Page 39 of Mr. Frosty Pants
“Shocking.”
“Yeah, well, this is Knoxville, not New York. Believe me, it’ll be plenty shocking.”
“Look.” Casey nodded at two young men wearing baseball caps and what appeared to be fraternity sweatshirts under their jackets. They skated near each other, clutching arms now and again to keep from going down. They laughed and tugged each other along. “If bro-dude frat boys can get past their internalized homophobia to have a little fun, so can we.”
But Joel wasn’t done resisting yet, apparently. “I’m not going to be shown up by little kids.” He jerked his head toward a posse of children zooming around like they’d been born with skates for feet.
“Yes, you are. And it’ll be okay. Just put the skates on. Take two turns around with me, and if you hate it, then we’ll go.”
Joel snorted, but bent down to kick off his shoes. He glanced around at the glowing lights and dangling gold stars in the trees around the square as he tied on the skates, muttering under his breath, “Fucking Christmas.”
“You don’t like Christmas?”
“I don’t like how it’s got me feeling all…” He made a face and motioned toward his chest.
“All what?”
“All hopeful. Like this means anything tonight. Like this isn’t just some holiday hookup for you with a bonus trip down memory lane.”
Casey crossed his arms over his chest. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, don’t do that.”
“What?”
“I’ve taken you on a romantic walk, wined and dined you, and now I’m asking you to ice-skate with me under the stars. Don’t ruin our romantic date by calling it a holiday hookup. I already told you that I’m not into hookups.”
Joel grimaced. “I just hate that maybe I want more.”
Casey knocked him with his shoulder. “Maybe I do too. And maybe this is another ‘not appropriate for a first date conversation,’ but I’ll forgive you since hearing that you want more is music to my ears.”
“You were always too easy to please,” Joel muttered, finishing up his laces. He heaved himself to his feet, and Casey had to grab his arm to keep him from going down. It was going to be impossible keeping him on his feet on the actual ice if he couldn’t stand on the mat-covered floor. “Let’s go bust my ass, I guess.”
Casey led him toward the ramp up to the rink, his heart thumping hard. Joel’s bicep flexed under Casey’s grip, and he remembered the tattoos he’d glimpsed. Later, he’d find a way to ask about them. Maybe he’d get to see them, even.
After he’d gotten that kiss Joel had promised.
He’d been right,of course, and Joel grumbled as his ass hit the ice before they’d even reached the wall for him to hold on. Kids skated past, but none of them did more than shout, “S’cuse me, mister!” as they swerved to miss hitting him.
“You okay?” Casey asked, looming over, an annoying smirk playing on his lips as he reached down to try to haul him up.
Joel’s feet skidded and slipped, and he almost pulled Casey down on top of him. But somehow he gained his feet and the wall at the same time. He gripped it with both hands, wondering how he was going to ever get back off the ice because every time he shifted his feet, he nearly went down again.
Christmas music played over the speakers surrounding the rink, and children zoomed by, along with adults who clearly had experience with ice-skating.
“It’s okay,” Casey soothed. “I’ve got you.” He held Joel’s arm firmly and didn’t seem to have any trouble keeping himself upright on the ice.
“You better,” Joel said, panting with the effort to stay standing. “I’m going to blame you for every bruise on my butt, just so you know.”
“Now you’re just flirting.” Casey laughed. “Are you trying to turn me on imagining your naked ass?”
Joel huffed, but his cheeks heated, and his cock pulsed with a rush of arousal. “Shut up.”
“All right, just try to move one foot slowly in front of the other. You’ve got this.”
Casey encouraged and tugged, held and supported, until Joel moved gradually along the wall with barely any help at all. He was still afraid to let go for more than it took for him to get past the opening in the wall where the ramp connected to the rink, but by the time he’d made it around three times without falling, he was pretty pleased with himself.
Casey skated slowly alongside him, speeding up sometimes to take a loop around the rink at a faster pace only to join him again. The moments when Casey left him felt deeply lonely, though Joel enjoyed the opportunity to watch Casey’s body move and to admire the way he’d grown since they were last together. He wondered if he’d ever get over having to look up to meet Casey’s eyes.
“So,” Casey said, swinging back up to Joel’s side with pink cheeks and shining eyes. “Tell me more about your books. Are you writing one right now?”
