“Naw, I’m far from scared. I just thought—you know—candy canes. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to have a candy cane?” His hands bounced and swiped at the space in front of him as he spoke. He could say anything he wanted, but I knew that he was nervous, because that was the only time his hands would fly.
“I’ll tell you what—you ice skate with me and I promise to share a candy cane with you by the clock tower,” I bargained.
“Only if you throw in a hot chocolate.” Max ran his hand across his forehead to clear the stray pieces of his hair out of his eyes.
“Deal,” I sang as I leaned in to give him a kiss.
Tonight was going to be perfect—beautiful Aspen on a crisp, snowy night with my guy. I couldn’t ask for anything better.
I tightened up my white ice skates, wrapping the long, thin laces around my ankles two times before tying them as tight as they could go. I couldn’t remember if my grandpa had wrapped the long laces around my ankle before he tied them when I was little. I just hoped that, by tying them as tight as I could, I would have more control over how my ankles were going to bend or move. Max pulled at his black laces, fumbling over what he was supposed to do with the extra length after they were tied. Sadly enough, he had never skated—on blades or wheels—before in his life.
“What are you doing?” I asked before sliding down onto the floor and pulling on the end of the awkward bow he’d tied.
“Hey, I got it, you don’t have to help me,” Max whispered.
“Well, obviously, you’re such a master of the double knot,” I said. “Look, see all this extra lace here? You want to take it and wrap it around like this.” I pulled his laces tight once around the ankle of his black skates before I tied it.
“Oh, I thought they were too short to do that. Thanks,” he said as he pulled his first foot back and stretched out his other.
“What, you want me to do this skate too? Really?”
“Well, I just figured since you were down there…” Max smiled and his eyes showed me just how much of a tease he could really be. “I’m kidding. I think I can tie my own laces.”
“Oh please, you can’t tie. You teach a mean government class, but tying laces isn’t your strong point.” I fished for the black laces on his skates and pulled them, then he grabbed my hands to stop me. When I looked up at him, his eyes burned with an influence I couldn’t deny.
“There are a lot of things I can do; it just depends on who I am doing it with.” Max pulled my arms so they would curve around his waist. I stretched up and our smiles met. With his warm lips pressed strongly against mine, I tasted his ability to take me and my hovering butterflies anywhere we wanted to go. He tangled his fingers into the stray strands of hair I had hanging and cleared them away from my cheeks before his hands anchored on either side of my face. His kiss was as intense as the cold breeze that cut across my skin.
“You sure know how to do that,” I said as my butterflies danced and tangled with the space between my hips.
“Are you ready to try?” Max asked, his eyes still glistening with our kiss.
“Um, yeah, but we just got our skates on,” I mused.
“Funny, Wilson. Don’t worry, I know how to do that too,” he said before he tapped the tip of my frozen nose with his finger, pulled on his gloves, and bent toward me.
“I have no doubt in your abilities,” I smiled as he stood above me.
He stretched out his hands to help me up; I was a little concerned about his wobbly stance. We ambled like a couple of robots to the ice rink. Unable to hold hands, we made sure there was enough space between us just in case either of us tanked it.
He reached the railing before I did. Our breathing made clouds of steam dance in front of us. I could tell he was nervous—his rapid breath sent signals into the night.
“Well, you ready?” Max’s word choice hung suggestively between us before he completed his sentence. “…to ice skate,” he said through a smile.
“Yeah, let’s go,” I giggled.
I stretched my foot out onto the ice as I grabbed the railing that separated the skaters from the spectators. My ankles struggled to keep my foot straight and balanced as I pulled my other foot to catch up. The blades of the skates slid quickly across the wet ice, and suddenly, I felt the same insecurities I had when I was a little girl ice skating with my grandpa.
“Okay, stay there, I’m coming to you,” Max said.
I turned, waiting to see how he was going to move on the ice. “Wait—be careful, it’s slipperier than you think,” I warned him as I clung to the railing.
