“Ready for what?”
“Our date.”
“Date? I don’t remember you asking me on a date.”
“Consider this me asking. Neither of us has anything till tomorrow anyway. You’re all mine... hopefully.” Why did I have butterflies in my stomach?
“That’s ambitious.”
“Well, I like to know what’s possible before getting into anything.”
“And you think I’m going to sleep with you?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No, but you implied it.”
Holding out a hand, I waited for her to make her choice. “You never know. You might be so tired out you have to spend the night on my couch.”
“Sure.” She gave me a knowing grin and fitted her palm into mine. “So you’re taking me skating?”
“You’d like to go, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, I would. But I’m going to fall on my ass.”
“Of course you are. That’s part of skating. I still fall on my arse sometimes.”
Her brows lifted. “Do you? Are you teasing me?”
“I was humoring you. There’s a difference.”
“Okay, Taylor. One date. But I’m not sleeping with you.”
All I needed was one date. One night with her to make her see we’d be good together. This was my shot. I had to take it.
Twenty minutes later, we were at a local ice rink where I regularly volunteered to coach a youth league, along with a few of my teammates.
“Hi, Savage.” Jeanette, a woman in her forties who ran the office, greeted me as soon as I walked through the doors. “Frank didn’t tell me you were gonna be here. The boys coming too?”
“No, just me and Becca here. Can you get her some skates?” I hefted my bag over my shoulder, still containing my practice gear and hockey skates.
Jeanette slid her gaze to Becca. “Size?”
“Eight,” Becca said, her hand gripping mine.
“Of course. Give me just a minute.”
“Get her some good ones,” I called. “Not any of those dull blades.”
Jeanette came back with a pair and handed them to me.
“Thank you, darling. You’re a star.” I winked at her.
“Public session starts in ten minutes. You two can go ahead and get out there.”
Becca and I walked to a bench, and I hated that I had to take my palm off the small of her back so we could get our skates on.
“How long have you been doing this?” she asked, watching me pull my trainers off.