Emma found herself that night, looking at herself in the full-length mirror. She was in a simple summer dress, red in color. The sleeves were t-shirt, the length about an inch above her knee. It was tight and dipped low in front, revealing nice cleavage thanks to a push-up bra. Her breasts tingled, however, but Emma was aware that this was a common symptom during pregnancy and she was actually looking forward to her boobs getting bigger.

She was just past six weeks along, with her doctor's appointment next week. If all went well, she would hear her baby's heart beat for the first time. Her heart skipped a beat just thinking about it. 

Truth be told, Emma was surprised how quickly she had accepted having this child. Now, instead of dreading things, she was looking forward to them. Doctor's appointments, seeing her baby on an ultrasound for the first time. 

She gnawed her bottom lip, realizing that she got to experience this excitement but Kyle did not. Because she hadn't told him yet. And she wasn't sure if and when she planned to tell him. She knew she would eventually, she just didn't know when. And how.

Tonight, they were going to a romantic dinner on the beach. There was a small beachside bistro on one side of PCH that overlooked the water. Kyle had an in because Dimitri Petrov was primary owner of the restaurant and always got his team tables should they request it. The bistro had food and drinks named after him and his family but now that he was going through a divorce, Emma wondered if he was going to keep the Terra, a chocolate alcoholic drink named after his now ex-wife.

Not that it was any of Emma's business. She had met Dimitri Petrov a handful of times before and after her relationship with Kyle. Her father attended every single charity event the Gulls hosted including a golfing tournament, a beach day, an auction, and a fashion show - which was scheduled a couple of weeks from now. He always dragged her along because he really didn't have anyone else to take and because he felt that they could bond over this experience together.

Dimitri Petrov was the nicest guy on the ice. He was deliriously handsome for his age - aging gracefully like wine - and had an adorable accent that as hard to decipher at times. Even now, Emma had no idea how the hell anyone could leave Dimitri, especially since it was known that cheating - at least on his part - wasn't what broke them up.

Kyle had invited her out tonight because he seemed to think they hadn't been spending a lot of time together since their Vegas trip due to the fact that they were both so busy with their individual careers. It was his way of reconnecting and deepening their bond.

She could appreciate that but that didn't mean she wasn't concerned about what was going on with him. She knew he wasn't the type of person to cheat. Yes, he enjoyed the single life before her but every girl he was with knew that going into the fling they had. Once he and Emma got together, after months of being friends, he immediately dropped his previous lifestyle cold-turkey. Even though girls clamored for his attention, he never strayed. He never even seemed tempted.

Now, though...

Was his poor play a result of guilt? Even if he hadn't cheated, had he done something else that made him feel guilty? That affected his play this much?

She wanted to ask him but didn't think she should. If he was going to tell her, he would. No question. Right?

It wasn't as though she was going out of her way to tell him about being pregnant, even though he had a right to know. Even though she should.

And that caused a block in her dancing. She couldn't finish the damn piece she had been working on for the past two weeks. She thought it was because of her pregnancy, because she had a lot going on and wasn't quite sure how to handle everything. Now, though... maybe it wasn't as clear-cut as she thought. Maybe she needed to be around Kyle. Maybe they needed to trust each other more with what was going on in their lives.

"Thanks for coming out," Kyle said after the hostess left them with menus and a promise that the waiter would be there soon. "I know how busy you are with your recital coming up."

"Actually," Emma remarked, opening the menu, her eyes immediately going over to the specials. "I can't finish this piece to save my life. I'm completely blocked. My students are hounding me for an ending and I can't seem to give one to them."

"What kind of ending do they want?" Kyle asked. He leaned casually back against his chair, not even cracking open the menu. He had been here enough times to know what he wanted.

"It's not about what they want," Emma replied. She hoped she didn't sound defensive. It wasn't her intention to do so. "It's about what's right for the piece. It needs to fit."

Kyle's lips quirked up but he made no comment on her words. It was almost as though he was amused by her phrasing, as though she wasn't talking about the piece.

