The Labors of Love: Short Stories

Date Night

"Where are we going? And why is it so late?" Genevieve asks getting in the car.

Prince has been keeping a secret from Genevieve. It's a good secret. Such a good secret it couldn't wait until tomorrow. As soon as everything arrived he loaded up one of the SUVs and headed her way, after he called her of course.

"It's a surprise." Prince smiles pulling off. The music is soft as they make their way across town. The street lights glow with the neon signs adding a bit of warmth to the night sky.

"Can I have a hint?"

"It's something you've been wanting to do for a while."

"I can't think of anything I'd want to do at 1 am that isn't in my apartment."

"It will all make sense soon. Are you hungry?"

"No, Prince. I'm tired."

"If you were that tired you wouldn't have answered the phone or gotten up to get dressed or gotten in the car."

"You insisted! I thought you were in trouble."

"Am I in trouble, mama?"

"Maybe." She squints crossing her arms.

"Will pretzels keep me out of trouble?"

"Maybe." She says squinting harder.

"Check the glove compartment." He smirks. She opens it and finds a bag of her favorite pretzels, a bag of suckers, and a bottle of water. She smiles at his kindness as she opens the pretzels.

"Thank you but me still don't see why me in a car so late." He chuckles a little, enjoying the thickness of her accent as she get tired. The car stops and Genevieve sits up looking out of the windshield and into the vast empty lot. "Why?"

"Its time to start your first lesson." He says getting out of the car. She follows him to the trunk in confusion. He opens it then gesture for her to look. She looks into the trunk and her eyes light up when she sees the teal roller skates with white wheels laying inside.

"You are going to teach me?!"

"Yea; that way we can skate together when we get bored on tour."

"But why in this shady parking lot in the middle of the night?"

"I thought you'd feel better if no one was watching." He smiles grabbing their skates from the trunk. "Take a seat. I'll lace you up." He gets down on one knee and looks up at her. Her heart flutters seeing him like this. She can't help but wonder if he feels it too.

She kicks off her shoes for him feeling grateful that she wasn't too tired to put on socks. He slides the skates on her feet and laces them carefully. She feels like Cinderella as he adjusts the shoes on her feet.

"Alright, hold my hands. I'm gonna help you up." She grips his hands the fear evident in her eyes and her grip. She puts her weight on her skates and he keeps her steady. She wavers for a moment but without his skates on he stands firm enough to keep her from rolling away. "Show me what you've got."

"This is it." She says standing still.

"You're not even going to try?" He says crossing his arms. She looks at him defiantly and begins to skate away. Her body is stiff, her legs seem uncomfortably straight, her upper body is hunched over. He chuckles taking a few steps to catch up to her.

"I told you it was bad."

"I've seen worse.Let's start with your form." He walks up behind her placing his hands on her shoulders. "Straighten your back and relax your shoulders." She adjusts and let's put a sigh, immediately feeling the tension release from her back. "Now, straighten your legs. Don't make them stiff." She stands up a little, feeling unstable. He holds her steady by the waist and she just breathes, allowing his touch to calm her.

"I like this part." She smiles relaxing into his arms. He kisses her shoulder softly before squeezing her a little.

"I want you to think about it like you're walking. When one leg goes forward, the other leg goes back and up off the ground." He moves them slowly, left to right emulating the movements for her.

"Hold my hand." Without speaking, he moves beside her. They hold hands and prepare themselves for the next move. Genevieve thinks through it before pushing off. "Right then left. Right then left." She repeats to herself with her eyes closed. She pushes off hesitantly, she lets her foot come off the ground just a little before putting it down trying with the next one.

"That's it. Now do it like you mean it." She keeps her eyes closed as she continues to try. Her movements are good but their disjointed making her move at an odd pace.

"I can't see it." She says stopping and opening her eyes. Prince looks at her trying to understand. "If I can see something I can figure out how it works in my head. I'm trying to imagine myself skating but I can't see."

"I'll put my skates on. You can watch me." He hurries back to the car popping the trunk. He kicks off his shoes eagerly before sliding on his skates and lacing them tight. He skates over to her with a smile but she doesn't respond. She's focused. "Ready?" She nods and watches as he skates in front of her. Her body rocks mimicking his rhythm before she begins to skate. He turns around to see her skating towards him. Her form isn't perfect but she isn't doing that weird squat she was doing earlier. "You're doing great!" He yells from across the parking lot. Genevieve hones in on the movements but then she realizes she doesn't know how to stop. Panic floods her eyes as she gets closer to Prince but before she can fall he stands on his stoppers and catches her.

They stand there for a moment breathing before erupting into laughter. Genevieve takes a step back, giving herself a moment to adjust her clothes. Prince moves closer, pushing a bit of hair out of her face.

"I think that's enough skating for today." He smiles.

"Will you go get my shoes?"

"Sure."