first american title | tenya iida

seven

~*~

iida's pov

"I'm telling you Iida roller skating is so fun!" Lydia tells me.

I itch the back of my neck. "Are you sure about this?" I ask. 

She nods excitedly. "Of course! Cmon!" 

I shake my head and chuckle as we rush into the roller skating rink. Lydia and I decided that we should go out for a first date, and she picked this out. I didn't mind it, but I probably wouldn't be that good at rollerskating. I stood in line for a pair of skates for me. As for Lydia, she brought her own skates and was sitting down lacing them. I soon joined her and put mine on. 

I glanced at Lydia's feet and giggled. "I like your Hello Kitty roller skates," I mentioned. 

She looked at her shoes and then at me. "They're cute right?" 

I nod. "Very," I reply while finishing the bow on my laces.

"You ready?" Lydia asks. I get up and try to take a step, which ends in me holding my arms out for balance. Lydia giggles and helps me balance myself. "Have you ever been rollerskating?" She asks. 

I shake my head. "No, not really."

A laugh escapes Lydia's lips as she helps me onto the rink. "Just skate along the sides and hold onto the wall, I'll help you along."

I instantly grip the carpeted ledge and look at Lydia. "I'm awful at this."

"No you're not! You haven't even been out on the rink for ten minutes. You're inexperienced you'll get better at it believe me." Her hands take hold of mine. "Trust me, Iida," She mumbles. Slowly, she skates backward while I hold onto her. "Just focus on keeping balance on your feet."

We go around the rink a few time and Lydia lets go of my hands. "Just take steps and push off slowly, and keep balance okay?" I nod and do my best to follow her instructions. I take a few strides and look up at her. She gives me a big thumbs up and a smile. 

Just as I'm feeling confident with my abilities, Lydia starts skating. And my god is she good. She laps me twice, each time winking at me and sliding in a sny comment. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her approaching me getting ready to lap me again. This time though, she slows down. 

I feel her cold hands on my shoulders, her face just inches from mine. "You're really adorable right now," She mumbles.

My cheeks were burning red. I coughed. "Um, uh. Thanks." Awkward was an understatement. "You look really cool out there."

She leans up and kisses my cheek before replying in a whisper, "Thank you," and skating off. 

As flustered as I was, I kept going around the rink. I eventually got the hang of it, and as I sped up Lydia slowed down. She intertwined her fingers with mine and we skated together. "Are you having fun?" She asks. 

"Yeah, I am."

"Nice to have work off your mind right?"

I nod. "I'm worried," I state.

"I know you are Iida. But, think about it logically. They won't give you a raise, and they won't let you move up to a higher position. You're hands down the hardest worker at that place, hell you're probably the hardest worker in all of California. And you're severely underpaid. And you've been working there for ten years. It just seems unfair that you work that hard."