We took a break and leaned against the wall, observing Nikki and Alec from the other side of the rink. My heart lifted as I watched Nikki laugh and act so goddamn normal, but then that weird sense of unease constricted my heart again.
“Your sister is fine. Alec’s gonna take care of her.”
I scoffed. “I didn’t say—”
“You didn’t have to,” Brooklyn interjected. “I know you.”
I winced as he echoed the same sentiment my sister had earlier. It was one thing for me to be so transparent with Nikki, but to him? I was so see-through he could see everything inside me—aching heart included.
There was no point in denying it, so I collected myself and pushed off of the wall, rolling forward slowly on my skates. “Still, no offense to Alec, but he doesn’tknowher.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing.” He shrugged. “Did you ever consider that maybe your sister wants to be treated like a normal person instead of someone who had a bad lapse in judgment because of mental health problems and now feels like it follows her everywhere?”
“Wait, are we still talking about Nikki?”
Brooklyn shrugged again even though the silence was enough of an answer, opening a door for me to walk—or skate—right through. I pinched the sleeve of his T-shirt as we skated forward, slower than we had been before. I looked up at him, and as the lights reflected in his eyes the way the moon reflected on the ocean on a clear night, I recognized that flicker of guilt from that night at the fair.
“Is that why we’re avoiding what happened last weekend?”
Brooklyn let out a wry chuckle. “That obvious, huh?”
“No, I’m just extremely perceptive.”
This time his laughter was more genuine, and that sense of unease loosened its grip.
“I’m guilty too,” I admitted. “I didn’t exactly go out of my way to reach out to you.”
“Honestly, I’m not sure what I would have said even if you had.”
“Well, we kissed,” I stated. “And if that was a one-time thing, getting something out of our systems, that’s fine. I get it.”
Even though Ididget it, the sight of him was starting to sting.Getting itand being accepting of it were two different things, apparently.
“Yeah, I guess so.” He rubbed the side of his face. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
“No Scrubs” by TLC started playing from the speakers, and even though we’d been casually skating along through a sea of people, they all seemed to come to life and started singing along. Including Brooklyn, who shot me a sideways glare when I laughed. At the very least, he always managed to do that.
“Come on, you can’t just hum along to ‘No Scrubs,’ even if you’re as bad of a singer as me.”
“Well, you’re no scrub,” I chided, and we both belted out the chorus as it came on.
Without warning, Brooklyn stopped on a dime, and when he went to pull me back to him, my feet got tangled up in each other. Before I had a chance to steady myself I toppled over, taking him with me as he fumbled to keep me upright. I landed hard on top of him, and his body shuddered underneath me.
“I’m sorry,” I blurted. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. Totally fine,” he replied through breathy laughter. “Are you?”
Suddenly, we were all alone. It was then that I truly realized the position I was in. My knees hugged one of his thighs, and from there up, every single inch of our bodies, every dip and every curve, aligned too perfectly, like a lock and its one and only key. I had my hands pressed into his torso, feeling the way his chest moved up and down with every breath he took. Under the fabric of his shirt, his heartbeat thundered against his ribs. Mine did, too, reminding me of how precarious this whole situation was and how gossamer thin the line was between wanting to avoid him altogether and kissing him again like we had on the Ferris wheel. So, no, maybe I was not at all fine.
“I need to tell you something.”
“Okay.” I nodded intently, swallowing a thick wad of tension that had lodged itself in my throat. “Tell me.”
It didn’t seem to matter to either of us that we were still lying on the floor of a roller rink, people skating past us with confused glances.
But of course, my sister had impeccable timing.
