On Thin Ice Ch. 01

Zane offered to help her with that and to help her find her way around but he was too busy with practices and the approaching preseason. She was all right without him. Between driving around checking apartments and running errands, she gained her bearings well enough.

On the third day, she drove to her new school. The commute wasn't as bad as she thought it would be and as she drove around, she realized taking the transit would eat up more time than it was worth in gas money.

At the school, she stopped at the main office to check in and introduce herself. Lucky for her, the principal and several of the teachers were there, prepping for the upcoming week. Meg met the principal and was shown to the staff lounge room, where she was introduced to some of the other teachers, including a friendly woman named Nikki.

"I can show you around the school if you like," Nikki offered.

Meg accepted gratefully and walked out into the quiet hallway with Nikki. They were about the same height but Nikki had long blond hair as opposed to Meg's darker locks.

"This is a bigger school than my old one," Meg commented as they turned a corner.

Nikki smiled. "Where are you from?"

"Minneapolis, but the school I taught at was in a rural community not far from the south end."

"That is a bit different." Nikki led the way down the hall towards the library.

Meg glanced around, feeling a little overwhelmed. "Yeah. It only had about four hundred students for all twelve grades."

They chatted for another hour. Nikki showed Meg around the rest of the school and even though Meg's head was spinning by the time she left, she felt comfortable enough to find her way around.

She said good-bye to Nikki at the main office and promised to call the woman if she needed help the next day. Meg would be back to the school to do her own prep work. She'd only have two days before the weekend and the following Monday, the start of the school year.

Meg drove home thinking about Zane's upcoming season. Meg didn't know how she'd deal with spending so much time alone in his big house while he left on road trips but she comforted herself with the knowledge that it would only be for a few nights at a time. There'd be a few longer trips but hopefully she'd have her own place by then.

For now, they had a lot of time to spend together. The first few preseason games were populated by all the young hopefuls so Zane was going to be around for most of September. Meg might not say it out loud, but she was grateful for his presence as she navigated the first few weeks at the new school.

She loved her job and she enjoyed new challenges but even her positive outlook could be tested when surrounded by unknown fifteen and sixteen-year olds. The first day wasn't so bad; roll call, introductions to the subjects, and so on. The rest of the first week was all right with minimal outbursts from the students. Meg maintained her calm exterior even when confronted by the worst of her student's attitudes. After that first week, the kids all seemed resigned to their fate in her room and she became the undisputed leader.

When she tried to describe it to Zane following the second full week, he gave her a blank stare. She shoved him and he laughed as he leaned sideways on the couch to get out of her reach.

"Is this how you keep the students in line?"

Meg snorted. "Hardly. Even if I could get away with that, there aren't any kids I want to hit." She smiled as she pictured their faces; some indifferent, some blatantly defiant and a few with eager interest in their eyes. "They're good kids."

Zane smiled and nudged her with his elbow. "I'm happy for you, Meg."

Meg flushed as she met his dark gaze and shrugged. "Thanks, Z."

"I may not understand the appeal behind teaching a bunch of degenerate teenagers, but I'm glad you're settling in so well."

Meg laughed at his wording. "'Degenerate teenagers?' They're no different from the way we were in school."

"Please! I was too busy with hockey to give any thought to school."

"Tell me about it." Meg rolled her eyes and tucked the blanket around her legs. It was only mid-September but she could feel the chill of fall creeping up on them. "I remember all those nights trying to get you to study for one test or another."

Zane groaned at the memory and covered his face with one hand. "Don't remind me! I think I seriously considered never speaking to you again after you kept me from going out with the team to study for that one English exam."

Meg recalled the night he was talking about. "Oh yeah! There was some kind of party for one of the guys, wasn't there? You were all going to get drunk or something."

Zane dropped his hand and narrowed his eyes at Meg. "We were not going to drink. We weren't of age yet."

Meg howled with laughter and kicked her foot against his thigh. "Liar! As if your age ever stopped you from doing something stupid, Zane."

