THE DARE (G!P Freenbecky)

Chapter 37

"Freen! I can't believe it!"

Becky's enthusiasm charmed Freen; she reminded her of Audrey Hephurn in Roman Holiday, a sheltered and beautiful princess taking delight in quite ordinary things. Like a simple night of skating beneath the stars. And cocoa afterward.

Well, Freen was going to shake up the order a little.

"First, our cocoa," she said, indicating a small pushcart being positioned near the edge of the rink. "Let's go over and see what they have to offer. Get warmed up."

"This is amazing," Becky muttered as Freen reached for her gloved hand and pulled her to her feet.

They sat on the edge of the rink, right on the ice, and drank their gourmet cocoa.

"Magical," Becky whispered, looking up into the sky.

Then, once she finished, she handed her empty cup to the vendor and turned to Freen.

"Let's skate!"

Freen watched as she took off out over the ice, practically flying. Her daring took her breath away, and Freen knew she wanted to see her dance, to see one of her troupe's recitals. Freen had a feeling that Becky onstage would be just as full of life as she'd been on the dance floor at Lookkaew's wedding and out here on the ice, at night, the sky a deep, deep blue against the crystal whiteness of the ice.

Freen skated slowly along the outside perimeter of the rink, watching as Becky sped up, jumped, turned gracefully in the air and landed smoothly, looking for all the world like a long-legged filly running full out on the track and enjoying her own speed. Or an Olympic hopeful, full of energy.

Freen glanced over at the vendor and gave the man the pre-arranged signal, all the while anticipating what Becky would do when she realized what else Freen had planned for them.

Becky skated up to her, sliding to a sharp stop, breathless. "This is so wonderful, Freen! The whole rink! Imagine what those little boys could've done with their hockey game!"

"A frightening thought," Freen said, laughing, then took her hand in hers and they started to skate.

The first few snowflakes clung to her hair, but she must have noticed them because she stopped dead, almost tipping them both over, and looked straight up into the sky.

"Oh my God, it's snowing!"

"In a manner of speaking," Freen whispered into her ear, then pointed. Becky looked in the direction she was pointing, then started to laugh.

A large snow machine stood on the far side of the rink, shooting snow into the sky, so it fell naturally down onto them, a light sprinkling of snowflakes.

Just like in the movies.

"This is so—I can't believe you—" Her voice sounded dangerously close to breaking, filled with emotion.

They skated in silence for a while, through the glittering snow, taking their time, totally enjoying themselves as they made their way through this magical night.

"How did you think this up?" Becky finally asked, more composed as they continued to skate along.

Freen tapped the side of her head, above her ear.

"There are many master plans inside this formidable brain," Freen said, and she laughed.

They skated to the middle of the rink and came to a stop, standing close together, a distance from either the cocoa vendor or the other man operating the snow machine.

"Freen," Becky said softly, into her ear. "I don't have the words."

"That's okay."

"How long can we stay?"