“Ice skating?” I ask with shock, looking at the rink outside. There are beautiful string lights over the rink, the high-rises surrounding the rink are lit up, making it feel like an actual Hallmark movie come to life.
People are giggling and talking as they skate effortlessly around the rink, while some laugh as they fall.
“Yup,” Derek says, his gloved hand clasping mine and tugging me toward the line to get skates. Derek is in jeansand a heavy coat along with a stocking cap on his head. He couldn’t have been more adorable if he tried.
“Do you do this often?” I ask, eyeing the rink. I’m not the worst skater in the world, but it’s been years since I’ve tried, so I may be a contender for that title now.
“Not really,” Derek shrugs, turning to me while we wait our turn, his hands wrapping around my waist. He tugs me close, and I let my arms rest on his as we look into each other’s eyes. “I’ve been a few times over the years with friends and stuff.” He looks at me with worry. “You okay with this?”
“I think so,” I say, moving forward when the line prompts us. “I haven’t skated since long before Aurora was born, so I may drag you down.”
“Nah, I won’t let you,” Derek assures me, and we get to our turn. The teenager who works the stand looks bored out of his mind, like anything we say will make his job that much harder. Letting him know our shoe sizes, he sighs as he walks to the back wall to gather the skates, and Derek and I look at each other with the same face.
I laugh, and we get our skates. Derek pays, though I try to help, but he waves me off. “If you want to pay, you’ll have to ask me out.”
“That’s so not true,” I argue as we walk to a bench to put our skates on. “I planned the baseball date, and you didn’t let me pay for anything.”
“Yeah, because I still asked you out, Birdie. That doesn’t count.”
“Fine.” I lift my nose, skates are now on and tightened. “I’ll have to plan one then.”
“Fine with me, baby.” We stand together and slowly make our way to the edge of the rink. It’s wobblier than I remember, and my older bones don’t feel quite as pliant as they once were.
“Whoa!” I start to tip, and Derek, sturdy as always, holds me up.
“I got you.”
We reach the edge, and I grab the side for a moment, waiting for an opening to step in.
Derek takes this moment to lead us, stepping onto the rink and grabbing my hands before I can clutch the railing hard enough to stay attached to it.
“Derek! I’m not practiced!”
“I have you, Birdie,” he tells me. His voice is full of humor, and his brown eyes light up. “I’m not going to let you fall.”
I grip his hands tightly, my knees actually wobbling with the movement as he tugs, making my feet skate without my permission. I let out a little squeal as he pulls me close enough that our skates almost touch, but not too close to where he’s physically holding me up.
We make our way around the rink three or four times before I finally feel calm enough to only hold one of his hands, and my movements come back to me like muscle memory.
“Okay, see, you got this,” Derek says with praise, giving me the grin I always love on his face.
“Fine, but you are a liar.”
He balks, looking at me with surprise. “I’m not a liar.”
“You have to be. You acted like you barely ever come here.”
“I don’t. I bet I’ve skated more recently than you have, but I haven’t had a young daughter to take care of until now.”
I pause for a moment and look between the people and ice in front of me and back to the man holding my hand, carefully navigating us. “Well, that’s… true.” I don’t know if I should pull his attention to the fact that he called Rora his daughter too, but the tears that are gathering rapidly in my eyes and the thickness in my throat don’t want me to let go of the facts.
Derek, ever perceptive, notices my tears before I can hide them and looks at me with shock. “Birdie? What’s wrong?”
I shake my head, letting a tear slip and cursing my emotions. “Nothing. Actually, everything is really great.”
My voice does not convey how wonderful I truly feel.
It’s so bad that Derek pulls us over to the side so he can stop and look at me. His body holds mine against the railing, and he bends so he can see me eye-to-eye.