He gave her an unrepentant smile and caught her foot in his hand before she could give him another soft kick. "You have a point." He cocked his head to one side as he studied her. "You know, if it wasn't for you, Meg, I probably would have flunked out."

"Oh please." She blushed, pleased more than she should be by the compliment. "You're smart, Zane. You didn't need my help."

He shrugged and gave her foot a squeeze. The caress sent a jolt right up her leg and settled low in her abdomen. Meg swallowed and told herself to just stay still. Yanking her foot away would just raise questions.

"I might have been smart but I didn't care about going to class as much as going to hockey practice. I could never keep track of the exams and schedules." He shook his head and smiled at her, still squeezing her foot. "If it wasn't for you, I don't know what would have happened."

"Zane, we didn't even go to the same high school all the way through." Meg felt herself growing warmer with each passing moment.

"You still knew when I needed to study and when I could have time for hockey."

Meg shrugged. "I just wanted to make sure you had some balance in your life."

Zane chuckled and stopped squeezing her foot. His hand relaxed and she felt him start to stroke her over the sock in a warm caress. "I don't know if I ever did find a balance. The only reason I was at the school was for the game."

"Zane, what does it matter? You graduated and you're in the NHL. You didn't need me for that."

Zane met her gaze and gave her a slow nod. His hand stopped moving on her foot and Meg felt her breath catch. It felt very warm in the room now and she didn't know how to calm the butterflies in her stomach that started winging around as soon as Zane gave her that look.

"I'm so happy you're here, Meg."

His quiet voice and the conviction behind the words made Meg's throat feel tight. And this time, it had nothing to do with the physical response in her body or the light in his brown eyes. She sat up and wrapped her arms around him.

"Me too, Z. Me too."

****

Zane almost couldn't handle the anticipation leading up to the start of the season. It was always the same for him. Training camp and preseason served only to whet his appetite for the game. He wanted to get out there and make every point count and he wanted to finish every game on top.

When that first game approached, he couldn't sit still. After suiting up in the locker room, he paced the hall just outside. His teammates left him alone to his thoughts and didn't try to calm him down. By now, they were all used to his habits.

The only thing that was different about the start of this season was that Meg had called him from school that day. She'd known when he was going to the arena before the game and wanted to wish him luck on the season opener. It had fired him up even more, if that was possible and as much as he wished she could come to the game, he was almost grateful that she wouldn't be there to distract him. He was wound up tight enough as it was without knowing she'd be watching him.

So Zane paced along the hall outside the locker room, twisted his stick in his hands and pictured the patterns on the ice. He watched the puck zinging around and imagined the smack of it against his stick. His mind conjured images of the opposing goalie and the white net behind him. By the time his teammates started to file out of the locker room around him, he was ready.

The game was fast. Both sides were eager for the start of the season and the crowd was electrified. Zane put up two points but didn't have a goal and that was all right. The Devils won, and that was what mattered. In the back of his mind, he'd wanted to win because he knew who was watching at home.

Meg had promised to come to some of the games but she'd also said she didn't want to be overwhelmed with season tickets and keeping up in her first year at West Forest. He understood and knew without asking that she'd be watching the game tonight on TV.

He wasn't going home that night and he didn't call before the plane left for their game the following night in Washington, knowing Meg would already be in bed. In the first month at her new post, she'd been exhausted more often than not and he didn't want to disturb her chance to get a good night's rest. He'd see her again on Sunday.

The first month of the Devils' schedule was hectic. They were gone from New Jersey almost every other game until the end of the month when he'd be gone for two weeks on a road trip through the West coast teams.

Zane would never say so to Meg, but he worried about leaving her alone for so long. As he boarded the plane with his teammates, he thought about what he could do to make the trip easier for her. Then he smiled and shook his head. He wasn't worried about Meg so much as he was worried for himself.

She'd been living with him for less than two months and already she'd become such a part of his daily routine that he wasn't sure how he'd deal without her there every night to keep him grounded. It didn't hurt that he had the privilege of seeing her shuffling around in shapeless pajamas and fuzzy slippers on the weekends when he was home. Somehow, her dishevelled morning appearance stirred him up more than any other look. Then again, he was coming to enjoy seeing her anytime, anyway.

