“I could get hurt,” I whisper.
He pauses, tying off the lace before moving to the other foot. “I won’t let that happen.”
“But what if?—”
“Maisy.” His tone turns sharp as he tugs the lace firmly. His eyes flick up, steadily. “If you fall, then you land on me. I won’t let you get hurt.”
The conviction in his voice makes my chest ache.
“Okay,” I whisper.
Sterling pulls me up, holding both my hands as we step toward the rink. The cold air nips my cheeks, the sound of blades scraping the ice filling my ears. He guides me as we make our way onto the ice, skating backward while I cling to his forearms, stiff and shaky like a newborn deer.
He steers us away from the edge, closer to the middle of the rink where couples and children glide slow and easy. “Ready to finally skate?”
“I’m ready for this date to be over,” I mutter.
He glides closer to me now, our chests almost touching as I grip onto him. “Aw come on,” he says in a low, teasing voice. “You used to love our dates.Especiallythe happy endings.”
I let out a slow, measured breath as I hold his gaze. The ache between my thighs already feels torturous as I remember us getting lost in each other's bodies after every date all those years ago.
“Are we going to talk about it?” I finally ask.
His brows lift. “Talk about what?”
I force myself to look away, eyes catching on Courtney giggling as Levi shows off some spin. My throat tightens. “About what happened…during Candyland.”
His hand slides under my chin, tilting my face back to him. His eyes hold mine with intensity. “Do youwantto talk about it?”
My eyes dip down, but a small nudge of his hand has them focusing back on Sterling’s face. “I don’t know,” I admit, voice cracking. “I kinda feel like we should.”
Sterling nods, but something catches his attention behind me. I turn to look and find Levi and Courtney skating toward us now.
“Talk about it on the drive home?” he suggests quietly.
I nod just as they reach us.
“Look at you,” Levi says, half surprised, half impressed. “Didn’t think you’d make it past the railing, sis.”
Courtney giggles, twirling her blonde hair around a manicured finger. “She’s lucky to have such a strong boyfriend,” she purrs, her eyes darting to Sterling like she’s testing how far she can push me.
My jaw tightens, and before I can stop myself, I press closer into him, and he responds instantly, sliding an arm around my waist to steady me, but the pressure of his hand against my hip feels anything but casual.
“Oh they’re not—” Levi stops himself remembering that he asked Sterling and I to fake date for this. “Sheislucky, isn’t she?”he says instead, before pulling Courtney off to the side again to show off some more.
Sterling dips his head slightly, his breath brushing over the shell of my ear. “Relax,” he murmurs, only for me to hear. “Eyes on me, Mais. Not them.”
My chest squeezes, and I realize it’s not just the skating making my pulse go haywire—it’s him. Always him.
After a few more show-off tricks, Levi swoops in, takes Courtney’s hand, and skates them both toward the far end of the rink. I track them with my eyes, frowning when they keep going, ducking past the gate that leads off the ice where they remove their skates in a hurry before rushing into the woods beside the rink.
Sterling notices too. “Are they seriously?—”
“Yep,” I cut in, my lip curling in disgust. “Heading off to do God knows what in the trees like a pair of teenagers.”
Sterling shakes his head, amused. “Guess it’s just us then.”
“Guess so.”
