“That’s where I wanna be...”
Today I knew that I should be responsible and get more work done, but surprisingly I got a lot done the day before. Nick was a good distraction but he also had an amazing work ethic. I wanted to do something fun for the day. Monday would be back to school and Tuesday would be work, so I was gonna take the time. I laid in bed contemplating what I wanted to do and waiting for Nick to wake up. I thought that it might be fun to go skating and get hot chocolates but that might be a little public. I could feel stirring beside me so I decided to jump on him.
“Wake up!” I jumped on his chest, I stuck my head over his. I got flipped and squished. He won this round.
“Umm, I love the body contact, but I need to breathe. Just sayin’, please?” I would give up breathing for this, but I feel like it wouldn’t be the best choice. He flipped us back over and I laid my head on his chest.
“Does life actually get better than this?” I knew that it couldn’t.
“If it does, I’m not sure I can handle it.”
“I could stay like this forever.”
“I would love to let you, really and truly. I gotta pee though.” I laughed and let him up. A few minutes later, he walked back into the room and laid back down beside me.
“I’ve got a question for you.” Nick looked awful cute.
“What’s that?”
“I wanna be part of your world. I wanna do something normal and random.”
“I can do that, mostly. Random might be hard, since we’ll likely make a plan.”
“You know what I mean, smart ass.”
“ I was thinking about going skating and getting hot chocolate.”
“That would be amazing.” I loved the look of excitement on his face.
“I thought so, I was just worrying about the whole privacy thing. I don’t want to start a riot.” I wanted to go so badly. I had skated for years and it was always my favourite thing to do.
“I’ll make it work, scarves, hat, mittens. It’s so worth it. I can’t skate worth crap, but it would be fun.”
“I’ve always skated, I’ll hold your hand and help you.” This idea was getting better by the minute.
“This is gonna be awesome.”
“How do you want to get there? You really wanna be part of my world? Ride the subway?” This day could turn bad, but could also be epic.
“We should definitely do that. I haven’t be on a subway in years.”
“Alright, breakfast, showers, skating. Let’s do it!”
We made breakfast and got ready for the day. We made sure to bundle up the best we could and get our stuff together. Nick was right, he was hard to recognize with a scarf pulled up to his nose, and a hat pulled down.
We walked out to the bus and down to the subway station. It should be a pretty quick ride downtown. Sometimes the trip from Sheppard to Dundas could be a long one. Not usually though. We got on the train and sat in the back corner. I let Nick sit on the inside and I sat on the outside facing into him. He pulled my legs up and I curled into him with my head on his shoulder. I wished every commute could be this good. When they announced our station, we stood and got ready to get out. When the train began to slow, Nick stumbled and knocked into me. All I could do was laugh, he looked so upset.
“It’s okay Nick, I have stumbled into complete strangers.” It was his turn to laugh at me.
We walked out to Nathan Philips Square and rented skates for Nick. I had luckily brought mine along, so I didn’t have to wear rentals. Ick. We laced up, which I kinda had to help Nick with. It takes practice. Luckily it wasn’t too busy and I stepped out onto the ice first. I held my hand out to Nick and he looked back at me like a deer caught in the headlights. I laughed and encouraged him on.
“Come on, you can do this. It’s not hard.” I skated around a little in front him, just to prove it. Finally he took my hand and got on the ice.
We skated around in circles for what seemed like forever, hand in hand. Laughing when one of us would stumble. It was so much fun. Shortly after getting there the ice cleared and I had a bit of an idea.
“Wanna see something cool?” I decided that I wanted to show off a bit. I had always skated and loved to entertain.
“Sure.” I let go of his hand and gathered some speed. I turned backwards and angled into an enabauer. I held it straight across the ice and tried to be as graceful as possible. I skated back up to him and smiled. I felt kind of shy now.
“That was awesome, keep showing off. I wanna see more.” There wasn’t a whole lot I could do anymore, I hadn’t skated like that in years.
