Page 54 of Accidentally Yours
Paige: Fire away.
Seconds passed that felt like hours.
Ethan: Will you go on a real date with me? No book talk. No clues. Just me. And you.
A surprised laugh escaped her—abrupt and disbelieving and ridiculously full of hope. Her heart thumped as she typed.
Paige: I’d like that.
Ethan: Tomorrow. 6:00 p.m. Does that work for you? I’ll pick you up. Wear yoga pants.
Chapter Eighteen
EthanandPaigewalkedside by side toward the roller-skating rink. The sign on the building glowed pink and blue—Sk8 Galaxy—the same place he’d come as a kid for birthday parties and Friday night skates. Paige linked her arm through Ethan’s, her touch soft and grounding. His stomach flipped.
“I can’t believe you did this,” Paige said, grinning up at him, making him feel like a rockstar for simply renting out a skating rink for the evening.
“I wanted it to be just us.” He grinned back. “No fans. No phones.” Just Paige. A real date. Something he’d been craving for weeks now.
“I’m glad you asked.” She squeezed his arm.
“I’m glad you accepted.” Ethan hadn’t stopped thinking about her these past few days—about the space he’d tried to put between them, the jealousy he hadn’t been able to shake after seeing that dating app notification. Distance had been a terrible idea. It hadn’t settled his heart. It had only made him miss her more. And seeing her struggle with her writing had shattered the last of his pride. The distance had affected her too.
It had taken everything he had to message her. To ask her out. But being with her now, he knew—he was done fighting it. Done masking his feelings.
“Welcome to Sk8 Galaxy,” he said, pushing open the door so they could step inside.
The rink hadn’t changed much since his childhood. It still had that retro, slightly funky-smelling charm. A shimmering disco ball spun over the center of the slick floor. Neon lights pulsed to an eighties’ playlist. At the far counter, rows of scuffed rental skates lined shelves. It was a human-sized time capsule.
“Are you kidding me right now?” Paige looked around with wide, delighted eyes. “This is amazing!”
Ethan laughed, sliding his hands in his pockets. “Did I impress you?”
“I am fully impressed.” She put a hand on her hip like she might award him a trophy.
Pride and nerves collided in his chest. “I figured you deserved a first date with a disco ball and the very real chance of witnessing me crash.” He wanted to do something fun and light. Something they’d be able to laugh and connect over.
“Crash? Oh boy. I’ll probably join you,” she said with a laugh. “I haven’t done this in forever.”
“You’ll pick it right up,” he said as they walked along the edge of the rink, headed for the rental counter. “When’s the last time you skated?”
Paige scrunched up her face, thinking. “I think I was twelve or thirteen. It was a friend’s birthday party. I fell, trying to do the limbo, and took out the DJ’s entire setup.” She raised her brows at him, emphasizing the disaster. “You sure you want to skate with me?”
“I’m sure,” he replied, making her smile.
“How about you? When’s the last time you roller-skated?”
“Freshman year of high school,” he chuckled. “Here, actually.”
“Really?”
Ethan nodded. “Yeah, I went through a weird tie-dye skater phase. Had my own skates with glow-in-the-dark wheels.”
“I love that visual.” Paige gave him a look he couldn’t decipher, but they reached the counter and were distracted by a staff member asking for their shoe sizes. A few minutes later, they sat next to each other on a bench, lacing up skates in the carpeted lounge. Paige’s socks had little dancing avocados all over them. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight of them peeking out from the top of her skates.
“I just hope my body remembers how to do this,” Paige said, tugging her laces tight.
“You will,” Ethan promised.
