should I jump out of it now or later?
Embarrassment crawls over every inch of my skin.
Rhodes, who usually appears impassive, is completely blindsided from what just came out of Ruby’s loud mouth, and to be honest, same.
“Now I sort of wish you would have fired me last night,” I whisper.
Rhodes blinks. The rustling of the bag in his hand catches my attention, but I quickly pull my eyes back to his.
I stand, and silence fills the room.
Both of us are unsure of what to do.
He takes a step farther into my room, and my stomach flips.
“That’s why you don’t date,” he states.
I shut my eyes and hide from his scrutinizing gaze. I’m mortified.
“Makes sense.” He’s closer now.
I peek an eye open, and nerves jumble me up. “What’s your excuse?” I ask.
Did I really just ask him that?
My hand flies to my mouth to hide my nervous laugh. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that.”
His mouth twitches. “Who said I don’t date?”
I slowly lower my hand and cross my arms. My heart pounds so violently I feel it through my shirt. “Every article ever written about you.”
Rhodes throws a bag on my bed. I only give it my attention for a few seconds before watching him walk around my room. He runs his finger along my dresser, briefly touching the clay pieces I sculpted to calm my thoughts after last night. His head tilts, his brown messy locks falling to the side. My breath catches when he spins quickly and leans against the piece of furniture, crossing his arms against his chest to mimic me.
“What else do the articles say?” he asks.
Answering is going to make me sound like a stalker, but surely he understands why I looked into him before agreeing to an interview.
“Well…” I bite my lip before letting it go and filling him in. “They typically start off with your stats, how skilled you are on the ice, your speed, things like that.” I glance away from his intense stare. “They mention a daughter and how you are very private about your personal life.”
He nods slowly.
“Even before Ellie was born… How you never had a plus-one for events, basically indicating that you’re the most eligible bachelor in the league right now.”
Rhodes chuckles deeply. He drops his head and shakes it slowly. A string of Russian flies from his mouth quietly. I have no idea what he said, but the way he says it makes me want to learn the language as soon as possible.
“That’s a little contradicting, isn’t it?” he asks, lifting his head. I’m pinned in my spot with the way he’s scrutinizing me from across the room.
My forehead furrows with confusion.
“They mention I’m a private person but then go off and say that I’m an eligible bachelor? How does anyone know what I do with my free time? I could be going on dates weekly, and they’d never know.”
True.
Without being able to stop myself, I ask just that. “Well, do you?”
Rhodes’s mouth twitches. “Are you asking me if I date?”
I nod.
It’s not my business, but considering he has found out a lot about me in the last twenty-four hours, it seems warranted.
“I don’t.” His answer is firm and to the point.
“Well, aren’t we two peas in a pod,” I joke, trying to lighten the mood.
A faint chuckle leaves him. He glances at the floor again before pushing off the dresser and toward the door.
At the last second, he peers over his shoulder at me. “Yeah, but just because I don’t date doesn’t mean I’m celibate.”
My lips part, and I dart my gaze away.
It wasn’t meant to be a dig, and I know he didn’t say it to offend me. His tone was matter-of-fact, like he wanted me to know that the articles about him aren’t true. But I’m still offended.
Something slashes at my confidence. It’s not stupid of me to have reservations about men after what happened, but it’s taking me a lot longer than I’d like to move past it.
“Don’t feel bad, Sunshine.”
My head flies upward, and I snag Rhodes’s tall frame still standing by the door. His intense gaze moves over my face before he shrugs. “When you’re ready, you’re ready.”
A barely-there smile works itself on my face, but it’s as fake as can be.
Rhodes grips the top of the door frame, and suddenly, something hot is rushing through me. His biceps ball up with strength, and his black tee rides up just enough that I can see the cut V shape leading to below his Nike sweats. “If you ever want to go on a date with someone, you’re welcome to—just on your off nights.”
My cheeks burn. “Thanks for your permission.” Ugh.
His eyes narrow. “Just no one on the team.”
I raise an eyebrow. Oh, is that right?
“And you can’t bring them back here.”
I would never.
“For Ellie’s sake, you know,” he adds.
Obviously.
The room is tense. He stares at me like there’s something else he wants to say, but I don’t give him the chance.
“You can too. I’m always open to watching Ellie for you if you…”—my words trail, and I clear my throat—“want to…take someone out on a…date.”
There’s a shift in the air. I drop my gaze to his mouth and briefly wonder what he’s like when he’s intimate with someone. He’s so impassive and rarely smiles, but when he does, it’s like a punch to the gut. His dark chuckle is hot and—oh my god.
My thoughts come to a sudden halt.
I think Rhodes is the first guy I’ve laid eyes on in nearly a year that has stirred up something other than fear.
“Where’s Ellie?” I blurt.
Rhodes pushes off the edge of my door. “With Marco, filling the bird feeder, but you have the day off, remember?”
I watch him pull his phone out while standing in my doorway, and then my phone pings.
“There.”
I ignore the three messages from Ruby that are full of fake apologies and laughing emojis and see that Rhodes has synced our calendars.
“Now you’ll know when you’re available for dates.” I flip through the days of the week and note all his upcoming games and practices that are already posted on the fridge downstairs. “And if a date pops up in my schedule, you’ll be alerted.”
The tiniest seed of envy plants itself inside my lower stomach.
I’ve had my fair share of dating and one-night stands in my early twenties, but as soon as I began nannying to help my nana with the cost of medical bills for Gramps, I turned… What was the phrase Rhodes used so kindly? Celibate.
My anxiety when a man touches me doesn’t help any either.
“Great.” I give Rhodes a thumbs-up with my good hand. He rolls his lips together to hide a cocky smirk and turns to leave me be.
I wait until he’s gone to look in the bag he threw on my bed.
He and Ellie must have gone on a shopping spree while at the rink because there are several Blue Devils shirts, a sweatshirt, a beanie, and a jersey inside.
They’re all the correct size too.
I smile as my fingers brush against the knit of the jersey, but to my surprise, it doesn’t have the number 87 stamped on the back beneath the last name Volkova.
It’s a 3, right below Barlow.
Kane Barlow?
He bought me Kane’s jersey?
Weird.
I shrug and place it on my dresser before turning and glancing at the half-painted walls in my new bedroom.
Apparently, I have the day off, and I can’t think of a better way to spend it than with the familiar wooden handle of a paintbrush in my hand.