Page 42 of Unwritten Rules

His laughter was warm and genuine—unlike the parking lot we sat in. He climbed out of the car in one smooth motion, the creak of the door breaking into the silence of the night.

He opened my door.Odd, but gentlemanly. I didn’t want to leave the warm, safe car to meet my demise, but the cold air spilled in. The fresh air mingled with his cologne and bashed me in the face with fresh and warm smells at the same time. He was lucky he smelled good.

A hand appeared in front of me, urging me to get out.

“After you.” His naughty grin reappeared, and his eyes changed back to their normal mischievous glint. He was laying down the charm like it was molasses. If I had a choice, I would have stayed in the car.

Conceding, I took his hand firmly.No softness for him. I tried not to focus on the firm grip he had, or the warmth of his fingers while he pulled me out of the car and laced his fingers with mine. Handholding? For Brent Vaughn?

I forced myself to think about the night air being cool against my neck and the faint scent of trees around us.Noton the warm feeling in my stomach. No, I listened for distant hums of cars and life around me instead of the man who had me out here all alone. Not the nervous energy I had brewing or the way he was looking at me.

Why did he look at me that way?

“You wanted to haul me here in my pajamas?” I asked,definitelynot focusing on the fact that we were holding hands and walking quickly toward this dark building.

“Yep,” he replied coolly, gripping my hand a bit tighter.

“Where are we?” I fidgeted with my necklace with my free hand, wondering what awaited us inside.

He flashed a teasing smile over his shoulder. “You’ll see.”

The building was dark—like, dark, dark. It could have been abandoned for all I knew. Confusion washed over me as I wondered what the hell plans he had made for the night. The door creaked open, revealing a too dark hallway.

The entire place was pitch black.

I’m so dead for real this time. Kelly, I am so sorry.

I thought I smelled...popcorn?

He dragged me through a series of endless and dark hallways while our shoes squeaked on linoleum. He stopped to present me with a final door and opened it to reveal an empty ice-skating lobby with a single flickering light.

The door to the rink opened and even cooler air washed over me. Nostalgia crept up and for a moment, I could vividly remember my mom.

The vast open space waited for me. The ice perfectly smoothed by a Zamboni awaited.

I felt like I was home for a moment.

Brent broke the silence. “Just the two of us here tonight.”

“I guess I’m too embarrassing to be seen with you around other people.” I let a smart-ass remark slip while I took in my surroundings. It happened when I wasn’t paying too much attention to someone talking. I was focused on the feeling of good times.

The smell of a skating rink stayed the same no matter which rink you went to. They all just felt the same. And I felt like I was a kid again with my mom.

God, how I missed her.

“What’s your skate size?” He brushed off my remark. Nothing could break that iron ego of his.

“It’s been a while. Maybe a six, maybe a seven.” I shrugged.

He disappeared into the hallway without another word. I almost didn’t notice with how entranced I was in the space.

Part of me wondered what his angle was. Out of all the girls he could possibly set his sights on, why me? It wasn’t like I was some standout girl on campus—-just another face in the crowd, blending in without much effort. Maybe some people wondered if I got in on a scholarship if they didn’t know my name, and that was fine by me.

I thought back to the first time I saw him—or thought I did. He was goading on that fight in his front yard like some typical bad boy movie cliche. I didn’t think he truly noticed me, but with those looks he gave me, it was confirmation enough. Then, the campus wide back to school bash where he lurked in the shadows until I stumbled outside. The cigarette he gave me led to me willingly getting on the back of his bike for a night out.

It wasn’t like me to do that. Not to mention Garrett. Two men vying for my attention? Wild. One of them asked me to be their girlfriend, yet I was out with the other one.

So unlike me.

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