Page 109 of Elite Player
Malcolm’s dark eyes sweep over me, carefully assessing. “How have you been?”
“Good.”
He lifts a dubious brow.
“I’m feeling much better. Thank you.”
He nods, satisfied. “Jensen wanted to come along, but I talked him out of it, though I did promise to take pictures. If that’s okay with you.”
I tug nervously at the hem of my sleeve. I’m wearingthedress. “I guess, but…if it doesn’t go the way I hope…”
Malcolm snorts, shaking his head as if disappointed I’d even consider that idea. “As much as I’ve tried not to, I’ve come to like Nico a lot.”
I bite into my lip, unsure if he’s kidding or not.
“I used to think he was an idiot kid, following whatever whims he wanted. But in the past few months, I’ve learned that he is actually quite full of depth and has a big heart.”
I can’t disagree and find myself beginning to smile at that. “He is.”
“Still a bit of an idiot, though.”
I bite back a laugh, and Malcolm lets a smile slip before he straightens his features and tells me, “I know how difficult it is to put yourself out there, but you did the hard part already. You’ve faced your fears. Now you just need to take the first step. Because I know that lovable idiot will be waiting for you.”
He’s so sure that it buoys my spirit, and he flicks his hands, shooing me along. “So, go finish getting ready. The sooner we do this, the sooner I can stop playing Cupid and get back to my actual work.”
“I like you, Malcolm.”
He tries and fails to fight his growing smile as he commands, “Go, Josephine.”
So I do. I finish my makeup and grab the bag I packed before following Malcolm out to the rideshare waiting for us.
At the arena, he stays by my side, a comforting presence even to my jangled nerves. When we enter through the tunnel, I see the team is out on the ice in their practice jerseys all huddled at the other end. But when Sheffy spies us, he skates over. He tells Malcolm, “I’ll take it from here,” then offers me his gloved hand.
Because I couldn’t make any of this happen without the help of Nico’s best friend. “Don’t be nervous,” he whispers as he helps me walk to center ice, but my gaze immediately finds Nico’s confused one. He skates over, his eyes taking in the length of me, from the top of my head to the heeled brown boots he bought for me.
“Those are dangerous to wear on the ice.”
Sheffy slaps him on the back. “Might want to start with ‘You look beautiful, Jo.’”
Nico doesn’t acknowledge his best friend. He keeps his eyes on me, repeating, “You look beautiful, Jo.”
It’s near impossible to speak past the lump in my throat, but I manage it. “Thank you.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I had to come see you.”
“Now?”
I nod, doing my best not to bite into my lip, and he removes his glove to lift his hand to my hair, curling his fingers around a lock, sliding them down, only to do it again. “I was going to come see you tonight. I couldn’t wait any longer. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize—” I tell him, but he cuts me off.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the last few days, and I’ve realized that if I want to be with you, I need to start being honest with myself and the world. Because I know I can’t truly make you feel like I’m choosing you if I’m still living half in the dark.”
My heart leaps into my throat. “I was… I was coming here to ask if you actually want me or if…” It sounds almost silly now that I’m here, but I soldier on, knowing this is the truth. “I’ve never been anyone’s first choice—or anyone’s choice, really. But I want you to choose me.”
He curves his fingers around my cheek. “Jo, I will always choose you. But you were right. We needed time to figure things out.” He takes a deep breath, his eyes never leaving mine. “I spoke with Malcolm, and I told him about my sexual assault. I want to work more closely with Speak Out to help shed light on experiences like mine. Hopefully help men and boys feel like they can speak out about what happened to them.”
