Frozen Barriers (12 page)

I shrug. “Lucky guess, really.”

“Okay, let’s get this party started! We need to get some drinks and snacks ordered. Now, Emily, I’m not sure if you’ve been here before, but they have the best finger foods that go with their drinks. But, since we are here for Court’s birthday, may I suggest we all start off with the birthday cake martini? They are absolutely amazing!”

Courtney chimes in, “Sure, I’m game for whatever comes my way, but I’ve got to be slightly good. I’ve got classes in the morning.”

“Oh, pish-posh. Skip them. The photos will still be there when you get back to the next class!” Sue scoffs.

Photography must be a passion of Courtney’s if she’s taking classes. “Where are you taking photography classes?” I ask.

“I’m enrolled in the community college trying to get my foot in the door for a magazine or travel company. I absolutely love portraits and landscapes. I’ve put in a few hours here and there doing baby photos and such to pay for tuition and supplies. Still living with my parents helps too since it allows me to seek out as many opportunities in the field and not burden them financially. I’m just hoping to get picked up full-time once I graduate in May next year.”

“You must really have a talent. You’ll have to show me some of your work sometime.”
Whoa, where did that come from? Did I just suggest I’ll be hanging out with her again? Oh, Emily, you must be coming down with something. This is so not like you.

I’m removed from my inner dialogue when the hot bartender saunters over to see what he can get us to drink. Sue tosses her hair over her shoulder and glances up at him, batting her eyes. “Hey, Sean. Can we get three birthday cake martinis ‘cuz it’s Courtney’s birthday and an order of the fried dough dippers, stuffed strawberries, and mini lemon blueberry cheesecakes?”

“Suzanne, are you sure that’s not too much food?” I ask.

“Nah. Plus, knowing Sean, he’ll hook us up with something else.”

“How do you know him?” I ask, thinking perhaps they used to date.

“I teach his current girlfriend how to
dance
,” she says suggestively.

“Oh! So, you teach dance now? That’s great! I mean, I remember how good you were with ballet and choreography years ago. It was only fitting you would make that a career.”

Courtney lets out a snort. “Oh, that’s not the type of dancing she’s talking about. Is it Suzanne?”

Kicking Courtney’s leg slightly, she returns her glance my way and says, “What Courtney here is trying to say is that I teach pole fitness classes along with other standard dance styles.”

“Pole fitness, as in
stripper
moves? Wait. That’s like the new thing, right? So, you teach that?” Why am I so intrigued by this? You’d think I’d be horrified to find out my old friend is now teaching other women how to gyrate and be seductive on a pole.

“It’s actually quite fun. Most girls leave my studio with more bruises and aching muscles because it’s hard work. I usually have at least two bachelorette parties a week in the summer. You ought to come by sometime, and I’ll teach you some moves,” Sue says enthusiastically.

I’m immediately rescued from having to answer that question when the bartender brings us our drinks. When he hands off the first martini to Courtney, she begins squealing as he reveals a candle in the middle of her drink held up by a huge dollop of whipped cream and jimmies. Suzanne and I grab our drinks, and she begins to toast. “To Courtney! Happy Birthday. May you have a great year filled with good times and lots of sex!” Groan. I’m clearly still the virgin of the group. Clinking our glasses together, I bring the sweet concoction to my lips and glance at Sue as she gives me a wink before sipping her own drink. Yeah, she knows I’m a virgin, but something tells me she’s about to start asking some questions.

“So, Emily, Jeremy seemed to be a little less of an ass after he ran after you at lunch. Any idea why that would be?” Suzanne continues to hold my stare, hoping I’ll cave. Continuing to gulp back my drink, I hope by the time I’m done she’ll have moved on to another topic with Courtney.

I finish my drink in record time, and the girls keep their eyes on me. “Damn, Emily!” Courtney exclaims. “I thought I could pound down the liquor.”

Eyeing the bartender, I catch his attention and tip my empty glass around in the air, hoping he takes my hint that I need to keep these coming. I see him nod and begin to make another cocktail to help with my liquid courage. I hear Suzanne clear her throat. Glancing up, I still see her eyes fixed on me as if to say
I’m still waiting for an answer
. Shit! I’m not getting out of this.

