“I doubt that very much, James.” I squeezed her hand over the table. “But I’ll talk to him.”

* * *

Dinner went longer than I had anticipated, probably because we hadn’t run out of things to say. Two hours later, we lingered over dessert, slowly finishing a slice of raspberry cheesecake and a piece of tiramisu we’d shared.

I watched Bailey take the last bite of tiramisu, trying to keep my mind from thinking about all the dirty things I wanted to do with her mouth.

“I like that you eat,” I said. It sort of slipped out, like my internal narrative tended to. She was super tolerant of it, all things considered. Because sometimes it was random as fuck. Like right now.

“Huh?” She paused, fork hovering in midair.

“So many girls I know never seem to eat.” I shrugged, scooping up the second-to-last bite of cheesecake. “Then it makes me feel bad for eating in front of them. Like, I’m a large human being. I train every day. I need a ton of calories. It’s awkward to be the only one eating all the time, you know?”

Bailey grinned. “If you think that’s impressive, you should see me breathe. I’m world class.”

I laughed, then I caught myself staring at her for a beat longer than was probably normal. Couldn’t help it.

“What?” She leaned closer, round eyes scanning my face in the candlelight.

“Nothing,” I said. “All good.”

Was this what falling for someone felt like? It was a trip.

* * *

Once I took care of the bill, it was time for the grand finale: skating at Northview Arena. The prospect of skating and James together had me legit feeling like a kid in a candy store.

I pulled into the deserted parking lot, illuminated by pale yellow streetlamps. Grabbing a spot at the front near the doors, I eased in and killed the ignition.

“Wait.” Bailey tilted her head, studying me. “We’re skating at your rink?”

“Yup.”

Her hazel eyes narrowed suspiciously, then widened suddenly, and she let out a little gasp. “Are we breaking in?”

I unbuckled my seat belt and reached for the bag with our skates. “Is it breaking in if you have the code?”

“Well, are we allowed to be here?”

“Define allowed,” I said, hoisting the black duffel onto the middle console. “I mean, it’s a free country. We have the constitutional right to freedom of movement.”

“Carter…” She made a little eek face.

“We’re not not allowed.” I shrugged. “No one’s booked the ice. Plus, I’m on Coach Miller’s good side these days, so we should be okay.”

Bailey groaned. “So we’re definitely breaking in.”

She was such a rule-follower. Adorable.

“Public skate just ended. We have plausible deniability if we get caught, like maybe we were confused and didn’t know it was over.” I smiled innocently.