A/N: I'm spoiling you guys with all these quick updates. [insert sigh] Oh well ;)
Chapter 12: Ice Rink
"An ice-skating rink, Zach? Really?" I asked when we arrived at our destination.
"I told you, you would need to wear something warm," Zach replied as he stepped onto the rink.
We were inside a small mall that was hardly crowded. In fact there was only one other couple with a small son on the rink. I watched as the boy fell down on the ice a few tears coming to his eyes. His parents—I assume—came over to him immediately as the father picked him up and whispered encouraging words to him while the mother held out her hand, palm open, a few inches in front of him. Cautiously and wide-eyed the boy skated slowly to his mother. When he reached her he grasped her hand with both of his small ones in a death grip and stared straight at the solid ice ground. He smiled—showing a few missing teeth in the process—from having made the very small successful skate without falling. His father came up beside him and held out his hand as the boy took it and slowly they skated with him in the middle as if they were teaching him how to walk for the first time. In this case it was skate.
There was tapping sound as I tore my gaze from the scene and looked over at Zach who was tapping on the glass to draw my attention. He was smirking, of course, while I rolled my eyes and stepped onto the rink. There was a problem though and that was I never really learned how to ice skate. My parents never took me when I was little and as far as I could remember I've never actually seen an ice rink before. But I could fake it, right?
Zach was already skating flawlessly away towards the middle of the ice rink expecting me to follow. I slid across the ice slowly feeling incredibly unstable and ill prepared and it didn't help with Zach watching my progress.
I kept going and almost fell flat on my face. I could hear Zach stifling a laugh as I glared at him. He came back over to me.
"Can't skate, Gallagher Girl?" he asked.
"Of course I can," I lied not wanting to admit it.
He shook his head. "Cammie, I know you can't skate. You didn't know how the first time when we were here and you landed right on your face because you were stubborn and didn't want to admit it. Do you want to repeat history?"
I looked at him angrily. "You know I can't skate so you just stand back watching, letting me look like a fool!?"
"Cam, there's only three other people here, who we don't know and are far too occupied with themselves to notice us. Besides you're the one who wants to lie and pretend to skate when you don't know how." He looks at me amused.
"Yeah…well, still," I replied still fuming and trying to keep the heat down in my cheeks.
"It's not that hard to learn," Zach said holding out a gloved hand. "Just take it nice and slow and lucky for you your muscles have already been through this. They know what to do."
Warily I take his hand and it closes around mine immediately. He starts skating slowly tugging me along.
I hold on tighter to his hand as I slide more than skate across the ice. "So, we've been here before?" I ask wanting a distraction. In the process I might as well learn more about my life.
"Yeah," Zach said smiling as he says it. I look at him with narrowed eyes.
He suddenly turns causing me to shriek and grasp my other hand to his arm leaning into him. And what does he do in response? He chuckles at my lack of balance and fright.
I punch him gently in the arm, but remain clinging to it. "Don't do that again, Zach."
"Alright, now do you want to learn how to skate without having to hold onto someone for dear life?" Zach asked as a blush comes that I can't cover up. I can feel the heat from his body next to mine and I can't help but not that it feels nice especially considering how cold the room is.
"Yes," I responded nimbly.
"Now, it's easy it's all about the lean and push—"
"The what?" I ask looking at him a little crazy.
"Lean and push, its pure physics. What you need to do is lean and dig your blades into the ice that will help increase the friction and your ability of control. Then to go faster you simply push your blade against the curved track and that's how you ice skate gracefully." (A/N: I haven't ice-skated in years, literally. So everything Zach is telling her I got off Wikipedia so it might not be right.)
I look down at the ice and see all the scratches made from the blades and wonder if it's as easy as he is making it out to be. "That's it?" I ask unsure.
"That's it," Zach insists slowly moving away from me.
Soon he's two feet away from me and I'm on my own in skating. I do exactly what he's said I lean and dig my blades and I glide nicely across the ice. Then pushing my luck I push against the ice and increase my speed. It goes smoothly and I smile at my progress before I realize Zach didn't teach me how to stop or how to turn and I barely see the wall in time.
I place both hands in front of me so I don't slam face first into the wall. Hitting the wall I try to grab onto something as I completely lose my balance, but there's nothing to grab onto so I fall onto the ice landing on my butt.
I hear distant laughing and look to see the little boy smiling and laughing while his parents are trying to quiet him down. So much for sweet and so much for being not embarrassed.
Zach skates smoothly across the ice and stands in front of me looking a little guilty. "Guess I should've told you how to stop."
"You think," I replied angrily trying to stand up. He holds out a hand but I swat it away and stand up on my own. Then I fall forward still off-balanced and Zach catches me around the waist in an iron-like grip. "I really, really hate the ice," I mutter blowing a strand of hair out of my eyes.
Zach helps me to re-balance. "Well, good thing we never moved to Alaska."
"Zach, why did you bring me here?" I ask not in the mood for jokes. "What's the point other than making me look like a fool?"
