Crossing the Ice (18 page)

Thunder vibrated the car, and wind and rain thrashed against the windows, hiding us from the world. Josh kissed my lips, and I brought my hands up to his face. The faint stubble on his cheeks prickled my palms.

He sank his fingers into my hair, loosening my ponytail, and then he slowly pulled his head back so we were looking into each other’s eyes. Even in the darkness his spoke so much to me.

“Please don’t walk away from me again,” he said.

My heart overflowed from the emotion in his voice. How could I turn away from him? From the obviously strong feelings he had for me?

“I won’t.” I breathed against his lips. “I can’t.”

We melted into another kiss and were just heating up again when Josh’s phone rang in the console. His mouth reluctantly left mine.

“Damn,” he whispered.

He fumbled for the phone and glanced at the screen before answering, “Hey.”

“Where are you?” I heard Stephanie’s voice. “You’re usually home by now.”

He took a long swallow. “I was um… I was waiting to see if the rain would let up.”

“I don’t think it’s letting up anytime soon.”

He rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, I’ll… I’ll probably leave in a bit.”

When he ended the call, I said, “I might be hearing from Em soon, too. She knows I never go out with Meredith on weeknights.”

“We still have a few minutes,” he said, cupping my face.

Our lips met, and I curled my arms around him. Not until we were completely out of breath did we stop. I rested my head on Josh’s shoulder, and he caressed my back with long, slow strokes.

“How are we going to do this?” I asked quietly.

“What do you mean?”

I lifted my head. “I don’t think I can tell Mark. He just… he wouldn’t understand.”

“I know Steph wouldn’t understand either.”

“Then I think we have to keep this quiet.”

He brushed a loose curl behind my ear. “At least for now.”

My phone rang, and I reached for my purse. After I gave Em the same excuse Josh had given Stephanie, I turned back to him. Having to hide our relationship from our partners was one of the reasons I’d run from Josh in the first place. But looking into his eyes, I knew I had to do whatever I could to hold onto this. Because this feeling… this special, wonderful, exhilarating feeling I had when I was with him… it was too good to let go.

Chapter Fourteen

“Coco, you so pretty!” Quinn gaped at me.

I took the last two steps carefully in my red peep-toe heels and squatted as low as I could in my black leather pants. “And you’re the most beautiful princess in all the land.”

She giggled and waved her glittery wand. She’d had on her Halloween costume since noon. The sun was just about to set, so she didn’t have to wait much longer to go trick-or-treating.

“Oh my gosh, Court, you look amazing,” Em said as she came down the stairs. “You’re the perfect Sandy.”

And I had the perfect Danny waiting for me to complete our
Grease
theme, but I couldn’t tell Em that tidbit. Keeping my relationship with Josh quiet had been harder than I’d expected, mostly because I was so deliriously happy to be with him that I wanted to tell everyone I knew. Meredith was the only person with whom I’d shared the news.

Quinn skipped down the hall toward Alex the pirate, and I stood and straightened my sleeves. My black off-the-shoulder shirt was just as tight as my pants. It had taken me fifteen minutes to squeeze myself into the outfit.

“I love having Halloween on a weekend so I can actually go out and enjoy it,” I said.

“You deserve a fun night out. You skated well in Paris, and you’ve been working so hard since you got back.” Em picked up one of Alex’s trucks from the floor. “You’re in for an experience in P-town. Sergei and I still talk about the costumes we saw when we went years ago.”

P-town, or Provincetown as it was officially known, had a large gay community and the most elaborate Halloween festivities on the Cape. Meredith and I had decided it would be the most fun place to spend the holiday, and the fact it was located on the far end of the island made it the perfect place for Josh and me to go out.

“Meredith’s never been either, so we’re both preparing ourselves for the craziness.” I opened my small red purse and fished out my keys.

“Is it just you two going?”

“Um… Meredith’s new boyfriend is coming.” I conveniently left out the part about
my
date.

“You don’t mind being a third wheel?”

Em watched me closely, and I felt like she might be suspicious. But how could she know? If Quinn had blabbed, she would’ve said something. I was a terrible liar, so my face was probably red.

