Finally My Forever (15 page)

He glanced at me and I smiled as sweetly as I could even though I was suddenly nauseated.

Chapter 17

I prayed to God right then. I prayed God would forgive me for the super bad thoughts I had about Gina Young.

I pictured Micah doing manly stuff in Gina's backyard with her serving him ice-cold lemonade on a tray. She'd probably be all dolled up like some perfect little homemaker while I was stuck in 11
th
grade science class explaining the principals of science to a student who could care less, or trying to talk some angsty teenage girl off a ledge about her boyfriend during my office hour.

I was lost in thought picturing the whole terrible scenario when he said, "Do you skate?" I stared at him from the passenger's side, wondering if I'd heard him right.

He was watching the road, so I was staring at the side of his face when I asked, "Did you just ask if I skate?"

He laughed at the way I said it. "Yeah."

"Roller skate?" I asked.

He glanced at me with a smile. "Uh-huh. I was gonna take you there, but I figured I should ask first since that's sort of a random place for a date."

"Do
you
skate?" I asked, still thrown off.

He seemed amused by my reluctance. "I'm not a professional or anything, but I can get around the rink without falling as long as no one pushes me over or anything."

"You want to bring me roller skating?" I asked.

He shrugged and glanced at me again. "I thought it'd be fun. But we definitely don't have to if you're not up for it. I think there are a few good bands playing tonight, or we can see a movie."

I'd been so caught up with the way Gina had somehow managed to interrupt our date, that I had to remind myself to stop freaking out and enjoy the evening. He was, after all on a date with me.

"I might have gone to Skate City every Friday night of my life for about three years straight," I said.

"Are you trying to say you're good?" he asked, smirking at me.

"I'm not the type to brag," I said, obviously talking some smack.

He laughed. "We're going," he said.

The skating rink we went to wasn't the same one I went to as a kid, but if you've been to one of them, you've been to all of them. Familiar sights, sounds, and smells hit me the instant we walked through the door.

It was odd to go on a real date where a guy took out his wallet everywhere we went and paid my way. I hadn't dated anyone since Zeke, and even then, he didn't pay for anything. It felt surreal, like I was in a movie or something. I thanked him for paying my way and we took our tickets up to the counter to exchange them for a pair of skates. I got a 7 and he got an 11, and we brought them to the carpet covered benches that lined the rink so we could put them on.

We passed an arcade along the way that had Skee-Ball machines, so of course I made him promise to let me play before we left. A whole host of memories flooded my mind as I sat down and stared out onto the rink. It was full of people of all ages—some which could skate well, and others that could barely stay on their feet.

"This is the coolest idea ever," I said, glancing at him. "I haven’t done it in like ten years, but I'm so excited."

"It's been a while for me too," he said, "so we might have to hang onto each other at first."

My heart skipped a beat at the mention of hanging onto each other. I was so dialed in to the anticipation of his touch, that I wanted to swoon at the very thought of it. I did my best to appear less nervous than I was.

I put on the skates and laced them up tightly. I finished before him, so I stood and tried them out on the carpeted area where we were sitting. "How's it feel?" he asked.

"Good… on carpet," I said. "We'll see how it goes on that slickness." I turned and watched the action on the rink as he finished, and before I knew it, he was standing next to me.

"Ready?" he asked, smiling down at me.

I was extremely glad that I had some fairly good skating skills because Micah held his own out there. He didn't do any fancy stuff, but he was loose and agile for such a big guy, and I would have felt like a big dork if he showed me up after what I said in the truck. Unfortunately, he did not need to lean on me for balance. Part of me hoped there'd be some necessary physical contact, but that wasn't the case.

The DJ was playing pop music. As a high school teacher, I not only recognized but also knew most of the songs by heart. By the time we were 10 laps in, I was steady enough on my feet to dance around and sing a little bit, which obviously entertained Micah.

His smile was so mesmerizing that I was compelled to say, "I think I'm with the cutest guy here."

Micah looked around as if assessing the competition.

"I would totally be jealous of me if I were any other girl here."

"Nobody even knows we're here together," he said, tossing his hands into the air.

I didn't understand his comment and it made me narrow my eyes at him. "What do you mean? We've been skating together the whole time."

"Yeah, but anybody can skate next to anybody," he said. "If we were really here together, we'd be holding hands."

"Oh, so you're saying my options are open?" I asked, looking around.

"I'm saying I want to hold your hand."

My heart either stopped beating all together, or started beating so fast that I couldn't tell the difference.
Remain cool. Remain cool
. I casually held my hand in his direction as if it was okay with me if he took it, and that's just what he did. He laced his fingers in mine, and I might as well have been in middle school with all the butterflies that were churning in my stomach. His hand was big and warm and he rubbed his thumb on the back of my hand as if enjoying the feel of my skin. It was all I could do to remember to skate.

"You slowed down," he said, to my horror. It was true. We had skated an entire lap at about half speed since he grabbed my hand.

"I'm almost forgetting to skate," I said, feeling like I should just be honest.

I glanced at him and he shot me a breathtaking smile. "Because you like holding my hand?" he asked.

"A little bit," I said.

"I think you might like me," he said.

If only he knew.

"I might," I said casually.

"I might have to take you out again," he said.

I smiled at him. "You might."

We skated for over an hour, talking about anything and everything under the sun. We brought up church, and I told him I thought I might want to try to go with him sometime, but I didn't want to cramp his style. He laughed at me for saying that and told me he thought it would be weird if I went anywhere else.

