Rocking Thin Ice

by Z. Allora

  “Oh, no. No.” Her words erupted, and then she crashed her head into her fiancé’s shoulder.

  “Pull it together, sister of mine,” Taylor called out.

  She straightened, took a deep breath, and whirled around to Blaze with her hand out. “Mr. Parker, it’s an honor. Your skating has always been an inspiration to me, and your ability to do a Bonaly… well, I think we share a hero.”

  “Indeed we do.” Blaze grasped her hand, hoping the weirdness would evaporate. “Best wishes on your upcoming marriage. I wish you both every happiness.”

  She fluttered her free hand around. “I’m sorry about… well, being stupid before.”

  “No worries.” Trying to ease the tension, Blaze prayed for a topic change.

  “The way Drake used to drool over you, that’s the nickname I gave you. I’m sorry for objectifying you,” Jasmine explained.

  Blaze was taken aback. Lesson learned. He needed to be careful with the power of prayer. “Drake? Drooled over me? Details, please.”

  Taylor snorted. “You could say that.”

  “But we won’t, will we,” Drake growled.

  Not being able to hold back the tease, Blaze asked, “Was Anna right all along? You’re a blade bunny.”

  Everyone laughed. Even Drake, who kissed him on the cheek. “I’m totally a blade bunny for you. I’ll show you later.”

  Blaze didn’t even spare Drake a glance, because he felt his cheeks heating, so he threw out a distraction. “Well, if no one is asking the obvious question, I will. How and why are you handcuffed together? Or is this a Connecticut thing?”

  “One of my bridesmaids thought it would be hilarious.” Jasmine glanced at Taylor. “Mama was not pleased.”

  “I bet.” Taylor leaned toward Blaze. “Our mom isn’t uptight, but things should be a certain way… hers.”

  “And me handcuffed to her daughter like a ball and chain is not that way. I’m enjoying the benefits.” William smushed Jasmine tight and kissed her cheek. “I hope she doesn’t expect these cuffs back until after the honeymoon.”

  Jasmine grinned and giggled. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

  “Oh my God. Too much information, people.” Taylor groaned.

  “Jasmine! Come here. Question on the ceremony tomorrow,” someone called out. Several women waved to her.

  She sighed and gave Blaze a big smile. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Hey! What about your brother and me?” Drake complained.

  William shrugged as she tugged him away from the group.

  “Just make sure he’s at the parties tonight!” she called over her shoulder, tugging her groom-to-be up the small hill.

  “That mister is going to be henpecked.” Taylor shook his head.

  Blaze added, “But from the grin on his face, I don’t think he minds one bit.”

  They lapsed into a comfortable silence and drank while people-watching.

  Taylor shrugged. “Hey, Blaze, I want to say I’m sorry I sprung the whole trans thing on you. I guess it’s a bit of a shitty habit of mine.”

  “I think you needing to test people suggests how much further we all need to go with understanding what transgender means. But let me know if something I say bothers you.”

  Drake rolled his eyes. “Oh, you don’t have to tell him. He’s got no problem calling someone out. You might say he enjoys it.”

  “Teaching moments are good for all, and I do it with love.” Taylor’s mouth twisted into a smirk. Then his smile dropped. “Because gender’s such an issue for my family—clearly—both Drake and I are standing up with my sister and her bridesmaids. William’s sisters and a couple of his cousins will be at the altar with him.”

  “Cool. To be honest, I never really thought much about the gender identity, the binary… skating took up most of my brain, but it sucks to push people into boxes based on what’s in their pants or their outward appearance. I look forward to your loving education.”

  Taylor nodded with a grin.

  Drake said, “Oh, and the bachelor and bachelorette parties will be attended by anyone who wants to stop by.”

  Taylor slapped Drake on the back. “Except this man. My sister requires him through her entire party.”

  “That’s only ’cause you refused.”

  “And miss a bachelor party? Nah, not me. I’ll stop over after some fun at William’s with your man here.”

  “You okay with that, Blaze?” Drake asked.

