Finally, she collected herself and lifted her head.
“So, how do we get out of this mess?”
I untangled myself from her, gently placing her into a sitting position. She was starting to get cold sitting on the ice so I tried to move as quickly as I could. Getting to my feet wasn’t so bad. I was a fairly decent skater. Once I was balanced, I offered her my hand. Isabella looked at it doubtfully.
“Maybe I should just crawl.”
I rolled my eyes.
“For Pete’s sake, Bella, give me your hand.”
Her eyes widened for a minute in surprise. I’m not entirely sure why, to be honest. I had said it in a teasing tone to make sure she knew I wasn’t annoyed. Whatever it was, it apparently got her moving because she slipped her hand in mine and allowed me to pull her up. She looked at me, flustered.
“Let’s take a break. We can get a pretzel and some sodas.”
She nodded quietly and let me lead her off the ice. It was clear something other than the falling had rattled her, but I didn’t push it. She’d tell me when she was ready. I hoped, at least.
The cost of finding out what rattles Isabella: patience.
Isabella
I was screwing this up for him. We sat there sharing a pretzel and being as unlike a couple as we could be. My head needed to get back in the game. It was just that… he called me Bella. I’ve been Izzy my whole life. If not Izzy, then I was Isabella. Except for one person. Marco was the only one who ever called me Bella. It threw me completely off focus when Liam said it.
The thing was, it felt weird to mention it to him. Everyone knew never to call me Bella. It was a Marco thing. Even before Marco and I were a couple, it was our thing. It never even occurred to me that Liam might say it. He didn’t know better. He didn’t know it would sting. Maybe, though, it was good for me. Good to take something that was Marco’s and give it away. But, right now, I needed to fix things with Liam.
We had sat at a table across from each other which was probably our first mistake. Couples, at least most of them, always sat next to each other these days. I pushed thoughts of Marco out of my head and slid over to his side of the table. Liam looked surprised but scooted over to make room for me.
He looked really good tonight in his jeans and T-shirt. Not to mention how good he smelled. It sucked that neither of us were in a good place for a relationship. Looking at his lips, I reached out and slid my finger across the lower one.
“You have mustard… on your lips.”
He really didn’t, but I guess he started to remember we were supposed to be on a date too.
“Oh?”
His arm came around my shoulders; he leaned in closer.
“Are you sure you got it all?”
I slid my hand up his arm and started to play with his hair. His golden locks were the perfect length. Not too short, not too long. Ideal for me to just twirl in my fingers. Whispering, I moved closer still.
“Hmmm… I think there might still be a little bit there.”
Liam smiled and drew me back into a kiss. It was soft and gentle and brief. Just a teaser to anyone watching. And they were watching. Cassidy hadn’t taken her eyes off of us the whole time. I kept my eyes locked on Liam’s and smiled.
“Nothing?”
He sighed and shook his head. I was moving slightly away from him when I felt liquid splash all over my chest. Surprised, I looked down and saw both our drinks were now on their sides, the contents running down my body.
“Oh, dear. So sorry. My hand must have slipped. But I saw you on the ice. You clearly know a thing or two about being clumsy.”
Cassidy had apparently had enough of our charade and decided to strike. Liam looked mortified, and Cassidy was probably waiting for me to burst into tears. Or lash out. But that wasn’t who I was, so I just laughed and grabbed a few napkins to try to pat myself dry.
“Did that make you feel better?”
Cassidy blinked back at me. Clearly, no one had actually ever tried this approach before.
“Look whore, I don’t know if you have any idea who I am, but Liam is mine. I own his ass. You are just a momentary distraction. Why else do you think he’d bring you here? This is our place. He knew I was going to be here and just used you as an excuse to see me.”