Before the plane took off, Zane pulled his cell out and stared down at the display. His fingers ran over the numbers to his house and he had to remind himself that Meg was already in bed, and very likely asleep. With a sigh, he turned the phone off and made himself comfortable in his seat.

One night. I'm only gone for one night.

****

The first few nights Zane was away from home were strange for Meg. Not because she was left alone in his empty house, but because she'd become so accustomed to hearing him come in late at night when she'd already be in bed. The Devils' schedule was odd for the first month and the upside was that he'd only be away for a night at a time until the big road trip out west at the end of the month.

She tried to plan other activities for the nights when he was away. She did more apartment hunting and went for coffee a couple times with Nikki. The recreational women's league she joined was very relaxed with games played only once a week on different days, so she'd often have nearly ten days between games. She didn't mind that, as her workload at the new school was more than she'd anticipated.

Above all, she made time to watch Zane's games. Now that she lived in New Jersey, there was a bit more access to the Devils games and she intended to watch as many as she could. In Minnesota, other than the odd game or highlight reel, she rarely got to see Zane in action. Watching the games now, she recalled how much she'd enjoyed it, even growing up together.

He had a natural ease on the ice that she envied and loved to observe. He was quick and commanded attention whenever he skated off the bench. His point count so far this season was low, with only a few goals in the first six games. Still, he was a playmaker as well as a shooter and Meg could watch him skate for hours.

Not that she'd ever admit that to him or anyone else. Her messed up feelings over living with him and seeing him nearly every day were confusing enough to her, never mind trying to explain them to someone else. And she'd die before she'd ever say anything to Zane about it. He'd probably crack a joke and she'd go back to hiding her increasing attraction to her best friend.

Meg watched one particularly gruelling away game as she graded some tests one evening mid-week. The Devils were playing in Montreal and the Canadiens were dominating. Meg winced a few times as she watched and knew without being near him that Zane was getting very frustrated. The Habs' goalie had managed to block every one of his six shots in the first two periods and so far, the teams were tied. The way the Devils were playing, Meg figured they were lucky to be holding on to that tie.

"And that's another blown opportunity by Pritchard."

The announcer's voice grated on her nerves. Meg scooped the remote control up and hit the mute button. The sound disappeared but it didn't change the boneheaded play Zane had just completed.

Giving a low whistle, Meg turned back to her paperwork. She was just about finished and in another few minutes she could devote all her attention to Zane's less-than-stellar performance. She glanced up again in time to see the official gesturing at her friend while Zane protested with what looked like some choice words.

"Zane! What is going through your head?" She shook her head and focused her attention on the work in front of her. A few more marks and she was done. She stacked the paperwork together and filed everything where it needed to go.

With a sigh, she flopped down on her couch to watch the remainder of the game. Zane was back on the ice following his penalty and the score remained tied.

Not for the first time, she wished they were in the same room so she could sock him in the shoulder. She couldn't understand why Zane was having so much trouble tonight. He was letting the other team get to him somehow and his play was suffering for it. His passes were sloppy, he was missing opportunities to shoot and taking useless penalties because of his rising frustration.

Meg was already planning what to say to him when he called her later. Something along the lines of 'you dumbass' and 'stop letting your temper get the better of you.'

She watched the rest of the game, exclaiming or shaking her fist at intervals until the teams left the ice for the final time. How the Devils managed to eke a victory out of that chippy game, she'd never figure out.

The game announcers came on following the game and Meg listened with half an ear. She picked up her dog-eared copy of 'Pride and Prejudice' to pass the time until Zane's phone call. He didn't always call after a game, since it was often so late when they finished but she'd texted him earlier and told him to call her anyway. When the phone rang, she didn't even look at the display before answering.

"What were you thinking?"

The only response was a long-suffering sigh.

