First Encounter (A Perri Kiely story)

Chapter 15

Perri groggily reached for his phone.

"Mmmm,.....Hello...?"

"I'm back!"

"Huh?"

"The docs cleared me this morning, get ready to skate partner!" Perri checked his alarm clock.

"It's 5 in the morning Vanessa....on a Sunday." Perri replied, his sleepiness turning into annoyance.

"And we're behind so we need to catch up – today!" came the reply. "Pleeeeease" Vanessa begged.

"Give me an hour" he said, dropping his head back on his pillow as Vanessa screamed her thank you's.

Vanessa was full of beans as she waited for Perri to join her at Romford ice rink, she was expert at securing training space in public rinks. It also meant that Perri didn't have too far to travel, she may have woken him up on the one day he could get a lie in but she did care about his comfort. She did a little hop as she saw him step onto the ice.

"Hiiiii!" Vanessa skated up to him and threw her arms around him. Perri strained to keep himself steady absorbing the force of Vanessa's high-speed approach with effort. She took full advantage of his distracted state to stretch up and kiss his cheek. Perri was taken aback by the kiss, but he decided that it was just because she missed rehearsing. He knows how much she loved to skate.

"I also have a surprise for you," she squealed. Perri looked worried.

"what is it?" he hated surprises.

"DOI are taking us to see The Lion King later!" She was back jumping up and down. It felt like a date to Vanessa.

"Oh wow." Perri bluffed. He wasn't thrilled, especially as he hadn't taken Laura out yet. This would have been ideal, minus the cameras of course. But he could see how excited V was so he let her be happy for the both of them. Vanessa pulled him into position, enjoying the feel of his muscles as she grabbed his arms. They went through the routine until it was in their bones. They showered, changed and headed off in the car to the theatre with a gaggle of cameramen in tow. Vanessa held his hand as they arrived in the theatre. She was performing for the cameras, the production liked the pros to fawn over their celebs, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy herself while she worked.

When Vanessa didn't have an iron grip on them, Perri sat on his hands so that he couldn't message Laura. He loved their little back and forths on Instagram, on tiktok, on twitter and on plain old text. They could talk for hours about nothing. Things had moved on nicely since he asked her out, he had agreed on a date. He gave himself time to research and plan. She mostly fished for clues during their conversations, but he stubbornly refused to let anything slip. He enjoyed building the suspense. He searched through all her social media for inspiration. He wanted something fun for the day and then something intimate for the evening. By the time he had finished daydreaming, the show had ended and the audience around him were standing and clapping. Perri joined them.

"That was great wasn't Perri?"

"Yeah, brilliant"

"We can definitely get some inspiration from this show, right?" Perri nodded and hoped she wouldn't quiz him on what he didn't see.

"I enjoyed spending time with you off the ice Pel." Vanessa gave him a squeeze. Perri returned the hug, squeezing her just as hard.

"I bet Rory would have something to say about that." He said extricating himself from her hold.

"Oh he'll be fine." She said, dismissing her on off boyfriend with a wave of her hand.

The theatre trip gave Vanessa plenty of food for thought and she tweaked their performance which, again Perri performed better than he ever had at rehearsals. They were top of the leaderboard for another week and had sailed through the audience vote.

"Well done Perri." Laura had found Perri and Vanessa backstage as they celebrated staying in the competition. She hugged him instinctively. She then quickly turned to Vanessa and hugged her too to avoid suspicion. She didn't want anyone to know about her and Perri even if it was early days. Someone pulled Vanessa out of her arms and pulled away, leaving her alone with Perri.

"So, are you free next Saturday?" Perri whispered into her ear. He couldn't help stroking her back as he asked. Laura shivered but fought hard to control her reaction. She put her hands on his chest half pushing him away, half wanting to touch him. It was a dangerous move, they were in the middle of a crowded studio and her boss was somewhere close.

"Yes I am." she said, she had cleared her diary for weeks just in case, but she wasn't about to tell him that.

"text me your address and I'll pick you up." He replied and moved away to mingle with the other celebs. She didn't see him again that evening, but she could wait.