Ready for Love - Summer

Summer:

“How did you learn how to skate?” I asked while he tied my laces. 

He scratched his brow. “Uh, my church used to take the youth like twice a month and once a week during the summer.”

I nodded. “That’s cute.”

After looking around the rink, I noticed it was mostly adults. The group appeared to be in their forties and up. Then, I remembered it was grown and sexy skate until eight. This made me even more nervous. Everyone that was skating was skilled, doing routines and tricks. 

Meanwhile, I could barely stand in skates. When we rose bench, d I almost fell backward. Ryder caught me by the waist and chuckled. 

“Relax.”

“I can’t,” I whined. 

He held my right hand and used his left hand to guide my waist as he skated behind me. As we neared the rink, I grabbed the wall and stopped. 

“Do a quick lap around so I can see how skilled you are. Both of us can’t be out there looking crazy.”

He chuckled before taking off onto the maple hardwood flooring. While resting my elbows on the barrier from the carpeted floor to the rink, I watched him show off. His tall frame moved with grace and finesse around the rink. He even spun around and skated backward. I smiled when two guys slid beside Ryder and saluted as they continued their routine while moving in sync with one another. Watching everyone skate felt like a scene out of “ATL” or “Roll Bounce." My gaze fell back on Ryder. He was so cool dressed in nothing but a t-shirt and shorts as he moved with perfect poise to “Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll” by Vaughan Mason and Crew. 

Great, he’s a freakin’ pro.

He winked as he neared me and reached for my hand. My cheeks flooded, and my center tightened. Watching him in action was ineffable. 

“Come on, babe. I got you,” he assured me. 

I placed my hand into his and stepped down onto the rink. He stood beside me as I half walked, half skated.

“You’re trying too hard. Just glide like this,” he said as he moved his legs in a slight sway. He skated in front of me and faced me. With my hands in his, he slowly pulled me around the rink.

“Tell me a secret,” I said while trying to maintain my balance. If this were anyone else, I would’ve fallen by now. But I couldn’t embarrass myself in front of him. The grip I had on his hands was firm making him chuckle.

“When I was twelve, my church took us to the local rink. There was this girl I’d been crushing on for a minute. I finally found the courage to approach her. We skated together the whole night. Before I left, we kissed. It was my first kiss and I was hype. Ever since then I loved skating and the rink. She was my fake girlfriend for like a month.”

“Why did y’all break up?”

“Another girl caught my attention.”

I scoffed. “Typical.”

He laughed as he maneuvered us around the bend. “I never told anyone that story. As far as my friends from back home know, Yuri was my first kiss.”

“I wish I had a story as cute as yours. But I don’t.”

“Come on, everyone has a skating rink story.” His thumb caressed my hand and my heartbeat picked up. A simple touch from him was enough to set my insides ablaze. I licked my bottom lip and thought about a story I could share. He slowed our pace around the nearly empty rink. 

“Nope, no first kiss or puppy love stories here. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve gone skating.”

His head titled and lids lowered. “What happened?”

“My daddy tried to make this an activity he could do with both me and Sammy. Up until my parent’s divorce, Sammy would come every weekend. She loved to skate, and I had yet to try it. The first time he took us, I kept busting my ass for the entire rink to see. It was so embarrassing. He spent most of the day trying to keep me on my feet. I saw how much it bothered Sammy. And I felt like I was ruining their time cause he had to tend to me. The next Saturday that he took us, I spent most of my time on the bench watching. I loved how happy skating made my daddy and Sammy. So, I decided to let that be their thing and I stayed home with my mom.”

“Have you ever told her that?”

I shook my head. “I just told her skating wasn’t for me.”

Ryder smiled unusually wide and raised his hands for me to see. I looked down and realized I was skating on my own. It was then my legs wobbled and I almost fell forward. He caught me by my elbows before skating behind me. With his hand planted firmly on my stomach, he whispered, “I won’t let you fall.”

I leaned against him and sighed. If only he knew, he couldn’t stop that from happening, no matter how hard he tried. We slowed down our speed and moved closer to the center of the rink. The DJ switched his set to slow jams; it was his way of letting skaters know his set was about to end. Couples came to the floor holding hands and skating together.  The first song was Minnie Riperton’s “Every Time He Comes Around.”

Ryder’s arm tightened around my waist. I relinquished all control and let my body flow with his as we moved to the music. At one point, my eyes were closed, and my head rested against his chest. That’s relaxed I was in his arms. The words to the song resonated with me. The past two weeks have had my mind all over the place. My feelings for him seemed to come out of nowhere, but as I think about how consistent he’s been, it makes sense. It was hard for me to decipher whether we were still just building a friendship, or if we were letting our chemistry steer us. 

One thing was for sure, every time I was around him I felt better than I had in months. His spirit was brought restorative energy into my life. I felt lighter around him. Every sad feeling I had earlier today was an afterthought. Since the first night he took me home, he’d been purposeful in keeping a smile on my face and eyes dry of tears. 

“Wanna grab something to eat?” he asked lowly in my ear.

My eyes shot open as I realized we were skating near the lockers that held our phones and keys. Words wouldn’t come out, so I just nodded. He skated ahead of me with my hand securely in his. After helping me over to the bench, he returned out skates and brought over our shoes.

“What you in the mood for?”

I shrugged. “We can go to OverEasy. I could go for chicken and waffles.”

“Bet,” he said as he tied his shoes. 

After eating, he brought me home. Like always, he walked me to the side door. Before I unlocked the door, I turned to him. His eyes here low and penetrating. While pressing his left hand on the door frame, he tucked his right hand in his pocket. I peered at him with my bottom lip clenched between my teeth. After heaving a sigh, I looked away. I wanted to invite him in. There was no such thing as spending too much time with him.

“You want to come inside for a minute?” I asked.

He smiled, hen shook his head. “Not tonight, babe.”

“Why not?” I pushed out a breath, my ego bruised, and my feelings were slightly hurt from his rejection.

“Everything you’re feeling, I feel it too. We’ve been doing good at just focusing on building a friendship. Let’s not mess that up.”

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms. “We haven’t kissed in like a week. I can exercise self-control.”

He caught my bottom lip between his lips before I could say anything else. My arms lowered from his neck as I reached for the hem of his shirt. His tongue slipped between my lips and tangled with mine. My breaths quickened when I felt his fingers under my shirt, raveling up the small of my back. He kissed the corner of my mouth, then my jawline and neck. I hissed at the feeling of his warm lips and tongue on my neck. 

“See, this could easily go left,” he whispered in my ear before kissing it. 

I kissed my teeth before pushing him in the chest. “Tease.”

He shrugged. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Before leaving, he kissed me once more. It was too quick and not enough to hold me over until I saw him again tomorrow. My cheeks started hurting from smiling so hard. When I saw his car drive by, I went inside. With my back pressed against the door, I ran the pads of my fingers against my lips, still felt his lips on mine, and my stomach fluttered.

Maybe his love was what I needed to make my spirit whole, again.