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Yas
I lace up my skates as Whit puts the finishing touches on the rink. He was super nervous that Lumi might not show this evening, after what happened between them at the studio, but I’m confident that she will. I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding, but he seems to think he’s blown things with her.
We’ve booked out one of the rink’s private hire spots for the evening, moving a few bookings and classes around to make time for our girls to join us on the ice.
Our girls.
I like that.
Whit has turned the place into a magical wonderland, stringing twinkling fairy lights around the edge of the rink and floating his rainbow orbs directly over the ice itself. There’s soft music playing in the background and he’s made it snow.
“Is it too much?”
Yes, yes it is.
“Nah, mate. Ade will love it,” Quilo reassures him. “Speak of the princess.”
His face brightens as he spies Ade and Lumi approaching the rink. I expected them to be coming from the direction of the car park but they don’t. Then Ade steps onto the ice carrying a box and I realize that they made a detour. I quickly skate over to her and save the box before she can drop it.
“We got cupcakes! I chose flavors for all of you! Yours is mint ice choc chip.”
“Wow, that’s really nice. Thank you.”
Whit skates over to Lumi and I see the two of them having a hurried discussion which ends in a hug. See? I knew he was worrying for no reason.
“We got your mom a gift, wanna see?” I say.
“Yeah!”
I lead her over to the over side of the rink where Quilo is waiting with Lumi’s new skates.
“What do you think? Will she like them?”
“She loves black! So definitely.”
“Come on then, let’s take them over to her and then we can all skate together.”
I take the skates from Quilo, handing him the box of cupcakes to keep safe and follow Ade over to her mom. Ade happily leads the way, and I have to admire how confident she is on the ice.
For someone who has only been skating a handful of times, she’s really good. Obviously a natural. I wonder if she’d be interested in Little League Hockey or if she just wants to figure skate. When she comes into her powers she could be a real asset to the junior team. And I’d love to train with her and help her learn the game. I miss playing, and having the opportunity to spend more time with Ade, doing something that we both love, would be an absolute bonus.
“Mama, look! They got you a gift!” Ade yells as soon as she gets near enough for Lumi to hear. She’s still talking to Whit, laughing at something he says and smiling at him.
“Oh, you guys. You didn’t have to.”
“Look, Mama! It’s skates! And they're black! You love black, it’s your favorite color. The rink is so pretty. Whit made his magic balls float around again.”
“Thank you,” Lumi says, smiling at me when I hand her the skates, even as I laugh about Ade’s comment about Whit’s balls.
I lean forward and kiss Lumi’s cheek, lingering for a second to enjoy her presence. She smells so good, looks so nice. I wish I could scoop her into my arms and not let go. My bear agrees wholeheartedly.
“You really didn’t have to,” she says with a soft smile.
“Actually, he did. Because he made me throw your favorite pair away after you got hurt. So he kind of owed you,” Quilo chimes in, joining us. I have no regrets about that, they were dangerous and I’m not having anyone— especially my mate—getting hurt.
Lumi takes the skates over to the bench to put on and Quilo takes Ade’s hand and they skate around the ice together. Whit whistles and Peewee comes bounding over to the side of the rink, licking Lumi’s hands, demanding attention. She abandons the skates to pet the dog for a moment, and Whit takes to the ice to catch up with Ade.
I should probably skate away too. I feel kind of awkward standing and waiting—and if I’m honest staring—but I also can’t bring myself to leave her side. My bear is not satisfied with the little contact we’ve had, and he wants more. Me too, mate, me too. So I wait for her, and when she’s ready I offer her my hand to help her onto the rink. I know she doesn’t need it, but she takes it anyway, and once we’re on the ice I don’t let her go. She threads her fingers through mine and grins at me, and together we skate over to the others. They seem to be playing a game of chase and Quilo is it, but he’s trying to skate after them and catch them with his eyes closed.
