27. Chapter 27
Jake
“C’mon,” I said, killing the engine as I parked outside the rink, the place already buzzing with life.
Music thumped faintly out of the building, and the glow from inside spilled out across the lot in warm streaks of color.
“I need to see if you’re actually any good at this, or if I’m about to spend the night holding you up. ”
Her mouth tipped. “Bold of you to assume you won’t be the one on the floor.”
I huffed a laugh. “Baby, I don’t fall.”
She snorted and reached for the handle. I loved that little noise; I’d heard it a few times now, and it made my chest swell with happiness at the goofiness of it. “I’ll try not to laugh at you when you do exactly that.”
We both exited the truck and walked around to the front. “You’ve seen my muscles? Made of steel.” I lifted my shirt and tensed the opposite arm, showing off a little. I didn’t miss the way her eyes tracked me, or the tiny nibble of her bottom lip either.
But then she raised an eyebrow, so unimpressed, that told me she was absolutely not buying what I was selling.
“Are the muscles in the room with us?” she asked, stepping closer like she needed a better look, her gaze dragging over my chest with zero shame before flicking back up to my face.
I dropped my shirt with a scoff, though I couldn’t quite hide the grin tugging at my mouth. “You were just staring.”
“Searching, you mean.”
“You’ve got a lot to say for someone who’s never done this before,” I said, stepping closer.
She beamed up at me, and those green eyes got me good. “I’m a hard worker, and I hate failing at anything, so I know I’m going to be good.”
“Yeah.” My voice dipped a little as I held her gaze, taking her in properly now instead of pretending I wasn’t. “I believe that.”
Her smile softened at the edges, like she hadn’t expected me to agree so easily, and for a second, it wasn’t about the teasing or the back-and-forth; it was just us standing there, too close, saying something honest without dressing it up.
“But,” I added, sticking a finger in one of her belt loops and tugging her closer, “being a hard worker doesn’t stop you from falling on your ass.”
She let out a breath, but it caught halfway as she glanced down at where I had her, then back up at me, something in her expression shifting. But she didn’t pull away, not even a little. “You’re really committed to this fantasy, huh?”
“The fantasy of your ass? Of fucking course I am. Have you seen it?” I grunted in appreciation, biting my lip. My thumb brushed against the denim near the seam where it met her skin, and I couldn’t quite help it. “I’ve got a whole highlight reel going, actually.”
Her lips parted, and I felt the exact second the teasing edged into something much more intense.
With her eyes on mine, she lifted her hand to rest against my chest. It burned through my clothes.
I wanted her to drag that heat all over me, let me drown in her scent and her warmth.
My pulse erratically performed in my throat, and I saw her take note.
“We should…” She licked her lips and paused long enough for me to press into her a little more. I knew she’d feel the effect she had on me.
“Yeah, we should…”
She drew in a breath that traveled from inside me somewhere into her. The intimacy of it echoed in the fast beating of my heart under her palm.
“Yeah,” she murmured, brushing her fingers once, light and fleeting, down my torso before letting her hand fall completely.
I nodded, though it took me a second to catch up, to let my body follow where she’d already gone.
She turned toward the entrance, and I snuck in front of her, pulling the door open, and the noise of the rink spilled out to meet us.
The music pulsed, bass heavy and loud, lights shifting overhead in streaks of neon that skimmed across the floor and caught on her hair with every step.
A disco ball turned lazily above the center of the rink, scattering flashes of light that flickered over her face when she looked at me.
We grabbed our skates and laced up, side by side. Just before she placed her purse into a locker, her phone chimed. The moment she looked at it, her whole face softened.
“Cai has my parents wrapped around their little finger. Look,” she said, turning the phone to me without hesitation.
The photo showed Cai sitting on the sofa with a giant grin splitting his face as he clutched an oversized truck new in the packaging.
Judging by that alone, he was having the time of his life with her parents.
I couldn’t stop my smile if I tried. “That kid doesn’t realize how much power he has, does he?”
Seren snorted, locking her phone. “None whatsoever.”
She put her phone away in the locker and we stepped up to the rink.
