Outpoint - Gloves Up SmackDown Contest

Arm(s) - Round 1.1 Submission

A/N: *Sips imaginary coffee* Just rolling up at 4 AM with my next submission (and insomnia), don't mind me.
(I am so going to regret this in the morning)
Anyways, this is my next story for the Gloves Up SmackDown contest, for which the genre is romance!
A warning, I am absolute trash at writing romance. Partially because I've never had any experience with it, and partially because I just don't read about it. The only romance I read is within other genres, like historical fiction or sci-fi. Like, the writer's block for this one... phew. But, ultimately, I think I'm pretty happy with my finished product.
Without further ado, let's get into it!
Word count: 1499

Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling
Do you feel my heart beating?

He stumbles again, instinctively reaching out his hand to grip onto her arm. His eyebrows furrow determinedly as he glares at his roller skates.

All in all, he's doing really well, for his first time roller skating.

She watches him with an amused smile. It is far from her first time roller skating, and watching her boyfriend get the hang of it is especially entertaining.

"You good?" she questions, not bothering to hide the mirth in her voice.

"Yep," he replies, not bothering to lift his head. He lets go of her arm and pushes forward again, eyes laser-focused.

That's Kayden, she thinks, feeling a swell of affection and pride rise within her. Never a quitter.

She can feel the stares, coming from all directions. They are aimed at them - or, specifically, at Kayden. And she knows it's not for his incredibly handsome looks.

She knows he can feel them too; it's a little hard not to. But he manages to ignore them all, which only makes her prouder.

He's come so far.

She can still remember the first time she met him. When she first saw the cracks in his impenetrable walls.

She sighed as she reached the cover of the bus stop, rain dripping from her hair. Of course, she had to stay late to talk with her professor and get caught in the storm.

She was so occupied with her misery, that it took her a few seconds to notice the man that stood in the bus stop with her.

He was facing away from her, so she couldn't see much other than his back and dark, neat hair. But she wasn't studying to be a lawyer for nothing. A lifetime of being observant had taught her how to read people, and to read them well.

The man was slumped slightly, shoulders sagging and head dipped. He was upset, but hiding it fairly well.

And then, he turned around.

Her own hazel eyes met the man's brown ones. The man's facial expression was angry, but his eyes were... complicated.

They were filled with a lot of emotion - frustration, some anger and fear, but, mostly, sorrow. And even though she would never admit it, the maelstroms behind those eyes made her heart ache a little.

"What are you looking at? Oh, wait, let me guess," the man snapped at her, voice dripping with sarcasm. "My arm?"

His arm? She hadn't even glanced at his arms. She moved her eyes down and-

Oh.

He had only one arm.

Despite her surprise, she kept her face stoic. The man didn't need more pity.