Sigh.
Here goes nothing.

“Jeremy tracked me down in the parking lot, and we had a little talk. It seemed we might have gotten off on the wrong foot the other day. We’re good, we kissed, and he wants me to go out on a date with him.”

Wait for it. It’s coming.

In perfect unison, the two girls in front of me jump out of their chairs and immediately saddle up alongside me on a stool. “You did what?” Sue shouts.

“You are talking about my brother, Mr. Moody, right?”

Ah! Here’s my drink. I thank the bartender again, and Suzanne orders herself another round as well. I continue to tell the girls how Jeremy and I may have had a few misunderstandings and how he returned the second kiss with such passion and intensity before asking me to go out with him. I left out the fact that he texted and called me this morning. The less they know the better. I haven’t even talked to Jeremy to see where he stands at the moment. After this morning’s conversation and how it ended, I can’t be too sure he is still adamant about this so-called
date
.

More questions ensue after that, and I feel as though I’m in the speed round of
Jeopardy
. Before I know it, I’ve consumed four martinis and only picked at some of the fruit on top of the mini cheesecakes, and I can’t understand what is coming out of my mouth. I see Courtney talking on the phone, but for the life of me, I can’t make out anything she’s saying. Things start to blur, and I begin to stand, but Suzanne grabs my wrists and we both thud down and start giggling after losing our balance. As I’m in a conversation about pole dancing with Suzanne, her eyes drift away from mine and over my shoulder. Her face turns up into a wicked smile, and she points before shouting, “You! How could you not tell me about you two?!”

What the hell?
As I attempt to stand up on my wobbly legs, I giggle.
Why are my legs like rubber?
I turn, and my eyes run up the length of the guy standing in front of me, meeting his intoxicating big brown eyes. “Oh, shit,” I whisper. That’s when I feel as though I’m falling, and the last thing I remember are two warm, strong arms wrapped around my body.

I leave the rink early in the afternoon and am thoroughly exhausted. It’s one thing to skate around with the kids in the summer camp at the Forum, but when you are up against guys on your own team, it’s a whole other form of workout. My legs ache, and I’m pretty sure I’ll have bruises in a few places tomorrow morning if I don’t ice down my shoulders tonight. The ride back to my place is painful, and I know my arms are junk after I try to pull all my gear from the back of my truck. It was apparent how out of shape I was when I tried to catch my breath with Emily. I don’t even know how that girl does it, but just the thought of her brings a smile to my face.

The last thing I wanted was to come home to Dave at my place, but clearly he wasn’t kidding when he said he was planning on staying a while. It comes as quite the shock when I walk in with all my gear and find him in my kitchen in nothing but his boxer briefs, chugging back a beer and scratching his balls. How he hasn’t found the right girl after all these years isn’t such a mystery.

“Are you planning on getting dressed today, or are you just planning on showing me your junk until you leave?” Smirking back at me with the beer at his lips, he grabs a hold of his cock and squeezes tight. “I’ll take that as a no.”

After showering and making some burgers on the grill, I grab a beer from the fridge and sit down in the living room to watch some TV. Dave is right behind me, plopping his ass in the chair next to me. After taking a bite out of his burger, he mumbles, “How was practice today?” Glancing from the TV over to him, wiping the burger juices from my mouth, I say, “Decent. It was good to see a few of the guys again and really toss the puck around, but I know I’m out of shape, and I’ll be hurting in the morning.” Dave nods back at me as if understanding. He never had any interest in having hockey as a career, but he still loves the sport and is probably one of my biggest supporters. He may be a total ass sometimes, but I’ll never not want him as my best friend.

After finishing dinner, Dave and I sit back in the living room and play with Aspen as my phone begins ringing. Looking at the caller ID, I see it’s Courtney.
Why would she be calling me?
I know she was heading out for birthday drinks tonight at Eavesdrop with Sue and Emily. When I called Courtney on the way home from Manchester to tell her Happy Birthday, she was ecstatic that Emily was going to join her. Courtney isn’t hard to please, but she also has a soft heart, which she wears on her sleeve. Hopefully, Emily didn’t cancel at the last minute, and that’s why she’s calling me.

