Love is Silent

Chapter 8

Chase picked me up at six the next evening, and I found that I was really looking forward to going out with him. I hadn’t asked him where we were going, since it didn’t really matter to me. I knew he’d find something that we would both enjoy.

            When he arrived at my house, my stomach fluttered a little, surprising me. I hadn’t felt anything like that since Adam and I started dating nearly two years ago. I told my parents I was leaving and then went outside to get into the car. Chase smile briefly at me when I got in, and then he started driving.

            We drove for about twenty minutes before he pulled into a parking lot. When I saw where we were, I turned to him with a smile. “Canada’s national pastime?”

            He grinned shyly back. “I remember you saying you were a hockey fan. I thought it would be fun for us to watch the local team play.”

            “I think you’re right. Let’s go in.”

            We walked into the arena, and then Chase surprised me by going to the elevator. “My foster parents had tickets for a sky box,” he explained. “They weren’t able to make it tonight, so they asked if I wanted the tickets. I’m pretty sure I shocked them when I actually said yes,” he said with a wry smile.

            “My parents were very surprised when I told them I was going out tonight,” I admitted as we arrived at our assigned box and took our seats. “But I also know they were pleased. I haven’t gone out anywhere for fun since the accident.”

            He placed his hand over mine and squeezed it gently. “I’m glad you wanted to come out with me.”

            I smiled at him. “Me too.”

            We didn’t talk too much during the game. A couple of servers checked on us a few times to see if we needed anything, but other than that we were left alone. I’d never been in a sky box before, but it was kind of nice not having to jostle around people to get what we wanted. I knew with my cane that it would’ve been fairly difficult to do that, so I was grateful for the relative privacy that we had.

            Our team won and I found myself cheering for them along with the rest of the crowd. Chase watched me with an amused expression, but even he got into the spirit of things at the final goal. When it was over, we made our way back to the car. We managed to beat the rush out of the parking lot, and soon we were heading back to my place.

            Most of the lights were off at my house when we got there, and I knew my parents were in bed already. I hesitated for a moment before getting out of the car. I turned and leaned back in to look at Chase. “Come with me. I want to show you something.”

            He followed me down the driveway to the stables and into the building. I led him over to where Justice was waiting with his head over the stall door. “This is Justice. He was Luke’s horse.”

            Chase eyed the horse warily. “He’s pretty big.”