by Naomi Niles
“I think so,” I told him honestly. “I’m not sure, I suppose I’ll figure that out as the night goes on.”
“Brilliant… if anyone needs to start living, it’s you.”
Long after I had hung up the phone, my mind was reeling. I found myself growing increasingly excited about the ice skating with each passing second – not that it was really about that, I could already tell. I had no idea if she even wanted to know how to skate, or if it was more to do with me and that had me excited.
It seemed like I did have a date, and that thought wasn’t as terrifying as it probably should have been. I just didn’t get those vibes from this girl that she was going to screw me over. I could have been wrong, of course, but that wouldn’t be revealed to me until we met.
As long as I figured out how I knew her, and who she was whispering with on the other end of the phone, everything else would just fall into place. I was sure of it.
Urgh, I was overanalyzing things again, driving myself insane. I needed to get back to working out, to clearing my head in my gym so that I could go into this open minded. And preconceived notions would get in the way before I could even begin, and I really didn’t want that!
Chapter 8
Danielle – Monday
“Oh God, what have you gotten me into?” I groaned to Cynthia. I just couldn’t believe that she had actually managed to convince me to go along with the ice skating madness – just to give her the chance to get closer to Marek. I felt like a very unwelcome pawn in her game, and I didn’t like that one bit. “I’ve never even been on the ice before; what if I make a total ass of myself?”
“It isn’t much harder than skating,” she replied dismissively. “You will be fine. Plus, he’s teaching you – he will expect you to be a novice.”
“How am I going to get through it without making a total fool of myself?” I slammed my head into my pillow, frustration flowing through me. I should have just shut the phone call down before she got wind of it, then I could have simply told Miles the truth and gone with that – that would have been preferable to having to go on some crazy ice skating date that I was no mentally prepared for.
And the home cooked meal…urgh, I didn’t want to even think about that. I could cook, sure, but in someone else’s home? That would be too strange for words.
“Well, we need to find you something cute to wear.” Cynthia tugged through my new clothes in my wardrobe, totally ignoring the real problem that I was having. I was angry at her, but in a way I had to see her point. If I was really going to go through with this – which it seemed like I was –then I wanted to at least look nice. Miles was hot, after all, and I did want to impress him somewhat if I was going to be spending time with him. “Here you are.”
She handed me a cute pair of skinny jeans and my warm, fluffy black jumper, that I begrudgingly put on. “Is this date clothes?” I asked, really feeling like they weren’t.
“Ooh date,” Cynthia teased. “I thought it was just ice skating.”
I rolled my eyes as my face flushed red in embarrassment. That was a slip up that I hadn't been expecting at all. “No, I don’t mean…well, you know what I mean!”
“You look adorable,” she clicked the hair curlers on. “I’ll do your hair to doll you up even more.” I didn’t want to allow her to do whatever she wanted to me, because I felt like she’d done enough, but at the same time it would make me feel a lot more confident if I was dressed nicely, so I slumped in the chair and allowed her to get to it.
“So, you will ask about Marek, won’t you?” she reminded me. “Ask if he has a girlfriend, that sort of thing. I need to know as much as I can before I jump his bones.” I bit my lip hard, trying to keep my emotions inside. “And try and get another date with Miles too; the closer you get to him, the nearer I’ll get to Marek.”
“Another date?” I whined. “Do I have to?”
“You’ve already pretty much admitted that you need more than one ice skating lesson, so it’ll seem natural.” Cynthia really didn’t seem to care about my feelings in this at all, which in a way had me wound up.
But at the same time, the thought of spending more time with Miles Richardson was oddly appealing.
“Just be nice, be a bit flirty, be yourself.”
“Well, I can’t be all three,” I joked. “So you’re going to have to choose.”
“Come on,” Cynthia finally had me ready to her standards. “Why don’t we go and pick up some skates, get in a little bit of practice before Miles gets there? Once you’ve mastered the basics, it shouldn’t be too embarrassing for you.” I nodded gratefully, glad that she was actually willing to help me with this one. “We have a couple of hours, so let’s get on it.”
*****
“I’m sorry, Danielle, I really have to go,” Cynthia plucked my hand from her arm and moved away from me. “Miles will be here at any moment and I can’t be here with you – how embarrassing would that be?”
“It’s going to be awful anyway,” I grumbled loudly. “I’m bruised all over and I’m still no better off. How the hell am I going to get through this?”
Cynthia had lied to me when she said it was just like skating: it was so much harder. I had spent most of the time on the ice falling on my ass, and I didn’t think that I could take another second of it, never mind a lesson with a famous ice hockey player. If this didn’t put him off me, I didn’t know what would.
“Please just let me go home?”
“No,” Cynthia replied sternly. “You have to stay, you have to do this, for yourself as well as me. This will be fun; you’ll love it with a proper teacher.”
With that, she reversed, knowing that I was completely helpless without her there, and she abandoned me on the ice. Tears pricked my eyes, and it took all that I had to keep them inside. If I allowed the flood gates of crying to open, I didn’t think that I would ever be able to stop. I couldn’t lose it, not when I was in such a vulnerable position.
