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“Is Calvin’s wedding over yet?”
Aiden pushes back, gliding away from me, only to pick up speed and come right back, crowding me against the wall. “You’re going to be the death of me.” He kisses me again, this time gentle and sweet, much more appropriate for the young eyes in the room.
Taking my hand, he guides us away from the wall, skating beside me rather than in front.
“Hey,” I say, unsteady as my free hand wails through the air.
“You’re fine. Keep gliding, like this.” He shows me how to push my feet, making it look so easy. “It’s like rollerblading.”
“I suck at that, too.”
“You don’t suck at this. You’re already getting better.”
We keep going, around and around, and after who knows how much time, I garner enough confidence to let go of Aiden’s hand.
“See, look at you!” He spins, skating backward in front of me, my own knight in shining armor, waiting to rescue me if I fall.
“I’m doing it.” I laugh while watching my feet, my arms spread wide at my sides.
“You’re doing great. Look up at me.” I do, and Aiden smiles.
“Let me show you how to stop.”
“Nah, I’m good. I don’t need to stop.”
He laughs. “You might need to stop.”
“Nope, I’ll just keep going forward, and when I want to stop, I’ll ram into the wall.”
“I don’t want you ramming into anything. Just watch.” Aiden pushes both feet out and comes to a smooth stop.
“That looks easy,” I say.
Except it’s not. I try to push my skates out like Aiden, only they keep going—in opposite directions. Oh shit, I’m going down. I reach out to brace my fall against the cold, hard ice, only it never comes. Instead, I’m scooped into a warm set of strong arms.
I lean in to kiss Aiden, a thank you for saving me, but we’re still moving, and I’m still not steady. Instead of kissing him, I knock us backward. Aiden goes down first, with me landing on top of him.
We’re both laughing.
“Looks can be deceiving. Stopping is hard.” A chunk of my hair falls out from beneath my hat, and I use my gloved hand to push it away.
“Keep practicing. You’ll get it,” he huffs, making me realize that I’m still all up on him.
“Doubtful.” I try to crawl off of him, but Aiden wraps an arm around my back, pinning me against him.
“This is how we first met. Do you remember?” he asks.
I furrow my brow and look at him, and then it hits me. “I was here for my cousin’s birthday party.”
Aiden rests his hand against the side of my neck. “You busted your ass. All the other boys kept skating by, but I stopped to help you.”
“Why?”
“Because you were the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.”
“We were six.”
He grins. “What can I say? I started young.”