The anticipation of him skating over to me coursed recklessly through my body, and before I could stop him, Max bent forward and pushed off the wall. I shrieked as his arms swung back and forth and he sailed toward me. Obviously, his idea was to get to me without ending up on the freezing cold ice; little did he know.
I felt like the iceberg that sat waiting in the ocean before the Titanic rammed against it. Suddenly his expression was like a deer in the headlights as he realized he had leaned too far back. His arms flapped and his feet shuffled as he slid into me. I felt him grab and pull, then I cambered over and we collapsed into a heaping, tangled mess.
“Holy shit, Wilson, I didn’t realize I was going to move that fast,” Max said. His words were mixed with shock and laughter. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah—considering you cushioned my fall,” I laughed. “How about you?” I asked as I pressed against him.
“I’m fine. Sorry about that,” Max said.
We both busted out in a contagious laughter, and in that moment, we were the only two there on the ice. He wrapped his arms around me and I felt him pull me down as he wiggled. We attempted to adjust our bodies, which tangled us even more, causing us to laugh even louder. It didn’t matter that we were stuck down on the ice. It was our moment to have.
“You getting cold?” he asked when he noticed I was clutching my lower jaw trying to hold back the chattering of my teeth.
“Just a little,” I said.
Max leaned up and kissed me. His lips were cold on the edges while the inside of his mouth was steaming hot. I pushed my mitten-covered hand around the back of his head and he pressed strongly against my spine. His body let out a shiver and his jaw began to chatter, and I knew it was time to get up. As I rolled off of him, he leaned toward me, trying to stay with our kiss.
“You’re freezing,” I said.
“It’s your kiss,” he teased. We both started to giggle through our shivers.
I heard someone’s skates slice loudly across the ice next to us and for a moment, an image of Cindy towering over us flashed in my mind. My heart crashed against my chest. The absolute last thing I wanted to face was running into someone from school.
“Hey, Max, who in the hell got you to come out ice skating?” A tall, brown-haired guy with a smile wider than the Grand Canyon and eyes as blue and the ocean stood above us.
Relief caught my breath when I realized we were still undiscovered by Wesley’s Rumor Miller—and my roommate—Cindy. I just don’t know what I would do if she were to find us tangled on the ice together.
“Oh hey, Reid—well, that would be this one right here,” Max said pointing at me.
“Well then let me help you up,” Reid said as he reached down to me. “Use the tip of your blade to anchor your weight to stand up,” he added as he leaned back and pulled. I watched as the muscles tightened up his arm.
“Thanks,” I said as I wobbled and slipped, working to regain any type of control.
In the meantime, Max had flipped over to his hands and knees and worked himself back to standing on the ice.
“Tell me, how did you get this guy to do this? I’ve known him my whole life and I could never get him to come down here to skate with me.” His blue eyes twinkled and his brown, curly hair clung to the sides of his face as he pulled his narrow, scarlet lips to a straight smirk.
“Oh no, he is quite the ice skater,” I said
, busying myself as I adjusted my gloves back under the cuffs of my jacket and glanced around the rink, making sure my fears of Cindy showing up weren’t warranted.
“So you think I should help him out?” he asked as Max struggled on the ice.
“Sure,” I sang.
“I’m Reid, by the way.” He held his hand out, totally ignoring Max flailing for control just a few feet away. I stopped looking around and accepted his hand in greeting.
“Wilson.”
I heard Max’s body bounce with a growl as his blades sliced across the frozen tundra.
Reid turned Max’s way and said, “Okay, are you ready to hear how to get up? Dig in with the toe-pick and get your ass up off the ice.”
“I got it, I got it,” Max croaked as he struggled again with a wobbling stance.
“Better grab the railing,” Reid teased.
“Hey thanks, man. Nothing like being left out in the cold,” Max mused as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “How you been? How’s the holidays?” Max said, shaking his hand.
