Nudge

Saturday January 18

1:55 PM

"You look beautiful, Sweetheart." Max said, pressing a kiss to my temple.

I fidgeted with the hemline of my red silk blouse and jeans. "Are you sure?"

Max stood next to me in the full-length mirror, she wore dark wash jeans a vampire weekend t-shirt. Angel sat on my bed, reading an old issue of Seventeen Magazine wearing one of Gazzy's old shirts and an ankle length periwinkle skirt. It really shouldn't have worked, but it did, on her. Ella sat behind her and braided her hair, wearing a spaghetti strapped brown sundress.

"He can't even see you," Angel reminded me absently. "I have no idea why you're so nervous."

"Angel!" Ella admonished, smacking the back of Angels head lightly.

"Just wait till you have a boyfriend." I sniped back, wiping my sweating palms on my jeans.

"I do have a boyfriend." Angel stuck out her tongue. "You don't believe me, but I do."

"You're too young to date." Max said automatically, "All of you."

I snorted. "You started dating Fang when you were Angels age."

"That was soo different."

We all snorted at that. Angel was fourteen now, Ella fifteen, Gazzy sixteen, I was seventeen, Iggy was eighteen and Max and Fang were nineteen.

"Are you ready yet? Iggy's pacing is ruining the carpet down here!" Gazzy cried from downstairs.

"Hold on!" Angel called down as I smoothed one last layer of lip-gloss over my lips. "Alright," I said, as if this was my first date and Iggy and I hadn't been dating for two years.

I grabbed my pea coat and walked downstairs. Fang grunted at me as I came down and Gazzy whistled. Iggy's breathtaking face broke into a smile as he heard my approach and he held out his hand for mine.

I took it and he squeezed my hand. "Are you ready?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah" I said, not bothering to grab the car keys, " lets go."

"Have fun!" Ella called.

Right before the door closed behind us, I thought I heard Angel say, "Oh, they will." But I couldn't be sure.

We held hands as we flew.

I didn't have to ask where we were going; we went ice-skating every week. It was our thing, and I loved it.

They knew us at the rink, and greeted us by name and handing us the ice skates we used every time. "Have fun, kids." He told us.

"Thanks, Rodney," I said with a smile, before leading Iggy over to the benches. "You didn't bring anything explosive this time, did you?" I asked quietly as I pulled on my skates.

Iggy just shrugged. "Give it to me, Iggy." I sighed reaching for his pocket.

He jerked away the moment I touched it. "Its not in there," he mumbled, reaching into his other pocket and retrieving the bundle of wires and explosives. "Here."

"Great!" I said with false enthusiasm, pocketing the explosives and standing up to hide my hurt. What didn't he want me to see? Some other girl's number?

I knew I was being ridiculous, Iggy loved me and I trusted him completely, but he had never hid anything from me. Not even once.

Iggy frowned. "What's wrong, Pretty Girl?" he asked, his pale eyebrows pulling in the way he did when he was confused or hurt. He looked both right at that moment.

"Nothing," I said, standing up on the thin blades strapped to my feet.

Iggy was tall enough that he didn't need to stand up to touch the furrow between my eyes with his gentle fingers. "You're lying to me, Nudge. I don't know why you do that." His voice was as gentle as his fingertips.

I bit my lip. There was no way I could tell him. What would I say? Hey Iggy? I know this sounds like I'm a crazy ex girlfriend, but you might have kept me out of one pocket and although you've never done anything to make me doubt you, I was just wondering if that was some other girls phone number. Even though you're blind and can't read it. Yeah, that would really show him how mature I was. "It's nothing really." I said instead.

He still looked troubled, so I pulled him to his feet and we wobbled toward the ice. We were hit with a wall of cold air and Iggy gripped my hand hard in his warm one. My fingers grew warm on one side and cold on the other.

He pulled me closer as we began to skate. "You don't really think it's another girls number, do you Nudge?" he whispered, voice low enough to make me shiver.

I gaped at him, "How could you possibly- never mind, you always know." I grumbled.

He laughed softly, and spun me around the ice. "I know you, Nudge, I knew exactly what you were thinking, and its ridiculous. I should be mad that you thought that, but it's just so laughable I can't even take it seriously enough."

Despite myself, I felt comforted by his words and was content to let my anger go, although I swore to myself I would find out what was in his damn pocket!

After about an hour of skating we stumbled, red and laughing, from the ice and kicked our skates off in favor of our comfy shoes. Then we walked over to the snack bar and ordered two hot chocolates and two large fries. Not for the first time, I thanked God for my fast metabolism, because I loved food, but I didn't do fat.

I noticed a few girls from school picking at salads and whispering about us from behind painted nails. I bit a fry aggressively in their direction and ignored them, deciding I'd deal with them on Monday.

I carefully slipped my hand into his coat pocket as we spoke and my fingers brushed over something that felt like velvet. I gasped as I pulled out a jewelry box. "Iggy…" I breathed, running my fingers over it.

"You pulled it out of my pocket, didn't you?" Iggy's voice was amused with an edge of irritation he rarely used, letting me know he meant business.

Usually this voice made me anxious because it meant he was mad but in this case I was too entranced by the little black box I was turning over in my hands. "Can I open it?" I had to clear my throat to force the words out. My stomach felt light and butterfly-y and nervous.

"You were supposed to wait for me to ask you of my own volition, but if you did that you wouldn't be the girl I love, so Nudge, will you marry me?"

"Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!" I shrieked, throwing myself into his arms and crying. He kissed me, my face wet from my own tears.

"Why are you crying?" Iggy asked, touching my face and frowning.

"Cause I'm happy, you Dolt!" we kissed again, and laughed and I gripped my stomach so the butterflies didn't escape.

"So what's our play?" he asked, "Max is going to think we are too young and Fang will be pissed that we will be married before he and Max will."

"He and Max are getting engaged?"

"No! And not the point."

"I think I should where my ring," I gripped it protectively, "But maybe not tell them, just wait for them to notice."

"I think you're right."

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, scooping up our trash and tossing in the trashcan.

We held hands all the way home.