What Love Feels Like

Fourteen | Ice skates

Ariella

"Hey." I greet Noah when I see him sitting on one of the couches in the lobby.

He gives me an absentminded nod as he scrolls on his phone which makes me furrow my brows.

Thea nudges me, "Let's go!"

"I still need to put on my skates, you go on so long." I inform her.

She opens her mouth to hesitate, but the look I give her makes her shut her mouth. She rolls her eyes.

"Fine, but hurry up." She turns to open the door to the ice rink which is not as filled as usual since it's a Friday. Actually, it's not filled at all.

In the lobby, yes, there's a few people lounging in the cafe but in the rink no one at all, well besides Thea and Ethan who are probably already skating.

I sit on one of the seats to put on the skates that we had gotten from the rental counter.

I try to shove in those cruddy ice skates but they just don't budge.

Why Isn't it freaking fitting?

That's what she said.

No.

I huff in frustration as I try to shove my foot in it. I literally got it in my size, did my feet grow bigger in the span of a few hours?

A hand grabs the side of the ice skate that is half way on my sock clad foot.

My head whips up to see who it is.

"Idiot," Noah mutters.

"You're supposed to loosen the laces first." He says, fingers already busy untying the laces.

"I literally knew that." 

"Sure."

He gently pushes my foot in the skate, which slide in easily.

You know what else slides in easily?

Shut up.

He then ties the laces not too tightly, but snug in a way.

"I can tie my own laces."

He ignores me and motions to bring my other foot which is also half way in the skate.

He repeats the same action without saying a word.

What the hell?

I give him a weirded out look because I am weirded out.

"Stop looking at me like that." He mutters, after tying the laces of the other skate.

He pats it twice, looking satisfied.

"Because you're being weird."

He gives me a look like I'm the one that's not right in the head.

He offers me a hand, as I attempt to get up.

The confusion is etched into my face and I don't think it's going away anytime soon.

His lips tilt up from one corner after seeing my expression, "Let's go."

~~~

"Lala, just get in the rink. You've been standing by the railing for the past ten minutes."

"I'm working on it." My teeth chatter from the cold. The blades feel thin, really freaking thin as I put one foot on the ice, wobbling while doing so.

Around me, a small group of friends that arrived soon after us are already gliding on the ice, not professionally but way better than whatever I'm doing right now.