Page 73 of Boots & Scars

I stepped onto the ice, feeling the familiar chill seep through my bones. The world outside faded, replaced by the soothing glide of my blades against the frozen surface. I pushed off, letting the motion carry me away from everything—Cooper’s anger, the guys’ cruel words, my own insecurities. Here, on the ice, I was free.

Each stride felt like a release, my worries melting away with every smooth movement. The rink became my haven, a place where I could lose myself in the rhythm and flow. I twirled and spun, reveling in the sensation of weightlessness. For a moment, it was just me and the ice, nothing else mattered.

The two students eventually left, their laughter and chatter fading into the background. It was just Cooper and me now. I sucked in a breath and decided to skate over to him without saying anything.

I skated alongside him; the silence stretching between us like a chasm. The only sound was the sharp slice of our blades against the ice, a rhythmic melody that echoed through the empty rink. I kept my gaze fixed ahead, but I could feel his presence beside me, solid and unyielding.

From the corner of my eye, I watched him. His jaw was still clenched, his brows furrowed in concentration. But even in his anger, he was breathtaking. The way his body moved, all power and grace, sent a shiver down my spine. His hair, tousled from the exertion, fell across his forehead in a way that made my fingers itch to brush it back. And his eyes, those piercing amber eyes, seemed to hold a storm within them. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and it made my heart ache in ways I couldn't quite understand.

“I won’t always be there,” Cooper growled after another moment. “I need to know you can take care of yourself.”

“Then you have to give me the opportunity to,” I shot back. “Just because I’m not going to hit them doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself.”

He stopped abruptly, so we were in the middle of the ice. “You have to realize that people are going to say stuff about you because of me,” he said, frustration clear in his tone.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Yes?” Cooper threw out his arms. “It’s just that easy? Yes?”

“I don’t care,” I said firmly.

“You should,” he said, his voice laced with exasperation. “Maybe you are stupid. Sugar, I'm not the person you take to your mother. I'm the one you fuck, not the one you marry.”

“Why not?” I asked, my voice steady.

“I…” He shook his head. “Because I'm not the marrying kind.”

“Maybe not for them,” I said. “But I'm not them.”

“Stop,” he said sharply.

“What?” I asked.

“Just… stop. Don’t say things you don’t mean,” he said.

“I do mean them,” I insisted. “Cooper, I'm falling for you. I want to be with you. I want you in all the ways there are.”

“What are you saying?” he asked, his eyes searching mine.

“I want to have sex with you,” I said, my voice unwavering.

He laughed, a bitter edge to it that cut through the chill of the rink.

"They just called you a whore for what I did?—"

"I don't care," I repeated, my voice steady.

"Stop," he said, halting abruptly and causing me to stop as well. His eyes bored into mine, a mix of frustration and something deeper, something raw.

"Am I not allowed to choose who I want to do this with?" I asked, searching his face for answers. "I'm of age, aren't I? You can't infantilize me when it's convenient and then go on and say I have the power to choose what happens to my own body."

"If we go there," he said in a low voice, stepping closer. "If we cross that line, I'm not the kind that shares. We cross that bridge, sweetie, there's no going back. Do you understand me?"

His eyes were intense, burning with a fierce determination. The way he towered over me should have been intimidating, but I felt no fear. Instead, there was an electric thrill coursing through me.

"Does that go both ways?" I asked, my voice barely more than a whisper.

He looked at me one last time before pulling me in for a hungry kiss. His lips crashed against mine with an urgency that took my breath away. The world around us faded into oblivion as his hands gripped my waist, pulling me closer.

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