He leans down and presses a quick peck to my lips. It’s the definition of short and sweet, and yet both our eyes widen the second we part.
“Shit. Probably shouldn’t have done that.”
I shrug, biting my lip so a scary, clown-like grin doesn’t overtake my whole face. “Liz already knows.”
His brow furrows. “You told her?”
“She figured it out.” I spare a quick glance over my shoulder at the rest of the crew. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they have, too.”
“Any day now!” Liz’s voice echoes around the frozen pond.
Grayson clears his throat. “Right. Where were we?”
“You were just about to tell me how I’ve done a stand-up job for my first time ever ice-skating and there’s no need to go any further with my impromptu lesson.”
“Sure.” He spins around effortlessly so we’re standingnext to each other. His arm is wrapped firmly around my waist.
I lean into the solid weight of him, drawing no small amount of comfort from his presence next to me.
“So first thing is to angle your feet like this.”
“I thought I wasn’t allowed to look down?”
“Has anyone ever told you you’re a terrible student?”
“Literally never. My teachers loved me.”
“I bet they did.” He bumps his hip into mine, just enough to wobble me a tad.
I study his skates for a second before moving my feet into position.
“Good. Now, you don’t want to approach this like walking. You want to push off with your back leg and glide forward on your front leg.”
I bend my knees a little more, basically doing anything I can to delay having to actually skate.
“You got this, Ems. I know you can do it.”
I tilt up my head and meet Grayson’s gaze. His blue eyes are bright in the afternoon sunshine, and he’s wearing an encouraging smile. And suddenly, I don’t want to disappoint him. I want to show him that I can, in fact, do this.
“I trust you,” I tell him. And it’s not lost on me that the last time I said those words to him, I was in an equally vulnerable position. Somehow, Grayson has become a safe place. The realization sends a burst of warmth through my frozen limbs. “Right.” I bend my knees and push off my back leg. I’m as wobbly as a sleepy toddler, but I manage to glide for a half second before I stumble.
Grayson’s arms lock around me, holding me uprightbefore I can even come close to falling. “That was actually really good.”
“Why do you sound so surprised?” I get my feet back into position, ready to try again.
“You surprise me all the time, Harper.”
I push off again, gliding forward for a full second this time before coming to a shaky halt. “Is that a good thing?”
“Most definitely.” His fingers tighten, squeezing my waist. “Let’s try again.”
I don’t even know how much time passes, but by the time Liz tells us we can wrap it up, I’m actually skating. I probably look like a baby giraffe while doing so, but I’m actually skating. And Grayson never once let me fall. No broken ankles, arms, or vaginas to be found.
We come to a halt in the center of the ice, hands intertwined, although Grayson no longer has to hold me upright.
“You did really well today, Ems.” The smile on his face borders on proud, and it sends a jolt of heat straight through me.
“Thanks.” I rise up on my toes, pressing my lips to his and not really caring who sees it. I lose my balance after a hot second, but I let myself stumble, knowing he’ll be there to catch me.