"You didn't look like a fool, Cam."
"I feel flat on my butt, I looked like a fool."
There's silence as Zach stares down at the ice. "So you don't have a clue why?" he asks sounding disappointed.
"Of course not, why would I be asking you if I knew the answer?" I respond frustrated. "Why take me to an ice-skating rink when you know I can't skate? Why is this place so special?"
"It's where I proposed to you," Zach answered looking up at me.
I stood there, surprised. "Really?" I asked not expecting any of this.
"Yes, I didn't plan it that way. It was sort of a spur of the moment type of thing," Zach said running a hand through his hair.
"What did I say when you asked?"
Zach grinned arched an eyebrow and replied, "You said 'yes.'"
"Well I know that, I can guess that," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "But what did I say exactly."
Letting out a breath he says, "You asked me 'what took you so long.'" A look of puzzlement crosses my face while Zach shakes his head grinning from ear to ear at the memory. "Apparently you knew I bought the engagement ring months prior, which I had been carrying around with me ever since I bought it. Macey, being Macey, decided to snoop around and found the ring one time in my jacket pocket. I always thought that eventually I would come up with a plan on how to propose to you, but nothing came so it just stayed in my pockets, always with me. Then when we were here goofing around and I was teaching you how to skate you fell almost exactly the way you just did and a few feet from this spot. You pouted and feigned hurt. I tried to help you up like before but instead of whacking my arm out of the way you decide it's more fun to pull me down with you in front of thirty-two strangers.
"And, then, well you grabbed my face and kissed me hard. Then you pulled away and laughed ignoring all the stares we were receiving. It was then I knew, I just knew, it was the right time. So I pulled out the small box from my pocket and presented it to you even doing the whole one knee thing, which by the way isn't fun on ice. And, well, you know the rest." He shrugged his shoulders looking across the ice.
"Wow," was all I could mutter for a moment. "That's sweet and not drawn-out and over-done with romance. It's more realistic, I like it." I nod my head thinking it over and starring at the ice.
"You liked it then too." Zach's breath was right against my ear. I turn my head quickly to see him gazing down at me. "You liked how it was impulsive, not overdone, and in the moment." He pushed a lock of hair behind my ear and leaned forward his breath caressing my face. "The same reason you liked Vegas when we decided to elope before having the actual wedding ceremony."
"Attention all shoppers the mall will be closing in ten minutes. Attention all shoppers the mall will be closing in ten minutes. Thank you."
Just like that the spell was broken and Zach leaned away and skated off.
"Wait," I shouted, following him. "Are you serious? We eloped in Vegas?" I asked partly mortified. I could see my mom going nuts if I even considered the idea let alone actually go through with it.
Zach looked back at me, gave me a wink, and only said, "You figure it out, Gallagher Girl. I can't give you everything." Then he was stepping out of the rink while I stopped right in the middle staring at the other couple, but more specifically the boy.
He was pointing at me and giggling but somehow it wasn't in a mean way. "You fwell down toooo?" he asked. "I saw you."
"Yes, you did," I replied.
"It's not fun fwalling. It's cold and hard when you fwall. You didn't know how to scatee either?" he asked pulling his parents forward even though they were pulling him away.
"No. I didn't, apparently."
He smiled again. "I didn't know either, but nows I'm not the only one. But my mommy and daddy are teaching me," he said looking up at the both of them. "Is he teaching you?" he asked looking over at Zach who was sitting on a bench watching us.
I lowered myself down closer to the boy's level. "Yes he is, but he's not a very good teacher," I said looking at Zach's reaction from the corner of my eye.
The little boy laughed looking at Zach and then back at me. "If he's not good then fwire him that's what granny allways says."
"Peter, it's time to go let's stop bothering the nice lady," his mother said obtaining her sons attention.
"It's alright," I said as Peter looked back at me. "It was nice to meet you Peter."
Before Peter was able to reply his parents were already dragging him off the rink and across the carpentered floor. Not before Peter had the chance to talk to Zach though.
"You need to be a better teacher or she'll fwire you," he said before he was gone.
I grinned while stepping out of the rink.
Zach watched me very carefully looking bemused. "You liked that little boy?" he asked as we walked past the benches.
"Yeah, I guess I did," I said twisting my engagement ring across my finger and subconsciously smiling.
"Cam do—Never mind," Zach said cutting himself off.
I looked up at him and tried to read his expression but came up empty. "Do I, what?"
"Forget about it," Zach said with a flick of his wrist. "Now we just need to go home and start preparing for another day." He holds out his arm as if to wrap it around my waist but then drops it instead.
Smiling still, I pick his arm up and wrap it around my waist earning a quizzical look from Zach which makes me want to laugh.
Tonight was turning into a great night.
A/N: So what do you think? Was it Zammie? They didn't kiss but there was definitely intimate interaction. Regardless, they are making progress plus you found out how Zach proposed to Cammie. So, you know how to thank me for the quick update….REVIEW!