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One side of his mouth hitches. “That’s what I thought.”
Even though it’s early afternoon, there’s a dozen or so people on the ice. A few older couples, some parents with preschool aged children, and then a few high school kids.
“You ready?” he asks.
“As I’ll ever be.”
We exit the vehicle before meeting up around the hood. When he reaches out and snags my fingers with his own, I can’t resist dropping my gaze to our clasped hands. A month ago, I couldn’t have dreamed of this happening and now…
Here we are.
My heart clenches.
I don’t want this to ever end.
“Do you remember how to skate?”
I shake that disturbing thought away before running my tongue across the front of my teeth. “It’s been a while. I’m sure I’ll be rusty, which actually means I’ll probably fall on my ass a lot.”
“Guess it’s a good thing you have a professional with you.”
I quirk a brow. “A professional, huh?”
“Yup.” He tugs me to him before dropping a kiss against my lips.
I never realized just how affectionate Ryder is. When I’ve caught sight of him around campus with other girls, they’ve always been the ones hanging on him.
Not the other way around.
We stop at the little wooden shack and grab a pair of rental skates before settling on a bench. Then, we slip off our shoes and slip on the skates, making sure to lace them up tight.
“It’s funny,” I muse. “Skating has never been a huge part of my life. Dad had me take lessons when I was a kid and asked if I wanted to play hockey, but I never had any interest.”
Once he’s finished, he rises to his feet and extends a hand for me to take hold of. “I remember you spending a lot of time at the arena when you were a kid.”
“Yup. Anytime Mav had practice, we were there. I always made sure to bring lots of books to read. Once I was older, I’d bring homework and study on the bleachers, or I’d grab a snack at the concession stand and work at a table in the lobby. It wasn’t so bad.”
“Most of my childhood memories involve you, one way or another,” he admits softly.
I glance at him. “Same.”
Our gazes stay locked as his hand tightens around mine and I rise to my skates.
Just when I think he might continue the conversation, he says, “You ready to do this?”
“I hope so.”
As soon as we hit the ice, my muscles tense, and I wobble. He pulls me closer before wrapping an arm around my waist and whispering against my hair, “I won’t let you fall. Promise.”
I release a steady breath and force myself to relax. Hopefully what they say is true and this is just like riding a bike. With each pass, my strides lengthen and the breeze rushes past my cheeks as I slowly pick up speed. It’s not long before my movements begin to feel more natural.
“You doing all right?” he asks.
A wide smile spreads across my face. “Yeah. It’s actually kind of fun.”
He squeezes my hand. “Good.”
We fall into a comfortable rhythm as we circle the oval sheet of ice in the center of town. There’s something strangely freeing about being on skates. It’s kind of like flying.
