Page 138 of Finding the Forward: Part One
AJ and Grif were holding hands while skating. Aww.
Mama
Love you.
Did she? I knew she cared. But sometimes I wondered. A little lonely and wistful, I sent the picture of me and Dare to the sibling group chat as I finished my hot booze.
A pair of skates dropped next to me as Dare appeared. “I’m pretty sure Grif will hold your hand so you can skate.”
“I might need more than that.” Ireallywanted to be out there with everyone. But I wasn’t as stable or strong as I used to be.
“You have half a hockey team, and Cow Boy’s good. They’ll hold you up.” Glancing at the ice, Dare smirked.
“AJ’s a retired hockey player.” I put my skates on and left my stuff with everyone else's, including my crutch. This was a bad idea. While I did my exercises most days, and worked out regularly, I’d missed my PT sessions lately because I’d been so busy.
“You can do it.” Dare put an arm around my waist, the other arm holding my hand, as he led me out to the ice.
My leg didn’t enjoy balancing on a knife, but my body itself remembered. It was like two parts of me warred, goingoh, I remember thiswhile also thinkingthis is a bad idea.
“I shouldn’t do this.” My belly twisted as my feet hit the ice. Who’d take care of Mercy if I broke something?
“You’re fine. Should I pull you or do you want to skate?” Dare asked as we inched out onto the ice.
“I don’t know,” I said as I let him pull me.
Grif skated over to us. “Hey, Gorgeous. You joined us. What do you need?”
“She knows how to skate. Just stabilize her. Though she’s steadier than she thinks she is. Don’t let her do any of those fancy jumps she used to do, and she’ll be fine.” Dare grinned.
Grif smirked. “You were a figure skater?”
“No. But the parents forced Creed and I to do pair skating for a while when we were young because sibling pairs are cute.” I made a face because it wasn’t very fun.
“I’ll leave you to it.” Dare skated off with his friends.
“Pair skating?” Grif chuckled. “I’m picturing you in a sparkly little outfit.”
“Yep.” Ilovedthe sparkles, the hair, and the makeup–of the others. Mine were always hideous.
AJ joined us for a little while, as did Jonas and Dean. It was fun, and the rink wasprettywith all the lights and decor. So festive.
“Our turn. Like I told you before, I won’t let you fall,” Dean told me as he and Jonas joined us.
“Next time we’ll get you stability skates. They’re double bladed, so it’s easier,” Jonas told me.
Both of them put their arms around me and we skated around the rink. Grif joined AJ. It was mostly students, though there were some families and older couples.
Finally, my leg buckled, tired of this.
“I know what we can do.” Grif joined us and faced me. He put my arms around his neck, and his own around my waist. “Lean against me and relax.”
Grif began to skate backwards, a little faster. Leaning into him, I let him do all the work, carrying us across the ice. Something wet touched my face. I looked up.
Snow fell lightly. Which only made the moment more magical. Here I was, skating with the man I was in love with, as the snow fell.
I gazed up at him. “This is perfect.”
“We need one more thing.” He leaned in and kissed me, still moving, because apparently he could kiss and skate at the same time. The kiss was warm and sweet, his lips tasting of booze and cinnamon almonds.