“I have nothing to complain about. Just got back in town for the week. How ‘bout you?” Reid asked.
“I’ve been good—really good,” Max said glancing at me. “We just got into town today.”
“So…is this your sister?” Reid pointed to me and winked with a smirk on his face.
Max chuckled before he spoke, “Reid, this is Wilson, my girlfriend. Today is her birthday. Sweetheart, this is Reid—he and I go pretty far back. He dated my sister in high school.”
“Oh! Well nice to meet you,” I exaggerated.
“Well, Happy Birthday. I hope this guy has spoiled you. Where did you meet this rabble-rouser anyway?” Reid swung his fist toward Max’s stomach.
“In a government focus group,” I said.
“At a coffee shop,” Max said at the same time.
I could feel the pressure building in my chest, and the urge to throw up clinging to the back of my tongue; exactly what I didn’t ever want to happen—just happened. Max and I stared at each other for what seemed like a lifetime before we looked back at Reid.
“Well, actually…we saw each other at a coffee shop. We both ordered the same drink,” Max let out a slight laugh.
“That’s right,” I backed up his story.
“Then, later that day, we ended up in a government focus group, and I knew I had to meet her,” Max said as he looked at me. His eyes narrowed and glimmered.
Oh my God, we really have to get our stories straight.
“That’s right; you’re teaching government at one of those private schools, aren’t you?” Reid said as he popped Max across the shoulder. “Well, I have to say, it’s pretty ballsy choosing to teach government to high-schoolers over working for your dad at GP.” Reid laughed, unaware of what he’d just said. I stole a glance over at Max and noticed how his eyes constricted.
“Yeah, well I get summers off, man,” Max said, trying to justify his choices.
“Which is a complete bonus,” Reid agreed. “Do you teach at the same school?” he turned and asked me.
“Oh no—I’m not a teacher, I’m still in scho—college,” I swallowed, choking on my lie.
“Robbin’ the cradle are we?” Reid whispered to Max as he elbowed him in the side. Max wobbled unstably on his skates before he gave Reid a slight grin.
“You look really happy, man. I’m glad to see you back to your old self,” Reid said, and his expression softened.
“Thanks, I am happy.”
“Well, Wilson, let me just tell you—Max here is one of the coolest cats I know. He’s one of Aspen’s finest.”
“How much did we decide I’d pay you for saying that?” Max teased as he reached into his pocket. “Come on, I didn’t haul off to New York and run with the big boys; now that’s ballsy. You, my friend, are the finest of Aspen,” Max worked to change the subject.
“Please, you have no idea,” Reid said as he shook his head back and forth.
“This guy right here single-handedly saved his company from going bankrupt,” Max bragged.
“Oh now, come on, you don’t need to bore your lady with my life,” Reid interrupted. “Hey—why don’t you and Wilson come to the house? I’ll make you guys some dinner and then we can reminisce about how crazy we were for wanting to change the world.”
Max looked at me, his expansive green eyes rounded like he was asking for permission. Shit. Who am I to make the choice? If Max wants us to hang out with Reid, then we’ll do it. God knows in the last month, he’s found himself hanging out with Joanie and me more than he’d probably like to. I gave him a nod; it felt strange to react to one of his friend’s requests like a couple. But I don’t know, it wasn’t like we had offers like this all the time. The only person who knew about us was Joanie, so to do something with one of his friends together was a huge checkmark off the list of becoming an official couple.
“Okay great, how about Tuesday?” Reid pushed.
“Sounds good; we’ll bring the dessert,” Max smiled. He knew exactly where to get the best berry pies in town.
“Well, it was really nice meeting you, Wilson, and I look forward to hanging out with you and Max on Tuesday night,” Reid said as he leaned over and kissed my cheek.
“You too—oh, and thanks for saving us from the peril of the cold wet ice,” I mused.
