Frozen Barriers (17 page)

Turning on the water, I wait for the steam to envelope the room before I hop in. Leaning my hands against the tiles in front of me, I shut my eyes and let the water saturate my head and face. A vision of Emily’s smile enters my mind, and I feel my cock harden. Reaching down, I start stroking myself until I’m completely hard. I have the image of her beautiful body lying under me in my bed. Imagining I’m inside her thrusting hard, I quicken my pace as her words to me the other day infiltrate my mind. “Jeremy, make me come.” Squinting my eyes shut tight, I grip my cock tighter and feel the warm fluids start spurting out of me.
Fuck me!
My free hand slams against the wall as my release shatters every muscle inside my body. Opening my eyes, I realize I’d much rather have had Emily’s hand wrapped around my shaft than my own. What is this girl doing to me? I need to stay focused. Hockey needs to be my priority. I’ve just got to figure out how to balance both. I can do this, right? No problem. I don’t want to go through the same shit I did with Becca. I honestly don’t need that type of relationship again. I can only hope Emily will be worth it in the end.

After showering, I make my way into the kitchen to boot up my laptop and make myself some dinner. The surround sound is blasting some Flo Rida song, and I can’t help but start whistling along. I finish putting together a turkey sandwich with stuffing, cranberry sauce and lettuce. The hockey season will be in full swing in just a couple of weeks, so I need to make sure I start eating healthy again, which also means spending more time working out at the gym. Leaning over the counter while taking a bite of my sandwich, I start reading through my emails. Plenty of junk, as usual, but also emails regarding promotional events I am required to attend for the Monarchs. One in particular is in another week. It’s the annual team tailgate party. All the guys will be there as well as many of the season ticket holders. It’s a good time for the most part. The AHL doesn’t have a huge following, but many of the season ticket holders have the same view about hockey as I do. They just love the game.

Scanning the web some more after jotting down the hockey schedule for the next month, I start searching out places to take Emily Friday night for our first official date. The weather is still supposed to be decent for New England standards. The middle of September can be tricky around here, but the forecast for tomorrow is still calling for clear skies and an evening temperature of around sixty-five degrees. Tapping my fingers on the keys, trying to figure out the best place to take her, I finally plan the perfect evening. Pulling up the website on my laptop, I get the information I need and grab my phone to make the call. She’s going to love it.

It’s been three days since I last saw Jeremy, and it’s not as though I have had much of a choice. Neither one of us has had any spare time in our schedules since I left his place after our intense bedroom escapade the other day. I spent much of the beginning of the week holed up in my apartment trying to find the exact music to fit my mood this season. It took several hours of searching, but I found it, and it will be a program I can let emotions flow and immerse myself into the free skate that represents who I am. The music speaks to me, and I know it is the right choice.

My mother decided to show up in Boston yesterday to critique my progress during my all day training and choreography practice. Needless to say, she wasn’t impressed; she never is. I’m only glad she doesn’t make it an everyday occurrence to check on me. She’s a distraction and even the coaches notice, but they never say anything because she signs their paychecks. I did a full run-through of the program just to see how it flowed with the music, and for the first time in a long time, I was happy with it. Then, I heard my mother chime in from the bleachers.

“Emily Cameron! This year is the biggest year of your career, and you are going to go on national television and perform that program? Please tell me you aren’t serious.” I caught all my coaches rolling their eyes, and a hint of anger began to boil within me. I’ve never given a shit about my mother’s opinion of my skating, but I’ve also never said anything to make her see my displeasure. I’ve always put on the fake smile and just gone back out there, fixed what needed fixing and moved on. Not this time, this program was mine and I would not let her badger me about it!

Placing my hands on my hips, I came to a sudden halt in the middle of the ice and turned to face her. With every ounce of strength I could muster, I yelled, “Yes, Mother! I will be performing this program all season long, and you will not say another word about it. This is
my
program, not yours, and for once I’m happy with the outcome and how it makes
me
feel!”

The rink went dead silent as my last word echoed through the building. My coaches appeared aghast that I finally spoke up to her, or was it they thought I had lost my mind? Either way, my heart was hammering in my chest. I’d never once spoken to my mother like that, and I noticed a remorseless look in her eyes. Turning around again, I skated toward Suzy. She gave mea look that I could tell was questioning if I were all right. Nodding back at her with a slight smile, I spun around to make my way back toward center ice.

“Let’s run through it one more time, and then I’m calling it a day,” I shouted, but not before glancing over to where my mother stood before, only this time she was gone.

