Noah's Love

Chapter 10: The Ice-Skating Date

"Uh, Rebecca? I don't think this is a good idea." Jordan looked at the ice rink nervously, holding on to the wall for dear life as they stood on the slippery surface.

"What do you mean? Come on don't chicken out now!" She grabbed his arm and tried to force him to pull away from the wall. He barely moved.

"Yeaaah, I'll be right here. Why don't you go around," he said, gesturing to where everyone was skating, "I'm safer where I am."

Out of all the times she had hung out with Jordan, she had never seen him nervous. It was kind of hilarious how he could be scared of something so petty.

"I didn't know you were going to be a big baby," she said with fake disappointment, letting out a long sigh.

"What? I'm not being a baby," he looked at her defensively. "Forgive me for trying not to break my spine."

She laughed out loud. "You won't break a bone, trust me. Come on, let go."

When she continued to urge him, trying to get him to loosen his grip on the wall, he finally let go and immediately grabbed her hands like they were the only thing tethering him to this planet.

It must have been a funny sight. At 6 feet 3 inches tall, Jordan was almost a foot taller than Rebecca. He tried his best to not put any weight on her. But as they moved, his legs felt like jello. "This is so weird," he laughed, concentrating on not falling as Rebecca faced him, holding his hands and pulling him ahead as she skated backwards.

"Just embrace the feeling. When you're ready, move your feet like that," she said, looking pointedly towards others that skated around them.

"Uh huh. I...woah!" He was going to say something but almost lost his balance. Rebecca quickly closed the distance between them, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"I got you! See, your back is too rigid. You need to bend it forward a little so you can build momentum," she advised.

"Momentum!" He almost choked on the word. "I can barely walk without falling. Momentum is the last thing I need!"

As he spoke, Rebecca shook with laughter. It drew his attention and made him glance at her. Suddenly, the fact that he was out of his comfort zone and probably making an ass of himself in front of the girl he was trying to impress appeared to be insignificant. He realized that she was happy and enjoying herself, which relaxed him completely.

If I could be myself around her and not have to apologize for it...what more can I ask for? He wondered, grabbing her waist for support as they finally made a full circle of the rink.

"Another round?" she asked half teasingly.

"In a second. But I don't want to hold you back. Why don't you skate at the speed you want to? I'll take a break and hang out here in the meanwhile," he said, grabbing the wall.

"Are you sure?"

He could tell she didn't want to leave him standing by the wall on his own but wanted to skate too.

"Positive. Go do your thing," he said, smiling.

Returning his smile with a bright one of her own, she winked at him and turned around and skated away with such grace that he was impressed right away. For the next minute or two, he saw her skate around the rink joyously. There could have been others that probably knew how to ice skate better than her, but his eyes only followed her. He couldn't help it. He was captivated.

As Rebecca skated, she was highly aware of Jordan's eyes on her. She didn't know it for a fact, but she could just tell that he was looking at her. And that felt oddly good. She wanted him to watch her. In fact, she wished she knew some cool skating tricks that she could show off, but she didn't. It wasn't often that she felt the need to impress someone. But as she went around the rink, she had a strong desire to leave an impression on Jordan. She wasn't quite sure what it was about him. But it felt good to be in his company.