© Copyright 2011
All work is property of Leah Crichton, any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal.

Beguile: (bih-gahwl)

to charm or divert

to pass time pleasantly

Orion wasn’t at all diverted by the series of strange events. Oddly enough, it almost had the opposite effect as he took to doing just about everything with me: lunch, classes, after school, even rehab. It was okay. Having him there made me feel stronger somehow, and it was easy to forget about his temper tantrum and focus on happier things. Bruce took a leave of absence. His mother had a stroke and he stayed with her. Admirable, but it forced me to tolerate Julie’s borderline abuse. The day she took my crutches away and told me I could walk, Orion was ecstatic. “Can I take her skating?”

Julie paused before responding. “Well sure, I suppose you could. The exercise would be very good for her. You just need to watch her. Be careful, you can’t let her fall,” she said.

“I’d never let her fall.”

I shot them both a nasty scowl. “Excuse me, I’m right here.”

“And pretty soon you’ll be right at home on the ice,” Orion said, beaming.

As soon as that little idea had planted a seed inside his head, it blossomed into a full-on mission and, by Saturday, I was in an arena watching Alicia lace her skates up like a pro. “It’s gonna be so much fun!” She clapped her large wooly mitts together. I sat on the bench just outside the rink lacing up my skates with much less enthusiasm than she had.

“Tighter.” Orion observed. “You don’t want to hurt your ankles.”

Following his advice I tugged the laces taut. My feet were crammed into the skates. If I could stand in these, much less move, I deserved an award. Once he decided my skates were sufficient enough that my ankles wouldn’t snap, he offered his hand. Reluctantly I took it and stood. It was like trying to support the weight of an elephant on a butter knife and I wobbled.

“I can’t believe you’ve never skated before. You’re from Manitoba.” This fact amused him.

“I’m not a fan of the cold, Orion. That’s why I like motorized things that move fast through it,” I said, referring to my beloved snowmobile. “Otherwise, I’m an indoor girl.”

He laughed. “But you’re from Churchill, Manitoba. You’d have to move to the Arctic to get much colder than that.”

“Precisely why I don’t like cold. Just because you live somewhere cold doesn’t mean you have to like it or enjoy outdoor activities, like skating for example.” 

“Are we outside?”

I didn’t answer.

“Right. We’re at an indoor rink, which renders your argument invalid.”

“Skating is associated with ice. Ice is associated with cold, and cold is associated with outside.  I hate to rain on your parade, but your logic is disillusioned, and my fact outweighs yours.” I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

“You’re feeling feisty today, huh, Tiger? That’s good. Let’s go.”

I glanced over at the ice to see Alicia and Alex. Alex was talking to a tall brunette on the sidelines while his sister floated with incredible grace. If she could do it, I reasoned, it couldn’t be that hard. We hurried to the cut out on the side of the rink and Orion smoothly stepped down, turning to face me.

Bravery is overrated, and stupidity is underrated. Stepping onto the ice, I was about to become learned in these two very crucial facts. As soon as I set my second foot on the white shiny surface beneath them, I knew that it was seeking my untimely demise. My arms flailed about wildly, trying to compensate for the fact that I had no solid footing. Orion watched for a moment trying not to laugh at me, but reached out for me seconds before I fell. “Jeez, Tiger, have you ever even worn a pair of skates?” His arms scooped under mine, saving me from the unrelenting slickness of the ice.

“Ah, now you question how serious I was when I said I was an indoor girl.” I narrowed my eyes and whispered, “Deadly serious. Indoor girl.” 

“Well, indoor girl, by the time I’m done with you, you’ll love skating. It’s the closest feeling to flying on your feet.” His zest for this was undeniable. And undeniably annoying. 

Alicia zipped by us, waving. “This so much fun!” she hollered. At that moment, I hated her. Show-off.

“Oh yeah,” I teased. “Loads of fun.” My feet separated, trying to escape me again, this time out toward the sides like a gymnast doing the splits. “Orion!” I panicked, sure the ligaments in my legs could not handle the pull. “I don’t like this!”

He yanked my body up again and slipped one hand around my middle, then glided across the ice until he stood behind me, placing his other hand on my waist, too. “You’re okay. You just need to get used to the ice. You probably weren’t able to ride your bike the very first time you tried. This is no different. Ready?”