We discussed food, travel, art, movies, and random things like the fact that he had a broken arm at the age of 12 from falling out of a tree. We both agreed that we would probably be sore from using skate-related muscle groups and decided it was time to call it a night.

It was 10:00 when he pulled up in my driveway. He put his truck in park and I turned to him with a smile. "I should probably act more aloof than this," I said, "but I'll go ahead and tell you that I had a super awesome time tonight. Seriously, thank you for being the most fun guy ever and for paying for all my stuff. I loved everything."

He stared at me with an unreadable smile as if he was trying to figure me out even though I was putting it all out there.

"And thank you for the Bible," I added, taking it from the console.

"That reminds me. I have something for Roscoe."

"You do?"

He reached into the door pocket and pulled up a small bag of those teeth cleaning bones. "I wanted to get him the big dinosaur bone, but the lady at the pet store said he'd love these and they were good for him."

"He does," I said. "Do you want to give it to him yourself?"

"Now that you mention it," he said, as if he was just waiting for me to ask.

I giggled as we both climbed out of the truck. I knew Isaac was home because his car was in the driveway, but Ryan and Trish were both gone. The door was unlocked, and Micah followed me inside. We took off our shoes and left them by the door.

"I'll be right back," I said, going to my room to let Roscoe out of his kennel.

"Is that you, Carly?" Isaac yelled from his room.

"Yeah, it's me." I yelled back.

"I just got home a few minutes ago. I was just about to let him out."

Isaac's room was the closest to the living room, and he must've heard me come in.

"Thanks!" I yelled back through his closed door. "I got it."

I talked to Roscoe the whole time as I carefully placed my beautiful new Bible on the nightstand and then opened his kennel. He was extremely excited to see me as always. "You better go get your treat from Micah," I said. He didn't listen to me, though. He just stood at my feet waiting for love with his tail whipping around in circles. I patted my leg as I headed to the living room. "Come on, boy."

Roscoe followed me out there. Micah called him over when we entered, and Roscoe ran to him and sprang onto the couch.

"Is he allowed to be up here?" Micah asked, looking at me. I nodded, and Micah patted his lap. Roscoe was a pro at lap sitting, and he curled up on Micah's legs the instant he was invited. Micah shot me a
can you believe this
look that I answered with a smile.

"He's a lover," I said, shrugging.

"It's no wonder Thomas loves him," Micah said, petting him. "I need to get him one of these."

I crossed the room and sat on the couch next to them, reaching over to ensure Roscoe he was okay in his current position when he thought about creeping over to me. We sat like that for a minute until Micah gave Roscoe one of the bones. He jumped down, and carried it to the kitchen where he devoured it before coming back to the couch to sit with us.

He settled between us but was only there for a second before Isaac came out of his room and Roscoe jumped down to greet him.

"Hey my boy," Isaac said affectionately as he stooped down to pet him. Isaac worked extremely hard on his body, and was proud of the results. He almost never wore a shirt if he could avoid it. He came into the living room wearing nothing but sweat pants that hung low on his hips, and the sight of him made Micah sit up straight.

"Oh, hey, I didn't know you had somebody with you," Isaac said, noticing Micah for the first time as he stood.

I patted the couch next to me and Roscoe jumped on it again. Isaac took a step toward Micah with an outstretched hand, and Micah stood to shake it.

"Isaac, this is my friend Micah," I said. "Micah, this is my roommate, Isaac."

They greeted each other with a firm handshake and a nod the way guys do.

"Are you guys going to be out here for a while?" Isaac asked, trying to gauge whether or not we wanted privacy.

I shook my head. "Micah just came in to give Roscoe some toothbrush bones. We went skating tonight… Can you believe that?"

"I got him one of those bones the other day," Isaac said, ignoring my skating comment. "He loves them."

"Did you hear me say we went skating?" I asked, incredulous.

Isaac smiled at me. "Roller skating?"

"Yes, roller skating! And we were both really good! All the kids were looking at us like
whaaat
?"

He laughed and rolled his eyes at me like I was the silliest thing ever, and then he crossed to the kitchen and started searching in a cabinet for a glass. He sat at the bar and spaced out on his phone for a few minutes while Micah and I continued our conversation.

"You wanna walk me out?" Micah asked, finally.

"Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I guess I should."

We stood and Micah looked toward the kitchen. "It was nice meeting you, Isaac," he said.

Isaac pulled out his earbuds with a smile and wave in Micah's direction. "Nice meeting you too."

I peered down at Roscoe, who was standing at our feet, wagging his tail as if asking where we were going. "You're staying here," I said. He obviously didn't understand because he followed us to the door and was disappointed when I shut it with him inside.

Micah and I walked to his truck, and I turned to face him when we reached it. His expression was serious and questioning at the same time. "Is that something that happens all the time?" he asked tentatively.

I smiled and nodded. "Oh, yeah! Basically, all you have to do is sit down and pat your lap, and he jumps up there."

Micah closed his eyes and cringed slightly. "Please tell me you're talking about the dog," he said.

I looked at him with a confused expression. "Who were
you
talking about?"

"You're shirtless roommate," he said, gesturing to the house. "Does he walk around like that all the time?"

I leaned against his truck and regarded him with a sly smile. "Are you jealous?" I asked.

He closed the distance between us, coming to stand only inches from me. He rested his arm on the truck, letting it brush against my shoulder. He stared down at me with an intense, barely-there smile as if taking in every centimeter of my face.