Chapter 26
WEDNESDAY
THE SCENT OF waxed floors hit Taylor the moment he stepped through the doors of the Roller Rink.
The place hadn’t changed a bit. Even spending the afternoon here with Mrs. James a few days ago couldn’t erase the lingering effects of the time he and his friends spent in this building.
Most of his friends use inline skates, but Taylor had always liked the clunkier, old-school ones.
The door creaked open, and his stomach dropped like he was on a roller coaster when Chelsey walked in, dressed in jeans and a plain, white t-shirt. She looked casually gorgeous.
There were two sets of skates waiting for them on the bench. He took Chelsey by the hand and led her over to them. “I’m glad you’re here. It would be so awkward if I were skating by myself.”
She sat down and he handed her the white skates. “You didn’t think I’d let you backwards-skate solo, did you?”
“No,” he said, “but I had a contingency plan that involved bribing the kids I saw out on the swing set with nachos.”
She laughed and bent over to tighten her laces. “Honestly, they’d probably outperform me.”
Taylor skated over to the wall and flipped a switch, and the disco ball came alive, casting glittery reflections across the rink.
Next, he cued up the playlist he’d created and sent it to the Bluetooth speaker he’d brought with him.
He tried not to be too obvious in his song choices.
He mixed newer ones with the ones from their school dances: “Forever Young,” “I Will Always Love You” and “Unchained Melody.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this. Do you know how many years it’s been since I skated?” she said, standing up wobbly.
“Ready?” He offered her a steadying hand.
“Define ready,” she said, taking it.
They moved slowly around the rink at first as they got used to roller skates again.
The warm-up laps were full of near collisions with the walls and exaggerated flailing on Taylor’s side, all while holding hands.
He didn’t ever want to let go. Chelsey laughed so hard once at his antics, she nearly fell over.
Taylor caught her by the waist and steadied her.
She glanced at his lips, then leaned her head against his chest. “What’s the difference,” she murmured, “between nostalgia and reality? And how do you know when you’re making new memories instead of just chasing old ones?”
Taylor didn’t answer right away. His hand tightened gently at her waist, steadying both of them as the wheels hummed beneath their feet. Then he tipped her chin up, just enough, and kissed her—slow and certain, like he was choosing the moment instead of remembering it.
When he pulled back, his forehead rested against hers, a quiet smile in his voice. “Nostalgia looks backward,” he said. “This?” His thumb brushed her cheek. “This is us deciding to move forward.”
The melody changed and Taylor held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”
Chelsey glanced at him in surprise. “I’m not sure I can in skates, Tay.”
He loved the way Chelsey had fallen back into the habit of calling him Tay. He took her hand and put a hand on her waist and she put one on his shoulder. They swayed to the music the best they could on skates.
It’s no secret
I’ve been in love with you
Since we were only just ten
You in your faded jeans
And me in my baseball cap
Ran the neighborhood all day
“This sounds like Derek Matthews.” Chelsey tightened her grip on his shoulder. “It’s a pretty song.”
Taylor didn’t want to break the moment, so he just enjoyed holding her while they both swayed to the music.
But when we turned sixteen
You were the belle of that summer
The boys started coming around more
Our plans to take long road trips
Disappeared in the June sun
And I knew you were never mine to keep
Taylor was done lying to himself. This is what he wanted: Chelsey Hooper in his arms, not just now in the moment, but years ago, when he left her.
Chelsey was his first love. He’d had other girlfriends, but nothing about them made his heart jump like the sight of Chelsey’s lips turned up in a smile aimed at him.
Or the way her eyes danced with mischief when he neared her.
Was he ready for a lifelong commitment? There was only one way to find out and only one person he would want.
Taylor slowed their dance until they were almost standing still. Chelsey in his arms gave him courage to vocalize what weighed heavily on his mind since he first saw her again yesterday. “Come with me at the end of the summer, Chelsey Marie Hooper.” he whispered against her cheek. “Come with me.”
Chelsey glanced sharply at him. He studied her face as he tried to keep his devoid of emotion, just in case she said no. He wondered if she could feel his heart beating its way out of his chest.
You met the man of your dreams
Or so you said to me
I acted like I was happy for you
But inside my heart was breaking
I knew I had to let you go
I loved you too much to hold you back
“Would you come for just a couple of weeks? We’d start in Greece and explore it together.” He squeezed her hand and hoped against hope that he was talking her into at least a few days. That’s all he wanted, a few more days like this past week.
“Or we could go to Thailand? They have fantastic beaches. Or Japan—”
She held her hand up. “It all sounds amazing, Taylor. I—I need time to think.”
He took her raised hand and kissed her palm. “Take all the time you need. I’ll wait.”