Pulling the phone up to my ear, I say, “Hey, Court, everything all right?” I hear music in the background and what sounds like Sue and Emily talking about stripping and something about hooking up with the bartender. What the fuck?

Courtney answers, “Jeremy, I have no idea who else to call. Sue and Emily are trashed, and they shouldn’t drive, but I don’t have my car here to bring them home. Sue picked me up, and now I don’t know what to do.” What the hell? Sue was supposed to be watching out for her.

Dave gives me a questioning look as I respond, “Court, hang tight. Dave and I will be there in a little bit, okay?”

I hear Sue in the background slurring, “Courtney, is that Jeremy? Aww, Jeremy and Emily sitting in a tree k-I-s-s-I-n-g.”

Shit.

“Okay, thanks, Jeremy. Sorry to bug you. I just didn’t know what else to do.”

“It’s fine, Courtney. You did right by calling. I’ll be there soon. Bye.” I hang up.

Dave glances over after pulling a toy out of Aspen’s mouth. “What’s going on?” he asks, eyeing me curiously.

“Emily and Sue are toasted, and we’re needed pronto.”

Dave and I hop into my truck and make the fifteen-minute drive to Eavesdrop. We quickly head inside since it sounded as though the girls were already tanked before we left. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could have prepared us for what we walk in on in the lounge. The first person I make eye contact with is Sue, and her eyes shoot wide open. “You! How could you not tell me about you two?!” she shouts. Holy shit, she’s now drawing attention to herself, and how much did she drink? Sue can usually hold her liquor, but I’ve never seen her this drunk, except for perhaps one of my birthday parties at my parents’ house when she was singing something from
Mary Poppins
or some shit like that.

It’s now apparent that Sue must have poked Emily enough to get the details out of her about our little interlude the other day. So much for just coming to give the girls a ride home. Rubbing my hands over my face, I glance up to see Emily trying to stand and turn around. I hear Dave hiss next to me, whispering, “Holy shit, Emily got hot, dude!” I growl, not even sure why, but I see Emily eyeing me up and down. Damn, she’s smokin’ tonight and those heels. Shit, my dick stirs in my pants just thinking about them wrapped around me.
Get your head off sex, asshole. You’re here to help the girls.
At that moment, I notice her legs wobbling, and she starts to tilt over. I immediately rush over to her and wrap my arms around her before she hits the floor. I make my way to the chair and rest her on my lap with her passed out head in my neck.

“Jesus, how much did she have to drink?” I ask the girls.

Sue hiccups before saying, “I don’t know, maybe one more martini than I did. I lost count at four.” I glance over at Courtney, looking for a more sober explanation.

She catches my silent question and chimes in, “I have no idea, Jeremy. I thought she was okay, but she didn’t really eat very much except some fruit. I’m really sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine, Court. Can you just get me a bottled water from the bar? Dave, I need you to take my truck and make sure the girls get home.” Shit, I don’t even know if Emily still lives at the same house in Andover. I’ve somehow got to get her sober enough to talk to me, and that’s when I notice the clear plastic on her wristlet. “Dave, I need you to see if Emily has an address on her ID on the side of the wristlet.”

Sue’s got her head lying on Dave’s shoulder. He pulls out an ID from her clutch and hands it over for me to see the address. It’s the same one as when I dropped her off years ago. Shit. I really hope Emily wakes up well before getting home to avoid having to try to explain this to her mom. If she’s still as awful as she was years ago, she’ll never allow Emily out again.

Shifting in my seat, I rub Emily’s back, and she moans just slightly and reaches out to wrap her limp arms around my waist. I bring my lips down to her ear as I continue to rub her back. “Shh, I’m gonna get you home.” I kiss her forehead and then glance up to see three pairs of eyes glaring into me. “What?” I ask as if I don’t know why they are all staring at me. I’ve never been one for showing affection in public, let alone around my family or friends. There is just something about Emily that is special, and I can’t quite figure out why she brings out a caring side of me. Something tells me I need to find out.