AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My date is late. I can’t decide if that’s a good sign or not. If he stands me up entirely, I could still have a skate, and if he does show up, at least my time with him will be shorter. Though I’ll have to stay out a little late to appease my daughter and bestie.
I turn back to the rink where the ice is busy. There’s couples, families, teens. Experienced professionals and total beginners. Everyone is having a good time and there’s a definite feel of magic in the air, even over the music that’s playing in the background. There’s something about skating on real ice that does that, and I feel blessed to be able to skate in late April. There’s not too many temperate places where you can do that.
“Ah-hem,” a throat clears from behind me. “You must be...er...Lumi?”
I turn to see my blind date for the evening. Do not judge, do not judge, do not… Ah, sod it. This guy is not dressed for the ice. I give him a quick once over and bite back a grin. He’s wearing boat shoes. No socks (vomit). Ridiculously short and tight trousers that appear to be missing a good six inches from the bottom, and a white Ralph Lauren T-shirt that's way too tight. It’s see through and shows the dark, curling hair that covers his chest and surrounds his nipples. No jacket. His dark brown hair is styled to within an inch of its life, not a hair out of place, but slick with gunk, and there’s so much gold dripping from him that I’m dazzled.
I mean, he might be attractive, but everything else is so distracting it’s too hard to tell.
“Hi. That’s me.” I smile, holding out my hand. He takes it, but he’s frowning. The guy is average height, average...everything...but there’s something about him that gives me the serious ick factor. “How did you know it was me?”
“Sacha said you’d be wearing her red coat, it’s easy enough to recognize.”
He pulls a face like the coat offends him, but it’s beautiful: a bright red woolen coat with a belted waist. Sacha always looks stunning in it, and although I wouldn’t normally wear a color this bright, I feel good in it. I’m tempted to keep it.
“Is there a problem?” I ask softly when the date continues to frown at me.
“No. I just wasn’t expecting…” he trails off and I’m left dreading what he was going to say. “Sorry I’m late anyway, the car always draws a crowd when I bring her out.”
Ugh. Should have known the flashy dick extension belonged to the guy wearing more bling than Mr T. And he referred to his vehicle as female. Gag. I try not to shudder or glance at my watch to see how much longer I’m obligated to stay.
“So, is this your first time skating?” I ask brightly.
“No. I’m a bit of a pro. Could have competed in the Olympics, of course, but felt taking over the family business was a more prodigious career path.” He puffs his chest up in an impressive impersonation of a peacock, just without the beauty or regality. “What about you? Have you seen snow before? You’re new to town, right?”
“Since January, so yes, I’ve seen snow,” I reply dryly.
“Huh.” He sounds shocked. My brow creases. What is this guy’s problem? “I have to say, I didn’t expect you to be...well...I mean, Lumi is such an unusual name, isn’t it? I thought it meant like, light or glow or something.” He looks at me and chortles. My anger simmers. Is he...racist? He can’t be. There’s no way Sacha would set her one and only very Black friend up with a racist prat. She’s not that stupid.
“Actually it means ‘snow’ in Finnish.”
“Are you Finnish?” He gives me a skeptical look.
“No. I’m French. I’m from Val-d’isère.” I smile tightly at him as his jaw drops in shock. His eyes are blank though. He has no idea where Val-d’isère is.
“But originally…?”
“From Val-d’isère.” I give a falsely bright smile.
“And your parents…?”
“Also French. Also from Val-d’isère. It’s a snowy ski place...Look, is there a problem?” I challenge him with a defiant lift of my chin. I knew it. As soon as the car pulled into the lot I knew this guy was a grade A douche bag.
“No. No problem.” He hastily waves his arms around in the vague direction of the rink. “Shall we skate?”
“Sure,” I say reluctantly. “I’ll need to hire...rent skates. I don’t have any. I’m guessing you have your own.”
“I do. I’ll go grab them. Shall I just meet you on the ice then?”
“Okay.” I’m a bit taken aback. Wouldn’t it be more polite to accompany and wait for me?
“Oh, and Lumi?” He turns back to me, having already strode away.
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to pay for the tickets while you’re there?”
“No problem,” I grind out through gritted teeth. He grins and walks off, leaving me to take care of everything.
