Frozen Barriers (46 page)

I smile as I hop out of the truck and head around to help her out since she still can’t chance putting too much weight on her ankle.

Walking into the building, I make my way over to the front desk where a woman with three lip piercings and two arm-sleeved tattoos stops to talk to us. “Can I help you guys?” she asks.

“Yeah, I need to see about getting a tattoo today,” I answer, turning to wink at Emily as her mouth hangs wide open in shock. The woman hands me some paperwork to fill out, and I hand it back to her after explaining what I want to have done.

“Jeremy, what are you doing? You know you don’t have to do this,” Emily says as if she is going to talk me out of this.

I face her and grab both of her hands in mine. “Babe, I told you. It’s you and me, always. And, what kind of man can go around knowing his girlfriend has her crotch tattooed, and not have one himself?”

“It’s your body, but what do I know?” She chuckles.

Almost two hours later, after sitting through the monotonous buzzing sound of the tattoo gun, my tattoo for Emily is complete. I stand to put on my shirt as Emily gently traces her fingers over the words sketched above my left pectoral for her to see whenever we’re together. “Live your dreams. Follow your heart.” She’ll always know it’s for her, and she knows I’m permanent now.

Little does she know I’ve got another surprise up my sleeve, but this one the whole family can enjoy together. After we leave the tattoo parlor, we meet everyone for lunch at a small Irish pub just outside of Tewksbury. Everyone is seated at the round booth at the back of the restaurant already waiting for us.

Before she can push herself up off the seat, Emily rushes over to give Sue a hug. Dave won’t let her go out as much as she wants to now, and it’s been a few weeks since we’ve seen her. Her latest doctor appointment showed she might be on bed rest earlier than she expected. That news made my gift to Emily all the trickier, but Dave and Sue were totally behind it either way.

Emily gives Josh and Courtney hugs as well before sitting next to my parents. We haven’t seen Josh in a while. He says he’s been working a lot; however, there’s something different about him when I talk to him on the phone. It’s almost as if the night of the accident something changed in him. Mom even asked me if I noticed a few weeks ago. If she couldn’t get any information out of him, I sure as hell wasn’t going to succeed.

After we order our meals and drinks, everyone begins giving Emily her birthday gifts. When the gifts are piled onto the table in front of her, it looks as if she is going to cry. I still tend to forget this whole
family
situation is relatively new to her and she never had the amount of love and support until recently.

In the beginning, I thought for sure Mom and Dad’s gift was going to upstage mine. When Emily opens the jewelry box and sees a silver charm bracelet, she is lost for words. It has a hockey and figure skater pendant and two round sterling silver discs with our initials and birthstones. Pulling it from the box, she hands it to me as she reaches her arm out for me to put it on immediately.

When she thinks she is done opening gifts, she begins squishing the wrapping paper together. The whole table is silent as they wait for me to give her the last gift. Removing the envelope from my back pocket, I slide it over in front of her on the table. Eyeing me suspiciously, she slowly opens it, pulling out the documents. Her hand flies up to cover her mouth before she turns to me. “Jeremy, this is too much, really, and what about Sue and Dave? The baby is due any week.”

Sue leans over toward Emily. “Sweetie, we’re okay with it. Jeremy already asked before he made the decision, and this little girl isn’t coming anytime soon. You’ll be good to go. You deserve it after everything you’ve been through.”

Mom wraps her arm around Emily’s shoulder. “We’ve all pitched in to go down. It’s been a very long time since we’ve gone anywhere as a family, and to be honest, I’ve always wanted to visit Savannah.”

Emily is still thumbing through the papers. “Jeremy, what about the Calder Cup? You can’t leave during the end of the season.”

Grabbing her hand to stop her from fidgeting nervously, I reply, “Emily, it’s all set. It’s all worked around the hockey games and practice. It’s time to have fun and relax in life. We’re finally back to a good place, and I want all of us to enjoy this time together. What do you say?” When I see her glance up at Mom and then smile back at me, I know I’ve sold her.

Emily thumbs through the papers one last time while biting her nail. Placing the documents onto the table, she stands to walk over to my side. “I guess we’re going to Savannah in May.” Everyone starts clapping and sighing in relief as I stand to give Emily a kiss.

“Get a room,” Dave groans.

“Happy Birthday, Emily!” we all chant.

She runs her hands over my chin. “The trip and the tattoo are an added bonus. I was happy just having you in my life. Thank you.”

April blows by in a flash of the eye. I have just about finished my rehab for my arm and my ankle. The doctors have said I can basically continue my daily therapy at home. I’m also happy to be able to drive again. The initial movement has been awkward, but they say it will be a strange feeling until the muscles and tendons strengthen back to normal. I miss my Audi, but I’m the new owner of a fabulous white Ford Escape with four-wheel drive.

