The second she was gone, Mel stood with a sigh and headed for the back room. We heard some rustling, then she came out a minute later in street clothes, tight jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt that said SKATE FAST, EAT TRASH, with a cute raccoon on it.
“Okay,” she said, grabbing her keys. “I’m out. Lock up when you leave.”
“Wait,” I said. “You’re leaving us in charge?”
She shot me a look. “It’s the off hours. You literally only have to not burn the place down.”
Eleanor laughed under her breath.
“We can manage that.”
Mel arched a single eyebrow at me. “Can you?”
“I said we,” I corrected.
She stared a long second . . . then turned and strode toward the door.
And just like the last time, the second she crossed the threshold, the lights shifted, dimming into soft, warm hues.
Then the speakers switched tracks.
Straight into something slow, romantic, and embarrassingly on-the-nose.
I groaned into my hands. “MEL.”
From outside, faintly, we heard, “You’re welcome!”
Eleanor laughed, a bright, musical laugh that hit me right in the chest.
“Oh my god,” she murmured, shaking her head. “She is unbelievable.”
I looked at her as the warm light glowed across her braids, her flushed cheeks, her soft smile.
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “She is.”
But my attention wasn’t on Mel.
Not even close.
We laced back up and rolled onto the smooth wooden floor. Eleanor pushed off with a confidence I hadn’t seen before, steady, sure-footed, even a little playful. She glided forward, slowed, stopped cleanly, then shifted her weight and pushed off backward.
Backward.
My eyebrows shot up. “Look at you!”
She grinned over her shoulder, the tip of her tongue caught between her teeth in concentration. “I’ve been practicing.”
“I can tell,” I said, unable to hide the amazement or the pride in my voice.
She came to a neat stop in front of me and cocked her head. “Wanna race?”
I blinked. “You want to what?”
Her eyes sparkled. “Race. Unless you’re scared.”
I felt my grin spread, slow and wide. “You’re on.”
“Good,” she said, and took off before I could finish laughing.
