“What are you doing?” she shouted back.
Jack lazily pushed off the bench and skated in a slow circle at center ice. “Skating.”
“No shit,” Jessica said. “But why? Didn’t you just have practice?”
“Quit asking questions and get your ass down here.”
“Do I have to?”
“We’ve been over this, Jess. I promise you’ll have fun. Do you trust me?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then come here.”
Jessica’s exasperated sigh was audible in the deserted arena, but she made her way down the stairs, then walked along the glass to meet him at the Zamboni entrance where he waited for her, borrowed skates in hand.
When she reached him, Jessica dropped her bag and crossed her arms over her chest. “You can’t seriously expect me to put those on.”
“I do, and you will.”
Jessica raised an eyebrow. “You don’t tell me what to do.”
“Sunshine,” Jack groaned. “Please?”
He supposed if she fought him on this and outright refused to get on the ice, he could just take her down to the lounge and let the rest of the evening play out earlier than he’d planned, but he knew he’d be disappointed if she wouldn’t do this one thing for him. Somehow, getting Jessica onto the ice seemed vital to him—and their relationship.
“Fine,” she said at last, and Jack grinned, then led her onto the ice.
In her street shoes, she slipped and slid all the way to the bench, but Jack kept a firm grip on her hands, towing her along as he skated backward. He’d offered to carry her, but she shot him a death glare that had him raising his hands in surrender.
They reached the bench, and Jessica sat and kicked her shoes off.
“I have no idea how to put those on,” she said, “so you’ll have to do it for me.”
Jack had planned on doing just that anyway, but still, he nodded solemnly as he knelt in front of her. Her skinny jeans were already tucked into her socks, which was good, as it would prevent her socks from slipping off and giving her major chafing blisters from the skates. The other upside to borrowed skates was that they were already broken in, so Jessica wouldn’t haveto deal with the stiffness that came with skating in a brand new pair.
The backs of Jack’s ankles and his heels were permanently calloused from the time it took to soften a new pair up, and he wouldn’t wish that hell on anyone.
Jack undid the knot where the laces of the skates were tied together, then loosened the left one. Gently, he lifted Jessica’s leg and slid the skate over her delicate foot. They were the perfect fit, like Prince Charming finding his Cinderella.
“I like it when you’re on your knees for me,” Jessica said quietly.
Okay, maybe not a fairytale, then. With the way his cock swelled and his thoughts strayed to all of the things he could do to his girl from this position, Jack knew he was no prince. But he’d still worship Jessica like a princess if she let him.
Once he tightened the laces and wrapped them around the boot of the skate, stabilizing her ankle, he brushed his fingers over her calf and up her thigh, then trailed them down the other side, chuckling when Jessica shivered.
“Why aren’t we at home right now?” she asked. “Preferably naked.”
“Because,” Jack said, making quick work of the other skate, past teasing her now that the situation in his pants had grown dire. He envied women and the fact that their desire didn’t physically manifest in the way a man's did. “We can’t spend all of our time in bed.”
Jessica pouted, and Jack laughed. Who knew his girl was such a freak?
“But I like being in bed with you.”
“Later,” he promised her, pulling her to her feet. “Right now, I want to take my girl ice skating.”
“You do know I’ve never done this before, right?” she asked as he led her to the boards, inches away from putting her naturalathleticism to good use but clearly apprehensive to take that first step.
