Fighting to go on

Chapter 14

           The next couple of weeks went by quickly. Jason hadn’t come back yet, and none of us were complaining. The weather took an abrupt cold turn and it snowed a week after we got back from the camping trip. That was part of the charm of living in Canada though. The weather changed so quickly that you could be sunbathing one day and wearing a parka the next.

            Ryan and I were getting closer as every day went by. The only thing that bothered me was that he still hadn’t revealed his secret to me. But even that was only a minor annoyance. He never pressured me into anything that I wasn’t comfortable with, and I was getting more confident every day.

            On a cold Saturday, Ryan decided to take me ice-skating. I was not at all sold on the idea, but he insisted that it would be fun. When I reluctantly admitted that I’d never been skating before, he just said that that was all the more reason for us to go.

            So that was how I ended up at the ice rink with him on that Saturday afternoon. I was looking dubiously at the skates in my hand while Ryan tugged me over to the bench so we could change out of our shoes. Once I had put my skates on, I stood up and nearly toppled over.

            Ryan wrapped his arm around my waist and chuckled. “Come on, clumsy, let’s get you on the ice.”

            I balked. “If I can’t balance here, how the hell am I supposed to manage it on a very slippery surface?”

            “I won’t let you fall. Come on, it’s fun!” he said.

            I grumbled but allowed him to help me onto the ice. I clung to his arm for dear life as he started to skate slowly, pulling me with him. As he went around with me a few times, I gradually loosened my hold, but I still refused to let go of him.

            After we had skated for fifteen minutes, he glided to a stop. He turned to face me and grabbed both of my hands in his. “Okay, now that you’ve gotten used to the feeling of the skates, let’s get you moving on your own.” He started skating backwards, pulling me along with him. I started imitating the movements of his feet and I found myself skating on my own by the time we’d gone around two more times.

            I looked up to grin at Ryan and suddenly lost my balance. I stumbled forward and would’ve fallen if Ryan hadn’t caught me in his arms. He smirked down at me. “I know I’m hot, but you don’t need to keep falling for me.”

            I rolled my eyes as I straightened up. “That was so corny,” I told him.

            He grinned cheekily. “Yeah, but it’s true too.” He put his arm around my waist again. “But you can keep falling, because I’ll always be there to catch you.”

            I wrinkled my nose. “That was corny too. But very sweet,” I added.

            We skated for the next hour and then we changed back into our regular shoes. Ryan was fiddling nervously with his keys as we started walking back to his car and I looked at him curiously. “Are you okay?” I asked.

            “Yeah. I was just, um, well, I was wondering if you wanted to come meet my mom? She told me to invite you over for dinner.”

            I stopped in my tracks. “When did she tell you this?”

            “Um, two days ago?” he said it more like a question.

            “And you’re just telling me this now?” I asked incredulously.