Morgan
“Give me your bag, darlin’.”
“Such a gentleman.” With her bag over his shoulder and his fingers entwined with hers, he led her upstairs. “Is that what you’re going to wear?” she asked him.
“Is it inappropriate?”
“The ice might make it a bit cold—you may want to grab a jacket. Is Blue coming?”
“I was thinking of giving him the night off, if that’s alright with you. He can’t come on the ice with me, and I’d have no one there to watch him.”
“Of course, it is. And you don’t need to justify your choices—he’s a hard-working boy and deserves some quiet time.”
“I would need your help. I have become rather reliant on him.”
“And I don’t mind.”
Inside the apartment, Ruby disappeared into the bathroom to change and when she returned, that familiar scent of apples filled the room.
“Do you always use that apple spray?”
“Please don’t think I’m weird.”
“Why would I?”
“Because I started wearing it on purpose when I’m around you.”
Ruby fell silent, and then it dawned on him: She did it so he could recognise her more easily. “That is very thoughtful,” he said, blinking away the heat behind his eyes.
“Not creepy?”
“Not one bit.”
As Ruby led him to her car, his head swam with emotion, but nerves still fluttered in his belly.
He held onto her arm, using his cane with the other hand, even if the only purpose it served was to guide others to give him space.
Ruby babbled all the way to the mall, telling him all about her brother and his wife and how excited they were to meet him.
When she said her parents were anxious to meet him too, Morgan quickly found himself agreeing to a Sunday dinner.
At the mall, Ruby guided him to the rink where Alexander and Manuel were already waiting for him.
“Oh, and there are Rhett and Denise,” Ruby explained, calling them over.
There were introductions all around, and Denise kindly asked him for a hug. And after shaking her husband’s hand, he accepted.
When it came to putting on the skates, Ruby helped him by making sure they were properly tightened. “If they’re too tight once you stand up let me know, but you don’t want them too loose or it’ll make it harder for you,” Ruby explained.
“I will.”
“Don’t be nervous; we’ll stay along the edge.”
“And if you fall, we’ll catch it on video for your later entertainment,” Alexander teased.
“Piss off!” Morgan hissed.
“They will do no such thing!”
“Ah, your woman’s protective side is showing,” his brother sing-sang.
“Keep pushing my buttons,” Ruby warned. “I’m not afraid to uninvite you to things in the future.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Morgan found her wrist and softly squeezed it. “It’s alright, that’s how they always are.”
She sighed. “I forget that not all siblings are like mine.”
He held tightly onto Ruby and rose to his feet. “Oh fuck, this is going to be dreadful.”
She pressed a phone into his palm, camera already opened. “We’re not far away.”
He mapped out the way to the ice and returned the phone with a nod. “I’m ready.”
Using his cane and Ruby’s guidance they made it to the ice—where he held onto the railing for dear life, using both hands once Manuel took his cane.
“Just like that. Now don’t try to walk, just slide your feet.”
He edged one foot forward, and then the next. Admittedly, that did make it a little easier, and he only needed the railing to guide himself.
Once he seemed a bit more stable, Manuel asked, “Do you want your cane back?”
“I can try.” He didn’t feel very stable, and if it weren’t for Ruby, he wouldn’t have felt comfortable to distance himself enough from the outside barrier to use the cane.
“You’re doing fantastic,” she encouraged.
“You’d better not be lying, because I’m going to watch the video that I’m sure Alexander is taking right now.”
“You should’ve seen me my first time.”
“I’m sure you looked fabulous.”
“Don’t make me all weak in the knees, I’m the only thing holding you up right now,” she teased. “We’ve almost done a whole circle.”
“Time for him to spread his wings.” Manuel had barely finished the sentence when Morgan felt Ruby being pulled away.
“No!” she called, clearly not wanting Morgan to fall as she focused on steadying herself.
Denise’s voice came from behind. “I got him!”
“I don’t like you two,” Ruby protested, but was whisked away.
“No wonder you’re so tough, you had no other choice with these two troublemakers,” Denise muttered, nudging him with her arm to prompt him to take it.
“Yeah—it’s a love-hate relationship.”
“Rhett is behind you and Ruby’s a few steps away cursing out her new brothers-in-law.”
