Page 70 of Staying Selfless

I playfully roll my eyes.

“Alright then, my little athlete.” He lets go of me, gracefully skating backward towards the other end of the pond. “Let’s see it. Skate to me.”

All the way from here, I can see the smug smile playing on his lips, thinking I’m not going to be able to make it without struggling and needing to hold onto something for support. But he’s got to know by now that I’m just as competitive as he is, and I’ll do everything in my power to make it without falling.

I take a few wobbly strides before getting my bearings, but once I get the hang of it, I glide across the frozen pond to my man. I’m not fast by any means, but I also don’t fall. The only problem is I have no idea how to stop on these things, so I end up barreling into Eli’s open arms on the other end of the ice.

“What the fuck.” His voice drip with frustration as he wraps his arms around me. “Why are you good at everything?”

I giggle in his grasp as he holds on to me. “Even though you don’t need to, will you please just hold my hand and skate with me,” he pleads.

I can’t help but smile at my cute and needy boy, intertwining my gloved fingers with his. Eli leads us around the pond, going much slower than he typically would, knowing I’m not as comfortable on skates as he is.

“This is the best day,” he casually mentions after a few laps.

I try to suppress my smile because it’s not over yet. There’s one more little, and I mean little, surprise that should be here any minute.

“Look at you, skating on a frozen pond in the middle of January. You look like a true Midwesterner.”

“Proud?”

“So fucking proud,” he says with sparkling eyes.

Eli releases my hand and instead, stands behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and dropping his chin to my shoulder. I drape my hands with his, over my middle, as Eli skates us around the ice.

“I love you so much, Logan.”

I can’t get over seeing him this way. Light, peaceful, happy. He’s been this way more and more while on campus, but he’s always just a little freer when he’s out here.

“I love you too—”

“Maddison!” A sweet screech interrupts me.

Our heads snap back at the sound, finding the cutest little blond boy barreling through the forest of trees towards us.

“What?” Eli asks in excitement, eyes big and bright. “Little man, what are you doing here?”

“Ha...Ha...Happy birthday!” Ian says through his stutter, throwing his hands in the air, standing at the edge of the pond.

“Ian, we’ve got to get your skates on before you hit the ice.” Trev finally emerges from the trees, coffee carrier in his hands. “Happy birthday, man!”

Eli brings his attention back to me, shock and excitement covering his handsome face as I try to suppress my knowing grin.

“How did you guys know we were out here?”

“Logan called last week,” Trev explains as he and Ian make their way to the bench. “Told us you were going to be out here and asked if Ian wanted to join.”

Eli snaps his head back to me, his eyes soft. “You didn’t.”

My knowing smile has turned into a full-on shit-eating grin at this point.

“You’re the best.”

Trev hands us our coffee from the carrier before throwing his arms around each of us for a hug.

“How are Stacey and the baby doing?” Eli asks as we follow Trev to the bench, waiting for Ian to get his skates laced up by his dad.

“Great, man. She’s excited to see you and for you guys to meet the newest little guy.”

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