I gained some speed again and did a forward spiral into a backward spiral and then a single axel out of it. I laughed when I was done because I almost fell on my ass.
“I think you lied when you said you just always skated. I think there is a bit more to it then that.” I laughed.
“You might be kinda right. I skated for 16 years, coached and judged. It was kinda a big part of my life for a long time.”
“That’s awesome. Why didn’t you pursue it?”
“Well, college for one and really my family didn’t have the money for me to become really good. Coaching and ice time is expensive, not to mention the skates and dresses. It can get ridiculous. It just wasn’t an option. So I always just fooled around, skated whenever I could, in front of whoever I could.” I drifted off for a minute, remembering all the times I skated and how much fun I used to have. I did truly love it.
“I’m sorry. That’s terrible. You seem to really love it.”
“It’s not your fault, it happens sometimes. My parents struggled to support me as is and I always had what I wanted. I just couldn’t burden them for more. I loved them too much. I enjoyed it though. I can show you more... If you want that is.” I knew I wanted to but I was a little unsure if he would want to stand in the cold and watch.
“Go for it baby, show me your best.” I skated off and launched into a double flip. It was always my favourite jump and the one thing I figured I could always land. It was the hardest jump but once I mastered it, it was in my blood. After that I thought I’d give spinning a try and did a layback. I always loved the artistry involved in spins like that. The beauty that you could make your own. I kept doing everything I could think of until I tired myself out. I skated over to Nick and wrapped my arms around him.
“Thank you for this. You have no idea how much it means to me to share something I love like this.” I didn’t want to let go of him and I just buried my head into his chest. We stood there for a few minutes, him just holding me and me just taking it all in.
“You know you’re welcome, I understand the feeling. That’s why I love to sing and love my work. You looked beautiful out there. The smile you get, it’s breathtaking. You’re breathtaking.” He pulled my head up to look at him and kissed me. There in the middle of Nathan Philips Square, Nick Carter was kissing me and I was in heaven.
“How about that hot chocolate baby girl? I’m starting to freeze.”
“Let’s go. Me too.” We took off our skates and cleaned them. Putting mine away and giving his back.
We went to the Starbucks across the street and sat in the back sipping hot chocolates and sharing a quiet conversation.
“So how is your ‘normal’ day?”
“It’s better than I could have asked for. I think it’s the company.”
“I’m sorry that my life isn’t glamorous. I just do simple things and spend time with people.”
“Baby, where ever you are, that’s where I wanna be. Don’t apologize. I’m jealous. I love your life. You get to have it the way you want, no worries. You can just do the things you want. I envy you. You don’t know how much I appreciate you sharing this with me. It never happens to me.” I took his hands in mine and smiled at him.
“You’re welcome where ever I am. I love having you around. Where ever you are is where I wanna be. It’s always a good time.”
“Have dinner with me?”
“Of course.”
“I have another question.” The look on his face got serious and I was a little worried.
“I don’t wanna seem presumptuous but I was wondering if I could cancel my hotel room and come stay with you. I’m not here a lot longer and I don’t wanna miss a moment. I know you have to work and have school. I won’t be in your way, I promise. I just wanna be with you. Please?” The look on his face broke my heart. He looked so hopeful and yet a bit unsure. As if I could say no.
“Of course, I want you there. You’re more then welcome in my home. Always.”
“Thank you so much. I was so worried, I didn’t want to intrude.”
“No problem, you can grab your stuff whenever.”
“I’ll drive down after dinner. I’ll be there tonight, that way I can hold you in my arms all night.”
“Jeez, you’re so sweet you might make sick. My mom always warned me about smooth talkers. Good thing I never listen.” We both laughed and continued talking. After awhile, we headed to dinner and back home. Nick did grab his stuff and was back at my house. Ready to stay and sleep in my bed. My own little slice of heaven.
Chapter End Notes:
Sorry for the technical skating terms, youtube them if your not familiar. They are kinda hard to explain. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing. :)
