"Ice skates? You bought me ice skates?"
Marley hovered a hand over the two white figure skates resting neatly in the tissue paper. The silver blades were covered with black protectors but they were gleaming in the exposed slits. The white laces were tied ceremoniously and they were shiny and new.
Her head shot up to raise an eyebrow at Aiden.
"So what, you were gonna float over the ice?" He teased, "And technically Ian did. I transferred him the money beforehand but he bought them back home. He needed to bring my hockey skates anyway."
"You'll have a great teacher by the way," Ian cut in bitterly, "My brother received all the 'good at sports' genes meant to be dispersed to the both of us."
Aiden rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatics.
Marley shook her head to clear it, flipping the lid back down on the skates, "They have skates to rent, Aiden. This is too much. Ian, can you return these and give Aiden back the money, please?"
"I can't promise I'll do the second one," Ian smirked deviously while Aiden rolled his eyes.
"He's not bringing them back. They're yours."
Marley sighed loudly, not wanting to flip out on him in the middle of the restaurant, "I've told you again and again that I don't like it when you buy me things. If I wanted skates of my own, I would've paid for them myself. But I don't. Return them."
"I'm not carrying these all the way back home. One way was enough." Ian cut in on Team Aiden, causing Marley to shoot him an angry look before turning back to said boyfriend.
"Consider them a Christmas present." He suggested.
Marley smiled, "Okay. My one Christmas present. Right here."
She watched Aiden's expression drop immediately, "To clarify: one of your Christmas presents. I'm spoiling the hell out of you. Deal with it."
She threw her hands up, "I don't want your money, Aiden. I can't do this for you so it's not fair."
His eyes narrowed, "I don't want you to buy me anything."
"Ditto."
He turned to face his brother, holding out a hand towards Marley, "See what I have to deal with?"
She pointed at Aiden right back, turning towards Ian too, "See what I have to deal with?" she mocked.
Aiden growled, "I'd pin your wrists above your head and shut you up against a wall right now if we weren't in a crowded restaurant. Keep pushing this and I might do it anyway."
Marley face lit up bright red immediately, her stomach doing acrobats as she smacked his bicep with the back of her hand, "Aiden! No!"
"Then accept the skates. Conversation over. Next topic. We have to leave in-"
"Conversation not over. I'm not accepting the skates and you know exactly why. I accepted the dress you bought me for the club opening because the girls told me you went shopping and really put heart into it, and I wasn't about to stomp all over that but that was my one exception."
Aiden took deep breaths and ran his hands over his face tiredly, "You're so damn stubborn."
Marley narrowed her hazel eyes on the side of his head, "If I was a gold digger who accepted everything you bought me and asked you for money I wouldn't be any different than other girls."
"Preach," Ian cut in, watching their argument with an entertained glee.
Aiden dropped his hands and shot his frustrated, blue eyed gaze to her, "They're ice skates. They cost less than a hundred dollars. If you were a gold digger you'd be disappointed not shocked."
"Tantrum style," Ian added.
Marley and Aiden both shot him a look at the same time before turning back to each other again.
"Return the skates."
"Never."
"I'm not wearing them."
"Wanna bet?"
"You can't force me."
"I can definitely persuade you."
"Ian is taking them back."
"No, he's not."
"They're going to go to waste then."
"No, they won't."
"You're a jerk."
"And you're pissing me off."
"What are you gonna to do about it?"
Wrong question, Marley.
Aiden stood from his chair and it squealed against the hardwood as he grabbed her by the hips and threw her over his shoulder. Right in the middle of the damn restaurant.
Her mouth fell open in silent shock and horror as the room silenced.
"Ian. Room key."
Rustling.
"Pay the bill. Wait in the lobby. This won't take long."
Aiden casually walked them from the room, Marley hung over his shoulder so shocked and embarrassed and speechless. This is by far the most insolent thing anyone could do to anyone and Aiden did it. She was so angry with him she couldn't breathe right, her fists balled and the fire raging inside of her with more intensity by the second as he walked them through the lobby that hushed at the sight of them.
Aiden has a big, fat, ridiculously large dog house to make his way out of.
The elevator had been opening as they approached, the chattering of voices echoing around Marley as Aiden walked them foreword. When the elevator door shut, leaving them alone, Aiden set her down and by then she was shaking with fury.
