Us At First (Carolina Rebels 2.50)

“I just left a funeral, so shut the fuck up.”

That’s when he notices Sydney. “Who is this?” He grins like a cat who caught a mouse.

I slide an arm around her waist and pull her against my side. “This is Sydney Jarvis. She’s in town visiting.” To her, I say, “This dumbass is my best friend, Bruce.”

They say hello and I drag her away to get her situated with some skates.

“So, they call you Bruiser?”

“Yeah, and the real reason sucks, so please don’t ask me to tell you why.”

She grins. “Oh, you shouldn’t have said that. You should’ve lied. Why is that your nickname?”

I motion for her to sit on the bench and kneel before her. Talking about my stupid nickname is not enough of a distraction from the fact that I’m about to slip a pair of my socks on her feet and then a pair of skates. I’ll touch feet and ankles, which aren’t that great in and of themselves, but they are attached to a fantastic pair of legs that are right there. Right in front of my face. Her dress drapes around her thighs a few inches above her knees to entice me furth

er. That shouldn’t drive me crazy, shouldn’t make me wonder about what’s underneath, shouldn’t make my legs weak. Thank fuck I’m kneeling is all I have to say.

“Because you could lightly punch my arm and I’ll bruise. What’s the saying? Something about a peach?” I manage to answer her.

Sydney holds her stomach and starts laughing. “You bruise like a peach?”

“Yeah, that’s it. Stop laughing at me, gorgeous. It’s not nice.” I’ve never called a girl gorgeous so much in my entire life. Hell, I don’t think I’ve said the word as much as I have since I met Sydney, but she is and I can’t stop calling her that. It flows off the tip of my tongue like it’s her name and that’s what I’m supposed to call her.

“Sorry, but that’s hilarious.”

“I hate it.”

“I bet you do. I like it.”

“Of course,” I mutter, coming to sit next to her to put on my own pair of skates. “So, just remember that if you grab my arm too hard or make us fall, I’ll tell all the guys that you gave me those bruises doing other things.” I wiggle my eyebrows and grin.

She rolls her eyes and punches my arm. Bruce sits down on the other side of her, now wearing a pair of skates.

“So, will you be in town long?”

“No, she won’t,” I answer. Bruce isn’t about to steal her away from me. He needs to know there’s no hope for him. “She’s leaving tomorrow, so go find someone else to give creepy eyes to.”

He eyes me for a moment and I stare hard. I’m not fucking around; he needs to get that message loud and clear. “I’m going to find everyone else.” He stands and is soon on the ice.

“Are you always mean to your friends?” Sydney asks.

“Not always, and I wasn’t mean. I saved you from getting hit on while we’re here.” She rolls her eyes as I stand. “Come on; let’s teach you how to skate.”

It’s an extremely slow process because Sydney is worse than a baby deer learning how to walk for the first time. She glares at me constantly because I can’t stop laughing at her. I’ve never met anyone who couldn’t at least stay upright for five seconds on skates. If she wasn’t wearing a dress, I’d make her jump onto my back and I’d carry her around the ice. It’s tempting regardless, but I don’t think she’d go for it.

Bruce and a few of the other guys hang out around us. I’m glad they don’t embarrass her by commenting on her obvious lack of skill. We have a good time. As the minutes pass by, I find myself wishing she didn’t have to leave tomorrow.

“Can I be the one to take you to the airport?”

Sydney’s eyes widen. I’ve finally gotten her to a point where she keeps her feet relatively still and together while I pull her around. “Why?”

I shrug. “I’d be more fun, and it seems only fair that since I made sure you safely left the airport, that I make sure you safely make it back there.”

“Seems like a farfetched reason,” she teases.

“Come on, gorgeous. You can’t honestly say you’d rather have your father take you. You’ve been avoiding him since you’ve been here.”

“Which could be a reason why he should take me,” she points out.