Page 110 of Tiny Fractures

“Holy shit,” I squeak as Ronan tightens his hold on me.

“You’re doing great,” Ronan smiles at me. “Try to keep your feet straight. Yeah, like that. Just try and get a feel for the ice.” He skates backwards, holding my hands and pulling me along with him. We make two full rounds in the rink like that while Vada and Steve keep passing us up and cheering me on, which makes me laugh.

“Focus, baby,” Ronan says, smiling when I look over his shoulder at Vada and Steve, who are skating hand-in-hand. Steve is definitely the better skater, his motions fluid and confident, but Vada can hold her own.

And then I spot him again, the burly guy from earlier. He’s standing by the boards, apparently looking on, his hood pulled low over his head, making it impossible for me to make out a face. But his size, his wide shoulders, it all reminds me of Adam. Am I going crazy?

“I’m going to let go of your hands, okay?” Ronan says, drawing my attention back to him and away from the guy.

I want to protest, but Ronan gently slides his hands out of mine, spins around, and joins me to my left. “You’re looking great,” he says, his eyes on my feet as I glide the blades across the ice like we’ve been practicing. Surprisingly, I feel pretty steady.

I allow myself to briefly glance back at the guy, noting that he’s gone again.

“You’re a natural at this,” Ronan says, making me smile now.

“I have a good coach,” I say in a flirty tone, and his eyes lift toward mine. He smiles at me and, right on cue, I lose my footing and fall, landing straight on my butt.

Ronan’s blades scrape to a sudden halt. “Are you okay?” he asks, grabbing my hands, helping me back up.

“Fine,” I respond, and wipe my wet bottom. “I just got distracted by you.”

“I have to admit, it’s a nice change. Usually I’m the one getting distracted by you,” he says, grinning. Then he pulls me toward him and kisses me softly.

“Hmm, well, I think I need a little break,” I say against his lips, and carefully slide toward the dasher board. “Go ahead, let me see what you got,” I tell Ronan as Vada and Steve pass us for the umpteenth time.

“Yeah, little brother, let her see what you got,” Steve yells at Ronan as he passes him, smacking him hard on the back.

Ronan takes off after his brother at neck-breaking speeds. Steve speeds up, breaking from Vada, who skates over to me and gets off the ice.

“Is this what they do?” I ask her, watching Ronan’s every move, how he zips around Steve and the other people. It’s thrilling as hell, and I decide right then and there that I’m going to go watch him play actual games.

“Yep,” Vada says, her eyes glued to Steve. “I wish you had been here when Steve was still on the team, because the two of them together were pretty incredible. I don’t know if it’s some brother thing or whatever, but Steve had more assists to Ronan’s scores than anyone else, and vice versa. It was pretty hot,” she adds, and bumps me playfully.

Finally, Ronan makes his way back over to us. He brakes, scraping his blades against the ice, and it looks like he made snow.

“Do you feel like trying a little more, or do you want to call it a day?” he asks me as he steps effortlessly off the ice. I swear, I can’t tell which comes easier to him, walking or skating.

“Honestly, I think I’m good for my first time,” I admit. “My butt is wet.”

There’s a naughty little gleam in Ronan’s eyes, though he doesn’t say anything. Instead he takes my hand and leads me back to the warm room where we’re met, minutes later, by Vada and Steve. I put on my shoes while Ronan takes my skates back to the rental window, and I meet him there on the way back to Steve’s car.

The four of us decide to grab some burgers at a small burger joint in our neighborhood before we make our way back to Ronan and Steve’s house.

***

“What time are you heading to work?” I ask Ronan when we’re up in his room a little while later. I’m lounging on his comfortable bed, facing Ronan who’s next to me, his hand grazing up and down my arm softly.

“In about an hour,” he says, his eyes on my lips.

I smile. “You want to kiss me, don’t you?” I whisper.

His eyes briefly flicker to mine before settling on my lips again. “Very much.”

“What’s stopping you?” I ask, and scoot closer to him.

His hand slides off my arm and to my hip before he pulls me in toward him. “Honestly?” he starts, and laughs. “This. It’s always this.” He pulls his phone out of his back pocket. I didn’t realize his phone was buzzing. He takes a quick glance at the screen, his smile widening even more. “Sorry, baby, I’m going to take this really quick.”

He sits up next to me on his bed. “Hi, Morai,” he answers, his voice light. I have no idea who he’s talking to, but he doesn’t appear too concerned with privacy because he doesn’t move from my side. His right hand still rests on my hip, or more like my butt cheek. I try not to eavesdrop, but it’s unavoidable.

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