Page 26 of Intercept My Heart

“Go ahead and get what you want,” I urged, noticing her hesitation.

“Would it be possible to get it to go?” she asked. I felt guilty for ruining dinner, but I hadn’t expected things to take a turn, and they had.

“Of course. What can I get for you?” The waitress took her order and then came back with the check. Charae’s nosy ass tried to peek over to see the total, but I tucked it as I handedthe waitress my credit card. I was ready to get out of here, but I wasn’t sure how to handle this new information.

When Charae got her dessert, I gathered both of our bags and held her hand as we stepped out of the restaurant. Her hands were clammy. I still had no idea why I made her so nervous. I opened her door, then jogged over to the driver’s side. Once I got settled in my seat and turned my playlist on, I began to process what happened tonight. Charae was such a beautiful soul, inside and out, and I hated the idea of someone hurting her. It caused a rush of anger to flow through me. I’d never been close to Drake’s family. However, you couldn’t have paid me to believe they were so evil.

“Are you mad at me?” Charae whispered as we drove around the city. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take her home or try to take her to one more spot. Her question caught me off guard, and it made me check myself. The last thing I wanted to do was make her feel like I was against her. None of this was her fault, and I didn’t want her carrying any unnecessary guilt behind this bullshit.

“No, baby girl. I’m upset, but I promise you’re not at fault. I wanted to take you to one more place, if that’s okay with you.” I refused to allow the shit with Drake and his family to ruin our night, so I decided to put it off for now, before I ended up taking his life the next time.

“Umm, okay. I’m fine with that.”

My thoughts were all over the place as I drove, and I needed a moment to sort through them. Charae had gone through so much, and I wasn’t sure how to help her. As mature as I might be, I was still only eighteen myself. Not to mention the fact that I would be graduating in June, which meant I would be moving. I planned to attend Douglas University, which had one of the best football programs. My plans had been laid out for me since I was young, and I worked too hard to let anything stand in my way.

On the other hand, I was going to make sure Charae had everything she needed. I pulled up to the place that I wanted to take her to, and she turned in her seat and looked at me with questioning eyes.

“What are we doing here? I don’t know how to skate,” she rambled.

“It’s cool. You’re gonna learn today.” Her eyes were filled with fear, but I would fix that. My dad told me he met my mama at this very skating rink when they were teenagers. I always told myself that when I found a girl that I cared about, I would bring her here. Since I would never have the opportunity to introduce her to them, this would be a way for me to connect two worlds.

I planned to ask Charae something important, and this seemed like the perfect place to do it. I got out of the car and then rushed to her side to open the door.

“Fix your face. I got you.”

Grabbing her hand in mine, we headed into the building. Once we got our skates on, I watched Rae’s eyes widen as she watched the people glide around the rink. As a young boy, I thought it was cool to watch the pros do all kinds of tricks. I told myself if I practiced enough, I would be able to do the same one day. Then my parents died, and I avoided any and everything that had any connection to them.

It wasn’t until last year that I finally worked up enough nerve to come back to this place. The atmosphere, the music, and the sound of the wheels against the floor unlocked so many memories I attempted to bury. It used to cause me pain, but I realized that if I didn’t acknowledge it, I would never heal. You didn’t ever get over the loss of a parent, but memories didn’t have to be a weight, either.

“Come on, scary girl.” We stood at the entry of the rink as people passed us by. Her hands were slick with sweat from how nervous she was.

“Do you trust me?”

“With my life,” she proclaimed with no hesitation.

“Then you know I’ll never do anything to cause you pain. And if for some reason you do fall, just know that players fuck up too,” I teased, leading us to the center of the rink. Rae gripped my arms for dear life, so I turned to face her.

“Relax, baby. Trust yourself. A lot of people think your movements are controlled by your feet, but really, your core and hips are what make the movements so fluid. Let me show you.” I released her hands and proceeded to skate around her. “It’s all in the hips. As long as you have this part of your body centered, you’ll be fine.”

“Oh my God. Why am I moving? I didn’t want to move!” She shrieked when she felt herself moving backward.

“They are wheels, baby. They are gonna move. Now, when you want to come to a stop, you have to point your skates inward like this. I attempted to show her, but the panic in her eyes made me go after her. With arms locked around mine, I decided to take her around the rink for a few laps. I moved her in front of me with my arms wrapped around her waist and my skates directly behind hers.

“All I need you to do is keep moving your feet with mine. I’ve got the rest.” The DJ switched to a slow jam, and I smirked when I remembered the song. My mother sang it on Saturday mornings when she would get up early to clean. The music blared through the speakers as we glided together. Charae rested her back against my chest. The longer we went, the more comfortable she became.

“Do you want to try to go on your own for a little bit?” I asked, but she shook her head before I could even finish the question. Honestly, I enjoyed the connection between us, so we continued skating together for two more songs. I spun her around a coupleof times, and she allowed me to do so with no complaints. She even cracked a smile at the end.

We headed over to one of the tables, and I assisted her with removing her skates. We sat in the booth together, watching the OGs do tricks in the center of the rink. A few couples were doing the same thing we had done, and I could tell she enjoyed watching them.

“What made you want to come here? I would have never taken you for the type.”

“Are you stereotyping me?” I pretended to be offended as she laughed.

“No. Well, maybe a little. You always seem so… hard. The only time I see you happy is when you’re playing football, and even then, you’re cussing people out.” This time, we both laughed.

“Damn. Am I that bad?”

“I don’t mean it in a negative way. I guess I’m learning there is more to you than what you allow people to see. You have a lot of layers.”

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