“No, it’s cool.” I fiddled with my keys. “I’d better get going so I can meet them and we can start the long drive. Have fun trick-or-treating.”

“We will. Be careful.”

I smiled as I headed to the garage. Em and Sergei always gave me my own space and didn’t try to act like my parents, but sometimes Em’s motherly instincts couldn’t be suppressed.

The closer I got to Meredith’s house, the more butterflies gathered in my stomach. It happened every time I knew I was going to see Josh. I was especially anxious because this was going to be our first real date. With skating and work taking almost all our time, our relationship so far had consisted of having dinner at the restaurant before my shift and making out in my car for a few minutes after. I was so excited we could finally hang out together as a couple.

I turned onto Meredith’s street, and my heart pitter-pattered at the sight of Josh in her driveway. He’d mussed up his hair with gel, and he wore a tight black T-shirt and dark jeans. His sleeves were rolled up, showing off the bulge in his biceps, and I itched with the anticipation of wrapping my fingers around them. We could be as free and affectionate with each other tonight as we wanted. And seeing him now… oh, how I wanted.

Josh turned away from Meredith and her boyfriend Adam to watch me step out of the car, and I fluffed my long curls over my shoulders. His eyes widened and swept over me from head to toe. He met me halfway down the driveway and put his hands on my hips while mine went straight for his arms.

“Holy smokes,” he said quietly. “Court, you look… the word hot just isn’t enough.”

My butterflies fluttered on overdrive as Josh glanced again at my costume. I leaned into him and squeezed his biceps.

“You look pretty indescribable, too,” I said.

“I need to see the outfit,” Meredith said and instructed me to turn around. “Whoo!
Sex-ay
!”

I surveyed her
Flintstones
costume, which resembled a mini toga. “You’re totally rocking the hot cavewoman look.”

“I wanted sexy comfort. Being able to wear sandals sealed the deal.”

“And I get to not wear pants.” Adam spun around in his Fred Flintstone orange toga. “Just kidding. I have shorts on under here.”

Meredith walked around to the passenger side of Adam’s car. “Let’s get on the road. It’s gonna take us an hour to get there.”

Josh and I slid into the backseat, and I cozied against him as he draped his arm around me. With the limited amount of time we’d been able to spend together, an hour car ride sounded heavenly. While we all talked and laughed about our childhood Halloween costumes, Josh caressed my hand, tracing wispy patterns on my palm with his thumb. Every stroke he made melted me more inside. I was going to be a puddle of mush by the time we got to P-town.

“What was your favorite costume?” Josh asked me. “I’m guessing Dorothy.”

“I was Dorothy a couple times, but my favorite was when I dressed up like my grandma’s cat.”

“Your grandma’s cat?” Meredith cackled from the front seat.

“He was this huge, fluffy orange and white beast named Arthur, but I used to call him Fluffy McFlufferson.”

“Fluffy McFlufferson?” Josh’s laughter shook both of us, and I started laughing, too.

“I thought Arthur was too boring. Anyway, I loved that cat and pretended he was mine, so my mom made this big orange and white fur ball of a costume for me. All you could see was my little face because everything else was covered in fluff. I had to waddle down the street to trick-or-treat because I was so stuffed up.”

Everyone in the car cracked up, and I added, “I was pretty stinkin’ cute, though.”

Josh caught his breath and grinned at me. “I bet you were. But I’m glad you’ve moved on to less furry costumes.”

He rubbed my leg, and I angled toward him and brushed my lips to his, hinting at what I wanted. He gave it to me in a soft, slow kiss that sent a long, electric shiver down my spine.

I was still buzzing when we arrived in P-town. We found our way to the hub of activity, and I immediately saw what Em had meant about the costumes. In a stretch of one block, we encountered more feathers, leather, and skin than I’d ever seen. Lady Gaga seemed to be a popular costume choice for the evening, but I couldn’t tell if some of the impersonators were men, women, or a mixture of both.

“Hey, Blue Eyes.” A guy in a sparkly jumpsuit looked Josh up and down.

Josh blushed, and I covered my giggle with my hand. He got quite a few more catcalls and waggled eyebrows as we walked down crowded Commercial Street. Adam received his own share of comments, most about his bare legs.

