The Viper's Nest (Kit Davenport #4)(11)
He snorted and helped me over to the edge, stepping carefully—confidently, damn him—onto the frozen water, then turning to guide me.
“You couldn’t look anything less than perfect if you tried, sweetheart,” he murmured, and my heart clenched. Damn him. I was falling hard and fast, and I was totally okay with it.
The night flew past in a blink of an eye, and I would have loved to say I took to ice skating like a duck to water... but I didn’t. My skills on skates were nothing short of horrendous.
Wes was true to his word and never did let me fall, despite my uncoordinated legs best attempts otherwise. It was after about the seventh person I almost mowed down that we decided to call it quits, though.
With cold fingers, I unlaced my skates, exchanging them for my boots once more while I watched Wesley making his way through the crowd back to me. He’d gone to grab us food and drinks, but I was taking full advantage to admire my date.
Not much had changed since we met half a year ago... He still wore loose jeans and a hoody that was at least two sizes too big for him. His blond hair was still surfer shaggy, and he still blushed on cue when anything embarrassed him or made him uncomfortable.
And yet, so much had changed. He held himself with more confidence, didn’t dodge eye contact, and was much quicker to speak his mind. At least, he was with me.
“I got us,” he announced, setting the huge tray down on the table, “nachos with extra cheese, cheesy fries, and hot dogs with ketchup, mustard, and cheese. Then to drink... frozen margaritas from one of those slushy machines.”
My eyes widened, taking in the cheesy goodness in front of me, and my mouth watered.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “I think I’m in love.” I paused. “With the food,” I clarified, knowing I’d pulled that line a couple of times before to mess with the guys, but this time it had just slipped out. I really did love cheese!
“Uh-huh.” Wesley grinned. “Sure.”
Crap. Maybe I did mean more than the food? He would probably know better than me, given his magical insight into my feelings… Okay, maybe I wasn’t so comfortable having him know me better than I knew myself.
“So um,” I changed the subject while stuffing cheese covered fries in my mouth, “how much time do we have left?”
Wesley checked his chunky black watch and grimaced. “Not enough.”
“Can we be naughty and stay out past curfew?” I pouted, this time giving Wes my very best puppy dog eyes in an attempt to drag him over to the dark side.
He narrowed his eyes at me while fighting back a mischievous grin. “I might have a better idea up my sleeve. Eat up, and I’ll show you.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise. Wesley... up to no good? This I had to see!
“You got it.” I grinned and happily went to town on the cheese shrine in front of me.
For the next little while, we talked and laughed as we ate, just like any normal couple would. When Wes stood to dispose of our trash, I felt a pang of sadness.
“What’s wrong?” he asked me when he came back.
“Just... thinking how shitty it is that this can’t be us all the time.” I shrugged, chewing at my lip but linking my hand into his to make our way out of the ice rink area.
“Because you’re dating my four best friends and kinda got something with Vali too?” Wesley asked, but the cheeky grin on his face told me he was teasing and not upset about our unconventional relationship.
“No... because people are trying to hunt us or kill us or experiment on us... and then there is the whole need to save the world situation.” I scowled, and he pulled me to a stop at the side of the road.
“So?” he challenged, sliding one cold hand into the hair at the base of my neck. “That just means we need to fight harder for these normal moments and make them count.” He kissed me then, and my heart melted into a puddle of goo at my feet. Fuck, for such an introverted guy, he seriously knew the right thing to say.
“Besides,” he continued when we separated, both our breathing a little escalated and our cheeks pink, “what is normal anyway, right?”
Just as I smiled at him, my lips parting to say something mushy and emotional, there was a screech of breaks and a loud thump behind me, followed by a scream.
“Shit,” Wes cursed, his eyes widening, and I spun to see.
A taxi sat in the middle of the road with its engine still running, and the driver leaped out while we watched, running to the front of his car and the person crumbled on the ground there.
Acting on instinct, I started toward them but Wes grabbed my arm in an iron grip and held me back.
“Wes, what the hell? Let me go so I can help!” I snapped at him, frowning. What the fuck is he playing at?
“Kit, stop. Look around.” He held tighter to my arm, knowing perfectly fucking well I wouldn’t use my strength against him. “Look at how many people are watching right now. If you heal her, you’re outing yourself to the entire world.”
Reluctantly, I glanced around. He was right, of course. There were already some thirty-odd spectators gathered, several with their phones out to record. Fucking vultures.
“Look at her, she’s okay,” Wesley continued, nodding to the girl on the pavement.
She wasn’t okay exactly, but she was howling in pain and clutching her knee, which meant it probably wasn’t a life threatening injury. She was one of the kids from earlier that we’d seen running around and screaming about dragons.