Page 16 of Stay (Stay #1)

CASSIDY

M y brows are knit tightly together as I glance suspiciously around before asking, “What are we doing here?”

It’s a few minutes before five o’clock in the morning, and the ice arena is closed. The lights are off, the concession stand is locked up tight, there’s not even a maintenance guy on duty to question our presence.

Even though this isn’t the first time I’ve posed the question, Cole remains tight-lipped. The only thing he said is that it’s a surprise.

The first wave of questions fell from my lips as we stood outside the arena, and I realized it wasn’t open.

That’s when Cole had produced a key. I’m not going to lie, it had struck me as a little bit sketchy.

The last thing I need is a police record to go along with the other crap I put my parents through. They’d probably disown me.

Officially.

But I trust Cole.

I do.

He doesn’t strike me as a guy who engages in criminal activity. Right now, I can only hope I’m not wrong about that. Then again, he’s never done anything to warrant my mistrust.

My mind tumbles back to Friday night .

And all the time we spent kissing.

The time spent in his bed had been—for lack of a better word—hot .

Arousal coils tight in my core just thinking about it. I’ve never spent that much time kissing someone. Even though it had been tempting to take it further, I’m glad we hadn’t.

One thing is for sure—Cole knows how to kiss. His lips are soft, yet firm. Who knew that just licking and nipping at someone’s mouth could be so erotic?

Even more amazing than that, I hadn’t felt a moment of panic. No anxiety or chest tightening.

Nothing .

I’d felt safe, and more importantly, in control of the situation. It was as if Cole had known exactly what I needed and how to give it to me.

“Cassidy?”

I’m snapped out of those thoughts when he waves a hand in front of my face.

My gaze snaps to his. “Yeah?”

A slow smile spreads across his face as if he knows exactly what had been running through my mind. He steps closer before wrapping his arms around me.

“Whatcha thinking about that has such a sexy little smile lighting up your face?”

My eyes widen as my cheeks fill with heat. It takes effort to clear my throat. “Just wondering if this little surprise of yours will end with a ride in the back of a police cruiser.”

A chuckle escapes from him before he tugs me closer and nips at my lips. “Aw damn, how’d you guess?”

His eyes flare with heat as liquid warmth floods through me.

I am in so much trouble with this guy.

The tendrils of need that had been curling at the bottom of my belly dissipate as I elbow him in the ribs. With a quick kiss, he leads me through the deserted lobby to the counter where they keep the rental skates .

Disappearing through the side door, he asks, “What size are you?”

“Eight,” I answer, still wondering what he’s up to.

A few moments later he returns with an ugly pair of brown rental skates, which he holds by the blades in one hand. “Okay, let’s go.”

“We’re seriously going to skate?” I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. We are, after all, at a skating rink. But it’s an empty, closed skating rink.

Misunderstanding the question, a smile tumbles across his face as he teases, “What, you don’t know how?” He reaches out, gently stroking the curve of my cheek. “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you. It’s not that hard.”

One of my brows quirks, but I remain silent. He thinks I don’t know how to skate, huh?

Well, this should be amusing.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” he says, as if trying to convince me, which is kind of hilarious. “I promise.”

“Oh, it’ll definitely be fun,” I agree.

“I’ve been teaching skating lessons since I was in high school. If I can teach five- and six-year-olds, then I can teach you in no time.”

That comment almost has me skidding to a halt.

Instead of giving myself away, I bite back the sharp retort about my skating abilities. This guy is definitely in trouble now. I grab the skates before forcing my lips into a tight smile.

“I can’t wait.”

Cole turns on the lights while I drop down on a bench inside the frigid rink before unlacing the boots and shoving my foot inside each brown skate.

These are the ugliest things I’ve ever seen.

I’ll probably be falling all over the place.

Silently, I inspect each blade. They might be crappy skates, but at least the blades appear to be freshly sharpened, which should help.

Hopefully.

Then again, I haven’t skated since last December.

It’s entirely possible I’ll end up on my ass no matter what.

I can’t believe how strange it feels to lace these things up.

Especially since they aren’t mine. A year ago, I wouldn’t have been caught dead in crappy skates like these.

In the past, I’ve always had the newest and best equipment on the market.

Each pair of skates molded to the contours of my feet for a perfect fit.

