Second Chance

Six: Girls Do Eat a Lot

Six: Girls Do Eat a Lot

“This is not cool, Jared. I don’t know how to skate.”

He extended his hand and smirked. Ciara’s fingers clutched onto the rails of the ice rink in a death grip. She shook her head frantically, unwilling to take the risk of crossing that tiny distance between the two. Her lips puckered into a pout. His eyebrow shot up.

“You can stay there for an hour, you know.”

Ciara glared at him in what she hoped was an austere look. Jared’s smile widened, and Ciara scowled. Her eyes shot to her feet. Why did she agree to this again?

“Hand,” she finally said, not looking at him.

Jared chuckled and grasped her hand into his. What kind of sorcery was this? As soon as his hand enclosed around hers, the warmth seeped through her skin. Ciara blushed and her heartbeat quickened. Her thoughts were interrupted as he tugged on her.

“No!” she squealed. Her other hand immediately shot out and grabbed his forearm. His reaction? The jerk dared to laugh! He laughed! He laughed at her inability to skate. Ciara gave him her most scary look, and he laughed only more.

“I give up.” She rolled her eyes. She would throw her hands into the air to emphasize her point, but there was no way she would release the only thing that was keeping her upright.

“C’mon, let’s go.”

“L-Let’s go? Y-You mean -”

A soft whimper escaped her lips as Jared started moving. They had just moved a mere few inches, and Ciara could already feel dread rolling in waves out of her body. The fact that other people were falling back on their butt all around her certainly wasn’t helping.

“You won’t fall,” he said. His eyes twinkled deviously. “That is, if I don’t want you to.”

“Jared, how dare you to let that idea pass through your mind.”

“How scary.”

“Don’t go all sarcastic on me!”

“Why not?”

“Damn, you’re annoying.”

“But you still love me.”

“You wish.”

“How adorable.”

“Jared!”

“Oh look, you’re not holding onto me like a baby.”

Ciara, wide-eyed, looked down. She had her hand on her hips because of how much the idiot was irritating her. He was right. She really wasn’t holding onto him. Ciara yelped, and as a result of her shock, she lost her balance. Her body tilted backwards. If it weren’t for the pair of arms that quickly wrapped around her waist, she, like the many others around her, would have fallen on her butt.

“It seems like you don’t want me to fall,” she teased, straightening up and trying to calm her racing heart. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to watch me fall.”

“Don’t get too cocky,” he warned, releasing her and narrowing his eyes. “I can do whatever I want.”

“Now don’t be such a bully.”

He grinned, and a faint smile appeared on Ciara’s lips. His eyes shone with the familiar child-like playfulness. The faint smile broke into a grin, and Ciara laughed.

“Sadly, you can’t tell me what to do when you can’t move an inch by yourself.”

Ciara’s laugh was cut short as she realized just how right he was. She crossed her arm over her chest but did not dare to stomp her feet. She wasn’t about to take that much of a risk. “That’s really not fair, you know.”

He shrugged nonchalantly in response. “Life’s not fair.” His eyes then lit up, and Ciara frowned. She did not like that look. “Are you ticklish?”

Ciara then decided she really did not like that look.

Her teeth sunk into the burger, and she tore a huge chunk of meet away. Her jaws worked frantically to chew the food in her mouth. That was when she caught Jared gawking at her from across the table.

“What?” she asked, but it came out more like a muffled grunt. “Have you never seen girls eat?”

“W-What?”

Ciara chewed and swallowed, choking a bit in the process. She didn’t care. She was too ravenous to care about how attractive she would look when eating a burger outside an ice rink.

“I said.” Ciara dipped her head to sip on the coke by her side. “Have you never seen girls eat?”

“I h-have, but that -”

He continued to gape at her like she’d grown a third head. His gaze fixed on her half-eaten burger – a burger she’d only had two bites. His shocked expression turned into an outright grin. He pointed to his own burger, and Ciara paused chewing, wondering what he was trying to say or do.

“I bet,” he said with a hint of a challenge, “I can finish this whole burger before you finish your half.”

Ciara’s grin stretched from ear to ear. Her eyebrows furrowed in determination. “Challenge accepted.”

“I’m so full!”

“Shut up, you lost.”

“Dude, how can a girl eat so fast?”

“It’s your brilliant idea. I quote,” Ciara coughed and deepened her voice in what was a terrible imitation of Jared’s voice. “‘The loser will have to eat an extra burger!’”

Ciara smirked as she heard Jared mumbled under his breath. It seemed to be along the lines of ‘shouldn’t have challenged her when I had a whole burger’.

“Oh, we’re here!”

Ciara stopped and looked front. Her eyes widened. Ciara’s voice came out as a whisper, and her hand clung to railings. Her body automatically leaned over, and she could see the hundreds of meters drop beneath her.

“How often do you come here?”

Trees appeared to be small as ants, and houses seemed slightly bigger than ants. The familiar river bordering the north of the town seemed tiny, thin as a cable, seen from the cliff Ciara stood on. Birds, for the first time ever, were flying beneath her. The picturesque scenery was only enhanced by the hundreds of tiny diamonds hanging on the navy blue sky. Since the town wasn’t that big, it was only normal they could stargaze at night. Ciara had loved astronomy ever since she was a child.

“Whenever I’m stressed. Man, you should come here when the sun is setting. It’s even more of a sight to see.”

Ciara turned sideways, and she kissed him full on the lips. She’d intended for it to be a peck, but Jared apparently didn’t think so. She wasn’t complaining. His hand slipped to her back and pressed her body against his. His lips were surprisingly soft, and if the peck he gave her last time had her dazed for hours, she would probably be thinking about this for days.

He pulled back only to kiss her neck. Ciara’s breath hitched. Was this real? Was this really happening? Her heart was beating faster than a hummingbird’s wings. His warm breath tickled her neck, and her head twisted to the side.

Jared, always the optimist, had the most inconsolable look Ciara had ever seen on anyone. However, just as fast she’d caught a glimpse, it disappeared. Catching her gaze on him, his forlorn gaze turned into a teasing smirk. Ciara masked her own emotions with a smile.

Of course, Ciara thought. I’m a fool for thinking anyone can truly be happy all the time. With his mom dying in a hospital, he is already being incredibly strong.