Marley shoved at his chest, once, twice, thrice, "How fucking dare you!" she shrieked, pissed that his expression remained neutral as he reached past her to press a floor button, "IN THE MIDDLE OF A RESTAURANT?! ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND YOU IDIOT?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW EMBARRASSING THAT WAS?! I AM BURNING THOSE GODDAMN SKATES AND I DON'T-"
"Fuck the room," he snapped suddenly. She cut herself off when Aiden strode past her to the panel of buttons and pressed the emergency stop.
Marley jumped when the the elevator jolted and the ringing started, the main lights flickering off — leaving a small LED emergency light on in the top right corner.
Her eyes bugged, "Are you freaking seri-mhm."
Aiden strode up to her so fast she couldn't push him away in time, and she barely saw the predatory look in his eyes before his hands were gripping her head to abruptly force their mouths together. Marley put up a fight for a handful of seconds, and not because she wanted to, but because surrendering to him right now was just embarrassing — after he made a scene and was such a jerk about damn figure skates.
After those few seconds, though, her shoving hands became fists balled around his shirt to hold him against her, and she couldn't help the whimper that left her when he backed her into the wall and his hands found her thighs to lift her, squeezing with more of his strength than she was used to. Her legs now tight around his waist, they were both rapidly losing breath but neither willing to back down yet.
The kiss became, at certain points painful, Aiden's teeth biting, his mouth rough and greedy, his tongue invasive. Marley hadn't realized until this very moment, just how gentle he's always been with her. How careful. That was out the window now, as his warm hand crawled up her throat, his thumb rubbing across her swollen lower lip, leaning in, not to kiss her, but to take it between his teeth until it stung.
Aiden's head lifted to lock eyes with her, his mouth hovering over hers.
"You were being so stubborn and argumentative and didn't take a second to hear me out," he growled huskily.
"And you were acting like a controlling, possessive caveman," she shot back through harsh breaths of air, both their chests heaving, "Carrying me over your shoulder in the middle of a damn-"
He cut off her thoughts and her words with his lips, again. It's impossible to have the upper hand kissing Aiden in general, let alone now when he's being more aggressive. It was hardly a power struggle before he won — never letting up his control for a second and it was as frustrating as it was exhilarating.
The bell ringing stopped.
The elevator shifted.
They both froze in place.
They blinked at each other.
Ding.
Marley wiggled in his hold, loosening her legs but that wasn't going to be enough. His body pressed against hers had been holding her up too.
"Aiden. Aiden. Aiden that's the-"
Doors.
Aiden carefully set her down as the doors slid open, the both of them unable to even try to hide what they were doing in time.
So they stood there, with wrinkled clothes, flushed cheeks, swollen lips, tangled hair and wild eyes facing an extremely bored, plump middle aged woman in a dark blue full body uniform on whatever floor they had landed in.
She had her arms crossed as she glanced between them, the both of them still panting heavily.
Marley had nothing to say in defence of herself, her mouth opening and closing, head still spinning from Aiden and every single addicting part of what happened, in an elevator.
"When I close the doors, select a floor and do what you want in a bedroom. There are guests waiting. Understood?"
The lady didn't wait for a response, sliding away and pressing the button on the panel before Marley could form an apology.
The doors slid shut as they both stared straight ahead, Marley slumping against the wall to gain some semblance of where they were and what planet they were on.
They were both breathing heavily, and that was the only sound they made, the whole journey back down to the lobby. Until...
"You're wearing the skates."
"Yup."
-
Ian had one leg crossed over the other, calf on his thigh as he watched them walk into the lobby. Aiden was nonchalant while Marley shuffled her feet foreword, trying to keep her swollen lips hidden. Her hair was fixed and her clothes were adjusted like Aiden's, but the lips would take a little longer to 'cool'.
Exactly like the surface of her skin, but that was a given.
He stood glancing at his watch, "Eight minutes. Should I bring the skates back upstairs?"
"No," Aiden replied instantly, "She's keeping them."
Ian's eyes flitted to hers for confirmation. Marley nodded mutely.
He snickered knowingly, "Alright then. Cars waiting. The rest of your class should be arriving a few minutes before us."
Aiden grabbed Marley's hand and laced their fingers together, walking beside her as they headed out of the automatic doors behind his brother. She was still speechless and Aiden was silent as they climbed into the Uber SUV, Marley between him and Ian as the car rolled away from the lobby. He rested an arm over her shoulders, leaning back in his seat and pulling out his phone.