Jeremy hasn’t said anything all week to lead me to believe our date is still going to happen on Friday. We’ve maybe talked at most for ten minutes, simply because by the time either of us gets home, we’re both completely exhausted and just want to fall asleep. I’ve actually had more communication with Sue and Courtney than I have Jeremy. Their schedules just seem to be more compatible with mine.

I would have thought after what happened between us earlier this week that he would have tried to make more of an effort to be in touch. He was livid with Dave after he barged in on us, but I felt protected with him. Apparently from what info I gathered from Sue, while Jeremy and I were having our
sexcapade
, her word not mine, she and Dave had a pretty heated discussion in the kitchen about their miscommunication that ultimately ended in them having sex more than once that night. I barely know Dave, but evidently, it was my day to see multiple naked guys. From what I saw of him, he certainly keeps himself in just as good of shape as Jeremy. Jeremy has the more defined “V,” but Dave has more upper body muscle.

Sue carried on about how if she hadn’t drunk all those martinis and then polished off the Patron with Dave, there would have been zero chance of them hooking up. I called her bluff on that one. Somehow I think those two are more attracted to each other than they let on.

Of course, I couldn’t get away from her inquisitive mind before spilling the beans about what Jeremy and I did in his bedroom. There was squealing, and she was jumping up and down and clapping her hands like a rabbit on speed. Grabbing her phone, she quickly called Courtney to tell her the
news
. I could have nearly died and apparently so could Courtney, as I believe I heard her yell at Sue that she totally didn’t want to know that info about her brother.

Since then, it’s been Sue and Courtney calling me and asking about my so-called date. I have to keep telling them the same thing, though, that Jeremy hasn’t mentioned it at all since I left his apartment. I’ve almost convinced myself that he has already become bored with me and realizes that “we” as a couple could never possibly work out. It’s Courtney who continues to tell me that her brother isn’t like that, and that if he said he was going on a date with me, then he would for certain be going on a date with me. I kind of enjoy having Sue and Courtney to share my life stories with. I guess this is what I’ve been missing all these years.

Now, while back at my place, relaxing on my sofa while watching
Friends
again, I realize that tomorrow is my date with Jeremy. As I’m about to grab some sushi from the Japanese restaurant down the street, my phone rings. Looking at the screen, I see it’s Jeremy. Maybe Courtney was right after all, and I should really try to think more positively about people.

“Hey, there,” I say, pulling the phone up to my ear.

“Did you miss me?” Jeremy playfully teases back.

After my horrific day, I could use some fun, so I let my hair down a little. “Well, I’m not sure. Last time I checked it was my fingers that got me off.” Hearing him groan on the other end of the line makes me laugh quietly.

“Emily, so help me, if you keep talking dirty to me, I will not be taking you out on a date tomorrow.”

“Oh, we really are going out on a date tomorrow? I assumed since you hadn’t mentioned it, that it wasn’t happening, so I made other plans,” I lie.

He must have taken the bait since his aggravation is evident through the phone. “Emily, why would you make other plans? I told you when you left the other day I was taking you out.” I can’t help but chuckle; he really is quite gullible. “You little devil, you didn’t make other plans, did you?”

“No, I’m just trying to get you all riled up. Did it work?” I say as I lie back on my sofa.

“You’ll pay for that one when I see you.”

“So, where are you taking me?”

“It’s a surprise, but I can tell you to dress nicely, but not too nice. You may need to bring a sweater, just in case, and do not eat before I pick you up. Understood?”

“So, let me get this right. You’re feeding me, and I may or may not need clothing. Is this some sexual ploy of yours to steal my virginity?”

“Keep talking like that, Emily, and your virginity will be long gone after tomorrow night.” I gasp in shock because I’ve never considered him to be that
forward
, and he did say he wouldn’t push me too fast, but I did provoke him a bit. Sensing my apprehension, he says, “Emily, you know I’m just teasing you. I told you I wouldn’t push you, and I won’t. You’re in control of everything, just like the other day. But, for now, let’s just focus on our first date tomorrow, okay? I’m really glad I’m the guy who’s giving you so many firsts these days.”

After finalizing the details for what time he would pick me up, I make a mental note to head over to the salon tomorrow morning to get waxed, just in case his hand turns into Thing from
The Addams Family
. I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but I also never expected what occurred between us the other day either. There’s a level of comfort when I’m with him, which I can sense brings out a different side of me. It’s foreign, but it’s exhilarating. I hear him ask me a question, pulling me from my thoughts.