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“Hailee!” I scold, but Blake chuckles like he isn’t offended.
He closes the door behind us and starts locking up. “I’m not home enough for a pet. Wouldn’t it get lonely?”
Hailee purses her lips and nods. “Okay, well then you can share Mr. Muggles.”
Blake glances at me as we make our way to the car. “I’d like that. All right, let’s go roller disco.”
“Yeah!” Hailee squeals in excitement.
This is going to be interesting.
***
Blake’s face when we walked in was priceless.
With the disco balls shining their reflections all over the place, the teeny-bopper music thumping through the arena, and the screaming kids everywhere, it’s easy to see that Blake is way out of his element. But he’s taking it all in his stride as we sit on the bench seat and do up our Fluro pink laces on our skates.
“Did they really not have any other colored laces?” Blake asks, making Hailee smirk.
“I think pink suits you,” I tell him.
He groans, placing his skate-clad feet on the ground, and Blake shakes his head. “If I break an arm, you’re explaining this to Nash.”
“Can I tell him about the pink laces? It will be so worth it.”
Blake scowls at me as Hailee stands and starts skating backward toward the rink.She’s always been exceptionally good at skating.“C’mon, Blake, let’s go!”
I stand, placing my hand out for him to take. His eyes seem hesitant as he slowly reaches out and takes my hand, then gingerly stands, instantly wobbling. I chuckle, grabbing hold and stabilizing him. “Whoa, I got you.”
“I feel it in my bones…” He grits his teeth, shaking his head. “This is a bad idea.”
Hailee can’t stop giggling as she skates out onto the rink. “Once you get the hang of it, you’ll be great. It’s easy, Blake, you got this. You’re a superhero, remember?”
Blake instantly stands taller, Hailee seeming to have given him the confidence he needs right now. He nods once, and then we slowly start making our way toward the rink.
“See, you got this!” I tell him, and he wobbles a little because he has lost his concentration.
He side-eyes me and huffs. “I’m not looking very masculine and manly right now, Zoey.”
I try to contain my laughter because he is right. He looks like a wimp, but it’s okay. He can’t be perfect at everything. “You’re doing fine, Blake. Hailee and I come here all the time, so we’re pros at skating. When I first came, I was wobbly too.”
“Wobbly? We’ve moved a foot in five minutes.”
I burst out laughing because he’s not wrong, but it’s okay. I don’t mind being the strong one for the both of us right now. “It’s fine. You’re allowed to be scared.”
His smirk falls to a frown, and he stands taller, dropping the hunched back he had. It was precisely what he needed to hear. “All right, let’s do this.”
“Okay, take my hand.” He unlinks his arm from mine, and takes my hand, then we slowly, but faster than we were moving, start to skate toward the rink. By now, Hailee’s been out skating for a while, but we’re careful and remaining upright as we move for the rink. Finally, we get to the edge, and he smiles brightly.
I grin and hold his hand tighter. “You ready?”
He nods emphatically. “Let’s show Hailee how it’s done.”
I laugh and take a step onto the rink, and he follows, one foot, then the next. I nod, smiling wide, then as we go to skate off, he wobbles, his feet slipping, but I catch him before he falls.
“Fuck!” He grunts.
“We got this,” I tell him.