“No problem. See ya, Max.” Reid shook his hand and slapped him across his shoulder. Of course, Max nearly fell back down. He grabbed the railing again and was able to stop himself from faltering. Reid skated off as if he could do it better than walking. I watched him stop and wrap his arms around a woman waiting on the other side of the rink.
“He seems like a nice guy,” I said.
“Yeah, we grew up together. We were actually best friends until he decided to date my sister,” Max mumbled. I watched his expression shift as he replayed the history in his head.
“I never really knew how much outside pressure you’d gotten to work for your family’s company,” I said.
Max shook his head. “Well there is a lot of pressure and guilt when you decide that you don’t want to work for a family-owned business that has been around for three generations.” He took a deep breath.
“Don’t get me wrong—I’m proud of my dad and what he’s done with the company, but the whole thing…well, it isn’t for me.”
Max’s body language said everything. His lips pulled tight into a straight line, his eyes narrowed, and his shoulders became heavy.
“Are we gonna try ice skating some more or just hang on the railing until someone rescues us?” Max said.
I knew that was my cue to drop the conversation about his father.
The whole ice skating idea, as much as I wanted it to be this romantic moment between Max and me, was just a fiasco. We both struggled to get around the rink, and by the time we made it halfway, we were both done. My thighs burned, I had knots up and down my calves, and my hands hurt from desperately holding onto the railing. It was time for us to hang up the skates and find some hot chocolate and candy canes.
“You done?” Max asked as we came to the first exit on the opposite side of the rink.
“Yeah I think we’ve both proven that we are better off in our boots,” I said as I wobbled off the ice.
“So what do you say we grab a couple of hot cocoas and leave the ice skating up to the resolute?” Max smiled as the overhead lights flickered in his eyes. “Besides, between you and me, I hear there’s this guy dressed all in red handing out candy to people who aren’t on some naughty list,” Max teased as he pulled off his gloves.
“And you think you aren’t on this particular list?” I murmured back as I cuddled close to him. He wrapped his arms around me and buried his hands between the space where my jacket met my jeans. God, he owned me; in that moment, he was so everything to me. He was like a warm fire on a crisp, chilly night and his aroma knew how to create a slow, rising tingle deep in my body.
“Not just yet.” His
eyes lowered down to where our bodies met. His hair tumbled across his forehead and his jaw tightened before he bit his bottom lip. Pressure swirled in every womanly space I had.
“Oh, so you’re planning on being naughty?” I mused.
“Only if you are,” he answered before he pushed his mouth against mine and I felt just how sinful he wanted to be.
If this kiss is a taste of what is to come, we’re both definitely going to end up with an entire coal mine in our stockings.
“We’d better go check the list,” I whispered as his lips traced hotly against my jaw line.
“Mmmm,” he growled against my skin as his hands navigated across every inch of my lower back before leaving a cold trail.
He grabbed my hand and we ambled to where we’d left our boots.
I heard a cackling, spastic laugh that stopped me in my tracks. I knew that laugh…and it could only belong to the one person I dreaded running into. I saw her from behind, pushing and leaning against a couple of guys whose attention she was able to capture. Okay, so maybe my senses were heightened, but I could have sworn it was Cindy. My hands instantly became drenched—I knew we were caught. “What’s wrong?” Max whispered as he noticed my damp hands and inability to take another step.
“Cindy,” I snapped as I pointed to the girl dressed in an obnoxious tiger-striped jacket across the rink.
I felt Max’s hand tighten around mine as he pulled me closer.
The girl turned around, and right away, I could see it wasn’t Cindy. Relief swam through my body. Max noticed and gave me a nervous smile. Either we were getting pretty good at being together undiscovered or lucky enough to keep dodging that bullet.
“Nothing to worry about, Wilson,” Max hummed in my ear.
“Is that Wayne? How in the hell are you?” a voice boomed across the rink. It was loud enough to notice but nothing I paid attention to.
“Well, shit, what a surprise. How the hell are you?” I heard another voice that sounded a bit more familiar. Max stopped walking and turned toward the conversation.
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