This situation is so rife with irony, I’m almost choking on it.

Instead of playing Division I hockey, I’m with a guy who doesn’t think I can skate.

How on earth had I fallen so far in life?

Irritated with myself for dwelling on the past, I shake the thoughts away.

As I rise to my feet, I’m inundated with so many memories that I almost stagger under the heavy weight of them.

Cole sits to tie his own skates. He must keep all of his equipment here in a private locker room for the team, because he’s now wearing a black warm-up suit with the team emblem and a pair of gloves.

He told me to bring a jacket, gloves, and a hat, which is what I’m wearing since it’s cold in the rink.

As I wait for Cole to lace up his skates, I’m suddenly antsy to get out on the ice. The urge to stretch my legs pounds through me like a steady drumbeat. I can’t believe how much I’ve missed it. Even in crappy rental skates, I just want to feel that first glide across a fresh sheet of ice.

I watch as my warm breath puffs out in the chilled air. The scent of the ice and the feel of the rink overload my senses.

A lifetime of memories crowd the inside of my brain until I become lost within them.

I grew up at our local ice arena. I’ve lost track of how many times Mom rolled her eyes before telling Dad and me that we should have our mail forwarded to the rink because we spend more time there than at home.

Like everything else, it’s a bittersweet memory.

Once his skates have been laced up, Cole rises to his feet before holding out his hand to me. I take his gloved hands as he props his stick against the Plexiglas wall. He opens the heavy metal door and steps out onto the ice before flipping around to wait for me.

I have to bite my lip to keep from smiling. He’s adorable when he thinks he needs to coddle me. It almost makes me feel bad for tricking him.

Almost.

“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you if you fall.” He waits patiently for me to close the distance that separates us.

Maybe I’m a terrible person for doing this, but I can’t resist.

“Are you sure?” I grip the wall as if terrified, gingerly hobbling out onto the smooth sheet of ice, wobbling a bit as I go. My arms flail as Cole swiftly grabs hold of me before towing me toward him. I allow Cole to do all the work while I glide without moving my feet.

“See? You’re doing so awesome!”

He gives me an encouraging smile as if he’s proud that I haven’t fallen on my ass. It takes everything I have inside not to burst out laughing. He’s too damn sweet. That being said, he shouldn’t have made assumptions about my skating abilities. That’s where he screwed up.

“Do you want to try gliding now? I promise, it’s really easy. You won’t have any problems.” He releases my hands before demonstrating how to take long, smooth strokes with my skates.

I bite down on my lower lip to keep the smile from dancing across my face. This is way too much fun and I’m nowhere near done toying with him.

Eyes wide, I wobble a bit and flail my arms before taking a few short, choppy strokes.

He beams, circling around me with ease. “You’re a natural. We’ll have you skating like a professional in no time.” He transitions smoothly from forwards to backwards as if floating across the ice. If anyone is a natural, it’s him. He is incredibly fluid. I could stand here and watch him for hours.

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” My skates move rapidly beneath me as I pretend to lose my balance.

Within seconds, he eats up the distance between us before pulling me into his arms and holding me close. His attention drops to my parted lips. Time stands still as my heartbeat speeds up. His gaze returns to mine, looking more heated than before .

“I’m going to kiss you, Cassidy,” he murmurs, voice sounding like crushed gravel. “If you don’t want me to, you’d better tell me now.”

My breath hitches as need floods through me, igniting a firestorm in its path.

“I want you to kiss me.”

I tip my face toward his and wait for his lips to settle over mine. He caresses them gently, making me forget where we are. Just as I sink further into the warm embrace, he draws away before untangling himself from me, leaving my body to pulse and throb with need.

“Okay, let’s try that again.” He motions for me to skate toward him. Slightly disorientated from that kiss, I pick up each skate as if clumsily trying to walk across the ice.

“No, not like that,” he patiently instructs. “You have to glide. Just remember, long smooth strokes.”

Long smooth strokes.

Now that’s a distracting thought. Maybe even more so than his kisses.

It doesn’t take long before I’m imagining Cole caressing my insides with long smooth strokes.

God, I bet he’s good at it. I mean, come on, of course he is.

His kisses are literally mind-blowing. Even thinking about them has me clenching my inner thighs together, which is something I’ve never felt compelled to do.

“Cassidy?”