Page 33 of Keeping London (Flawed Heart)

“It’s fun, I promise. You’ll get the hang of it relatively soon, and I’ll hold your hand until you do, okay?”

“All right, I guess I can try,” London says, not sounding too convinced.

“Thank you, babe. That’s all I ask.”

Once inside, we rent some skates and put them on.

“You know, they have these little walker-type things for kids just learning how to skate, but I don’t think they have any tall enough for you,” I say with a smirk.

“Ha-ha,” she says, not sounding amused. “I think I’ll be okay.”

“There you go. You’ll do great.”

I hold London’s hand as we step onto the ice. It’s currently open skate, the rink is open for the public, but only two other people are on the ice along with us.

“So, I just move my feet?” she asks hesitantly.

“Yeah. You just kinda kick them back to propel you forward. Have you ever roller-skated? It’s similar.”

She lets go of my hand. “I think I’ll try it on my own.”

“You sure you don’t want me to hold on to you for the first couple of laps? Falling on the hard ice hurts.”

“I think I can do it,” she says, releasing my hand.

I really wish she would let me help her. If she falls and gets a huge bruise, that’ll be the end of ice-skating for us. She’ll never let me hear the end of it.

“Okay.”

She takes off on the ice, speeding around the oval rink. She skates with confidence and stability. I shake my head and chuckle. She can totally skate. I watch in shock as she skates backward, her arms out to the sides. She propels herself with her outer leg and then jumps, completing a midair spin, before landing on her feet.

What the…

Now, she’s gliding across the ice on one foot, and her right foot is extended behind her as she leans forward, her arms back against her sides. She continues to skate around the ice, and all I can do is watch, my mouth agape, as she spins, twirls, and jumps. Her skills aren’t equal to those of a professional skater, but they’re way more than I can do, and it’s a hell of surprise from what I assumed she would be able to do.

She slows until she’s in the middle of the rink. Raising her arms above her head and crossing her feet, she ends in this fast spin that makes me dizzy as I watch. When she finishes spinning, she puts her arms out and bows in a curtsy.

She shoots me a knowing smirk, and I lose it, bending at the waist in laughter.

What did I just witness?

She skates over to me, a triumphant smile gracing her face. Her eyes shine with happiness.

She tilts her head to the side. “Did I do okay?” Her voice comes out hesitant, but I know it’s the opposite of the way she’s feeling.

I calm my laughter before saying, “What the hell was that?”

“Just ice-skating.” She shrugs.

“Holy hell, London. You were doing jumps and spins and shit. Seriously…what did I miss?” I chuckle, shaking my head in disbelief.

“Oh, maybe I forgot to mention that I can skate?”

“Yeah, maybe you did. Though you can more than skate.”

She claps her hands in front of her and lets out a giggle. “That was fun! The look on your face was priceless!”

“I bet it was.” I grin. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been more surprised in my life. So, really…what’s the story?”

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