Instead, I tried to move, I tried to shuffle a little across the ice, but it wasn’t long before I could feel my body giving up on me and the skates slipping out from beneath me. I closed my eyes, preparing my body to smack against the hard ice once more, but somehow I didn’t quite connect with the ground. I found myself with strong, warm arms wrapping around me instead.
“Oof,” I cried out. “Oh God, thank you.”
I span around to see myself looking into those sexy eyes, the ones of my new teacher, and the butterflies in my stomach started to flap violently inside of me. He held me tightly, pulling me into him, and it made a buzzing excitement grow even more. Shit, this was Miles Richardson; he was really here to spend time with me. What the hell was I going to do?
Stop it, I scolded myself. This isn’t a real date: it’s a fact-finding mission. You’re just here for Cynthia, to find out about Marek.
“All right, obviously we are starting with the basics,” Miles joked. “Like you know nothing about the ice.” I giggled, finding laughter the best way to deal with the humiliation. “But before that, I need something from you.”
I pulled back a bit, looking into his eyes, wondering if this was the time when I was finally going to have to admit the truth about my lie. I wondered how he would react to me telling him that we didn’t actually know each other.
“What’s your name?”
Oh thank God!
“Danielle,” I smiled, realizing that I hadn't ever actually mentioned that to him. “Danielle Fisher.”
“Good Danielle Fisher, the first thing I’m going to do is show you how to re-lace your boots. You won’t get anywhere with them like that.”
Oh God, I had just wasted two hours skating with skates that weren’t right. Damn you Cynthia! Why did you let me do that?
Once we got back onto the ice, Miles held onto my hands and showed me how to move in the right way. The only problem was I was so distracted by him and his handsome face that I found it really hard to concentrate on anything else. I didn’t even know how
to breathe properly around him, never mind navigate unknown territory.
“You aren’t from around here, are you?” he mused thoughtfully, watching me stumble once more.
“What gave you that impression?” I joked a little sarcastically. “The fact that I’m not accustomed to snow?”
“Well, that,” he admitted, “plus the fact that you didn’t go to the only school around here. I definitely would have remembered someone like you.”
“Oh sure,” I nodded with wide eyes. “I’m sure a girl like me would have stood out among all the others throwing themselves at you.”
Oh shit, was I actually flirting? It certainly felt that way, and from the smile he shot back in my direction, he liked it. A buzzing fission of excitement burst through me as I realized that this super sexy, muscular, in-demand guy actually seemed to like me. It might not have made any sense, but that was what seemed to be going on!
“You’d be surprised,” he smiled. “The girls didn’t come until the money and the fame did.”
Uh oh. This felt like it was teetering into serious territory, which felt a little dangerous. Luckily, he changed the subject rapidly, bringing it back to the lesson.
“No, you need to move your legs more like this.” He touched my thigh, sending crazy bolts of lust racing right through me. I almost could cope! “And then, yep, that’s right.”
Just, focus on his words. Do what he says, for the love of God.
“So, what do you do?” he asked, showing a deeper interest than he had to. I liked that; it made me feel special. This was a famous ice hockey player actually paying me attention and I really liked that, despite myself. Any memory of past hurt flooded from my mind as I focused only on him.
“I’m going to college in San Diego, studying to become a teacher.” I inadvertently cringed, waiting for a barrage of abuse about my career choice, but I actually didn’t get it, which made a nice change.
“Wow, a teacher.That’s amazing. That’s such an amazing job. Hard though!”
I glanced at him in shock, having never really received any recognition for this before. “Yeah, I guess so.” I nodded, overwhelmed by his interest.
I could practically hear my sister’s voice in my head, screaming at me to find out more about Marek, but with Miles’s hands on my body, and that crazy sizzling connection that seemed to be growing between us, I really didn’t want to. Instead, I found myself actually thinking about it as a date, and that made my heart flutter. I didn’t want to make this about anyone else – only us – and that revelation was a pleasant surprise.
“Now do you want me to show you how to move backwards?”
I nodded, lust buzzing in my ears, which only grew worse as he got in front of me, position us face to face, staring into one another’s eyes. He was talking to me, demonstrating what I had to do, but I couldn’t even hear him. I was staring at his scar, wanting to touch it, to feel his skin. Then I started imaging what it would be like if he just leant in a little bit further, causing our lips to touch.
I had to gulp down a massive ball of passion as I imagined what it would be like to kiss the man. Bolts of pleasure shot over my body, and I found myself wishing that he would scoop me up and claim me. I wanted him to consume me, to snake his tongue into my mouth right there in front of all those people, with absolutely no shame. I wasn’t normally one for public displays of affection so the fact that I was even thinking that way was unlike me. It was exciting though – a change that I surprisingly liked.
“So,” he sounded a little breathless as spoke, which had me wondering if he was thinking the same way as me. “You need to push your feet like this.”
Then he broke the intense moment of eye contact, bringing my focus back to the lesson at hand, which had me feeling oddly disappointed….
Stop it, Danielle.Don’t make this more than it is!
