Page 16 of The Sweetest Risk

“It’s not his fault. He always wanted to, but I was stubborn.”

I squint at her and shake my head. “All right, that’s it.”

“What’s it?” she says, clearly annoyed.

“You’re going to pull up your big girl panties, put skates on and go out there on the ice so I can teach you how to skate. Or at least start teaching you how to skate. We need more than just an hour.”

“Um, no I’m not.”

“Either you come on your own or I am going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you down. Your choice.”

Her brow furrows and she crosses her arms, standing her ground. “No means no, Hot Shot.”

“Fine.” I step onto the bleachers, lift her up around the waist, and throw her over my shoulder.

She screams and I feel her fists pound against my back.

“Wait, no! Tristan! This really isn’t necessary. I’ve gone through my whole twenty-eight years of life not knowing how to skate, and look at me! I’m fine.” She attempts to pull on my sweatshirt to stop me, but is unsuccessful. I am a man on a mission. God, I am going to chew out Bradley for not teaching her how to skate.

“I think it is. Necessary.” I lower her to the ground and turn my attention to Josh. “Hey man, can I get–what? A size seven?” I turn to Brooke, who now looks super pissed-off with her hip off to the side.

“Eight.”

“Damn, clown feet. You heard the lady. Size eight.”

She mouths, “Fuck you, Hot Shot.”

God I fucking wish.

She crosses her arms across her chest. “This is why I hate you! You are insufferable.”

I hand her the skates. “I’ll see you out there.” I leave Brooke looking pissed-off, but I can’t stop beaming. This is rare uninterrupted time with Brooke and I am not going to waste it. Bradley is not here to intervene or cock-block me in any way.

What seems like hours later, Brooke reluctantly places her soft hands into mine as she glides onto the ice and my heart leaps a bit. Her smooth fingers feel foreign against my calloused palms and suddenly I don’t want Brooke’s hands to leave mine. I can feel her entire body tense as her hold on my hands turn into a full-on death grip. She’s terrified. She keeps looking down at her feet.

“Look up at me, Cupcake.”

She finally meets my eyes and that’s when I realize just how scared she really is. Her eyebrows are furrowed but not in a pissed-off way–this time they are curved up and her eyes are filled with tears. This is a risk for her and I know her well enough to know she hates stepping out of her comfort zone. I am actuallysurprised that she wore a beanie today instead of her usual headband. It’s a small change, but I like it.

It means she is willing to push herself a little bit.

I guide her slowly around the rink. Her students are watching and waving. They are actually skating better than she is. But I guess that is the thing about little kids: they are not afraid to take risks. They aren’t concerned about if they fall down or if they look silly doing something new.

I still can’t believe that Brooke has never done this before. My heart skips a beat as she tightens her grip around my hands. She is trusting me right now. For the first time ever. And her hands are finally in mine. Despite the cold environment, I am feeling very warm inside. I am definitely having feelings I shouldn’t be having about Brooke. I shake my head from the thoughts that take over and smile.

“What? I look ridiculous, don’t I?” She rolls her eyes.

“No, that’s not it at all. You are doing great.” Then I clear my throat to save face.

“Was that an actual compliment, Hot Shot? Maybe we truly are in hell right now, because you never compliment me.”

My stomach drops. “That’s not true. I was just thinking about how absurd it is that you don’t know how to ice skate. How is that possible? How did I not know this about you?”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.” She sighs. “I’ve always been scared to skate. It’s too unpredictable, especially the other people around you because you can’t control what they do. Plus, I don’t want to fall.” She wobbles as the mention of falling. “That’s why I like baking…it’s predictable. The outcome is something you can rely on. There are usually no surprises.”

I nod my head. “Hmm. Other than putting salt in your cupcakes and not telling the people eating them.”

Her face scrunches up and she punches my chest, then shakes her hand from the impact. I love pushing her buttons. It’smy favorite pastime. I continue before she has an opportunity to curse me out, “Well, falling is inevitable. The point is to keep getting up. You gotta take risks, Cupcake.” Then a thought pops into my head and I know for a fact that Brooke is going to hate me that much more, but I’m doing it to prove a point.

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