Marley blinked repeatedly, trying to feel normal again after such an intense experience. It's always amazing with Aiden, it gets better every time but that, that was something else entirely.
In an elevator.
Aiden stopped a freaking elevator to kiss you into submission.
And it was sexy as-
No, it wasn't.
Admit it, Marley.
It was inappropriate and embarrassing. Not to mention disrespectful to other guests.
You loved it.
No I didn't.
Yes you did.
It's never happening again.
Are-
"Um...how was the...the last day of school?" Marley squeaked, turning her torso to address Ian and cut off her racing thoughts.
"Vanessa and I dipped and went out for ice cream."
From Marley's other side Aiden dropped his phone, "You did what?"
She felt normal again, back to the world where Aiden is the hypocrite of the century more often than not. Clearly Ian thought the same thing because he scoffed immediately.
"Like you have a perfect attendance record."
"Not by a long shot but that doesn't mean you're allowed to leave school whenever you want to. And I kept my grades up. An over ninety average all through high school," he retorted calmly.
Marley probably would've jumped into Ian's defence but she was in no place to start battling with Aiden. Ian would have to handle this himself while she got her agency back because right now it was in smithereens so bad it's embarrassing.
Ian threw his hands up, "I get A's!...Sometimes."
"Point proven. Stay in school."
Marley let out a sigh and slumped in her seat, jumping when she felt Aiden's lips at her ear, speaking so his brother couldn't hear him.
"Oh, and consider that my response to you telling me I help you advertise yourself to other guys."
She inhaled sharply with newly heated cheeks. So that's what this is about. The skates were Aiden's breaking point, but it all circled back to her comment to Ian yesterday.
"Well," she dropped her smile to put on a fake serious face, "if it's honesty time then you're just around to show other guys what they're missing."
She should've known that refusing to accept a gift from him wouldn't be enough to set him off in a way she's never seen before.
Of course he hadn't forgotten the teasing joke of a comment.
Of course he hadn't let it go.
Aiden pulled away with a newly relaxed posture, back to himself with his anger dissipated alongside her own.
There was no argument left between them. No residual hard feelings.
There was nothing more to say.
They both knew that today, he had won.
-
The group was waiting in the lobby of the arena for them, Aiden apparently having texted them that they were on their way. While he greeted the guys with Ian Marley headed over to Gabby who, after a few seconds already knew something was up.
The blonde scanned over her best friend with narrowed green eyes, "What's going on with you?"
Marley leaned in to explain discreetly, "Aiden may have emergency stopped an elevator to kiss me in said elevator at Ian's hotel like, fifteen minutes ago."
"Did you kiss, or kiss?"
"Kiss. Freaking kiss."
"Wow. What brought that on?"
"Telling him a joke about how I'm with him to prove to other guys that I'm...valuable for the future."
"Did you like it?"
"No."
"Liar."
She scowled, smacking her best friend with flushed cheeks who held her hands up in surrender, "I'm not judging. You know my first kiss was in the middle of a bowling alley and it was far from quick and chaste."
"And with Leo Kahn of all people," Marley giggled.
It was Gabby's turn to smack, "Now you're judging me!"
"I don't think I can ever do that again," Marley retorted with a sigh as a warm hand slipped along her lower back and tucked her into his side.
"Come on. I want to teach you how to skate."
Marley turned to her boyfriend's excited expression with curiosity, trying to figure out why he would be looking foreword to this. He gave nothing away, their bags of skates swinging in his opposite hand. Hers were still in the box but his were in a proper bag.
The rest of the group walked foreword so they did, too, Marley's small bag under her arm with her supplies to stay warm. She was dressed in jeans and a fluffy, dark brown sweater with her black bomber jacket but it wouldn't be enough on the ice. She brought her black hat with the brown pom pom, some thin black gloves and a plaid, cotton scarf to wrap around her neck.
The arena was high ceilings and crowds of parents and young kids. Marley stared around her as Aiden led them along with an arm over her shoulder to Arena Four, and Jason opened the door from his spot in the front of the group.
Their peers were already scattered around and taking up space on the metal bleachers circling the cylinder ice rink, their voices echoing around the hollow room. Marley could already feel the cold seeping in, rubbing her bare hands together and watching Ethan approach Gabby with surprise contorting her features.
