Chapter 113: I like your Ass
Kayden
The moment the ride ended and my boots hit the solid, unmoving ground, the world decided to keep spinning.
My legs felt like overcooked noodles, buckling instantly as the adrenaline drained out of me and left my knees numb.
"Oh goodness," I whispered as I swayed, my vision blurring for a split second.
I was about to hit the ground at that moment, but I didn’t; instead, two strong, familiar arms hooked under my pits and hauled me back up.
"Easy there," Rhys muttered as he caught me effortlessly, pulling me back against his chest until I was steady in his arms. "Are you alright?" he asked, placing his hands on my waist.
I leaned into him for a heartbeat, my heart pounding hard against my ribs. Once my vision was in place and I could see clearly, I pushed his arms away and managed to stand on my own, though I kept a death grip on his sleeve just in case the earth decided to tilt again.
"That ride sucks!" I snapped, pointing a trembling finger back at the navy blue car. "It’s a death trap! I am never, ever riding that thing or anything like it ever again."
Rhys chuckled and I glared at him. He raised his hands and smiled at me. He just stood there, looking far too handsome and far too amused for someone who had just listened to me scream like a banshee. "Never again?"
"Never!" I shouted, finally letting go of his arm and attempting to walk away with some shred of dignity, even if I was still wobbling. "I’m an athlete, Rhys! I belong on the ground! If God wanted me to be a hundred feet in the air, He would have given me wings, not skates!"
Rhys burst out laughing. "Oh Kayden, never did I imagine that there was a funny side of you. I am glad that I can see it all to myself now."
"Stop laughing, Rhys! It isn’t funny," I grumbled, but he just kept going. "Rhys Calder!" I screamed out his name.
"Alright, alright," he said, finally catching his breath. "I’m sorry, I just love this cute side of you." He pinched my cheeks and chuckled again. "I know you hate the last ride, but we have one more ride to go to before I take you to the final spot."
"Hell no!" I said firmly. "No more rides for me at all. After that death trap, I don’t think I want to be on more rides."
Rhys stepped closer, his expression softening as he took my hand. "Trust me, Kayden. You’re going to love this one. It will be the highlight of the night."
I let out a groan as Rhys slowly led me down a path. I expected the craziest ride I usually saw online, but instead, we came upon a private ice rink.
"An ice rink?" I asked, looking at him in confusion. "I thought you said a ride? Like a ride as crazy as the Ferris wheel?"
Rhys shook his head and leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear as he whispered, "This is also a ride. It’s our favorite kind. We met on the ice as captain and teammates, then we became boyfriends." He interlaced his fingers with mine. "I even knotted you on the ice, so having one of our first dates here on the ice will make this date more memorable."
I stood there completely frozen. My mouth hung open slightly as I stared at him, my brain still trying to process the blunt, heated reminder of what we had done on the ice back at the dome. I couldn’t even find a witty comeback to throw back at him. I was just shocked that he had said it so casually out here in the open air, where it was only us and the attendant that comes out once in a while.
Before I could find my voice, two attendants appeared from the shadows of the rink’s entrance. They said nothing as they carried our skating shoes as if they were delivering crown jewels.
Rhys didn’t wait. He led me to a heated mahogany bench and sat me down. He knelt on the ground between my feet, ignoring his own skates for a moment as he reached for mine.
I watched him, still a bit dazed, as he helped me wear the shoes and began to thread the laces. Once he was done, he pointed to my feet.
"There," he said, looking up at me with a wink as he finished the second knot. "Perfect fit."
"Thank you," I said.
He quickly laced his own, and within minutes, we were gliding onto the smooth, glassy surface. "So, are we just going to be skating here?"
Rhys shook his head. "Let’s make this interesting," Rhys said, skating backward effortlessly so he could face me. "We’ll skate, and we’ll do a little question-and-answer session. I want us to know each other even better than we do now because even though it seems like I know you, it feels like I really don’t."
"Fine. But don’t expect me to be easy on you, Captain."
"I’ll start then," Rhys said, smiling brightly as if he had just won a gold medal. My heart started racing fast, wondering what he was about to say. "Kayden... out of everything, what is your favorite thing about me?"
I slowed my pace, watching the way the light caught the dark strands of his hair. I could have talked about his leadership, or his kindness, or the way he fought for me ever since we met, but there was something that I truly liked about him—and it was what had attracted me to him.
I let my eyes travel slowly, shamelessly, down his body until they reached right on the tight, muscular curve of his backside, perfectly defined by his trousers as he skated.
"Your ass," I said, my voice flat and completely serious. "I like your ass."