‘I think we’re ready for a twirl,’ Billie said. ‘Raf, lift one of Georgie’s hands and turn her. Georgie: amazing. Don’t move your feet at all, just let Raf guide you and you’ll be dancing in no time. Don’t move your feet, though.’
Raf lifted their hands and let go of her right one and began to twirl her. Georgie jerked her legs in horror and next thing all of her was spinning and she was definitely, definitely going to hit her head on the ground. This was all terrible and shehatedher resolutions, and… and then Raf caught her round the waist with his left arm and pulled her against him and suddenly everything was alright and she was not going to hurt herself. They were pressed right up against each other and she could hear his heart beating where her face was against his chest, or maybe that was her own heart beating. When she looked up, she saw him moisten his lips a little and his eyes gazing down at her. She moistened her own lips and all she could think about was where their bodies and hands were touching, and whether he might actually kiss her.
And then Billie said, ‘Gorgeous. You two havesomuch chemistry,’ and Georgie realised that she’d been practically undressing Raf with her eyes. In that moment, if she hadn’t been terrified to do so, she’d have leapt away from him.
‘Apparently you slipping on ice and me catching you is our thing.’ Raf’s voice was a little hoarse.
‘Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting,’ Raf said a few minutes later, when they were back in their lovely, lovely regular, non-bladed shoes.
‘I know. It’s like we mistakenly ended up in a couple’s sex therapy session.’
‘Hahaha,’ Raf laughed, which was lucky because now Georgie thought about it she could have phrased that a lot less embarrassingly. ‘I see a hot chocolate stand over there and I’m thinking we’ve earnt one?’
‘We certainly have.’ She kind of didn’t want the evening to end.
Standing cradling beautifully warm cups of hot chocolate overlooking incomprehensibly expert skaters speeding and twirling around the ice, Georgie said, ‘I lovewatchingskaters.’
‘Me too. But also actually skating. That was fun.’
‘Fun?’ Georgie rolled her eyes.
‘Yes. Remember, these people have been skating for years. Rome wasn’t built in a day.’
‘Oh, please.’ It would definitely take longer for Georgie to learn to skate well than for the whole of Rome to be built.
‘You going to carry on, though?’ he asked.
‘I have to,’ she said morosely.
‘This ice jumping thing. Did you specify alone or in a pair?’
‘No specification.’
‘Well, there you go. Let’s do it together. We can get Billie to video us and post it to the chat. A tiny bit of a spring from you, that’s a jump, and then I can lift you for a tiny bit of assistance.’
‘You’reright.’ Georgie felt her face spread into a beam. Oh, the relief of knowing she should be able to get one of her seemingly-impossible resolutions ticked off. ‘Can you do the same time next week if Billie’s free?’
‘Not sure… I’m going to be spending quite a lot of time in Melting helping out in the pub, because Noah’s broken his leg. But if we agree in advance I’m sure I can get cover.’
‘Oh no! What happened?’
‘Up a ladder trying to unblock a gutter, apparently. Beth found him and called an ambulance and went with him to A&E.’
‘Oh dear.’ Hmm. Beth and Noah seemed to be getting very close. But Beth was with Tosser-Dominic and Noah was about to be going on a date with Ankita. Georgie hoped things wouldn’t get messy between them all. ‘So when are you going?’
‘Well, I’m just trying to sort cat feeding.’
‘You have a cat?’ Georgie had really not imagined Raf as a pet owner.
‘Two. Inherited from my aunt who owns the house.’
‘Oh.’ Georgie could feel an idea coming to her. ‘I could feed them,’ she said.
‘Oh no, that’s far too much to ask.’
‘It really isn’t. I drive past most days on my way to—’ she shouldn’t lie about where she worked because he could just ask the name of the school ‘—Max’s activities. And headorescats. And I keep refusing to get one.’ She could spendsomuch time looking for the letter. This was an amazing gift from heaven. ‘Honestly, we’d loveto. I really, really mean it. And I owe you because you’re going to help me out with the skating.’ She wouldn’t even need to skate again if she got the letter. ‘Please?’
‘Er, you’re literally begging me to allow you to feed my cats?’
