She took a deep breath and gripped my hands tight. “Glide. Okay.”
“I can guide you. You’re doing really well.”
“Am I?”
“Aye. You’re doing better than I did my first time out.”
“You were two.”
“I was. Can you just take the compliment?”
“Sorry. Yes, thank you.”
We skated together for an hour until she was doing it on her own. She only fell one time, but it was a doozy. She took me with her, legs sliding out underneath mine and collapsing. I used my body to break her fall. There was no way she’d get hurt on my watch. By the time we were unlacing our skates, she was grinning widely, her nose pink from the cold.
“That was really fun.”
Fuck, I loved her smile. “Wanna grab some dinner?”
“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds really nice.”
“Good. I wasn’t ready to let go of you just yet.”
“If I’d known you were this guy when we met on the ferry, I think I would have given you more of a chance.”
“Why didn’t you think I was this guy?”
“You laughed at me and told me I was Tinkerbell.”
“I laughed with you because you were the cutest thing I’d ever seen. And you do remind me of her.”
She scrunched up her nose in the most adorable fucking way. “I think you’re... I don’t know. I don’t know what I think. You’re—”
“Handsome. The word is handsome. It’s okay. You can say it.” I flashed her a wicked grin.
She laughed. “Yes, handsome. But also charming. Sexy. All of those things, but also, I think... cute. You’re really cute.”
“Cute? Cute is for pixies, not for pirates.”
“You’re not a pirate.”
“Who says? You?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe you didn’t understand me the first time. I am Captain Hook, not Peter Pan.”
“Well,” she twirled a length of her hair between her fingers. “Maybe I’d like to spend a little time with the pirate.”
“Oh, lass, that can be arranged.”
“So is this really your usual date? Ice skating and hand-holding don’t really seem like your style,”
“Oh, lass. You wound me. I am as swoony as they come. It’s just been a while since I had to...” I raked a hand through my hair.
“Work for it?”
“Aye.”