"Anyway," she said hurriedly, setting down the menu. "I have a lot of work I need to do, considering the recital is four weeks away and these kids need time to perfect it."

"They aren't going to perfect it, Em," Kyle pointed out gently.

"Nothing will ever be perfect."

Emma pressed her lips together, feeling her heart jump in her throat. "Yeah," she said with a slow nod. "You're right about that."

"But that's okay," Kyle said. "That's what makes life fun - the unexpected. Life's little imperfections make things unique. So one kid isn't pointing their toes and hitting their mark or whatever else dance deals with."

Emma giggled as the waiter came back with a wine sample for both of them. Immediately, the smile slid off of her face and her eyes went wide. She had no idea what to do. She couldn't drink. She wasn't even going to fake it, unwilling to take that risk and potentially harm the baby. But she needed to get out of this without making it obvious as to why.

"N-no thank you," she stuttered, moving the wine glass before the waiter could pour her a sample. She nearly knocked the glass down. "Sorry, I, uh, I'm on a strict diet to keep me focused until this whole recital thing is over." She was speaking more to Kyle than to the waiter, her words coming out jumbled and shaky just like her hands.

"It's just a sample," Kyle said, narrowing his sky-blue eyes and cocking his head to the side.

"You okay?"

"I'm getting sick of everyone asking me that, to be honest," she muttered, more to herself than to him.

"Weire concerned about you, Emma," Kyle pointed out, his tone slightly defensive. "What do you expect? Are we not allowed to ask if you're okay? You aren't acting like yourself and I don't think it has to do with your spring recital."

"Oh, just because it's not hockey doesn't make it any less important to me," Emma said, trying to keep her voice down so they wouldn't attract onlookers. "Dancing is my life. Well, it was before I started dating you. Then, everything started revolving around your schedule. Our dates, my recitals, my practices. I was looking forward to New York because then it would be about me. Me and me alone. But it's not. Not anymore."

Kyle narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, go to New York?" he asked.

Emma felt her throat dry up. She hadn't told him, she remembered. She wasn't planning on telling him until she got her acceptance letter. If she got an acceptance letter.

"For dance," she told him, forcing herself to look into his eyes. He deserved that much. "My dream has always been to dance on Broadway."

He seemed surprised. His eyes went to his lap as though he was searching for something there, something Emma wasn't quite sure what he was looking for.

"Why," he began, picking his eyes up. They were filled with an emotion Emma had never seen in them before - hurt. And she was the cause of it. "Why wouldn’t you tell me?"

Emma shrugged, feeling herself get increasingly more and more uncomfortable. "I just," she said. "I didn't want to bring it up unless I was accepted. You already have so much on your plate, I didn't want to add to it."

"That is such bullshit, Emma," he said through a harsh whisper. He was already socially awkward on a good day. Now that things were tense between them in a public place, he was doing his best to keep control over his emotions in order to calm himself down, to not make a scene, to not get more and more people to look at them.

Her eyes widened at his accusation. "Excuse me?" she asked, trying to keep her voice down, more out of respect for Kyle rather than because she cared whether or not people looked at them during their tiff. She had never been one of those girls who cared one way or the other if she made a scene - though she did try to avoid it as much as she could - but she knew how uncomfortable Kyle was in the public eye so she always made sure she kept her behavior in check so they wouldn't be noticed as much.

"You heard me," he said, his teeth clenched together so his voice came out tight. "It's bullshit. You should have told me you were doing something like applying to dance academies in New York because your dream is to dance on Broadway. Don't you think that as your boyfriend, that's something you should have told me? Don't I deserve that much?" 

Emma opened her mouth to reply. She knew what she wanted to say but knew it wouldn't help matters. "You never asked," she said anyway.

He gave her a look, like he couldn't quite believe she had said that, and then glanced away in disgust. "I shouldn't have to," he told her as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm your boyfriend. Or, at least, I thought I was." Without warning, he threw his keys on the table and abruptly stood. "I've got to get some air. You can drive yourself home."

"Kyle, I-" Emma began but Kyle was already making his way out of the restaurant.