She greeted him back shyly. Clearly she decided to trust him when he said that he had nothing to do with the dirty cheater Instagram account, and Marley had no reservations for her choice. It was up to her and she trusted her best friends' judgement.
"The hot chocolates are by the bleachers and Aiden you said green tea, right?"
Aiden nodded to Ethan and Marley's eyebrows shot to the ceiling, so he looked down at her with a smile, "I told him you wanted a hot chocolate. Have you been reading the group chat at all?"
"You read the group chat?" she asked in shock.
"Not often," Aiden replied as their footsteps thumped on the bleachers, the cup sleeves with their hot drinks coming into view, "There's always a thousand unread messages after five minutes."
"Because Sarah sends Spotify links nobody checks." Tristan butt in with a scowl.
The redhead herself narrowed her eyes, "It's Kelly's cat memes that are like, half the messages!"
"Untrue!" Kelly squeaked back from under Ryan's arm, not sounding convincing at all.
Marley knew firsthand about these cat memes and for a fact that Sarah was right. That girl is obsessed with Grumpy Cat.
"It's adorable, babe," Ryan cooed, earning a dreamy look from Kelly that Jason watched on with a scoff.
"There's eleven fucking people in our group. Necessary texting is a shit show enough."
Everyone turned to Jason with extreme reactions of stunned humour.
"Not only do you always send speeches, but you send a new text bubble with every 'sentence' instead of one and then I have to scroll up or search between your messages to see what anyone else sent," Bree spoke on behalf of everyone else with a raised eyebrow.
"You're the Bermuda triangle of the group chat, dude," Brendan added with a shake of his head, "Everybody else's shit gets lost when you're texting in it."
Jason glanced around, and after seeing that nobody was coming to his defence, shrunk, "I'll work on that," he muttered in defeat.
Everybody snickered as they sat down, Ethan holding out the trays of hot chocolates after handing Aiden his tea. Marley took one gratefully, "Thanks, Ethan. How much do I owe you?"
"Aiden paid for it, ask him."
She huffed, clenching her jaw as she opened the slip and revealed steam that told her it would be too hot to drink right now. She set it beside her carefully watching Aiden do the same thing with his open.
Marley glared down her boyfriend who was rummaging through her bag for his toque and gloves, pausing at feeling her stare. They locked eyes, Aiden raising an eyebrow over his stunning blue eyes, casually and confidently challenging her. Marley broke their stare with burning cheeks, feeling his smug, victorious smirk without having to look at it for confirmation.
He set himself down in a kneel and grabbed her fluffy socks that he told her to bring, slipping them on her feet and reaching for her new skates. She crossed her arms, trying to settle her useless anger as he set her skate clad foot on his thigh and started tightening the laces from bottom to top.
"Do you skate now?" she asked as Ian plopped down beside her with his untied laces on his feet.
"Family tradition," Aiden's little brother answered first, "Our grandparents live in Alberta and they have an indoor rink in town that always has free skating. There isn't much to do where they live so we always go. The guys play hockey but I've never been great with sports."
Aiden chuckled deeply with a cute grin, and it made her stomach do flip flops, "Uncle Pete would have you on your ass with his pinkie finger."
"Our Uncle Pete is a wrecking ball on the ice," Ian clarified to Marley with a reminiscent grin, "Everybody always votes him as goalie in an act of self-preservation."
"The guy is 6'3 and a half, and overweight," Aiden added, "Even I keep my distance."
Marley laughed as she put her gloves on, Aiden grabbing her hat and slipping it on her head before he was scooting in front of Ian to tie his laces too.
Marley blinked in confusion at Ian, "You said you've skated before?"
Aiden shot playful blue eyes in Marley's direction, "My brother doesn't have the upper body strength to tie his laces tightly enough."
Ian shifted his skate to hit Aiden in the chest with it, "Oops."
After Aiden tied Ian's skates and quickly did his own, he grabbed Marley gently by her forearms and helped her stand. She stumbled immediately, Aiden holding her tighter to his chest with a wide, satisfied grin, hands splayed across her back.
Her eyes narrowed as a lightbulb came on.
"You're happy you have a free pass to feel me up in public."
"I'm ecstatic, spitfire."
She rolled her eyes. He's so predictable.
