Always, in December(15)
Josie stepped onto the ice first, and immediately clung to the barrier at the side as she shuffled forward to make room for Max. She turned her head to see him following her tentatively, staring at his feet as he slid forward. His expression of unrelenting concentration made her laugh and he looked up at her and smiled sheepishly in response. “I did try to tell you I was no good at this.”
She just shook her head, still smiling, and risked a few more awkward shuffles forward. Most of the other people were on the ice now, and the ones left clinging onto the edges were almost uniformly under the age of twelve.
She glanced back at Max. “OK, come on, we can do this.” She made herself push away very slightly and attempted to copy the woman in front of her. Right leg, left leg, right leg, left leg. Max had followed her—she could see him in her peripheral vision, though she didn’t dare turn her head in case it diluted her focus.
She was halfway around the rink when she lost him. She risked a glance back, having to flail her arms when she nearly fell. Max actually had fallen, apparently—she could see him getting to his feet on the other side of the rink, and grimaced to herself. Great. She should have listened when he said he didn’t want to do it. By the time she completed her first loop he was up on his feet, clinging to the barrier. She met his gaze, and he raised his eyebrows as she headed for him, waving her arms as she realized she had no idea how to stop. She hit the barrier with a gentle thump and laughed a little, despite herself. He smiled too and it lit up his face, his eyes crinkling in a way that softened them. The wave of warm relief that ran through her was almost intoxicating. “You’re a pro,” he said with another grin.
She flicked back her hair dramatically. “Well, I was due to compete in 2012, but my marketing career got in the way.”
He shook his head in mock sadness. “An unsung champion.”
“Tell me about it.” She cocked her head. “Are you OK? I saw you fall.”
He wrinkled his nose. “So much for getting away with that unseen. I’m fine—balance just not really one of my strong suits.”
They leaned back against the barrier, earning a glare from a girl who couldn’t have been older than four, being as how they were blocking the route round. Max took Josie’s hand and pulled her gently back onto the ice, letting go as soon as they were out of the way. A couple in their twenties skated past them, toward the center of the rink, their strides in perfect unison, her bright blue coat perfectly offsetting his grey.
“They look like something out of a bloody Coca-Cola advert,” Max muttered, watching them too, and Josie laughed, causing Max to smile, a little reluctantly she thought, again. “Come on, then,” he said, holding out his hand.
She batted it away playfully. “I’m not holding on to you, you’ll just pull me over.” Exactly like her mum had, she thought to herself, though the memory made her smile now.
They attempted another circle before Max declared that they had to have a break from all the hard work. They were both still smiling when they stepped out of the locker room, a full forty-five minutes ahead of the end of their allotted hour, and Josie felt something shift, like they’d managed to fumble their way through the initial awkwardness a bit. The fact that he was proving he was actually able to have fun helped a little, she admitted.
“So, mulled wine next?” Max asked. “That’s Christmassy, right?”
“Right,” Josie agreed with a nod. They glanced around at the various stalls, both of them seemingly lost as to where to start.
“One of everything,” Max declared, and set off in the direction of the nearest wooden hut, the smells of cinnamon and orange peel getting stronger as they neared it. He handed her a branded Winter Wonderland cup, and they sipped the mulled wine as they walked, now clearly in the market section. Even Josie, who had practically made it her mission not to enjoy this kind of thing in the past, couldn’t resist eyeing up the trinkets—beautiful earrings and handcrafted woodwork.
When Max headed off to the next available drinks stall to get them a top-up, Josie checked her phone and saw a message from Bia.
Are you having fun? Did he like my outfit???
All good. He loved the outfit, hasn’t stopped complimenting it.
I knew it!!! Send a pic. Want to see him.
Josie snorted, but as Max walked over to her she managed to surreptitiously take a photo of him, which she sent to Bia. She got a set of three heart-eyed emojis back.
“They have mulled gin, Josie,” Max said, wearing a look of clearly exaggerated amazement. “Something about cherry and cinnamon, and I sort of lost track after that, but I figured we had to try it.”
Josie smiled a little as she remembered Bia’s mulled water comment but she took her cup and sniffed before taking a tentative sip. It wasn’t bad, though it was a good deal stronger than the mulled wine. They passed a flower stall next, and Max doubled back, then reappeared with a single rose. He snapped off the end of it, then tucked it behind her ear, fastening the stem in place with her hat.
“As a thank you, for bringing me,” he said. He shrugged like it was no big deal, but Josie couldn’t help reaching up to run her fingers over the rose’s petals, then tracing the place where he’d touched her ear.
“So, umm, what do you want to do next?” she asked, partly to cover up the flush that she was sure was creeping into her face. “We could—”