“Lookin’ good, Danny Zuko!” someone called out as we entered one of the clubs.

Josh gave his admirer a little wave, and I leaned closer to him. “You’re actually more like the lead guy in
Grease 2
than Danny Zuko. Remember the smart, quiet one?”

He moved in front of me and pulled me against him. “You don’t think I could be the bad boy?”

The passion in his hooded eyes made my knees weak. I looped my arms around his shoulders and held on tight.

“I don’t want you to be.” I put my lips to his ear. “Sweet, shy guys are
so
much hotter.”

He turned his head so our mouths just about touched. A slow smile spread across his, and one soon followed on mine. He kissed me, and I felt an extra thrill that we were standing in a crowded room, happily acting like a couple should.

“You lovebirds want something to drink?” Meredith asked.

“I’ll get it,” Josh said, loosening his hold on me.

She waved him off. “I’ve got the first round.”

“I’ll take a diet soda,” I said.

“Regular for me,” Josh said.

“Oh, you crazy kids.” Meredith laughed as she and Adam headed to the bar.

Josh laced his fingers through mine. “You can get something stronger if you want. Just because I don’t drink doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”

“I’m good with soda. But I have been kinda curious… is there a specific reason you don’t drink?”

He shrugged. “I’ve just seen a lot of people get messed up from it. People I went to school with and stuff. I figured I’d just stay clean… and it’s probably better for training, too.”

“That’s a good—”

“Hey, I know you.” A guy dressed like a vampire pointed at me and then at Josh. “And you too. You’re Courtney Carlton and Josh Tucker.”

Crap, I should’ve known there would be skating fans in a gay club.

“Hi,” I said tentatively.

“I
love
figure skating.” He gushed. “I thought you were both
fantastic
at nationals last year.”

“Thank you,” Josh and I both said.

The guy’s eyes darted back and forth between Josh and me and then down to our clasped hands. “So you two are a couple? I heard you were training together now.”

“Um… we are but… we’re kinda keeping it quiet, so…” I looked at Josh.

“We’d appreciate you not telling anyone you saw us,” he said.

The vampire gave us a knowing smile and a better view of his bloody fangs. “I get it. You’re on the down-low. There’s a lot of that going on around here.”

He dropped his voice. “What happens in P-town stays in P-town.”

He whipped his cape dramatically and disappeared into the costumed throng. Josh and I just stared at each other, still processing the conversation.

“He probably won’t even remember he saw us,” Josh finally said.

“Hopefully he’s not one of those fans who posts every little thing on the message boards. I don’t want Mark finding out from the internet that we’re dating.”

“Steph reads every post on the boards, so she would definitely see it.”

“Did she question you at all about tonight?”

“I just told her I was going out with some friends. I’d mentioned before that I’d met some people and that’s why I stay out late for dinner, so she didn’t seem to think anything of it.”

Meredith and Adam reappeared empty-handed, and Meredith clapped and steered us toward the exit. “Change in plans. Someone said there’s karaoke next door!”

My feet slowed. “Karaoke?”

“Yep, and everyone must sing or you will suffer the punishment of being called a chicken forever and ever.”

Josh and I exchanged terrified glances. I could skate in front of thousands of people — millions if you counted those watching on TV — but the idea of singing in front of any amount of people scared the bejeebers out of me.

“You guys are karaoke virgins, aren’t you?” Meredith asked.

“Uhh…” Josh mumbled.

Adam grinned and rubbed his hands together. “This is gonna be fun.”

He and Meredith hooked their arms around us and walked us next door so we couldn’t escape. The club was even bigger than the previous one and filled with even more people. My stomach flip-flopped as I watched three girls on the stage train wreck their way through a Beyoncé song.

“Let’s get drinks and then we’ll check out what songs they have,” Meredith said. “Sure you don’t want a cocktail? A little liquid courage?”

Josh took a long look at the stage and then shook his head. “I’ll stick with soda.”

Well, if he could get up there stone-cold sober, I could find the guts to do it, too. Maybe this would be a good lesson in courage I could apply to skating later.

“Keep mine the same, too,” I said.

“You know what you guys should sing?” Meredith bounced up and down. “‘Summer Nights’ from
Grease
! I’m sure they’ll have it.”