“Woah. These people are professionals,” she said, immediately halting, her eyes fixed on the fast, talented skaters that whizzed past. “Uh, remember that fantasy you had of me landing on my ass? It’s gonna happen.”
“Hey,” I said, stepping in front of her so that she’d look at me instead of the rink. “Relax.”
Her eyes flicked to mine, a little uncertain.
“They’re good,” she said, nodding toward someone flying past us. “Like…really good.”
I held out my hand, knowing I’d need to appeal to her competitive rugby player nature here. “C’mon, show me what you got.”
She looked down at my palm and chewed on her lip.
“Unless, of course, you’re too chicken to try something new, then we can just—”
She slid her hand into mine, fingers curling in tight between my own. I gave her a wink.
“Atta girl.”
Her lips pursed as determination fleeted over her face, then nerves, then back to determination. It wasn’t like an ice rink, the floor smooth and waxed, but to skate you really had to go with the flow of the air.
She shuffled forward carefully, the wheels catching under her so her grip on me tightened instantly, shoulder bumping into mine as she sucked in a breath.
“Oh—okay,” she muttered, her free hand hovering like she didn’t quite trust her own balance yet. “This is…different. I didn’t think it’d be so—”
“Hard?” I steadied her, my other hand settling at her waist, keeping her upright as she adjusted, felt it out, figured where her weight needed to sit. “Yeah,” I said, watching her more than the rink. “You can’t fight it. You’ve gotta move with it. Keep your knees soft.”
Another flicker of determination pushed past the hesitation in her demeanor. “Okay, let’s see. Show me your moves, Jake.”
The way my brain took hold of that instantly made my dick listen. But now wasn’t the time. I was gonna show off a little and peacock the fuck outta this rink.
“Oh, you want a show?” I said, glancing at her with a slow grin as I loosened my hold on her just enough to give myself space.
A dare sat pretty on her face.
I released her hand and pushed off, smooth and easy, and let my body fall into something familiar. The rhythm came back quickly as I picked up speed, skating a small loop out in front of her before turning and rolling backward in a figure of eight.
Angling back toward her, I cut through a couple of slower skaters, then reached for her hand again as I came in, catching it clean and pulling her forward into the motion so she didn’t stall out. “Don’t overthink, just move.”
“Okay,” she said, breathless, looking up at me.
This time, when our hands met, she didn’t grip like she needed me to keep her upright.
We found a rhythm between us, her confidence building with every lap, her body relaxing into it, into me, into this.
At one point, she pushed ahead of me, just a little, testing her independence, glancing back over her shoulder with that same dare written all over her face. I wanted to freeze frame this very moment to keep forever because I knew a part of me wanted to keep her forever.
“Keep up, Jake.”
I let out a quiet laugh, pushing off after her, catching up easily but not overtaking her, staying just at her side.
“Oh, I’m right here, baby,” I said, leaning in behind her as we skated. “You’re the one trying to speed away from me.”
She shook her head, but she was smiling, her hair catching the colored lights as we moved.
Golds and pinks danced together all over her, and I wondered how she could be real.
Her laugh slipped out again when she picked up speed just a fraction more than she meant to, and she shone.
In a room filled with disco lights, she was the brightest.
I stayed right behind her, close enough that if she tipped, I’d catch her before she even had the thought of going down, but far enough that she didn’t feel held back.
It also gave me more material to work with for my fantasies we talked about.
Staring at the curve of her ass was a highlight I’d never forget.
Trying to skate while also hiding a hard-on, though?
Not so much. But I could follow behind her all day.
Then she stuck her hand out behind her, gesturing for me to take it.
A silent request that she wanted to touch me.
I pushed forward, closing the gap, my fingers sliding into hers like they already knew where they belonged.
Her grip tightened with two synchronized squeezes the second I took it—not because she needed it anymore, but because she wanted it.
This had become something she did, and I loved the intimacy of it being our thing.
My heart became wild and unrepentant as it thundered out of my chest, traveling down my arm and into the palm of her hand.
She glanced back at me, her gaze lingering, and something unspoken stretched between us as we kept moving.
I was in a daze.
I never wanted this night to end.
***
“How did you get so good at that?” she asked, sipping the soda we’d just ordered. “Or is this where you take all your dates?”