“No way. I would never guess that,” I tease, and he laughs.
“I’ll probably fly back when it’s time for you to drive home so we can do this again.”
I send him a wide grin. “Aw, are you having fun?”
“Yeah,” he says, squeezing my hand. “A bit. But that’ll change if I don’t see Bigfoot.”
I love the sound of his laugh.
We make it to the Bigfoot town, as my sister calls it, and the first thing we do is send her a photo with one of the many Bigfoot statues. Within seconds, we make it a goal to get a photo with every statue in town. It’s absolutely ridiculous, but she eats it up. If I’m honest, so do I. After getting dinner, we head to the bakery for all things Bigfoot. The laughing we do is probably my favorite thing about the whole trip. We take goofy pictures with all the pastries and even eat some before packing everything up to head to the hotel to check in.
The town is quiet as we walk to where we parked the car. Lights hang over the street, and Christmas music is playing. It’s basically the setting for a Hallmark movie. I’m waiting for some uptight boss lady to come in from New York and meet that pain-in-the-ass boyfriend she left behind. Until I do, though, I cuddle with Evan as we walk. It’s freezing, but it’s tolerable when you’re engulfed in the arms of a super-hot stud. He kisses me on top of my head, and I cuddle into his chest as we walk.
We reach the Jeep just as I see a frozen pond that some kids are coming off. “Look, Evan!” He looks to where I’m pointing, and he actually smiles. “I’ve never seen a frozen pond! Have you?”
He nods, very reserved. “Yeah, I grew up skating on them when we would go to Boston for Christmas.”
“We should go skate!”
He doesn’t seem to think so. He looks between me and the pond and then shrugs. “We don’t have any skates.”
“We don’t need them,” I say, setting the bag in the back before jogging toward the front of the Jeep. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”
I wait for a second as he continues to stare past me at the pond. When he looks back at me, he says, “I don’t think I can.”
I take a deep breath. “You can,” I remind him. “No sticks, no pads, no rink, no pressure, no plays, no fans. Just us two having fun.”
He swallows hard before he meets my gaze. He doesn’t say anything, so I walk toward him, taking his hand in mine.
“Just us.”
Evan clasps our fingers together, looking out at the frozen water. “I don’t know.”
“Let’s try.”
He’s reluctant, but he walks with me. There is only a little light around the pond, but it’s enough for us to see what’s going on.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and Bigfoot will join us,” I joke, but he doesn’t laugh. I can feel his anxiousness, and it’s making me anxious. I reach the ice first and turn to look at him. “It looks solid.”
He nods. “It is. You can tell by the center. You can’t see water moving.”
I look to where he is pointing. “Oh.”
“At least, that’s how my dad always told us to check.”
I don’t let go of his hand as he stares at the pond, taking in deep breaths and letting them out. When he looks back at me, I can see the fear in his eyes. My heart crashes in my chest. “What are you feeling?”
He chuckles with no laughter in it whatsoever. “I’m terrified,” he admits.
“I know, and that’s understandable. But Evan, you literally face off against your brain daily, and you win.”
He nods slowly. “If I don’t go, you’ll think I’m weak.”
Evan looks away then, and I squeeze his hand. “I’d never think that, Evan. Never.” I go to my tiptoes, kissing his chin. “I could never think that. I kinda like you.”
He scoffs. “Just a bit, huh?”
“Small bit,” I agree, and then I smile widely at him. I hold out my fist, and he looks down at it. I watch the tension leave his jaw as he does our handshake, and a small smile moves across his lips. “It’s only us,” I remind him. I don’t know why I want this for him so badly. I feel as if it’s a part of the mountain he has to climb to get to the next level of his healing. I want to help him get over it, but I also don’t want to push or beg him to. He can do this. He’s ready.
It takes a few minutes, but soon, he moves onto the ice—with a death grip on my hand, but I don’t care. We shuffle our feet together over the ice, slowly at first. I let go of his hand, assuming I know what I’m doing. But that’s not the case at all. I fall, flat on my ass, with a loud shriek, and when Evan laughs, I almost cry in pure elation.
“You’re not supposed to laugh at me!”
“You sound like a goat,” Evan says through his laughter, shuffling toward me. He takes my hands, lifting me up with way too much force. Next thing I know, he falls back, and I land on him.
We’re laughing so hard, tears leak out of my eyes and down my cheeks. We spend a good three minutes trying to get to our feet, and when we do, we’re still laughing. I have never laughed so much in my life, and I absolutely love it. I break away from him and slide across the ice like a pro. He follows behind, an actual pro. His stride is calculated and beautiful. I loved watching him skate when he played, but never did he have the smile he has on his face now.
We play and laugh until we’re frozen. When my teeth start to chatter, he pulls me into his arms, kissing my nose. I slide my hands up under his jacket and over his skin, and he’s the one shrieking now.
“Who really sounds like a goat?” I tease, and he kisses the space between my nose and cheek. The little crook I didn’t even know was kissable until he kissed me there.
“Your hands are freezing.”
“Well, it’s cold, and we’re on ice,” I say dryly, and he chuckles against my skin, his breath so warm, it’s welcomed.
“Want me to take you back to the hotel and warm you up?”
“Yes, but I might need to defrost in the car.”
He grins, kissing my top lip. “Same.”
He leans his head into mine, and my eyes fall shut as I take in all his warmth. “I’m having so much fun,” I whisper, and he moves his nose with mine.
“Me too,” he whispers back, and when I open my eyes to see his closed, my heart sings. His whole face is red and his nose is running from the cold, but he’s still fantastically beautiful. He’s let his hair grow a bit, and it’s shaggy around his ears, curly and unruly. God, I am his. He must feel me staring at him because he opens his eyes to meet my gaze.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m great,” he says softly. “Thank you.”
“For what? Skating with my boyfriend?”
“For being you,” he answers, his eyes burning into mine. “For being there for me.”
“Oh, Evan. Always,” I say gently, and then I shrug, overwhelmed by my feelings for him. My heart soars in my chest as I get lost in his eyes. “It’s easy when I’m so completely in love with you.”
I don’t know why. I mean, I know Evan. I know he’s not one for big reactions, but it almost puts me off that he doesn’t react to my statement. Not even a flinch. I almost think he doesn’t hear me. Evan slides his hand up my neck, cupping my jaw before rubbing his thumb along my bottom lip. His eyes burn so hotly into me, I swear I warm up in two seconds.