Chapter Seventeen
Roman
“Of course,” I answer. “Who hasn’t?”
Nico grins slyly as he skates backwards, moving a good distance from me.
“Well, you know the scene where she jumps into his arms and he holds her above his head? Let’s do that.”
My brows shoot up. “You want me to catch you and hold you up in the air on ice and in skates I’m not familiar with?”
“Yeah, you can totally do it. I know you’re strong enough,” Nico says confidently.
“It’s not just strength, it’s balance.”
“I trust you, Roman,” he says softly. “Just don’t fall,” he adds a little more playfully.
“I’m used to taking falls,” I admit.
“I’m not.” He looks above my head. “And from that height, I’ll break something.”
“I will not fall. I promise.”
He nods like that’s all he needs to believe me. And maybe it is.
I spread my legs to get a steadier stance. I prepare myself, ready to catch him when he leaps into my arms. This is stupid, I know that. But I also know it’s going to be fun.
“Have you ever done this before?” I ask.
“Nope. You?”
“No way.”
“I’m a guy… I’m not the one who gets to be lifted up and spun around.”
I have zero want for someone to do that to me, but if I did…
it would suck because no way in hell is anyone lifting me over their head.
At least I’m confident that I can carry with ease, but my hesitation doesn’t come from his weight.
It’s the inertia of him jumping forward.
I have to make up for that by moving opposite him, so when I lift, he doesn’t fly over my head and take us both down.
This could be bad, but… whatever he wants.
Nico wants to be lifted up and spun around… I’ll lift him up and spin him around.
“Ready?” he calls out.
“As I’ll ever be.”
“I’ll go slow.”
“Go as fast as you need to make this work. Don’t hesitate.”
Nodding, he licks his lips, bends his knees, and pushes off the ice, moving toward me with full, long strides.
When he’s a couple feet out, I bend my knees more and hold out my arms. He leaps at me.
I grab his waist and lift. He straightens his body, tightening it.
I lift him above my head and focus on where his weight is and distribute it equally so we don’t fly back.
We don’t.
I look up at him, his arms out wide, legs straight, like a bird. He laughs, and so do I. I could hold him up here all day. I spin a little, pushing off to twirl around just slightly. When I feel his body loosen, I lower him to the ice. My hands stay on his hips and his go to my chest.
“We should go into partner figure skating.” I throw my head back and laugh, the sound echoing in the arena. His eyes are shining when I meet his gaze. “I love your laugh,” he says.
It only makes me smile more.
“Teach me how to skate like you,” I say.
His brows raise. “Like me? I don’t think you’ll ever be that good.”
“You know what I mean.”
He holds my gaze, smiling. “Okay. Let’s spin first.”
I nod as he moves back, taking my hands. He starts to move us, so we spin slowly. I almost trip, my feet getting in the way of each other, but he moves easily, of course. My feet wobble, but he keeps going.
“I don’t like this,” I say.
“You’re doing great.”
“I’m really not.”
“Okay, something else then.” He drops my hands, lifts one foot, and bows deeply, his leg straight out behind him and his arms out at his sides. It’s graceful. “One leg.”
I bend a knee, standing there on one leg.
“Move, Roman,” he says with an eye roll as he pushes himself off and starts to move around me in this other bird-like pose.
I gain speed and lift my foot, wobbling worse than before but catch myself. He skates around me in circles, literally, on one foot, bent down in that bow like it’s his normal position.
“You’re a lot more flexible than I thought,” I say.
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.” He winks at me again, and this time my dick gets hard.
We keep up with the one-leg skating for a while. I’m frustrated that it’s harder than it looks and I blame it on the skates. If I had mine, this would be a lot easier.
“Okay, my turn,” I say.
“What do you have for me?” he asks eagerly.
“Let’s skate backwards from one end to the other.”
“Seriously?” He scoffs and waves a hand. “Easy.”
“Uh huh…”
We skate to the boards, holding on to the edge. I tell him we’ll go on three, and I count off. We go, and it takes all of three seconds for him to bump me.
“Stay in your own lane,” I say, trying to sound firm but holding back a laugh.
“You’re coming into mine!” he argues, bumping into me again.
“Definitely you,” I say back, pushing over and still managing to skate backwards with ease, even in these weird skates. We reach the other side, and he’s so far off that it’s funny.
“Okay, so not great at skating backwards in a straight line.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “Sue me. What else?”
“You wanna slam me up against the boards?” I ask.
“I mean, yeah… but not in a way that’s appropriate for the arena.”
I smile, trying to ignore the way my dick is perking up even more.
“Come on. Try to see if you can move me.”
“I’m sure it’s not even that hard. You’re on ice… it’s slippery.”
I shrug. “Let’s see what you’ve got then.” I skate closer to the boards, standing a few inches from them. “Get me against the boards.”
He looks at the distance between me and the boards and rolls his eyes.
“You’re joking? Move further away.”
“Trust me—”
“Trust me,” he says. “I’ve totally got this.”
“Whatever you say.” I hold back my laugh and skate a foot away.
He glides away smoothly, turning to face me.
“You ready?” he calls out.
“Are you?” I ask, trying again not to laugh.
He’s confident, I’ll give him that.
Nico pushes off, skating toward me. He lowers himself slightly when he gets closer, turning his body just enough so that he’ll hit me with his shoulder. I dig my feet in, preparing for the hit. It’s possible he knocks me on my ass by hitting me harder than I expect, but I doubt it.
He slams into me, bounces back, and falls on his ass.
“Oof!” He frowns up at me. “Are you made of lead?” he barks. “You didn’t even move an inch.”
“I’m good at what I do,” I say through a chuckle and offer him my hand.
He takes it and I pull him up and to me. “Are you okay?” I ask gently.
“Fine. I’ve fallen on the ice before.”
“Yeah, but from slamming into someone? Did you dislocate your shoulder? I can pop it back in for you.”
He growls up at me, the cutest sound.
“So, hockey is for me and figure skating is for you. Deal?” I say.
His smile softens. “Yeah, deal.”
“Now…” I take both his hands and pull him to center ice. I take one hand, lifting to my shoulder, while planting mine on his hip. I take his other, holding it up and out. “Dance with me.”
The air leaves his lungs as he looks up at me and for the first time, I’ve made him speechless. I move us slowly, in a rhythm that feels right because there’s no music. But that doesn’t matter.
Nico relaxes into me, making the dancing easier. He’s not stiff; he’s used to moving around, making him an amazing dance partner.
“I can’t remember the last time I danced with someone,” I admit.
“Secondary for me,” he says, sliding both arms around my neck and moving even closer, resting his cheek on my chest.
“That’s like our middle school, right?”
“I think so,” he mutters, sounding tired.
I want to ask more about the differences from Canada to the US. I want to know more about him and his life, but this feels good, and I don’t want to ruin it. Him in my arms, dancing slowly, his soft breathing. The way he fits against me. It’s all so perfect.
Too perfect.