“There you go,” she praised. “Move your legs forward and back to push yourself along.”
“O-okay,” I stammered, following her instructions, slowly pumping my legs forward and back.
The tiny adjustment helped me go faster, which seemed to please Pam.
“That’s it. Great job. I’m going to let go of one of your hands and skate alongside you now, alright?”
Completely focused on not falling, I gave her a nod.
Pam released one of my hands and carefully spun alongside me, matching the rhythm of her skates to mine.
“Look at you go,” she encouraged as we made our way around the oval rink.
“I think I’m starting to get the hang of it now.”
On our second lap, a crooning love song began to play from the speakers surrounding the skating rink.
Javier was really trying to set the mood. He was an A+ wingman.
“I love this song.” Pam skated closer and wrapped her arm through mine.
At that moment, whatever newly learned balance and skating skills I had completely went out the window. My legs wobbled like a newborn fawn and as I fell down, I pulled Pam down on top of me.
“Shit,” I groaned. “Are you alright?”
She pushed my curls out of my eyes and looked at me with concern written all over her face. “Am I alright? You’re the one who fell on the ice. You cushioned my fall.”
“You wouldn’t have fallen if it weren’t for me.”
“Shh,” she said and leaned in closer.
The sun shined behind her, setting her bright red hair ablaze in the afternoon light. I could feel the warmth of her breath on my nose. Tomorrow I’d be leaving, but I wanted this with her. Whatever this was between us, I was certain she felt it too.
It was now or never.
“Pam,” I whispered. “Can I kiss you?”
Without saying a word, she brought her soft lips to mine, letting out a breathy sigh the moment we made contact. I was so in awe of her, aware of the press of her body over mine.
Her fingers tangled in the curls along the side of my face, her lips parting to allow me to deepen the kiss. The length of my snout made things difficult, but I was able to compensate with the finesse of my lips. I slid my tongue inside her mouth, slowly swirling the large, textured pad against hers.
“Hey! Are you guys okay?” Javier yelled across the ice from the attendant’s booth.
Pam reluctantly pulled away, her dainty tongue darting out to lick her lips before she answered Javier. “We’re fine, honey. Alistair fell. I was just helping him up.”
It felt like we were two teenagers who just got caught kissing. In a way, that’s exactly what we were—two infatuated individuals caught in the moment.
I cleared my throat as Pam rolled off of me and helped me to my feet. While I fought to find my balance, my stomach let out an embarrassingly loud growl.
“Are you hungry?” she asked expectantly.
What were the odds that I could get her to have breakfast and lunch with me? We’d just shared a kiss, and I was in no rush to end our date.
“Yeah,” I laughed awkwardly. “Just a little bit.”
She grabbed my hand, rubbing her thumb over mine. “Would you want to come over to my place for lunch? I can make something or we can order take-out? I’ve been craving Chinese like you wouldn’t believe.”
Yes.
