Want to come??
?Ice?skating?? It would be awkward with Will, but sooner or later they would have to get used to being around each other. ?Okay.?
?Awesome!” Dhanya said, and turned to Beth. ?The more people we have, the more fun it will be.?
?Maybe,? Beth said, retreating to the bathroom to dry her hair. A few minutes later, Kelsey blew in from surfer land, showered, then tugged on thin, skintight biking shorts and a workout top that was more demi?bra than athletic wear.
Chase had earned an invitation on his second call to Dhanya, and Beth?s mood shifted from obvious irritation to quiet resignation. As they gathered in front of the cottage, she hung close to Will. Bryan, friendly as always, noticed Kelsey in her sexy outfit, but didn?t ignore the other girls. Cracking jokes, he herded everyone toward their cars like a boisterous camp counselor.
Twenty minutes later, they discovered Bryan?s Uncle Pat, the rink?s owner, had the same outgo* ing manner.
?Got the date?night music on,? he told them as they stood at the counter for skate rentals. ?Don?t worry, ladies, I didn?t pick it out. And Bryan didn?t either.?
Everyone except Bryan and Max rented skates. Max had ditched his Hawaiian prints for a preppy?looking shirt with jeans; Ivy wondered if word had gotten back to him that Dhanya found him ?tacky.? Perhaps after driving him home last night, Bryan had given him a little advice.
?I didn?t know you were into skating,? Kelsey said to Max as he laced up skates that looked expensive and new.
?He?s not,? Bryan replied for his friend. ?Maxie keeps a complete set of toys at each of his residences.?
Chase, walking around on his rentals, felt compelled to explain that he had left three kinds of skates at his home in Jackson Hole. Then he turned to Beth and said, ?Let me help you with those laces, Elizabeth.?
?I?ve got them,” Beth answered, but when she was done, she allowed him to take her hand and lead her to the ice. Bryan and Kelsey followed, then quickly passed them and all the other skaters with their long, athletic strokes.
Max, Dhanya, Ivy, and Will stood awkwardly on the rubber matting. Then Will reached for Dhanya?s hand, which left Max and Ivy to feel like the last ones chosen for playground dodge ball. ?Do you want a partner?? Max asked. ?I?d like to skate with you later on,? Ivy answered politely, ?but I?d prefer to go alone at first.?
She skated several circles of the rink, getting lapped by Kelsey and Bryan, but staying behind the couples, enjoying the feel of the smooth ice beneath her feet, and thinking that, if not Bryan?s uncle, it must have been her own mother who had picked out the date night music. Oh, well, anything with a beat.
When Chase stopped to adjust his laces. Ivy skated up to Beth and linked arms.
?I?m snatching your partner, Chase.? Last winter, Beth and Ivy had skated together every weekend, both of them enjoying the exercise. Skating as a pair, matching each other?s stride and settling into a comfortable pace, was usually easy for them, but not tonight. Beth skated stiffly.
?I got a text from Philip,? Ivy said, hoping Beth?s affection for him would serve as abridge between them.
?So did I.”
?I think he misses both of his ?big sisters.?? Beth nodded. ?He?s really looking forward to the newest adventure of The Angel and the Alley Cat? ?Will?s sending it Monday,? Beth said. ?How?s Will doing?? Ivy asked, then felt the jerk in Beth?s arm. ?Don?t pull away from me, Beth. I love him as much as I love you, you know that. Please don?t pull away from me.?
They skated the curve of the rink, Beth looking straight ahead. ?He?s okay,? Beth said at last. ?And how are you doing?? Ivy asked. ?Okay.?
Ivy felt completely shut out. Striving for patience, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, watching Max ease back to join Will and Dhanya. There was a moment of conversation, then Max skated off with Dhanya.
Kelsey and Bryan came up from behind and blew past everyone. ?I guess you call that power skating,? Ivy remarked.
?I?d call it competition,? Beth replied. ?They compete as a way of seducing each other.?
?Compete how?? Ivy asked, glad they had finally gotten a conversation going.
?How much they drink, how long they party, how fast they drive…?
?Really! Who told you that??
?Dhanya. At the beach, they compete to see who can be the most outrageous flirt — with other people, I mean.?
?Suzanne and Gregory?s old game,? Ivy remarked. Beth met her eyes, then glanced away. It had been Suzanne and Gregory?s favorite sport, and they had played the game like Olympians, an endless competition to see who could flirt and frustrate the other to the point of explosion.
Beth and Ivy skated another lap before Chase caught up, slipping in between them. “You know, Elizabeth, playing hard to get doesn?t always make a guy want you.?
?I wasn?t playing hard to get or trying to make you want me/ Beth replied.
Chase laughed, as if she had meant to be humorous. ?I think it?s strange — girls dancing with girls, girls skating with girls, waiting for guys to notice them.?
?Sometimes,? Ivy said, ?they?re just skating and dancing.” He turned to her, his gray eyes glittering.
?Rarely.? He reached for Beth?s hand and Ivy watched them skate off, Beth keeping her head turned slightly away. While outwardly compliant; Beth wasn?t connecting — not with Chase or me. Ivy thought. The difference was, Chase was so egotistical, he didn?t realize it.
She exited the ice, wishing she had brought her own car and could drive home.
The rink had a concession area with wooden tables and chairs painted in bright orange and blue. Photos of hockey teams lined the walls. Sitting down, Ivy reached for her phone to see if Guy had called. ?Tired?? Dhanya asked.
Disappointed that there was no message, Ivy glanced up at Dhanya and Max, who had followed her off the ice. ?Just taking a break.?
?How about an ice cream?? Max suggested. ?My treat.? Ivy didn?t want any, but she acquiesced, willing to let him score whatever points he could with Dhanya as a ?thoughtful? guy.
While they were ordering, Chase, Beth, and Will joined them, so they pushed together two tables and arranged chairs around them. Bryan and Kelsey were the last to leave the ice, staging a rather dramatic conversation — perhaps an argument — in the middle of the rink, which left both of them with flushed cheeks and bright eyes.
Like Suzanne and Gregory, Ivy thought, as they approached the concession stand. She told herself that it was simply the way some guys and girls played the romance game, but sometimes she felt as if she would never escape the memories of last summer.
The eight of them had just sat down with their ice cream cones when Ivy?s phone rang. Will turned to Ivy as if surprised. Of course, he knew the ring tones of her friends, her mother, Andrew, and Philip, just as she knew the ringtones of his friends and his father. It was one more example of how intertwined their lives had become, that he knew this ring was different. Still, she prickled at the way he looked at her, as if no one should be calling her except the people that he had pre?approved.
Walking a short distance away from the others, she put the phone to her ear.
?Hello?? ?Hey. It?s me.? ?Hey.?
?Whoever that is,? Guy added quickly. Ivy laughed and sat down on a chair at another table. ?How was work??
?Hard. And fun. Guess what, I?ve got wheels!? ?You do?? Ivy chased a dribble from her ice cream cone, catching it with her tongue. ?Kip has loaned me an old motorbike. So what?re you doing?? Guy asked. ?That doesn?t sound like classical music in the background.?
?No. If s disco — good to skate to, I guess.? Ivy told him about the rink and free passes. ?Want to come over?? There was a moment of silence. ?Who?s with you?? he asked.
?Some people you haven?t met.? Ivy crunched on her cone. ?Beth, Max, Bryan, and Chase. And Kelsey and Dhanya, who you might remember from the hospital solarium. And Will. I?d love to see you, Guy.?
