Page 34 of Two’s Better

Time to amp things up a little, then.

“Don’t you trust me?”

“It’s my legs I don’t trust. And I feel awkward in all these pads.”

I laughed, sliding my hand down his arm, then gently forcing my fingers underneath his so he was clutching at both my hand and the wall.

“One, the pads are there for your safety, and everyone has to wear them. No exceptions. And two, you do trust your legs,” I whispered, heart pounding at the way I was acting. Where was this sensual instructor coming from? “You just don’t trust yourself to fall. And I’ve realised—at least for me—skating is all about knowing how to fall.”

He glanced at me, his eyes dark. His right hand loosened. I slowly pulled it from the wall, switching it to my left hand. Then I tugged. It took a second tug before he let his left hand let go.

He immediately began to wobble. I yanked him close, holding him tight, clenching my thighs and my stomach to hold his weight up.

“Hold onto my shoulders,” I commanded. “Keep your feet flat on the ground and don’t move. Let me lead, all right?”

“A-All right.”

I waited until he was standing firmly on his two feet, then I waited some more, wanting him to feel comfortable. When I felt some of the tenseness in his body ease, I rewarded him with a bright smile. His responding smile was still a little shaky around the edges, but at least he was smiling.

He made a low, keening noise when I began to move. Yeah, I’d figured out the semantics, but I was still a newbie at this. I didn’t trust myself to try and skate backward—at least, not with another person in my arms—so forward it was.

Which meant Uzezi was the one going backward. His eyes were wide, wild, his grip on my shoulders so tight it was almost painful, his body back to being tense. But he left his feet flat, balanced, legs straight, even though they were stiff as fuck.

“Relax,” I whispered.

“You relax.”

I laughed. “Uzi, baby.”

His gaze helplessly met mine, and I felt him relax, just a little. “Yes, Fure, baby?”

“You need to trust yourself to fall,” I whispered.

He stared into my eyes for a moment, making my heartbeat go haywire. But I noticed his grip was further relaxing, and so was his body.

“That’s it,” I murmured. His eyes darkened. My lower belly swooped at whatever it was I could see in his eyes. I began to breathe a little faster. “Do you want to try holding my hands?”

He exhaled shakily. Not taking his eyes off mine, he slid his hands from my shoulders, down my arms until our hands were connected between us.

“That’s good,” I whispered again, and that thing in his eyes deepened, making my belly swoop again and my breathing go even faster. What was happening right now? He still held his legs straight and unmoving, completely letting me lead—he probably still didn’t trust himself—but at least he was on the floor.

And he was moving. And the longer we moved, the more confidence he seemed to gain. Last time, when we’d gone ice-skating about three or four years ago, he’d encouraged me to have fun with the rest of our friends. And I had, knowing he wouldn’t hold it against me. I’d tried multiple times to get him to let go back then, but the sight of his open discomfort had kept me from truly pushing. If his answering relief had been anything to go by, he hadn’t wanted me to push.

The sight of him trying now—of him letting me push him now; God, I couldn’t even begin to explain what it was doing to me.

“All right?”

“Yeah.”

“You going to try falling, now?”

His eyes widened. “On purpose? You were serious about that?”

“Fuck yeah, I’m serious.” He’d probably been too busy focusing on standing upright earlier that he hadn’t noticed how many times I’d fallen before I’d gotten the hang of things. “Trust me, Uzi. If you know how to fall, the rest is easy.”

For a moment, he looked panicked. I could see him contemplating if he should stop this now, if it was too far out of his comfort zone. I perfectly understood; even though I’d let myself fall until I’d gotten the hang of things earlier, I’d still felt self-conscious about any possible eyes on me—I loved every inch of my fat frame, but that didn’t mean I wanted to deal with strangers projecting their insecurities onto me.

Uzezi’s jaw firmed, and his gaze met mine. “All right, then, Fure. Teach me how to fall.”