Jason pulled the scarf a little tighter around his neck, scowling. How had he allowed himself to be talked into this? He turned and spotted Salim waiting for him by the edge of the ice-skating rink. Oh, yeah, that was why. He drew a little closer and the older man turned to greet him in a smile. Salim’s face was flushed from the cold but he seemed more at ease than Jason.
“Thank you for indulging me, Jason,” Salim said. “You ready?”
“Ready to fall and break my ass,” the marine retorted hotly. Salim chuckled and handed him the ice skates he rented. Jason laced up and took a step onto the ice. Almost immediately his knees started to wobble.
“I’ve got you,” Salim assured him. He had his hands resting on Jason’s hips, the warmth seeping through his winter coat. Jason watched as Salim took his own tentative steps onto the ice. He wobbled a bit but quickly corrected. Jason was equal parts annoyed and impressed.
He attempted to skate forward but he judged the momentum wrong and nearly toppled over. Salim’s arms caught him to hold him steady. Jason gripped onto him tightly, scowling down at his shaking legs.
“Fuck! I hate this! It ain’t fuckin’ natural!”
“It’s all right, just take it slowly,” Salim coached. Jason huffed and inched his skate forward. With Salim serving as his anchor, he actually made it a few paces. Slowly he lifted his head up to catch Salim’s eye. “Not so bad, is it, jarhead?”
“I still fuckin’ hate this.”
“Nah,” Jason shrugged. “I’ll get the hang of it.” He pushed forward a few more paces. “How are you so good at this, anyway?”
“I’ve taken Zain roller-skating. It isn’t too different.” Jason didn’t answer, too focused on keeping upright. They skated a bit farther and slowly his death-grip on Salim’s arms eased. He didn’t let go completely, though, and Salim patiently skated beside him acting as his anchor.
By the end of the hour they managed to circle the entire rink. Jason was relieved to get off the ice and sit on solid ground again.
“That was fuckin’ awful,” he groaned.
“Oh.” A teasing smile played on Salim’s lips. “So you won’t want to do it again tomorrow?”
“Uh, well…” Jason passed a hand through his hair. “If you wanted to, I guess…” Salim beamed at him and brushed a kiss on his cheek. The contact left Jason a little dazed and he kept touching the spot, his heart pounding.
Yeah. Ice-skating wasn’t so bad.
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