SWING MY WAY :: ORIGINAL

"um...me."

~•~

"It's cold as fuck!"

Mekhi just smiled, trying not to laugh at Aliya while they stood in line for the ice skating rink. It was a Friday night, but it wasn't as busy as she expected. Although it was still enough to make her nervous.

She didn't want to fall, nor did she want to fall in front of random people, nor did she want to look stupid in front of Mekhi. He had already said he'd teach her and make sure she was fine, but...still. Aliya was one of those people who didn't like not knowing what they were doing, so honestly, she expected to be an expert on her first try. All the time.

While Mekhi paid to get in, Aliya stared at everyone who was in the rink. There were people of all ages, especially teens and little kids who were already masters at this point. She spotted one spinning like she was in the Olympics, doing a little jump and landing on one of her feet.

Aliya gulped.

"Don't do that."

She looked to the side at Mekhi. He shook his head and put his arm around her. He was so warm. "But—"

"Fuck them kids—"

"Stop—"

"—It's about you," he ignored her and she pouted, "don't be nervous, it's not that bad. And it helps because you kinda know how to roller skate."

"Yeah," they sat outside the rink, "sorry."

"You're fine, Liya." They each put their shoes in, Aliya a little slower because she was stalling, but Mekhi knew her tricks already, so he tied her shoes extra tight and made her stand up. "That's not so bad huh?" he said, holding her hands so she could steady herself.

"It's not," she said in surprise, "but we're not on the ice yet."

"So pessimistic," he rolled his pretty eyes, "a'ight, come on. We can start off slow, okay?"

"Please," she followed him and stood at the edge. It was as if the ice was taunting her, like...she was almost scared.

But Mekhi pulled her into the rink with no warning. Aliya let out a little squeal and almost tripped, but as he had stated previously—multiple times—he'd catch her. "You got it?"

"No," she admitted, standing up a little better, "now what?"

"Skate, dummy," once again, he held her hands in his and slowly began skating backwards, pulling her with him, "stop focusing too hard or you're going to fall. That's guaranteed."

"Then what do I focus on, since you're so smart?"

"Um..." he bit his lip and looked around, then let out a small huff, "me."

"You?" she repeated in confusion.

"Me," he smiled, "my momma taught me how to skate, and she told me to not focus on how your feet are moving. If you notice people that try to teach you how to skate they aren't that great at explaining. But I can tell you what I was told."

"Okay," she was about to look down but he tapped her forehead, "what?"

"Me," was all he said, looking around so he didn't bump into anyone. It wasn't difficult to focus on him, because he made it easy and not awkward. Aliya liked him a lot—already—she didn't get in touch with her feelings all the time but she knew this much. She knew when to and when not to waste anyone's time, especially her own, but she didn't feel that way with him. She liked getting to know him, it was like a breath of fresh air because he wasn't trying too hard.