  A piece of him wanted Drake to step in to save him from the new experience, but Taylor seemed to want to spend more time together. Blaze gave Drake a wink and said, “I’ll miss you, but a bachelor party for a straight guy might be interesting. Besides, it’ll give me time to get some of that dirt Taylor offered me.”

  Taylor grinned, then finished off the last of his drink as he sobered. “Oh, I should warn you. One of Jasmine’s bridesmaids is bringing Dixon to the wedding.”

  Drake’s mouth dropped open. “No. Fox is going to be there?”

  “Isn’t he the guy who encouraged the manager to kick you out of Midnight Shadow?” Blaze kept his voice down.

  “Yup. This should be fun.” Drake’s grim expression said it would be anything but.

  Taylor tilted his head. “Not what I’d call it, but yeah, the asshole will be there.”

  “WHERE’S THE strippers?” Taylor opened his second beer and handed Blaze a diet soda.

  “Strippers?” One of the partygoers glanced around with hope on his face.

  William snorted. “Why would I want to invite strippers?”

  Taylor glared at him. “It’s a damned bachelor party. Strippers are a requirement.”

  Blaze bit back a chuckle, because to laugh at someone’s pain was wrong.

  William unglued his gaze from the TV and stared at Taylor. “Maybe back in the day, but I’m marrying your sister tomorrow, and that’s such a pre-MeTooMovement thing to do. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against strippers, or sex workers, for that matter—just not my thing.”

  Several guys nodded, along with two women.

  “Your sister, she’s my thing. Now shhh, this is her favorite part.” William pointed to the screen, and the elf Legolas leaped from rock to rock while shooting his bow.

  Taylor groaned and rolled his eyes at Blaze. “He’s a bit of a nerd.”

  “What’s your sister doing?” Blaze whispered so as not to disturb the others.

  Taylor gave Blaze a long-suffering sigh. “Drake confirmed by text, the same as him.”

  “A Lord of the Rings marathon?” Blaze added, “I’m glad. They clearly are meant for each other.”

  “I guess,” Taylor grumbled.

  A few minutes later, Blaze’s phone vibrated with a text from Drake. I miss U.

  He sent back, Miss you too.

  This movie is endless. Drake drew the same conclusion as he had.

  LOL

  When can you sneak—

  “Hey, take his phone. William is texting Jasmine,” one of the guests ratted out the groom-to-be.

  A struggle ensued, but William kept his cell and promised not to text her after midnight.

  We just tried to stop the bride from texting. Epic fail.

  Blaze snorted. Here too. There’s no rule against it.

  Come over.

  On my way.

  Blaze whispered to Taylor, “I’m going to head over to Jasmine’s party.”

  “Take me with you,” Taylor whined.

  “Of course.”

  Taylor tapped William on the shoulder. “Enjoy, man. We’re going over to Jazzy’s wild night.”

  William shook Taylor’s hand and Blaze’s. “Thanks for coming.”

  Taylor grumbled, “No one came.”

  Blaze chuckled.

  Chapter 14

  THE NEXT morning, Drake stood next to Taylor. Man, he hoped the purple flowers filling the altar wouldn’t trigger Jazzy’s allergies. The organ music could have used a little bit of guitar and some bass, but he knew Tayl
or and Jazzy’s mother well enough not to suggest veering so far from tradition.

  He smiled over at the groom, who didn’t look nervous at all, just happy and excited.

  While trying to ignore the music, Drake studied Blaze, who was two rows back with Drake’s mom and dad.

  At first, when his mom had lassoed an arm around him, Blaze appeared to be counting steps to the exit, but he had settled and now laughed at something Dad said.

  It had been a risk bringing him to a wedding. A wedding celebrated commitment. Beyond Blaze’s dedication to skating, commitment seemed to be frustratingly out of his wheelhouse. So having Blaze attend a wedding as a plus-one, which suggested a level of coupledom that Drake hadn’t been positive Blaze would be okay acknowledging on such a scale, he skated on thin ice.

  This was real life and far past couple status in their social media spheres. Drake couldn’t help but measure how easily he fit in Blaze’s Colorado existence. Even with skating, Luke, and Ice, there was plenty of room for him and them as a couple.