But Marley was glad for Aiden's help as he walked her over to one of the gates and slipped her skate guards off her feet after his own. Ian had already jumped onto the ice, skating expertly around the rink along with skaters of various skill levels.
It seemed like the only ones struggling to skate from their group were Kelly and Tristan, but their respective 'boyfriends' were lending a hand.
Ian shouted from across the rink, "If you catch me I'll do recycling for a month!"
Aiden set her down against the wall by the gate, flicking open the handle, "I'll be back in a sec," he told her with a grin, taking off onto the ice like a bullet.
Marley laughed watching Ian take off too, distracted quickly though, by Gabby skating over to the gate in a pink hat and mittens, her blonde hair laying wavy over a white bomber jacket.
"We've invited you to go skating with us in the past," she pointed out, referring to the Collins family's winter festivities.
She opened the gate the way Aiden did at Gabby's coaxing, watching her best friend giggle at her cautious steps onto the ice. This was her first time in a rink in her life, as she was instantly losing the traction she normally has on the ground.
Gabby grabbed her by her forearms to steady her, "Here, take the railing and hold onto it. Skate along the sides until you're comfortable."
Marley pouted as she grabbed on said yellow, plastic railing with tight fingers, watching Gabby skate backwards ahead of her.
"I feel like a child."
"You're about as skilled as one pre-CanSkate," Gabby agreed with a giggle.
Marley stuck her tongue out at her as she laid eyes on Aiden skating towards her way too fast.
Her eyes widened to saucers and she shrieked when he rammed into her, but not the way she was expecting.
Instead of her butt on the ice, Aiden bent and circled his strong arms around her torso to lift her off the ground, gliding along the ice to a gradual stop with her pressed against his chest, her hands on his shoulders and her breathing heavy.
"I'm stealing her away! Sorry Gabby!" He called behind him before they could get too far away.
"Aiden Matthews you scared the...the crap out of me!" She whacked his arm at his booming laugh, but couldn't hide a smile of her own at the sight of him like this.
When involved in a sporty activity, Aiden has this certain glow about him. His eyes are brighter, his expression happier, his whole aura alight with life and energy. He loves being active, which is why professional football is the right career for him. Well, any professional sport would be, but football is his definite favourite.
He slowed them down, pressing his lips to hers in a quick kiss, "Ian's doing my share of the recycling for a month. Imagine that."
"Imagine that," she replied breathlessly as he set her down, holding her so she wouldn't collapse for more reasons than that she can't skate.
"Ready?" He grinned a nice set of pearly whites, and god what a view.
Aiden stood in front of her, a black toque on his head, warm, gloved hands clasping her own to skate backwards and lead her along. Marley wobbled but his hold was firm.
"You'll catch me if I...if I fall?" She confirmed, uneasily staring down at the cold, hard ice beneath her feet.
"Always," Aiden replied immediately, beginning to pull her foreword by her hands.
Marley didn't move a single limb, smiling contently as she slid along with no effort.
Aiden chuckled, "As much as I'd like to pull you around all afternoon you've got to move your feet, baby."
Marley frowned while he elaborated.
"Instead of straight on walking, you have to push along the outside of your foot to propel you foreword. Right foot lift, push, left foot lift, push. Try it. I've got you," He urged gently.
"You're so good at everything," Marley grumbled bitterly, squeezing her hands around his own as she tried to copy his instruction and from the demonstration of their peers skating around them.
"You can be good at anything you set your mind to, Marley."
She shot her hazel eyes up from the ground to narrow them on his as he continued to glide them along effortlessly. Skating backwards.
"You're naturally skilled with physical activities and you know it."
When his expression turned devious Marley realized that she'd put her foot - or her skate? - in her mouth when it was too late.
"Ai-"
"I can teach you another physical activity I'm naturally skilled at." he smirked.
"Aiden Matthews!" She shrieked, trying to let him go even if that was irrational right now.
"You keep walking yourself into these." he shook his head with a tsk, not allowing her to separate herself from him.
"And you're too...too immature to hold back a comment," she retorted breathlessly, her cheeks still flushed red.
"Can't argue with that." his smile was wide and genuine now, eyes trailing over her face, "I love you."
Marley melted right then and there, even though they were in a place where that possibility was prevented at all costs. But, to quote the wise words of Olaf:
'Some people are worth melting for.'
***