I pursed my lips together in defiance. He was right, but I was unwilling to consider even admitting it.

“Ireland?” The way his voice rolled around my name made me second guess hating it for so long.

I still didn’t reply, instead glancing behind me with a worried expression. He flashed that enticing smile, the one that affected me so much more than it should, and promised, “I won’t let you fall.”

I felt like with him behind me, I had an ally against the slick ice. I was also intensely aware at this moment of how warm his fingers were, resting under my sweater at the skin of my waist. I wanted to prolong it.  “Ready,” I told him with as much conviction as I could. 

His feet moved swiftly and, like Alicia, he skated with ease. As we moved faster, wind bit my skin and, despite the slight sting, I was grateful that for once my cheeks were red from something other than embarrassment.

Orion was right; it felt like we were flying. I smiled and started moving my feet in time with his, attempting to steady them. After a few trips around the rink I had to admit this was a lot of fun. We moved together in perfect sync and he let go, speeding up first to pass me, then turning his body a hundred and eighty degrees to face me as he skated backwards. “Hey, look at you,” he teased, “my Outdoor Girl.”

It caught me completely off guard. The words my and girl had come out of his mouth and he was talking about me. Suddenly my concentration dissolved, and I just looked ahead at his face, awestruck. My legs seemed aware of the fact that I was no longer paying attention, and they deserted me. I flew forward and cringed and waited for the impact of my body on the ice but Orion was quicker and caught me again, smiling. “Whoa, what happened? You were doing so good.”

“Uh, I don’t know.” I searched for an excuse but there were none. Telling him his innocent comment sent me reeling was out of the question. A change of subject was in order. “Can we go and get a hot chocolate? This is harder than I thought.”  

“Of course—if you think you can make it to the exit in one piece, that is.”

I widened my eyes at him, held my head up and headed to the cut out. As soon as we were on solid ground, relief flooded over me like water.  At least if he had any more comments like that, I’d stand a chance to keep my footing. When I got my skates off, my feet throbbed. Orion was quicker than me in removing his modern day foot binding and he left to go get hot chocolate for us. I could see the back of his hoodie and his signature dark jeans headed in the direction of the concession. I used to opportunity to analyze his words.

It probably meant nothing.

I’m sure it meant nothing.

It had to mean nothing.

I hoped it meant something.

When he came back, a serious expression masked the playful one I was used to.  “Luke’s here.”

His revelation caught me off guard. “What? Where?” I twisted my head around, looking for my brother.

“He’s at the concession,” he handed me my hot chocolate. “With a girl.”

“A girl. You’re lying.” I had never seen Luke with a girl.

Orion placed his hand across his heart. “Swear to you, on my life.”  

“Are you serious?” I looked around even more. So Luke had a girlfriend. This was very interesting news.

He turned my own words back on me. “You question how serious I am, deadly serious Indoor Girl.”

“Did he say anything to you?”

“Nope, just gave me his famous I-hate-you-stay-away-from-my-sister look.”

“Ugh!” I rubbed my temples. “I’m sorry.”

“S’okay. Luke is a good big brother, you know. Even if he doesn’t like me, he only wants to protect you. ”

I took a sip of my hot chocolate. “I know. I just wish he’d give my friends a chance.”

Orion sloppily put his arm around my shoulder and grinned. “And by your friends, you mean me, right?”

“Well, yeah, that’s what I meant. I don’t need to be constantly protected. Besides, he really has no need to protect me, especially from you. You’re like the closest friend I have since we came here.” I brought the cup to my mouth and took a sip.

Orion’s face darkened.  “Well, I was kind of hoping we were more than friends.”

The hot chocolate didn’t go down right this time and I started a coughing fit. Choking on the liquid, I uttered a silent plea to any higher power listening that it would remain in my throat and not make an appearance through my nose. Orion slapped my back with his hand. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” By fine I meant mortified. “Thanks,” I added.

“I’m sorry, did I say something?” Orion grabbed the hot chocolate from my hand, placed it on the bench and sat across from me.

“Yeah, you know the whole hoping to be more than friends thing kinda threw me for a loop there.”