Jeremy’s Monarchs season has finished, and the Calder Cup Playoffs are set to begin after we return from Savannah. The team led in points in the Eastern Conference this year, and they are the favorite to win the East. Jeremy alone had a great season, scoring fifteen points and ten penalty minutes. I still don’t know what half of these terms mean, but between Travis and him, I should learn quickly during the Calder Cup. Jeremy’s contract will be up at the end of the postseason, and he hasn’t said if he’ll be returning to the Monarchs. He did say he’s keeping his options open in case another opportunity arises.

After everything Jeremy and I have gone through since we started dating last summer, we are surprisingly in a very good place now. The final two therapy sessions I attended for my post-accident depression, Jeremy came with me. The doctor was extremely optimistic about Jeremy’s interest in helping me channel my thoughts to a better place and ensuring that the two of us would continue to talk through our issues.

Everything is moving in a better direction. I still can’t put on my skates, but I have been able to assist on the coaching staff at Boston Skating Club, allowing me to earn my own paycheck each week. I haven’t heard from my parents, not that I’m upset over that. However, one of Daddy’s lawyers did call me before the sale of the company went through. I guess there was some misappropriation of funds between my father and my old sponsors, and I was owed nearly two hundred thousand dollars in past wages.
Well, thank you, Daddy!

Jeremy has rented a beach cottage just outside of Savannah for the long weekend. As all of us pack into the SUV to drive there, I can’t help but roll down the windows and let the warm breeze flow around me. The winter in Boston was absolutely brutal this year. Seventy degrees is delightful and refreshing.

As we approach the island, colorful houses appear at every corner. We finally find our cottage and pull into the driveway. It is a small two-level house with crazy knickknacks all over the outside, and for some strange reason, all the cottages here have a shower outside of the house. It’s cute and quirky. Jeremy carries my bags through the house after we find the hide-a-key. Courtney is busy taking pictures of everything outside, and Josh is standing in the front screen porch on his phone talking to someone.

Grace comes in with the few bags of drinks and food we picked up on the way in. Travis helps put everything away with her as I admire the interior design. There are white walls, white furniture, and colorful beach décor everywhere I look. A large wooden spiral staircase leads up to a second floor where Jeremy has gone.

I see him unpacking as I make it to the top of the stairs. When he sees me, he throws everything that is in his hands into the dresser. As he makes his way over to me, he grabs me and tosses me onto the bed before leaning over me to kiss my neck and massage my breasts. I laugh at his boldness since his family is downstairs, and the room does not have a door.

“So, what do you want to do tonight?” he asks as he pulls one of my breasts from my bra cup.

“Trying to think and stay focused while you do that is almost impossible.” I laugh as I roll my head back in pleasure before releasing a moan. Slapping my hand over my mouth, I remember we are not alone. “Shit, do you think your parents heard that?”

“Em. I don’t think they care,” Jeremy says as he slowly starts pulling off my capris.

“Yeah, but I do. I can’t have them thinking we’re having sex up here.” I am unsuccessful in my persuasion, considering Jeremy has now removed my pants completely. I throw my hand over my head in embarrassment. “We are so going to get caught. I know it.” There go my lace panties onto the floor. “Jeremy!” I try to yell just above a whisper. Jeremy stands taking off his shirt and removing his shorts. I make a move to retrieve my underwear, but he’s having none of it. Still standing over me, he moves quickly and has me pinned in an instant. He pulls my shirt over my head and removes my bra in the process. “This is
so
not a good idea,” I say as my fingers trace the words etched over his heart.

“Babe, there are a lot of things that are not a good idea, but having sex with you is not one of them.”

He slowly enters me, since he already knows how ready I am after his breast massage. “Hmmm, Jeremy, I don’t know if I can be quiet.”

“When you’re close, tell me.”

“Jeremy,” I say, tapping him on the shoulder.

“Already, Em? Damn, I’m good! Either that or my dick has super powers today.” He thrusts harder and faster, and the minute he sees my breathing go ragged, his lips crush mine, and I scream into his mouth, muffling the intense orgasm shooting through my body. Jeremy isn’t far behind once my orgasm hits. Lying there after our afternoon quickie in true Jeremy fashion, he asks, “So, did you think about what you want to do tonight? It appears you’ve already done me.”

He’s impossible, and yet I can’t help but laugh at him because I wouldn’t want him any other way.

Last night Emily decided we would have dinner and drinks at a rooftop lounge in downtown historic Savannah. All six of us sat on cushioned chairs and watched as the sun set along the river. People walked along the waterfront below us, some hand in hand and others with children in tow. The trolley bell dinged as it rolled past all the buildings. I was enjoying my first SweetWater beer while Emily was sipping on her Sangria. When I looked at her, she was grinning from ear to ear as Courtney told her something amusing. Josh chatted with Dad about work, and his plans for retirement in the next year. That was the other reason for this trip. Mom and Dad are looking for potential places to come visit during the winter months. Mom has admitted they could never leave for good. She said she’d miss all six of her babies. I love my mom to death, and the idea that she includes Sue, Dave, and Emily in her “babies” group makes my decision all the more gratifying. Everyone was happy around me, and I knew in my heart I was doing the right thing.