Numb

Chapter 3.

I stood there in silence and admired the people in front of me. It seemed as though I knew these boys all my life, but I just met them. I was enjoying this day nearly as much as I had enjoyed the Jingle Ball.

The line for ice skating at Navy Pier was outrageous. I could have gone without waiting to ice skate, but Zach insisted we stay.

It was 1:47 P.M and I was standing in line, still. I was hoping we could get ice skating over with so we could eat. I was really craving pizza.

"Marie, we're approaching the rentals" Lauren informed me. I looked down and noticed her fingers interlaced with Jeff's. Lauren was really showing interest in this boy; she never held hands with anyone!

Zach was holding my hand, but facing Cooper. They were discussing something and it was making Zach either frustrated or upset, his hands were growing sweaty.

"Hello beautiful!" Zach pecked my cheek again, for the fifteenth time since I arrived in Chicago.

"Hi Zach" I sensed you could feel the agitation spitting out of my mouth.

"I don't know how to ice skate. I want to learn how, and I don't think there's anything better than you witnessing me fall" he remarked.

"Are you sure about that? I think pizza is a lot better than witnessing you fall...." I whispered the last part under my breath.

Ice Skating was difficult. More than difficult. I never realized how uncoordinated people could be until I tried teaching Zach how to ice skate. It took us until 2:30 to teach him the basics of ice skating. I mean it was adorable how he held onto me for dear life, but it was awkward when we had children speeding past us and he was struggling. I think he was sensing I had enough because we all left the rink at 3.

We piled back into Cooper's truck at around 3:40 after walking back to the parking spot to see that our time had expired and Cooper received a parking ticket for $150.

"My mom is going to murder me, then have them revive me, then murder me again. This is just my luck!" Cooper ran his fingers through his hair frustrated. He opened his car door, and Renee sat in the passenger seat. We stood outside of the car as she tried talking to him and calming him down.

"I feel so bad. I forgot it was only for three hours, and I was supposed to remind him!" Zach began beating himself up over it.

"Don't. It's not your fault. We all lost track of time. We were enjoying ourselves. We can all pitch in to pay for it. His parents don't need to know" I made circle in the palm of his hand. He nodded in agreement and we began discussing how we would split $150 in five different ways, excluding Cooper. Zach said he would give $100, and Jeff said he'd pay the other 50. How gentleman-like.

Renee opened the car door, "You guys can get in. We're going to go to Giordano's for pizza. I already called to reserve a table". Jeff and Lauren piled into the furthest row of seats, talking on and on. I sat behind Renee.

"Is he okay?" I whispered in her ear.

She nodded in agreement.

We pulled into the last parking spot on the street near Giordano's. It was quite a distance to walk, but I don't see what's wrong with that. More time to admire the beauty of the city.

"I'm sorry for blowing up like that, you guys. Thank you so much for everything" Cooper climbed over the center console to get out of the truck on Renee's side. I don't think he was comfortable opening his door with such heavy traffic.

"It's okay, we understand. Here's the money for the ticket. We don't want you to get in trouble for providing us with such a fun adventure" Zach handed over the ticket money and Cooper smiled.