Chapter 9
Miles – Monday
My heart was racing harder than it should have been, considering. So far, this girl had done nothing to make me suspect that this was anything more than a very innocent ice skating lesson, yet there was a little moment there where I almost leaned in and kissed her. I just couldn’t believe myself!
What if she had thrown me off, completely shocked by my behavior? That would have been so embarrassing! Then again, from the small twinkle in her eye, I’m not quite sure that she would have done.
“Okay, so we definitely have a lot more work,” I told her honestly. “But at least you can move about now…well, kind of,” I joked, sending her a cheeky smile. “You can stand up on your own at least, which is progress.”
“Thanks,” she grumbled sarcastically. “What encouraging words.”
We both laughed loudly, bonding over how terrible she was at skating, and slid over to the side to change back into our normal shoes. While we were there, I decided to take the bull by the horns and to find out if she was really to push this the entire way and continue on with this crazy journey.
“So,” I said very casually, not making any eye contact. “Are you keeping up your end of the bargain then and coming to cook me a meal?”
She remained silent for a moment, during which time I couldn’t look up to see what her reaction was. I felt cold and sad at the prospect that she might not want to spend more time with me, especially when I definitely didn’t feel like I was anywhere near done with her just yet.
“Of course,” she finally replied a little cautiously. “I wasn’t sure if you were just joking about that one.”
“I never joke about food,” I told her with mock seriousness, which lightened her mood somewhat.
“All right then,” she sounded more enthusiastic this time, much to my relief. “Sounds good. I’ll make you something that reminds me of California…warm us up!”
“Yummy!” I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, before asking something else, something that would really determine how serious she was about actually spending any time with me; I didn’t want to force her into a date that she wasn’t comfortable with. “So, who were you with when I called you earlier?” Her eyes widened in shock, which meant I was onto something. “I heard a lot of whispering.”
“That was my sister,” she admitted as her cheeks reddened, making her look even more adorable. She might have had a West Coast look, but I couldn’t help thinking she looked wonderful with the colder backdrop. Her clothes suited her body well, and the fresh air was bringing out some lovely highlights in her face. “She was giving me a confidence boost.” She nodded as if this was her explanation, and she was sticking to it.”
“Is that the girl you were on the ice with when I arrived?” I had seen her when I first arrived, but I stood back for a while, watching her really trying, which I found completely adorable. “The one that left as soon as she saw me?”
“She saw you?!” Danielle exclaimed in shock. “Oh my God, she didn’t tell me that. She just abandoned me!” She shook her head, stunned. “Yes, that was Cynthia. She brought me here for a little bit of practice, which as you’ve seen, I needed!”
“You were worse before? I can’t believe that!” I shoved her playfully and she grinned at me, taking it all in good humor.
“We live just around the corner; you can come and meet her if you like? I have to drop off the boots anyway.”
I nodded at this, feeling a little weird. I wasn’t normally the type of guy that met family members; things never usually got that far, but with this girl I felt like I wouldn’t have minded. I actually felt like I wanted to meet this sister, like she might have been able to give me some insight into what was going on.
“Okay, sounds good.”
I followed her towards her home, watching her hand hang lightly by her side. A big part of me wanted to lean across and hold it. I wasn’t sure why; it was just a gnawing temptation inside of me, making it really difficult for me to act normally.
“I better warn you,” she suddenly shot back, as if something had occurred to her. “My parents may be
home. I don’t think that they will be because they work a lot, but just in case.”
“Of course,” I said, as if I was totally fine with that, but inside I immediately began to freak out. Her sister was one thing, but parents?That was another level entirely.
“I’m sorry if they are; we only need to be in for a moment.” Her nerves were showing through now, and I could tell that she was starting to regret her decision.
“It’s okay,” I reassured her, plastering a big smile on my face. “I honestly don’t mind. It’ll be fun.”
Despite my words, my heart pounded heavily as we walked into her home. I did notice that it was a lovely looking building in one of the nicer neighborhoods, which meant that her parents must have had good jobs. I had a nice place to live now, as did my mother, but where we’d grown up was nothing like this. We struggled every single day, and that was evident in our home.
I was so blown away by the place that it took away from my anxiety, so by the time I found myself faced with her parents in their kitchen, I instantly zoned in on that instead.
“Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Fisher; you have a lovely home.” I shook their hands in turn, instantly noticing a spark of recognition in their eyes.
“Are you Miles Richardson?” the dad asked, looking far too excited for my liking, completely ignoring my point. “I saw you score that winning goal the other day.Congratulations on that one.”
“Oh…thanks.” I felt totally embarrassed by his interest, which was stupid because I was totally used to it. It just felt much stranger in front of Danielle. I didn’t like having so much focus in my one direction.
“So what are you doing with Danielle?” he asked, as if she was below me, which caused me to screw up my eyes with confusion. Surely whoever I was, I shouldn’t be good enough for her in her parent’s eyes, so why was I getting the impression that it was more the other way around?
“We’ve been ice skating,” I grinned. “At the lake.It was really good fun.”