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“What size do you need, birthday girl?”
“A one.”
“A one? Are you sure?” Quilo frowns.
“A two please. It’s a one in the U.K.,” I quickly explain.
He nods and grins at me. “You’re not from around here then?”
I laugh. “I don’t think many people are. Almost everyone I’ve met since arriving in Silver Springs so far seems to have moved here. I don’t think I know anyone born and raised here.”
“True. There are a few people. But your accent is way cuter than where I’m from.”
I blush a little as he turns to ask Sacha what size skates she needs, skipping over me. There’s no way he can remember what size I take, so I find it odd that he missed me out.
Disappearing into the stacks, he returns a moment later with three pairs of skates. He places the two pairs of adult skates on the counter and then turns to Ade to help her fit her skates properly.
“Are you gonna be warm enough little lady?”
“Mama told me we were going swimming so I didn’t pack right. Is it going to be really cold?”
“Are you really asking me if ice is cold?” He grins at Ade and she giggles back. I really like the way he interacts with her.
“I have your stuff packed in my bag, Ade. It was Aunty Ya-Ya’s idea to trick you.”
“Mine!” Sacha crows, reaching for the nicer pair of skates and snatching them up into her arms in victory. I look at the remaining pair. They’re a far cry from the nearly new skates Sacha has just snatched up. In fact, they look like the pair I had last time...what are the chances? I guess the rink is just super busy today and this is all they have left. At least they’re still figure skates and not hockey boots—I can’t cope with how rigid and clunky they are. Not to mention the weight of them! No, I’ll take beat up old figure skates over brand new hockey boots any day.
“Thanks,” I say once Quilo is done fitting Ade, helping her down from the counter in a move as natural as falling water. He’s super cute with her.
“No worries. I have a break coming up soon so maybe I’ll join you on the ice for a skate with the birthday girl.” He winks and my stomach somersaults. He’s really sexy. But he’s probably just being nice because it’s Ade’s birthday.
“That’ll be nice,” I smile at him, but it’s fleeting because Ade tugs me, on wobbly legs, over to the benches so that I can put on my skates. I can’t resist glancing back at Quilo, only to find him staring at me too, with an odd look on his face.
“Mama, hurry up!” She chastises me, snapping my attention back to skatingnot flirting.
“Sorry, baby.”
I sit and quickly slide my feet into the skates, noticing the splash of neon green paint once again. They are the same skates. That’s so weird.
When I stand, a tingling starts up in my toes and spreads through the soles of my feet, moving up my legs. Maybe I laced them too tightly.
“Done,” I say to Ade, but she doesn’t respond. I look around for her, catching Quilo’s eye again, and a powerful jolt of lust runs through me. It’s so strong it almost knocks me back down on my ass.
I really hope he does come and join us for a skate. There’s something about him that entices me. I definitely want to get to know him better. I wouldn’t mind going on a date with him at all, even if I swore off dating after the Racist Rick disaster. Quilo seems...different.
“Mama, look!” Ade cries, pointing to the spinning blur of fire on the ice. She’s moved over to the barrier surrounding the rink and is up on the pointy tips of her blades, as if on tiptoes, gazing at the skaters before her. One in particular seems to have captivated her.
“Isn’t she beautiful!”
“She is, baby,” I reply, watching the blur continue to spin to the point where I feel slightly sick. “Very talented too.”
“She looks like she’s on fire,” Ade crows. “Or like she has a red tail!”
“Erm, yeah.” I frown, but I can kind of see what she means. The skater in question must be a professional. She slows to a stop and I’m able to make out that she is wearing a leotard dress while almost everyone else on the ice is wrapped up. She has fiery red hair and high cheekbones. She’s gorgeous, her features slightly foxy, her green eyes shining brightly with the exhilaration of the manoeuvre she just completed.
“I want to be just like her when I grow up.” Ade sighs in awe. “She’s beautiful.”
“She is, Ade baby, but she will have worked so hard to become that good. It doesn’t happen overnight or by magic.”
