“Esther, you came! I thought you’d be away.”
“I wouldn’t miss this. A girl loves to get dressed up.”
“Where’s your crew?” I asked, searching over her shoulder for them.
“They are off in Peru. Bitches. I’m meeting them there tomorrow.”
“Bitches,” Melinda laughed, shaking her head.
“Have you seen all the older gentleman here? I gotta find my man to kiss. I read that somewhere. That it’s essential to song a man come midnight.”
“Yes, Esther. By the end of the night, you’ll be kissing someone.”
“I just want some lovin’ by the end of the day. Oh, there is my man of the hour. Excuse me, ladies.”
Melinda giggled when Esther didn’t correct herself.
And she was going right toward Bess’s dad.
“Speaking of getting some lovin’,” Melinda said. “What are the chances we blow this joint early and sneak off to that cabin and start the new year with a bang?”
“We have to stay for at least two hours,” I said, hating the truth as it spilled from my mouth.
She pouted. “But I want you.”
“Just think of all the sexual frustration that will build up in two hours,” I said.
She grabbed a glass of champagne and downed it. “Fine. Two hours.”
“One−hundred and twenty−minutes.” Why the hell did I agree to stay again?
Everytime I checked my watch, only a few minutes had gone by. The longest two hours of my life. Melinda seemed to be having a grand time though. She fluttered around, greeted people, sent me ‘fuck me’ looks all night that had me chugging champagne to curve the lust burning under my skin.
“Let’s skate,” she said, taking my hand and leading me toward the rental booth.
“We should go into the maze.” The maze was something I was really excited for and I wanted to check it out.
“As long as you don’t get us lost.”
“Maybe I’d do it on purpose,” I tossed a twenty in the tip jar, knowing I could have used the money myself, but this was an event for charity.
After we laced up our skates, Melinda had an elastic band under the trail of her dress to wrap around her wrist to keep her gown from touching the ice. We almost held hands, but kept in mind of the people around, we made a few laps around the rink and someone shined the spotlight on us. People clapped and cheered, and Melinda was like me, she didn’t like to be center of attention, so we disappeared into the maze, and our hands slipped together without thought now that no one was watching.
It was quiet, a bit darker, and colder. Our breaths are puffs of smoke as we glide along the ice, almost running into a wall.
Dead end.
We turn around and try another way.
“None of this could have happened without you,” I said. “You’re amazing at your job, Melinda, truly.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you either,” she twirls on the ice and she looked like a ballerina, so graceful. How did she know how to skate like that?
“I didn’t know you were such a good skater?” I asked, wanting to know more about her.
“Well, there are many things you don’t know about me, Chris. My father paid for my lessons. I skated for about five years. I’m not great, but every now and then it’s fun to get back on the ice.”
“I’d like to watch you skate at some point,” I said, pulling her to my chest. It was easy, considering she slid right over to me.
