“You’re with me so it’ll be fine.”
“Arrogant much?”
“Just confident.”
Of course he is. All athletes think arrogance is confidence.
But he can be sweet too.
Which means I need to stay the hell away from him. I’m focused on school and getting my degree. Not chasing some guy who thinks he’s the shit.
As soon as I think it, I dismiss it. He’s been nothing but kind to me since I met him. I need to stop putting my hang ups on him.
“Here we are.”
I blink and realize we’re at the school’s rink. I must have fallen into my own thoughts for longer than I thought.
“How cold is it in there?”
His eyes widen. “Shit, I didn’t think about that. The cold doesn’t bother me much, but you’ll freeze.” He turns and reaches into the duffle bag in the backseat and pulls out a black hoodie. “This should work. It’s made from sherpa wool.”
“That thing will swallow me.”
“But you’ll be warm.”
He tugs it over my head and as predicted, it does swallow me. I look ridiculous.
He gets out of the Jeep and comes round to my side to open the door. He waits patiently for me to get out with my brand new skates before locking the vehicle.
The first thing I notice when we walk inside is the cold. It slaps you in the face and nearly robs you of breath. How in hell does he spend hours in here? Every day. Frostbite is a definite possibility.
“You’ll get used to it,” he promises.
I don’t think so.
“Why do you voluntarily spend time in here?” My teeth start to chatter and he laughs.
“Once you’re on the ice, you’ll warm up.”
Promises promises.
We sit on the bleachers and he helps me put on the skates and then shows me how to lace them up before putting on his own, which are twice the size of mine.
He’s just made my feet weapons of mass destruction that will be used against me in the next few minutes.
“This issonot a good idea,” I mutter as he helps me walk out onto the ice.
“It’s a perfect idea,” he rebuts and pulls me along.
How did I get here?
I should never have had lunch with him.
And I still need a job. I could be out looking instead of here worrying about falling on my bum and potentially getting seriously hurt or kicked out of school if we’re caught.
“Did I mention that I wasn’t good on roller blades?”
“Not the same as ice skates.”
