“Yeah, for you. You skate for a living. I haven’t skated in a very long time.”
“Come on. It’s like riding a bike. You never forget how.”
“Wanna bet?”
“You’re chicken.”
“I’m also not twelve. That ploy isn’t going to work on me, Drew.”
“Fine. You hang here. I’ll skate.”
Oh, sure. And he’d be mobbed by all the attractive women currently skating on the rink, and it would be college all over again.
No way.
“Okay, I’ll do this. But no laughing when I fall on my ass.”
“I don’t intend to let you fall on your ass.”
She followed him inside and they rented skates. The teenager working the counter recognized Drew immediately.
“You’re Drew Hogan from the Travelers.”
Drew gave the kid a wide smile. “I am.” Drew looked at the kid’s name tag. “And you’re Justin.”
Justin grinned. “So cool. And you’re going to skate here?”
“I am.” Drew paid and Justin reverently handed over the skates to Drew like they were a prized trophy.
Carolina rolled her eyes.
They headed to a locker and she took off her boots, grateful that she’d worn jeans today. Maybe they’d cushion her fall.
The walk on the carpeted area seemed easy enough, but she hadn’t been lying to Drew when she’d told him it had been a really long time since she’d skated.
He took her hand and led her to the entrance of the rink.
“So how long has it been?”
She tried to recall the last time. She’d gone with a group of friends to a park rink. “Three years, maybe?”
“Not that long.”
She slanted him a look. “An eternity.”
He laughed. “We’ll start out slow.”
He stepped out onto the ice first, then flipped around and held his hands out.
She hesitated.
“I promise I won’t let you fall, Carolina.”
She was being ridiculous and she knew it. As she surveyed the rather thick crowd of skaters, several people slipped and fell, then laughed, got up, and tried again.
She had no idea why she was being such a baby about this.
Maybe because she’d humiliated herself once in front of Drew by getting drunk and throwing herself at him.
The ice was his home. This was where he was the most comfortable. The last thing she wanted to do was appear to be a novice.
Which she absolutely was.
She should have just stayed in the damn car.
Instead, she gripped his hands and took a tentative slide onto the ice. Her ankles wobbled and she fought for balance.
Drew was right there, wrapping his arm around her to hold her upright. “Take a deep breath and relax. I’ve got you. You’re not gonna fall. Just listen to the sound of my voice.”
Still holding on to her, he moved in front of her and tipped her chin up. “Don’t look down at your skates. That’ll screw up your balance. Look straight ahead. And don’t forget, there’s no way you’ll fall, as long as I’m holding you, so just enjoy this, okay?”
He finished off with a confident smile. She nodded. “Okay.”
“Then let’s skate.”
His calm assurance helped her focus. He moved beside her, his arm securely wrapped around her as he slowly skated forward while she tried to remember how to skate instead of walk.
In the beginning, Drew mainly dragged her along, but she realized she was never going to get proficient at this if she didn’t at least try, so she moved her skates forward, and it all started coming back to her. It helped that Drew had a strong hold on her.
And he was right. With his firm grip on her she wasn’t going to fall, so that gave her confidence to try. Soon muscle memory took over, and she remembered what it felt like to glide across the ice.
“Now you’ve got it. Just like that.”
He was so patient with her, not once going too fast. And when she wobbled, he’d tighten his hold on her and slow things down.
After about twenty minutes she felt like she had a handle on it, so she pushed out, gripped his hand and separated them.
“You sure?”
“Yes. Just don’t let go.”
His gaze met hers. “I won’t. I promise.”
They made a full circle around the rink, and as she began to relax, she finally had a chance to look around at the other people. They had drawn a crowd of onlookers, both on the rink and those looking over it.
Or, rather, Drew had. It didn’t surprise her that he had been recognized, especially on the ice.
And when a boy about eight years old skated up to them, Drew immediately pulled in close to her and came to a stop.
“Hey. You’re Drew Hogan, forward for the Travelers.”
Drew smiled at the boy. “I am. And what’s your name?”
The boy revealed a gap-toothed smile. “I’m Henry. I live in Long Island, but we’re here visiting my grandparents. They have an apartment here and we watched the parade and had turkey and dressing and cranberries and stuff.”
Carolina looked up and saw people who had to be Henry’s parents standing behind him, wide smiles on their faces. Drew noticed them, too, and gave them a wink.