"I mean, honestly, what did all those penalties accomplish? Hm? Nothing, that's right. Nothing!"

"God, it's good to hear your voice, Meg. I'm great, how are you?"

She ignored him. She wasn't done reading him the riot act. "You could have been hurt with some of those moves you tried! And that stupid little fight? What if you'd hurt yourself then? What would you do with a couple broken or dislocated fingers? How many goals would you be able to score like that?"

"Yeah, I am pretty tired, thanks for asking. But I don't mind staying up after a gruelling game like that to talk to you."

"Don't sass me, Zane Pritchard."

"Oh, silly me for thinking I could call and have a normal conversation with my best friend."

"And don't you try and sweet talk me!"

"That wasn't sweet talk, Meg. Sweet talk was what you were doing."

Meg paused and scowled. "I was berating you for your boneheaded moves."

"Oh baby, when you talk like that, you know what you do to me?"

Rolling her eyes, Meg slouched back on the couch and set her novel on the table. She ignored the immediate reaction her body had to his low tone, reminding herself that he was only teasing her. It was all he ever did, after all.

"I make you realize that you really are a bonehead and shouldn't be playing in the NHL?"

"Oh, you did not just say that."

Meg bit her lip to stifle a giggle. "Didn't I?"

"Please! You're hardly the one to be criticising my game when you don't play at all."

"What the hell are you talking about? I've been playing in that women's league for a month."

He scoffed and Meg couldn't help but grin as she pictured him rolling his eyes. "That's so not the same as playing in the NHL, and you know it."

"Really? Are we going to argue about our sexes? Again?" Meg happened to agree with him but she loved the playful argument.

"I don't want to argue about anything!" Zane barked out a laugh. "You're the one who started in on me the second I called."

"Because it was warranted. You were being reckless, careless and acting like an undisciplined goon tonight, Zane. Seriously, what were you thinking?"

Zane blew out an annoyed sound. "I was thinking I wish all these red-sweatered jackasses would get out of my way so I could score a goal."

Meg tsked at him. "So shallow. Shouldn't you have been thinking about helping the team instead of your own point count?"

"We won the damn game, didn't we?"

"Barely. You may have scored more points, but it wasn't a moral victory."

"A moral...? I can't believe I called for this!"

"Oh, get over it, Zane."

"Get over it? Get over my best friend cutting me down?"

Meg rolled her eyes. "It's not like it's the first time or anything."

"That's very true."

They both fell silent for a beat.

"Congrats on the win, Zane."

"Thank you!" He sounded relieved.

"Even though you didn't help your team at all because you were acting like a complete bonehead."

"Thanks, Meg. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you around to keep things in perspective for me."

Meg laughed. Her body had stilled after her initial reaction to his call and now she felt like she could relax. It was always easier with him on the phone. At least then she wouldn't have to worry about hiding her facial expressions or the color in her cheeks at some of the things he said.

"I'm always here for you, Zane, you know that."

He sighed. "Don't I know it. So how has your week been? God, I haven't even talked to you since Monday."

"My week's been all right. I had a game on Tuesday night so I was pretty useless at school yesterday."

"You didn't let it show in class, did you?" Zane chuckled, the sound stirring her insides up again. "Those kids, they're like wild animals. You show a hint of weakness and they'll attack."

Meg laughed at the analogy and shook her head. "I was fine. They didn't attack. I just plugged in a movie in the history classes and gave them a pop quiz in biology."

Zane gave a low whistle. "You're a cruel woman, Meg."

"Only sometimes."

There was a sound in the background and Zane moved the phone away as he called back in reply.

"I've got to go, Meg. The guys are all getting on the bus."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow night then."

"For sure. Hey, have you got any plans?"

"No."

"You want to rent a movie and stay in?"

"Sure. Don't you have any other plans?"

"No, thank God. This has been a crazy month already and I could use a night off from everything."

Meg smiled. One of the perks of her move was just hanging out with Zane at home. "Sounds good to me. Do I get to pick the movie?"

Zane groaned and it made Meg laugh.