Mom pinched the bridge of her nose like she was seconds away from disappearing in embarrassment.
“This,” she said, “is ridiculous.”
“No,” I said, chest still rising and falling, “it’s new. And I’m allowed to have new things.”
She looked like she wasn’t sure whether to shout or sigh. She ended up doing neither, just shaking her head.
“I’ll be inside,” she said coolly. “Try not to break anything.”
She turned back toward the house.
I watched her go, hands shaking slightly, heart pounding harder than the skating justified.
Then I pushed off again.
Slow. Unsteady.
Determined.
Tomorrow I’d meet Alex at the park.
And no matter how many times I fell today, I was going to be ready.
By the time I managed to wobble my way back to the house and pry the skates off my feet, I was sweating, out of breath, and pretty sure I’d discovered muscles I hadn’t used since 2003.
I needed a shower. Immediately.
Upstairs, hot water eased some of the tension in my shoulders and the lingering embarrassment from nearly face-planting in front of my mother. I washed my hair, reminding myself repeatedly:
You don’t need her approval.
Whether or not I believed it yet was another story.
I wrapped myself in a towel and was stepping out of the bathroom when I heard a cheerful voice downstairs.
“Hello? Anyone home in the House of Tremaine?”
Belle.
Of course, Belle would appear the moment I looked like a drowned cat.
“I’m upstairs. I’ll be right down!” I called back, pulling on some comfortable jeans and a soft sweater.
By the time I got downstairs, Belle was leaning against the kitchen island like she lived here, hair in a high ponytail in hercleaning polo and Reapers sweatshirt hanging off one shoulder. She grinned the second she saw me.
“Well, well, look who survived her driveway death match,” she teased.
I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. “Was it that obvious?”
“I just saw the skates and knee pads on the porch and put two and two together . . . ”
I moved around her to the fridge, pulling out turkey, cheese, and condiments.
“So . . . how’s Alex?”
I shot her a glare and got back to my sandwich.
She held up a hand. “Anyway, I didn’t come here for your love life. Notsolely, at least.”