“You can tell her no,” Rhett offered. “She’s not very receptive to it, but you don’t have to agree to something you’re not okay with.”
“I wonder who’s to blame for that,” Denise scolded. “Three older brothers and all she had to do was bat those lashes at you to give her all she wanted.”
“We had to make up for all the teasing somehow.”
Morgan chuckled and shook his head. “I don’t mind and let’s be honest, I like how she doesn’t see me for my limitations.”
“We told her she was crazy for inviting you to the Zoo Lights,” Denise giggled.
“She did mention that, but it was fun. She found ways for me to experience it that others wouldn’t have.”
After a while, Ruby returned to him and with his feet hurting and him needing a break, she helped him off the ice. “How are you feeling?” she asked, seeming worried.
“Pumped with adrenaline.”
“The good kind?”
“Yes, darlin’, the good kind.” Their fingers laced together, and he loved how her palm always found his without a word. All it took was for him to hold his hand out. “Now go and show off for a few minutes while I calm my nerves.”
“Will you join me again later?”
“I would love to.”
With a kiss to his cheek, she left him to lower his blood pressure.
Though it had been fun, being out was always overwhelming for him, and adding ice skates only made things worse.
He withdrew his phone, finding Ruby as she skated by with Denise at her side.
When she came back around again, she threw him the brightest of smiles and a kiss.
“You good?” Alexander asked, joining him on the bench.
“Yeah, just needed a moment.”
“You looked happy with her.”
“Until you idiots dragged her away.”
“Crossed a line?”
“Edged really close to it.”
“Sorry.”
He shrugged, setting his phone down and searching for his bag. “So, now that you’ve officially met her, you still approve?” he asked once he’d taken a drink.
“You better not mess this shit up because that woman is on fire. If you don’t marry her, one of us will.”
Morgan let out a huff and shook his head. “Sounds like you two need to step up your game now.”
Alexander’s usual playful reply felt flat as silence built. “What if I told you that there’s someone you don’t know about?”
There was a seriousness in Alexander’s voice that gave Morgan a pause. “I would tell you that I’m here to listen whenever you’re ready.”
“Fucking double standard, isn’t it?” His brother’s words dripped of sarcasm, but Morgan didn’t need sight to know that something was eating his brother up. “Me stalking your girlfriend while I keep my own relationship a secret.”
“I’m sure you have your reasons.”
“Yeah: I’m a fucking coward.”
Morgan didn’t know what to say, he wasn’t used to this side of his brother. “Do you want to come over tomorrow? I can text you once Ruby leaves.”
“Yeah, sure.”
With a grunt Alexander stalked off, leaving him rather puzzled. They weren’t really known to keep secrets, especially not big ones like a serious relationship, but before he could spiral, Ruby called his name.
“How are your nerves? Ready to try again?”
And with that he was back on the ice, feeling more confident than the first time.
After another few laps and Ruby’s fingers turning colder by the minute, they finally stepped off the rink to remove their skates.
“So, is this one of those things we can repeat someday?” Ruby asked once she’d returned their rentals.
“Very much so.”
“We better be invited,” Manuel insisted.
He already had an answer on his tongue, but Ruby beat him to it. “Only if you behave.”
“Are you this bossy to everyone?”
“Cake helps,” Rhett offered. Morgan heard a smack followed by a gasp, and snickered—Ruby must have served instant revenge.
There was more bickering on the way out, with hugs exchanged once they stepped out onto the parking lot. Before Alexander could slink off after the others, Morgan pulled him back by his arm. “I’ll text you tomorrow.”
“Yeah,” and though Morgan didn’t like the way it sounded, he let his brother go.
“You two okay? You seemed rather serious earlier,” Ruby asked as she walked him back to the car.
“I don’t know… I’ll see him tomorrow after you leave for work—maybe he’ll talk then.”
“I don’t mind giving you some privacy tonight.”
“That’s a sweet offer, but I don’t think it’s that serious. He would have said.”
During the short ride home, he had his hand on her thigh, softly running his thumb over her tights and wishing it was her bare skin instead.
With the exhaustion creeping in from the day, Morgan was elated when Ruby offered to pick up dinner instead of cooking.
While Ruby set the table, Morgan leashed up a bouncing Blue and took him out for his evening walk.