What If

Chapter 30

We spent an entire fifteen minutes walking to our next destination. When we came to the last block, Paul demanded that he hold his hands over my eyes so I wouldn't be able to see where we were until we were inside. I didn't trust him one bit, so I held my hands out in front of me so I wouldn't run into a wall or something. Paul let one hand off for a split second to open a heavy metal door for me, but then it was right back over my face on the other side.

It was a bit warmer in here than it was out there, but it was still chilly enough to keep my coat on. I heard a lot of voices. Like a lot. I heard the laughter and playful screams of small children, teenage lovers, and older adults. The smell of hot dogs and hamburgers with their respective condiments engulfed my nostrils with their spice-filled scents and delicious flavors. Wherever we were, it was family friendly and very well food-supplied.

"Okay, you ready?" Paul asked, the excitement booming from his voice.

"I'm ready," I said, waiting impatiently to see the top secret location he had taken me.

The moment he took his hands away, my eyes shot open. I couldn't hold my curiosity in any longer.

It was an ice skating rink. There were families and school children bundled up in winter garments going around and around in a circle with blades on their feet and hats on their heads. There was a good sized concession stand off to one side where a friendly overweight man was selling barbecued meat on buns; the floor in front of him stained yellow and red from years of dripped mustard and ketchup.

My eyes widened and I gasped excitedly. It has been years since I've gone to an ice skating rink. I think the last time was when I was in the awkward puberty stage of the tweens. I've been dying to do it again. I had had a lot of fun. If I remembered correctly, I was also not too bad for a beginner. Basically, I had been able not to fall down most of the time.

"You like it?" Paul asked cautiously, hoping that picked something pertaining to my interests.

"I love it!" I practically shouted and jumped into his arms, giving him the biggest hug he's probably ever received in his life. "Let's go get skates! Now!" I grabbed his wrists and dragged around and through people to get to the skate rental not too far away.

We bought two pairs of skates for prices present day would die for and immediately strapped them on our feet. Well, Paul got his on pretty fast, while I struggled like a toddler who couldn't tie her shoelaces yet. The laces went all the way up and crisscrossed back and forth or something. I couldn't figure it out and definitely couldn't get them tight enough for a safe travel over ice.

"Hey, Paul," I hated to ask. "I can't get these things on for the life of me. Can you help?" I stuck out my foot to him all cutesy-like, face all huffed like a baby.

Paul smiled happily, happy to finally be able to help me. "Sure, love," he said, gently taking my ankle in hands, internally struggling not to stroke my leg. Hole by hole he laced up my skate, taking far too long in an attempt to make the moment last. Then he started on the other one, giving the same gentle touches to my leg and ankle, taking his sweet time to lace up my skate. His smile didn't drop for a single second.

I scrutinized him as he did so. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew how to take those white laces and tie them so they wouldn't come off of my feet. How to tie ice skates isn't something a normal boy in this day and age would normally know . . . unless he's done it a thousand times. Which means he's taken dates here plenty of times before, which means this, in fact, was nowhere special to him. The ice skating rink must have been a place where he took tons of girls. My heart sank a little bit in my chest. Arrogant prick, I thought. Maybe I am just another girl to him.