Chapter Four #2
I puffed out my chest, my body buzzing with excitement as we walked hand in hand toward the skating rink.
“Hey, Mrs. Rollins.” The skating rink attendant greeted us with a wave and a smile. It was like Pam was a local celebrity.
“Hi, Javier! Reece still has you working the rink, huh?”
So the guy worked for her son…I expected her to drop my hand, but she didn’t. Our fingers were still laced together tightly.
The handsome guy, Javier, shrugged. “I don’t mind it too much. It’s probably for the best. Reece isn’t great with customer service.”
The two of them laughed.
From the sound of things, her son was a bit of a grouch. Based on her demeanor and what I’d heard about her daughter, I had a hard time believing it.
“Will it just be the two of you today?” Javier’s eyes darted down to where our hands were joined.
I opened my mouth to answer, but Pam got her words out first.
“Yes, just the two of us.” She smiled at me, the crow’s-feet in the corners of her eyes crinkling. It was the only place that hinted at her age, but I liked it. It showed that, more often than not, you could find her smiling. “And before Alistair here gets his card out, I’d like to pay.”
“No, no, no.” Javier shook his head and held up his hands. “This one is on me.” He gave me a sly wink. “What size skates for you, Mrs. Rollins?”
He passed us a dainty pair of size seven skates for Pam and a set of hoof adapter blades for me. They were like those old-timey roller skates that went over your shoes, but they were designed to fit hooved monsters.
“When was the last time you went ice skating?” Pam asked as she slid off her boots.
I puffed out a breath. “Let’s see…Maybe ten years or so? Not since Chai was young, that’s for sure.”
Pam giggled. The redness on her cheeks and nose from the cold made it even more adorable. “Well, this should be interesting, then. Do you want me to ask Javier for one of the skate trainers?”
“Pamela Rollins.” I brought my hand up to my chest in mock offense. “Do you really think so little of my ice-skating prowess?”
She snorted, the warm air shooting out of her nostrils. “Come on, then, big guy. Show me your skills.”
With perfect balance, she rose on the blades of her skates and extended a hand out to me. Holy goddess, next to her I was going to look like a bull in a china shop.
I stood on wobbly legs, my body used to balancing on flat hooves rather than a set of thin blades. Pam grabbed my hand before I could fall and embarrass myself.
“I’ve got you,” she said with a genuine smile. “We’ll go nice and slow so you can get used to it.”
She stood in front of me, holding both of my hands as she skated backward. Meanwhile, I moved at a snail’s pace, my giant body being dragged along by a tiny woman.
The most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
“There you go,” she praised. “Move your legs forward and back to push yourself along.”
“O-okay,” I stammered, following her instructions, slowly pumping my legs forward and back.
The tiny adjustment helped me go faster, which seemed to please Pam.
“That’s it. Great job. I’m going to let go of one of your hands and skate alongside you now, all right?”
Completely focused on not falling, I gave her a nod.
Pam released one of my hands and carefully spun alongside me, matching the rhythm of her skates to mine.
“Look at you go,” she encouraged as we made our way around the oval rink.
“I think I’m starting to get the hang of it now.”
On our second lap, a crooning love song began to play from the speakers surrounding the skating rink.
Javier was really trying to set the mood. He was an A+ wingman.
“I love this song.” Pam moved closer and put her arm through mine.
At that moment, whatever newly learned balance and skating skills I had completely went out the window. My legs wobbled like a newborn fawn, and as I fell, I pulled Pam down on top of me.
“Shit,” I groaned. “Are you all right?”
She pushed my curls out of my eyes and looked at me with concern written all over her face. “Am I all right? You’re the one who fell on the ice. You cushioned my fall.”
“You wouldn’t have fallen if it weren’t for me.”
“Shh,” she said and leaned in closer.
The sun shined behind her, setting her bright red hair ablaze in the afternoon light. I could feel the warmth of her breath on my nose. Tomorrow I’d be leaving, but I wanted this with her. Whatever this was between us, I was certain she felt it, too.
It was now or never.
“Pam,” I whispered, “can I kiss you?”
Without saying a word, she brought her soft lips to mine, letting out a breathy sigh the moment we made contact. I was so in awe of her, aware of the press of her body over mine.
Her fingers tangled in the curls along the side of my face, her lips parting to allow me to deepen the kiss.
The length of my snout made things difficult, but I was able to compensate with the finesse of my lips.
I slid my tongue inside her mouth, slowly swirling the large textured pad against hers.
“Hey! Are you guys okay?” Javier yelled across the ice from the attendant’s booth.
Pam reluctantly pulled away, her dainty tongue darting out to lick her lips before she answered Javier. “We’re fine, honey. Alistair fell. I was just helping him up.”
It felt like we were two teenagers who just got caught kissing. In a way, that’s exactly what we were—two infatuated individuals caught in the moment.
I cleared my throat as Pam rolled off me and helped me to my feet. While I fought to find my balance, my stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl.
“Are you hungry?” she asked expectantly.
What were the odds that I could get her to have breakfast and lunch with me? We’d just shared a kiss, and I was in no rush to end our date.
“Yeah,” I laughed awkwardly. “Just a little bit.”
She grabbed my hand and rubbed her thumb over mine. “Would you want to come over to my place for lunch? I can make something, or we can order takeout? I’ve been craving Chinese like you wouldn’t believe.”
Yes.
I was dying to see her place. To get to know her better.
“I’d love to.”
Together, we skated back over to the bench and removed our skates to return them to Javier.
I placed the skates on the counter and Javier gave me a knowing smile.
“Did you two have fun?” he asked.
Pam’s face flushed a deeper shade of pink, and we knew it wasn’t because of the cold.
“It was great. Thank you so much, Javier.”
Before he could say anything else, I grabbed Pam’s hand and started the walk back to my car.
“Are you embarrassed he caught us?” I asked.
“You know, not really. It was actually sort of thrilling.” She nuzzled deeper inside her scarf, refusing to look at me.
I stared at her with raised brows.
Was Pam Rollins a closet exhibitionist?
I wanted to find out, but we needed more time.
I’d make the most of this, though. That kiss would be lingering in my mind for a long time.
“Where to, pretty lady?” I asked as I climbed into the driver’s seat.
“Do you know where Maple is?”
“Mm-hmm,” I said with a nod.
“Sixteen hundred Maple Street. You can pull into the driveway behind my car.”
Her hand slid across the center console, settling over mine before giving it a little squeeze.
Like I said, trouble.