Page 20 of Reluctantly Married

“Sure.” Although he wasn’t sure at all. “Don’t leave me though.”

She nodded, and he let go of her hand. Everything seemed okay at first. He pushed off with one foot, like he’d been doing. Then he switched legs, gaining momentum. He was able to make the turns without Megan’s help, and began to feel confident. He pushed off, harder.

“Great! You’re going really fast!”

He’d noticed he’d been going fast, but ‘great’ wasn’t the sentiment running through his mind. “Um, how do I stop?”

“Just grab the wall.”

Adam wasn’t sure that advice was very good, but he decided to try it, so he veered off. Unfortunately, he realized too late that he was headed for the swinging door. He hit the door at full momentum. The carpet wasn’t as smooth under his wheels, which left him doing a hopping, leg lifting thing trying to stay upright, his arms pin-wheeling in the air.

Inertia carried him through the chairs—where people scattered to get out of his way—right toward the redheaded kid at the snack bar, who had a full slushie in his hands. The collision happened in slow motion: bumping into the kid’s back, the slushie going airborne, next flailing and grabbing at anything he could to try to gain his balance again, and lastly his fingers finding something to hold onto.

He only wished it hadn’t been a pair of black athletic shorts.

Adam landed on his face, cold slushie sliding down his back, his fingers still clutching the fabric which pooled around the ankles of the redheaded kid.

8

Megan pressed her lips together,trying not to smile. Adam drove down the interstate, and he didn’t seem to be in the best of moods. She cleared her throat. “It sure is raining.”

He nodded. “At least it washed most of the slushie out of my hair.”

“You still have some in your ear.”

He grimaced. “And down my shirt. My back’s still sticky.”

A laugh tried to bubble up, but she suppressed it with a cough. “At least the police let you go.”

“I still think they should have arrested that kid.” He touched the bruise under his eye and winced.

“Well,” she said, desperately trying not to snort. “You did try to yank his shorts entirely off, after pantsing him.”

“My finger got caught! Do you think I wanted the kid to fall on me?” He signaled and changed lanes. “He didn’t have to go nuts-o on me.”

“You humiliated the poor guy.”

His lips twitched. “It wasn’tallmy fault.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. “Yeah, he really should have made sure his boxers weren’t caught on your wheels before standing up.”

Adam made a noise that sounded like a cross between clearing his throat and blowing his nose. Megan couldn’t hold it in any longer, and soon they were both howling. Tears streamed down her face. She couldn’t remember ever laughing so hard.

After gaining control of herself, she said, “I’m glad the cops didn’t make a big deal of it. You could have been put on some sex-offender list somewhere.”

“I think the officers understood. We did have film footage.”

She bit her lip. “I think it’s on YouTube already. Luckily, we’ve got a three-second delay. I’m sure the most embarrassing parts were cut.”

Adam snorted, which made her laugh all over again. He shot her a grin, his dimples making him look super sexy. “That kid’s going to need counseling.”

“He probably needed it before today. What child makes it out of adolescence without a parent messing them up?” She meant it as a joke, but Adam grew serious.

“What do you mean?”

The windshield wipers swished as they tried to keep the rain at bay. Megan waved her hand in a dismissive manner. “You know. Parents screw up their kids more often than not.”

His gaze turned contemplative. “I see.”

---