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“You’ll want to get those laces extra tight,” he said, pointing to my skates as I pulled them on. The laces were all messed up and tangled from the previous renter. I struggled for a few seconds with my left foot, before Gabriel knelt on the floor in front of me and took the laces from my hands. “Here, let me help. It’s always easier for someone else to do it.”
My entire face was on fire as I watched him gently untangle the strings and then pull them so tight that my foot tingled a bit. He finished them off with a neat bow and then moved to my other foot, carefully sliding my giant sneaker off and replacing it with the remaining skate.
Lexi would’ve had a fit, if she’d been here. She would’ve made some ridiculous reference to Cinderella and a glass slipper. She would’ve made mortifying comments about the fine line between love and hate becoming even finer. I blushed harder just to think about them. And by the time Gabriel finished tying them and looked up at me, I was about ready to die.
“There, done.” His smile faltered as he took in my expression. “Are they too tight?”
“No, they’re fine.” I needed to get out of there, before he guessed what was really on my mind. I stood up too quickly on the blades and nearly fell on my face.
Gabriel caught me, his hands clasping my arms tightly as he steadied me against his broad chest. “Careful. Take your time.”
My skin totally broke out in goosebumps beneath my sweatshirt as the scent of him filled my senses. He smelled like a mixture of coconut shampoo and an earthy, dark body spray. It was nice. Too nice. My heart pattered a nervous beat as I swiftly moved away from him, using the plexiglass wall for support.
“Those little kids were so good. The only thing I’m good at is video games and pointless online arguments with strangers. I don’t think ice skating falls in there.” I laughed a little too loudly and then clamped my lips shut.
He chuckled and rubbed a hand along his jawline, right beneath that jagged scar. “Well, as amazing as you are, I doubt you were an expert at video games on day one. We’ll just take it slow, okay?”
Again he was complimenting me. And again, my gut was ablaze with heat. I nodded mutely at him and let him lead me toward the ice. He stepped smoothly onto the slippery surface as I hesitated at the entrance. The good news was that if I broke a leg, I’d still be able to compete in the tournament. An arm wasn’t as expendable.
“Come on, Beth.” Gabriel skidded back to the door with a shower of ice flakes flying from his blades. His eyes locked on mine with a teasing glint. “I’ve seen you stand up to my brother. Compared to that, this is a piece of cake. You can do it. You’re the toughest girl I know.”
He was right. I was tough. Tougher than this pond of solid water. I took a careful step onto the ice and felt Gabriel’s fingers firmly clasp my right hand in his. It was hard not to let myself go all bonkers at having his skin on mine, but somehow I managed to stay on my feet. With both skates on the ice, I made a tentative move forward. Gabriel’s support kept me vertical as I waved my other arm for balance. All the while, he gently instructed me how to skate with short helpful tips. Within a few minutes, I was pretty sure I was starting to get the hang of it.
“This isn’t so hard,” I said, lengthening my stride as we headed toward the middle. The risky side of me was ready to be let loose. I grinned over at Gabriel. “Am I good enough for your hockey team, yet?”
“Sure.” He wagged his eyebrows. “The pee-wee team, that is.”
I hit him playfully on the shoulder. This had been a good idea. Seeing the entire rink from down here was so much different than watching from the stands. Everything seemed so much bigger. The effort it took to move a puck from one side of the rink to the other must’ve been monstrous. It was no wonder the Corrigan brothers were both built like trucks. Staying up on my skates was requiring the use of a whole new set of muscles I didn’t realize I had.
“I’m ready, coach, put me in.” I moved a little faster now, getting daring. Grinning over at Gabriel, I squeezed his hand. “Olympics, here I come.”
He laughed. “Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves—”
But before he could finish that sentence, my skates flew out from under me. I grappled for stability, but all I managed to do was yank hard on Gabriel’s hand, pulling him down with me. We both fell flat on our backs, gazing up at the lighting overhead for several seconds as stars danced in front of my eyes.
Ouch.
I wasn’t sure what hurt worse—my head or my pride.
“Are you okay?” Gabriel sat up and leaned over me, worry in his eyes.
Groaning, I allowed him to pull me up into a sitting position. My back felt a little out of whack and there was going to be a bruise on the rear of my noggin. Apparently, I’d gotten a little too excited about this whole skating thing.
So much for those Olympics.
I should probably have stuck to gaming.
Suddenly, I was overcome with an overwhelming sensation. It bubbled up from my stomach and out of my mouth in the form of giggles. My muscles turned into useless noodles as I attempted to seal the laughter in my mouth with the palm of my hand. And when Gabriel’s concerned gaze met my own, I only laughed harder.
“I think we’d better check for a head injury,” he said gravely.
I snorted then, which not only horrified me, but made me laugh even more. That drew a small chuckle from Gabriel. And soon, he was laughing with me.
It felt cleansing to laugh like that. All the teenaged angst and anxiety I’d been carrying washed away, if only for a moment. And it was especially cool to hear Gabriel laugh. He had a nice, mellow laughter that made my every nerve buzz with pleasure. I liked the way his eyes crinkled with warmth. And the touch of pink on his cheeks.
He was even hotter when he laughed.
“That might be enough of a lesson for one day,” Gabriel said as the laughter finally died away. He offered me a hand and helped me to my wobbly feet. “Hold onto me and I’ll get us to the edge.”