“How can you say that? You can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed anything, that you can’t feel what’s happening between us.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I said.  I was reluctant to think that the things happening between us were anything more than a hopeless fantasy, completely one-sided on my part. “I just find it a little unbelievable.”

His brows knitted together. “Why?”

“Because Orion, you can do everything. You have everything. You’re good looking, you’re smart, you’re strong, you have a nice car—or use of one, anyway—good friends, and you’re incredible. I can easily see us being friends. You’re great. I just have such a hard time thinking that the whole more part of it is for real.”

He reached out and put his hand on top of mine. “You are all of those things, except I for sure have a better car,” he teased. “But I don’t have everything. Yet. What will it take for me to convince you otherwise?”

I looked down at my hands and began to pick my fingernails as his arms suddenly pulled me up and forward until they wrapped tight around me. His voice was soft in my ear. “Just give me one chance, okay? I don’t care if you’re an indoor girl or an outdoor one, as long as you’re mine.”

I felt delusional.  It was a very real possibility that I was, but ignorance was bliss, wasn’t it? “Okay,” I said. “Yes.”

“Good, it’s settled then.”

“Settled,” I echoed, trying not to think that at any moment I’d wake up and find myself alone in my bed.

“Since you’re mine now, can I do something I’ve wanted to do since the moment I saw you?”

This was it. The proof I needed to know I was not dreaming. He was going to kiss me. “Uh-huh,” I whispered. He leaned down, coming in closer. His fingers ran along my lips and I could see his tongue tracing along his. His breath caressed my skin and my heart raced ferociously, trying to jump right out of my chest. I could almost taste him. I closed my eyes and waited for it, hoping I wouldn’t pass out.

Just then Luke’s voice interrupted.

Perfect. No one called for Superman.

“I.Q.! I didn’t know you were here! Listen, there’s somebody I want you to meet.”

There was someone I wanted Luke to meet too: my fist. I rolled my eyes at the same time Orion’s head twisted to the side. His lips arched in a crooked little smile than made them even more enticing.  I turned to face Luke and replied through clenched teeth: “What?”

“I want you to meet someone,” he repeated. I looked over his shoulder to see a timid looking girl standing behind him. Her appearance startled me. For someone who was with the likes of Luke, she was absolutely beautiful.  She was delicate, with almond shaped hazel eyes and shiny dark brown hair that framed her face and hung down almost to her waist. I’d not expected to see someone like this with Luke. “I.Q., this is my girlfriend, Helena. Helena, this is my sister Ireland.”

“Hello, Ireland.” Helena stepped forward and held out her hand. “It's nice to meet you.” Her accent was thick but it was impossible for me to determine its origin.

As mad as I was at Luke for his purposeful interruption, I couldn’t be mean to this girl, who, judging from the blush on her face during Luke’s introduction, was smitten with him. This stunning girl was taken with nerdy Luke. I looked at Orion and the coincidence of our situations didn’t escape me. “Hi Helena. Nice to meet you.” I tugged Orion’s arm so he stood next to me. “This is Orion, my boyfriend.” The word boyfriend sounded foreign to me—completely unnatural—but I made sure to accentuate it for Luke’s benefit.

Helena eyed Orion appreciatively. “Hello.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said. “Luke,” he added with a nod. 

I didn’t want to be here anymore. As nice as she was, I had been almost kissed by someone whom I could only ever dream of kissing. “We were just leaving.  I’ll see you at home.”

“I guess I’ll see you later.”

“It was nice to meet you, Helena,” I said, pulling Orion away. When we were out of earshot I complained, “Ugh! Stupid Luke!”

Orion gave a sly grin. “Well, he must be doing something right. Did you get a look at her?”

I slapped him in the arm. “You know what I mean.”

“What can I tell you, Tiger?” he threw an arm lazily across my shoulder. “What if I promise you I’ll make it worth the wait?”

Why couldn’t he do it now? I was ready. I was willing. “Do I have a choice?”

He shook his head. “Afraid not. I want it to be perfect, and your bro kinda ruined things. It’s probably for the best. It seems kind of soon to be kissing you anyway.”

Orion had only just made his intentions clear, and here I was ready to throw myself at him—or maybe I’d been ready to do that the first time we met. Either way, I was taking the easy way out and blaming Luke.

Maybe it would be him who took first place on my never-to-speak-to-again list.

.