  Since Drake considered them to be serious, he needed to see how Blaze would feel in his world. His parents gave Blaze the seal of approval even before they met him, and when Drake mentioned him in the limited conversations he’d had with his parents, that approval was reconfirmed. For Drake, the most impressive thing was seeing Blaze not only pass Taylor’s fucked-up tests, but make a friend out of him.

  It troubled Drake that Blaze wouldn’t discuss plans beyond the wedding. Somehow today had become a make-or-break thing in their relationship. Though in fairness, he hadn’t exactly brought the subject up either, because what exactly did he have to offer? Some royalty money if Midnight Shadow used his songs.

  But between all the time he’d spent with Blaze and how Blaze’s comfort zone had expanded, maybe there was hope. And newsflash, Drake wasn’t planning to let Blaze toss what they had aside without a fight. He wanted them to work.

  On the first notes of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D,” everyone got on their feet. Blaze caught Drake staring and gave him a small smile, which sent his heart into overdrive.

  Jazzy looked magnificent in her white lace gown. While the dress hugged her curvaceous body, the flowers covering the material made it almost innocent. The tiara she wore raised her look to regal until she saw her groom and broke out in the big silly grin of a woman totally besotted by her man.

  His attention darted to Blaze. Drake feared he drank in Blaze the very same way the bride and groom ogled each other.

  Their gazes locked, and the corners of Blaze’s mouth turned up.

  Oh yes, Blaze Parker, you’re mine. Now, how to convince Blaze of that?

  DRAKE STOOD in the reception hall with his champagne glass in hand and pointed at Taylor with the microphone. “Leave it to Taylor to make everything hard on me. How do you follow a toast like that? I’ll try.”

  “That’s right. You got this, Drake,” Jasmine called out.

  Drake smiled as he tried to remember she wasn’t ten years old. “That’s my Jazzy. She encouraged me to never give up on my dreams.

  “She said, ‘If you want something, you go after it and don’t let anything stop you.’ I’ve always lived by that.” A quick gaze at Blaze told him he’d continue to do so.

  He paced in front of the dais. “Now I’ve known Jasmine, or Jazzy, as I have called her, since she was born. In every way, she’s my sister, same as Taylor’s my brother born to another mother.”

  Knowing he’d get flak from Taylor, he couldn’t help but add, “I even helped Jazzy win the spelling bee.”

  Taylor whined, “Hey, I helped too.”

  Drake held up his index finger at Taylor. “No, I’ll take all the credit for her seventh-grade win.”

  Jasmine snorted. “You’re so silly, Drake.”

  “She’s the type of person who knows what she wants and goes after it. I respect that. But together William and Jazzy have done something many of us could only dream of, finding that one perfect person we want to spend the rest of our life with.” Drake darted his gaze to Blaze, who immediately stopped staring at Drake and pounded back his drink.

  Drake refocused on the toast. “Oh, I know you two have been given a lot of grief by people worried about you being too young, who question how could you possibly know this is the one. But let’s be honest, you know. I know just by looking at the two of you. You are meant to be together.”

  William pulled Jasmine into a kiss that spurred the glass-tapping tradition to begin. Jasmine shrugged, slid into his lap, and kissed him on the mouth one more time.

  Someone yelled, “Save some for the honeymoon.”

  Once the laughter and applause died down, Drake continued. “Though I do need to report you both to your friends and family. During their bachelor and bachelorette parties, they were texting each other. They even synchronized watching The Lord of the Rings the director’s cut extended version. Yeah, if you missed the wild event, they each had a marathon of elves, hobbits, and wizards. But for me, their parties confirmed they were meant to be.”

  Drake smiled at the happy couple, hoping he’d be allowed the same kind of romance. His gaze skittered back to Blaze as he said, “It won’t always be easy, because love wasn’t meant to be easy, but if you fight for the two of you and protect what you have, you’ll find happiness together.”

  Raising his glass to Blaze, he spun in a circle to the rest of the crowd. He stopped when he faced Jazzy and her groom. “Congratulations. I wish you both the very best life has to offer. May love, happiness, and romance be yours always.”

