Page 29 of Set My Soul Ablaze

“I love that. I’ll be on the lookout for your message. Thank you, ladies, for your time.”

“Thank you,” I finished. I shook her hand professionally.

We all went back to our vehicles. When I got back in the car, Joylei and I talked the whole ride back to her side of town.

“Flame!” I shouted with gleeful amusement.

“Yeah, we finna get our Roll Bounce on,” he replied with a smirk.

We walked, hand in hand, through the front door of the skating rink. The familiar smell of popcorn, perfume, and strawberry soda filled my senses—catapulting me back to when I was in middle school, too grown for my own good at the same location.

“I haven’t been here indecades,” I explained as he paid for our skates.

“I can’t wait to see you in your skates.” He had his signature sexy smirk. I loved the way his eyebrows lifted slightly when his lips stretched across his face.

“You better not laugh if I fall either,” I warned.

“Of course not. I’ll be there to catch you if you do.”

The butterflies swarmed my stomach like bees in a hive. I felt my cheeks heat as we walked over to a table to put our skates on. There weren’t huge crowds at the skating rink tonight. The DJ played all the current hits and mixed them in with some throwbacks, which I enjoyed. This time slot was for the grown folks. There weren’t any kids under eighteen in the vicinity, which made the rink easier to navigate. Slow skaters in the inner circle and the professionals in the outer circle.

“You ready?” he asked as he stood up and stretched.

“I am.”

I took Flame’s outstretched hand as he led me to one of the entrances into the rink. The professionals sped past us as I held on to the rail to keep my footing.

“When was the last time you’ve gone skating?” I asked as Flame removed my hand from the wall and pulled me and my shaky feet to the inner circle.

“Me and my nephews go pretty frequently. They love racing in the kids’ challenges.”

I poked out my bottom lip. “Aww! How cute. So you’re a professional in the skates?”

“I do a little something, something.”

“Let me see.”

“Will you be good by yourself?” he asked as he turned to skate backward in front of me.

“Not you know how to skate backwards.”

“I’m a man of many talents.” He spun around effortlessly.

“I could do that, too, if my mama didn’t perm my hair in second grade.” I stuck my tongue out at him.

His laughter filled my chest with pride. He winked at me before he took off into the outer circle. He glided in his skates so smoothly it put me in a trance. I watched him like a hawk as he zigzagged across the rink to the tempo of the early 2000’s hip-hop song.

Flame had my attention so tight I lost my footing and accepted my fate. I braced myself for the hard impact of hitting the floor, but it never came. Instead, strong, comforting arms caught me before I fell.

“I told you I’d catch you.”

The velvet sound of his voice made goosebumps rise on my skin. I swallowed the moan that threatened my throat as I steadied myself.

“T-thanks.”

“No problem. Are you ready to take a break? They’ve got some food trucks out back if you want to eat and chat.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”