22. Kennedy

As Shane pushesopen the heavy door to the Valencia City University ice rink, the chill of the arena hits us immediately. Shane and I step inside together, our breath visible in the cold air. I”m expecting to see the usual chaos of hockey players and student skaters, but instead, the place is surprisingly quiet. The only sound is the soft hum of the Zamboni machine.

”Wow, it”s empty,” I remark, looking around.

”Yeah, we got lucky,” he says with a smile. “There’s no hockey practice tonight, and they want to get the rink ready for tomorrow’s game, so they must have decided to close early.”

“Should we stay then? I don’t want to mess up the ice.”

“I’ve got a connection with Clark, the Zamboni driver,” Shane says with an assuring smile. He can give us an hour.”

I watch Shane walk to the side of the rink where the Zamboni driver is and talk to him for a few moments. The driver looks over at me, smiles, and parks the machine at the far edge of the rink.

Shange jogs back over.

“Okay, so we’re good for exactly sixty minutes. Clark is going to flick on the tunes for us. I take it your hobby is figure skating?” He grins, nudging me playfully. ”I can”t wait to see you in action.”

I laugh, feeling a mixture of excitement and nerves. ”Let”s get our skates on first.”

Shane grabs two pairs of skates for us from the rental area in the back. His are black, mine are classic white. He watches with an amused expression as I start lacing them up.

“I can’t you believe you kept this from me for so long.”

“Not a secret, hockey boy. I told you I grew up close to an ice rink.”

“Do you need any help?” he asks, already halfway through tying his own hockey skates.

”I”m good, thanks,” I reply, determined to handle it myself. Despite my confidence, my fingers fumble with the laces, and Shane chuckles.

”Here, let me,” he says, kneeling in front of me.

For a moment, I”m hyper-aware of how close we are. The way his fingers move deftly over the laces, the way he glances up at me with those piercing mismatched eyes of his. It”s infuriating how easily he can make my heart race.

”There,” he says, tying the final knot. ”Ready to go.”

I stand up, wobbling slightly on the unfamiliar blades. Shane offers me his hand, and after a moment”s hesitation, I take it. He leads me to the edge of the rink and helps me onto the ice.

”Alright, show me what you”ve got,” he says, skating backward effortlessly.

I take a deep breath and push off, gliding forward. It”s been a long time since I”ve been on the ice, but it all comes back to me quickly. I”m not as graceful as I once was, but I manage to stay upright and gain some speed.

”Not bad,” Shane calls out, grinning. ”But can you keep up with me?”

He takes off, skating in circles around me. I laugh and try to catch up, but he”s too fast.

“You’re supposed to be watching me,” I yell after him.

“I always am.”

We play this game of cat and mouse for a while, with me trying to outmaneuver him and failing spectacularly every time.

”Alright, alright, you win,” I say, breathless and laughing. ”I give up. You’re the undisputed king of the ice.”

Shane skates up to me, his face flushed from the exertion. “Very gracious for someone who won’t ever claim that publicly.”

I roll my eyes. ”Don”t let it go to your head.”

”Too late,” he says, smirking. ”But seriously, you”re pretty good out here.”

”Thanks,” I say, feeling a warm blush creep up my cheeks. ”I used to skate a lot when I was younger. It”s been a while.”

”Well, you looked like a natural,” he says, and there”s something genuine in his tone that makes my heart skip a beat.

A ballad plays on the speaker system. It’s Whitney Houston, the same one I can never remember the name of, but it reminds Shane of his father. I can tell by the look on his face that he wants to couple skate.

“Can we break rule two?” he asks me, reaching his hand for mine.

“I can make an exception,” I say softly. “No one’s here.”

We skate side by side in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying the rhythm of the ice beneath us. It”s surprisingly peaceful, and I find myself relaxing in Shane”s hold on me, something I never thought I”d do.

“Why’d you stop skating?” Shane asks after a while, breaking the silence.

“The rink closed due to budget cuts, and I guess I didn’t miss it enough to search out another one,” I admit, looking down at the ice. “It’s a shame really. Skating used to be my escape. I thought you’d understand.”

”I do,” he says softly. ”I get it more than you know.”

We continue skating, with few words spoken. His eyes never leave mine, his presence a comforting anchor. After a while, he looks at me, his expression serious. ”I wanted to talk to you about something.”

”Shane, I—” I start, but he holds up a hand to stop me.

”Let me finish,” he says. ”I know I”ve been pushing you, and maybe that”s not fair. But I”ve always felt this… connection with you. Even when we”re fighting, it”s there. And I don”t think that’s going to stop if our parents end up together.”

I swallow hard, my heart pounding in my chest. “We’re friends with benefits who are in a common alliance.”

”I know,” he says, taking my hand in his. ”But maybe we can figure out how to be more.”

I look into his eyes and see something there that makes me want to believe him. Maybe this could work. Maybe we can figure it out.

“There are dozens of girls fighting for the chance to be more with you.”

“When will you accept the truth of us, Kennedy? I don’t care about any of those girls.”

We skate together until the rink lights start to dim, Clark’s signal that it’s the end of our time. As we step off the ice and start unlacing our skates, Shane looks over at me, a playful glint in his eye.

”So, when are we doing this again?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I laugh, shrugging my shoulders. “You said it yourself. You rarely have free time like this.”

Our feet hit the cold concrete floor, and I can”t help but feel a pang of regret that the evening is coming to an end. As we leave the rink and step into the crisp night air, Shane wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. “This was fun, Prez.”

“It was.”

“Do you want to hang at the house tonight?”

“I think I should go home. I have a test to study for.”

“Your devotion to your classes never ceases to amaze me,” he quips.

“It’s a good thing I do. We would never gotten through freshman seminar without it.”

“Yeah, Lorenzo and I were pretty much dead weight.”

“Speaking of Lorenzo, that guy barely speaks to me now.”

“And your feelings are hurt?” His eyebrows scrunch together.

“I’m just wondering what I ever did to him.”

Shane has an odd look of guilt on his face.

“Do you know something?”

“Now that we’re out of the dorms, I don’t even see that guy,” he says.

“Uh, huh,” I reply unconvinced.

As we reach my apartment, Shane stops and turns to face me. ”Goodnight, Kennedy,” he says softly, his voice filled with warmth.

”Goodnight, Shane,” I reply.

As I watch his beautiful ass walk away, I can”t help myself and call after him, ”Shane?”

“Yeah?”

“You want to come upstairs for a minute?”