American Panda(28)

I took a seat beside Penny to emphasize that point.

“Are you an avid skater, Mei?”

“Uh, no. I’ve never tried it. But I dance, so maybe some of my balancing skills will transfer over?”

Darren scooted down the bench until he was directly behind me. “I didn’t know you danced.” His eyes twinkled as he said, “I know a thing or two about pas de bourrées and piques.”

My mouth went slack, and I stared until my tongue dried out. “You speak dance.”

“My sister is really into jazz, and I’ve listened to her talk about it my whole life.”

I was glad my mouth was already open. I snapped it shut, scratched my head, wiped my nose with my finger—anything to cover up the longing I was feeling toward him. Even if he stood up and did a pique on the spot, it didn’t change his background or mine.

“Such a show-off,” Billy said, breaking my bubble when he reached over me to smack Darren’s knee. “Don’t be fooled, Mei—he can’t dance worth a damn. It’s all talk.”

Darren chuckled. “How would you know? Last I checked, you haven’t given me the opportunity to waltz you around the floor. I accept your challenge.”

Billy rolled his eyes at me. “See what I mean? All talk.”

“But he offered to prove it,” I said. It felt so good to be included, to be seen.

“Uh, no,” Billy said with emphasis. “He just knew I’d refuse to dance with him because I’m a rotten dancer.”

Darren held his hands up in submission. “I never said I was a good dancer. But I dance.” He splayed his long, wiggling fingers into jazz hands. “For fun. No idea how I look doing it and never intend to find out.”

I couldn’t help imagining Darren flailing his gangly limbs around. A-dorable.

Annnd cue the guilt sweats. Imaginary Mǎmá Lu couldn’t even give me one freaking second.

“It’s all good, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome,” Penny said to Darren. “You don’t have to be great at everything.”

Amav pouted. Before he could speak, Penny leaned down, kissed him, and said, “Don’t worry, darlin’. I personally like ’em short, cute, and spunky.”

Amav picked her up, making her squeal, and they left to skate in their private, romantic bubble.

My eyes followed them around the rink, wondering if I’d ever be able to have that with someone. It seemed so difficult to find to begin with, let alone among the few fertile Taiwanese doctors my parents approved of. And it didn’t help that I seemed to be attracted only to spiky-haired forbidden fruit.

Once my skates were fastened, I clutched the seat and raised my butt a millimeter at a time, eventually standing successfully. So far so good. I held on to the side of the rink as I stepped onto the ice, but the second I let go, my torso flew forward.

Darren skated a graceful arc around me, his arm encircling my waist. “I’ve got you. Try to bend your knees a little, and keep your feet shoulder width apart.” He exaggerated his stance to demonstrate.

I couldn’t focus on anything with his hand burning a hole in my side. I had dreamed of affection like this for so long, but I never thought it would come with so many complicated strings.

I must have tensed because Darren let go. And, of course, I went flying forward again. He tried to grab me, but my flailing arm socked him in the stomach, and we crumpled into a heap on the cold ice.

Oh God.

“I’m so sorry,” I said from beneath Darren’s left arm and leg. “I should just crawl out of here on my hands and knees. That’d be less embarrassing.”

Darren laughed, loud and genuine, which put me more at ease as we untangled.

I stood slowly, trying to locate my center and use my dance training to keep myself upright. I tried a few short, choppy steps, but at this rate it would be graduation day by the time I finished one lap.

“Um, could you maybe help me out a bit?” I rationalized it was for my safety (and his). Perfectly innocent.

His arms were as cozy as a Snuggie. I took a deep breath to relax my muscles, and I finally allowed myself to sink into him.

To my dismay, I started to get the hang of it after a few snail-paced loops. But, fortunately, Darren’s arm remained snug around my waist. As our feet glided in almost-sync, I forgot about the other crap in my life and lost myself in his body heat, the crackling energy of the other skaters, the sound of blades scraping.

Billy skated over, jumping to a stop and spraying ice bits over our feet (and our moment). “Guys! I just heard from someone that LSC starts tonight! We have to go! If we catch Saferide, we can get there before previews start. C’mon!”

He was already speeding toward the bleachers before we could respond.

Darren turned to me. “Want to go watch a movie in a lecture hall?”

“But it’s Tuesday.”

“Exactly.” He grinned, crooked and boyish with just the right amount of mischief. It sent a thrill through me.

The MIT Saferide was packed, forcing us to cram in the aisles, grabbing on to whatever we could to stay upright. I tried not to think about the bacteria crawling on the shuttle and now my hands.

“This is the most spontaneous thing I’ve ever done,” I called out to Darren.

His gaze met mine over the other passengers’ heads. “Then I’m really glad we’re doing it. Among other reasons.”