Page 52 of What We Knew Then
The hairs on the back of my neck lift.
I glance toward the glass, half expecting to catch a shadow watching me. For a second, there’s nothing. Just the echo of my own breathing, too loud in the empty rink.
Until Lane steps out onto the ice.
Chapter 33
LANE
Allweekit’sbeenlike this. Me orbiting around Cora Banks without trying to. I catch myself looking for her before I even realize it. Library. Dining hall. Film sessions. She slips into her seat and somehow I notice every time.
We work together before practice like it’s nothing. She expects me there, I show up, and I do what she asks. She writes in that notebook of hers, focused, locked in, and every once in a while she gives this small half-smirk when something plays out the way she predicted. I’ve started chasing that look without meaning to. According to her, we’re almost through the first phase of her research and getting ready to move on.
Neither of us brings up what happened after the game. I should be relieved. I am, mostly. But there’s a part of me that almost wishes she would say something. At least then I’d have a reason to talk to her about something other than hockey.
Tonight, I finish my homework early so I can head to the rink. I want to run a few speed drills, maybe get my legs back before Coach tears into us at morning skate. Ice time when it’s empty is a gift, and I need it.
The second I step through the door, I hear it. Blades cutting into ice. Clean. Steady. Someone skating hard.
My eyes adjust to the lights and I see her.
Cora.
She moves fast, but not sloppy. Controlled. Driven. Jacket zipped to her chin, hair falling loose in pieces, cheeks flushed from the cold. She doesn’t see me at first, and I don’t move. I just watch.
Of course she can skate. Her dad’s a legend. It’s in her blood. But knowing it and seeing it are two different things. She’s light on her edges, steady through the turns, and there’s something in the way she pushes herself that I recognize. Like she’s trying to burn something off or maybe outrun it.
And yeah. I get that.
I should leave. Act like I didn’t see her and keep moving. I shouldn’t be standing here with my heart racing like I’ve never seen someone skate before. But it’s Cora; whether I like it or not, that changes things.
I shake it off, try to clear my head and remind myself why I came here. Work. Not this. Not getting caught up in someone I can’t have.
Doesn’t matter. I’m already there.
Cora slows when she notices me. Even from here I can see her brows pull together, trying to make sense of it.
I push off and skate out, meeting her halfway.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, breath still heavy from the laps.
Normally, I would give her shit. But things have been… different. And after seeing her in Coach’s office, I don’t push it.
“Speed drills.” I drag my hands down the front of my shirt. “Mind if I turn on more lights?”
Cora glances around, her eyes catching the light like the lake in the sun. “Yeah, that’s fine.” She turns toward the boards, gaze dropping as she passes me.
“Want to join me?” I ask. I try to keep it casual, but I want her to say yes.
She nods. “Sure. That’s fine.” It sounds like she’s convincing herself more than answering me, but I’ll take it.
I take a few minutes to warm up, then we start at the goal line. We take off to the far blue line, stop, reset, and push back. I hold back the first couple, letting her stay with me. On the last few, I open it up. My thighs burn the way they should, and I hear her laughing behind me, her breath coming hard.
We do another set. This time I give her a head start. It takes a few reps before I catch her, back and forth across the ice, and it’s easy to push harder with someone out there. My chest tightens for a second, thinking about how Oliver and I used to do this after practice, staying out until we couldn’t feel our legs. It was always easier with someone else.
Lately, it’s just been me.
Cora bends over, hands on her knees, catching her breath.
