Page 41 of Wonderstruck

Henodded, skating back slightly,making room for me as I opened up the gate.

The rink stretched out in front of melike an invitation I wasn’t sure I could accept. But I had to find out. I had to.

The skate felt twice as heavy as I lifted it, up and over the ledge, until I felt the familiar scrape of the ice beneath my feet.My blade slid, tentative, and mybreath hitched. And before I could let that pull dragging me back to the safety of the stands tug harder, I lifted my other boot and glided, pushing away from the edge before I could even think about clinging onto it.

The icy chill seeped into mybones, right through my thin jumper andskating tights. And the little pink wraparound skirt was doing nothing to keep in any kind of warmth. But underneath the layers, something stirred—something I hadn’t felt in years.

Finn’s voice was a low hum as heskated behind me. “That’s it. One step at a time.”

The ice pushed backagainst my weight, firm but forgiving. Mymuscles tensed in my thighs as I fought for balance, the instinct to push away a twirl rusty but not entirely gone. I thought about it as I glided, pushing against the ice once more and circling my leg, forcing me into a small spin—

“Oh, merde!”1

I wobbled, my arms flailing behind me,as a quiet laugh came from Finn. “Careful, Bambi.”

I shot him a look over my shoulder asI straightened and spun to face him, ashaky laugh escaping my lips. “Bambi?”

He lifted his hands in defeat as heskated toward me. “I call it like I see it.” His grin softened the teasing, and Itried again, inching forward before his voice broke through, catching me of guard. "What was Taylor Swift's first album?"

My head whipped to him, so fast I nearly wobbled again. "Excuse me?"

He shrugged, skating closer. "Focus on something else, just while you get comfortable." He caught my eye roll, turned and skated away. "Fine, fall on your ass, see if I care."

He got all of three feet from me before I stopped him. "Wait." In an instant he stopped, before slowly skating round and setting that wicked stare on me. "Ask me again."

Smugness took over his features, enough that it fuelled that fire burning in my chest at how annoyed I was that he knew me so well. He shouldn't have. But I suppose that was my fault for not shutting up about the queen of the music industry.

His smirk tugged higher, making that fire a raging inferno. "What was Taylor Swift's first album?"

I dropped my head to stare at the ice, before my lungs filled with cold air. I pulled mysleeves over my knuckles and pushedagainst my weight. "Debut."

Every joint in my body tensed as I moved, but the second Finn's voice hit my ears they eased, just a little. "Correct. What was her third?"

"Speak now," I answered as I pushed, this time going further into the middle of the rink.

"Two for two, Bambi." I could hear his smirk in his voice as it followed behind me. "Now, what was her second re-record?" His chuckle echoed. "I'll give you a hint,Re-e-e-ed."

I tried everything to keep my smile hidden, but it was pointless. At least he was behind me so he couldn't see it. Couldn't mock me on how big it was. Luckily I pulled it tight before my head swung around to face him. "How is it a hint if you just give me the answer?"

He shrugged, that smirk still in place. "I'm a red man. Couldn't resist."

My brows pulled together, my head falling back ahead of me. "Red? Really?"

"Yeah, why?"

I shrugged, my mouth pulling. "I pegged you as a Debut kinda guy."

I heard him stifle a laugh. "That's a close second." The scrape of his blades getting closer pulled my attention, and before I knew it he was skating beside me. "How you feeling now?"

"Fine, why?"

His eyes roamed around the rink before falling onto me. "Well, you've just done two laps of the rink, so I thought I'd check in."

I felt my eyes widen and my stomach fall, before I looked around, as though I'd forgotten where I was.

The shake in my skates wasn't there anymore, and the nervous tingles in the backs of my knees were gone too. My eyes flew back to Finn, but his eyes were already on me, the smug sheen that lived in them softer than it was before. We didn't say anything, only stared, but if I had the energy I would have said thank you.

I just couldn't.

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