  “NOT SURE if it’s the open bar or the company, but I’m having a great time,” Blaze whispered to him after dinner.

  “I’m hoping it’s the company,” Taylor declared.

  Blaze kissed Drake on the cheek. “I’m sure of it—oh, they’re doing the cake bit. We have to watch.”

  “Why?” Drake was curious to see Blaze completely enthralled.

  Blaze whispered, “I think it’s telling of the relationship,” and then he craned his neck to see the event.

  William gently fed Jasmine a piece of cake, and she daintily did the same. Then they kissed stray icing off each other’s lips.

  “Aw! Perfect. They’ll be happy together,” Blaze declared, like he could see into the future.

  Taylor tsked. “What do you mean? I know people who shoved the cake in each other’s face and they’re still happily married.”

  Blaze nodded. “It depends if the couple is like two playmates getting married. It’s different if they both do the shoving lovingly and both have fun. But when there’s a casual disregard of the other’s feeling that—what?”

  Drake shook his head.

  Placing his elbow on the table, Taylor leaned into the palm of his hand. “You’ve given this some thought.”

  “Well, yeah. I guess.” Blaze blushed a bit and shrugged.

  “Does that mean you’re the marrying kind, Blaze?” Taylor asked with a smirk.

  Blaze’s mouth dropped open, and he blinked rapidly. He turned toward Drake and said, “I hope so.”

  Oh? Drake tried to school his elation so he didn’t dance around doing fist pumps to the relationship gods who graciously smiled down on him.

  Blaze swallowed with a gulp and glanced away from the table.

  Taylor stared at Drake with big eyes and tilted his head. He mouthed, “Slow your roll, bro.”

  Sighing, Drake mouthed back, “I didn’t do anything; you did.”

  Taylor tapped Blaze on the arm. “Hey, Blaze, this is that line dance I told you about. It’s yesterday’s news, but you want to try it?”

  Jumping to his feet, Blaze said, “Of course,” and escaped toward the dance floor without looking at Drake.

  Taylor laid a hand on Drake’s shoulder and warned, “Chill. Don’t push him.”

  “You were the one who asked. I didn’t say anything. Not my first rodeo side-stepping Blaze’s commitment phobia.” The truly frustrating thing was Blaze triggered himself
more than Drake did.

  “You didn’t have to, but my marrying-kind joke turned real by the hope and excitement written all over your face, which translated into major pressure for him. Be cool.” Taylor headed off to the dance floor.

  Dammit, he was, but how long could he skate on thin ice? Drake polished off the rest of his drink.

  Dixon meandered over to Drake. “Surprised to see you here.”

  Fuck! Damn, Drake’s luck on avoiding the asshole ground to a halt. “Why?”

  “Thought you’d be getting ready,” Dixon slurred.

  “For…?”

  Dixon gave him a stupid smirk. “Like you don’t know.”

  “Whatever.” Drake needed some air or maybe a safe haven away from jackasses.

  Blaze now danced with Jasmine, pretending to pair skate. Jazzy giggled up a storm. Her new husband clapped them on as they glided around the floor. Drake caught his attention on a quick turn and a twitch of Blaze’s hips. He held up a finger, letting him know he’d be back, and stalked out of the ballroom.

  He searched for peace and found a quiet hallway with some chairs. No one was around, so he plopped down and closed his eyes for a minute.

  “Or are you trying to say you haven’t seen what Midnight Shadow has been posting?” Dixon’s shrill voice invaded his solitude.

  Dammit, Dixon had followed him and now stared down at him.

  “Well, have you?” Dixon demanded.

  Why would he? “No, I’ve taken some time away from social media.”

  A bitter laugh barked out of Dixon. “A cleanse?”

  It sounded dumb when said aloud, which was why he hadn’t really announced his status of not looking at Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Besides, Blaze kept him too busy to even miss his infrequent checking, and Blaze even posted and tagged Drake’s page so he didn’t feel any guilt about not keeping people informed of his life.

  “I needed a goddamned break.” Drake stood because he didn’t like looking up at Dixon.

  Dixon glanced down the hallway and shifted from foot to foot. “Hey, remember that guy in science class?”