Chapter twenty-eight: Bruises (Nick's POV)

I knocked on her door while waiting for her to answer it. She opened it, peeking her head out before stepping aside and letting me in. "Hey," I sang. 

"Hi," she said mockingly while slipping her shoes on. "Warm enough?" she asked while pulling a jacket on. 

"Yeah," I nodded while zipping it up. 

"Nick," she gave me a pointed look before unzipping it. 

"I tried," I shrugged, "You look pretty," I grinned at her while she grabbed her phone and key card. 

She smiled at me before scanning the room to make sure she had everything she needed. She turned to me and planted a kiss on my lips, throwing her arms around my shoulder. 

I wasn't pulling away as always but she had kept it going longer than usual. "You okay?" I chuckled, pulling away unwillingly. 

"Mm-hmm," she nodded while biting her bottom lip, "I just didn't get to kiss you that much today," she shrugged lightly. 

"You can kiss me now," I smirked. 

"We'll be late," she smirked before leading us out of the room. We got to the elevator and out of the hotel, heading to the Kendall Ice Arena which was a little over half an hour away. We pulled up and I got out, running over to her side, getting the door for her before she could do it herself. 

She grinned at me while we headed inside, trading our shoes for ice skates. "Nick, where did you get this idea?" she asked as we sat down to pull on our skates. 

"What idea?" I asked while kneeling in front of her, putting her skates on for her and tying them up. 

"Reliving our first date," she asked while blushing lightly. 

"Well, if we're doing this relationship again then why not do the first date too?" I asked while tying up her skates. I looked up and noticed her smile falter ever so slightly. 

"Yeah," she nodded, covering it up. I decided to ignore it. Maybe she's feeling nervous about us. 

I put on my skates before getting up and leading us to the rink. She stepped onto the ice, one hand on the railing, the other in mine but I stayed outside. "Nick," she cleared her throat, "When was the last time you skated?" she bit back a laugh. 

"Our first date," I sighed. 

"You'll be fine, come on," she held her hand out. 

I grabbed her hand and the railing before stepping onto the ice, my feet instantly slipping from under me. 

She laughed, covering her mouth and turning her back to me, but failed miserably to hide her laugh that I'd come to love over time. "I'm sorry," she chuckled, while I stood up. 

"I will leave this place with bruises all over my body," I mumbled. 

"I will take care of you, come on," she nodded, "Move your feet in the shape of a v, Nick. In and out," she explained. 

Our hands were locked and I listened to her advice. It was helpful, but I was falling on my ass and back constantly. 

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"Ow," I winced while taking my skates off. 

"Hey, at least you got the hang of it towards the end there," she laughed. 

"Yeah, the end. If we kept going it would be my end. I think I broke my back out there," I winced, straightening up my back. 

"Your back is fine," she waved her hand dismissively, "Right?" she looked at me with concern. I laughed before kissing her as we stood up and headed to the counter where we traded the skates back for our shoes. "Now what?" she asked as we stepped out and got into the car. 

"McDonald's drive-thru," I grinned at her while starting the car and backing out of our parking spot. 

"So, we're really doing that date all over again? Like the whole thing?" she asked while crossing her legs. 

"Yup," I replied while turning the street. 

"And where are we gonna go for that drive-in movie?" she arched an eyebrow at me. 

"Dezerland Park," I replied. 

"Isn't that like an hour away?" she asked while we pulled up to the McDonald's drive-thru. 

I placed our orders before heading to collect it. "Almost an hour, funny enough, they're showcasing Zodiac," I turned to her while we waited for the food. 

"Like the one with Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., and Jake Gyllenhall?" she asked excitedly. 

"Do you know any other movie named Zodiac?" I asked while laughing. 

"I love that movie!" she squealed. 

"I know," I nodded while grabbing our food. "Thank you very much," I smiled before driving off. 

"You're not telling me we're waiting an hour to get there and then eat, right?" she asked while sipping her coke. 

"No," I laughed while parking. 

We stayed there and ate while talking and once we were done, I drove us down to the drive-in. I parked, opened up the trunk, folded over the seats, grabbed the blanket and pillows that I brought because I played it smart, and helped her in. 

"You're really good with this, you know. You always have been," she chuckled while getting comfortable. 

"Good with what?" I asked in confusion. 

"This," she shrugged, "Dates, girls, impressing," she gave me a pointed look. 

"Well, I've done it most with you. And to be honest, if it wasn't for you then I wouldn't be half as good at it. You told me exactly the kinds of dates you liked, that's why I know what to do," I said while the movie began. 

While we were all cuddled up and watching the movie, I noticed her stealing pretty much the entire blanket. "Em," I whispered but she didn't respond. "Em," I said a little louder. 

"Shh," she mumbled, her eyes trained on the screen. 

"Em," I cleared my throat. 

"What?" she mumbled while biting her nails. 

I pulled her hand down while eyeing her. "Emma, where is your jacket?" I asked while pulling the blankets closer to myself. 

"Around my waist, Nick shh!" she hissed, pulling the blankets again. 

"Then wear it and stop hoarding the blanket," I huffed, pulling it closer. She clicked her tongue and just pulled the blanket back. I sighed and put my hands to her waist but there was nothing there. "Emma, you don't have your jacket on you," I pointed out. 

She shot daggers at me before looking down, groaning in realization. "I must've left it somewhere at the ice rink," she facepalmed. 

"Or in the front seat," I rolled my eyes while crawling back and grabbing it, handing it to her. 

"I don't want it," she pushed it away and pulled the blanket closer. I rolled my eyes and threw it back in her seat before grabbing mine and handing it to her. She gladly took it and pulled it on almost immediately, finally leaving enough of the blanket for me. We watched the movie with all our attention and once the credits rolled we got back in our seats and I started driving us back to the hotel. 

"Don't you think it was stupid of them to not get a second opinion on his handwriting the first time? They could have caught him the first time," she rolled her eyes while groaning. 

"Yeah, but then the movie wouldn't be as great. I think the reason people like it is because it's open-ended," I shrugged. 

"Really? I like it because it has Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, and Jake Gyllenhall," she said nonchalantly. 

I laughed while shaking my head. After a while, we got to the hotel and headed back to our rooms. 

"Is there anything we can do to get in trouble, Nick?" she asked out of nowhere as the elevator continued moving up to the top floor. 

"What?" I laughed while looking at her in confusion. 

"I wanna do something exciting," she huffed while rocking back and forth on her feet. 

"Who says you have to get in trouble for that?" I questioned. 

"Huh?" she looked at me in confusion. 

"I'm sure we can do something exciting," I smirked. 

She rolled her eyes at me before staring at the ceiling. The elevator dinged open at our floor and we stepped out, heading to our rooms. On our way there, we heard laughter and halted, turning around to see Liam and Rachel coming out of his room. We rolled our eyes before continuing to walk as she rocked our hands back and forth. 

She leaned against her door and looked up at me with a grin. "I had a lot of fun, thank you for tonight," she said while keeping a hold on my hand. 

"My pleasure," I smirked while stepping closer to her. 

"Just so you know, you will have bruises on your back, just a few," she nodded, scrunching her nose at me. 

"I know," I nodded while leaning. 

She tilted her head up and her lips met mine. She chuckled while pulling away. "See you tomorrow?" she asked while biting her bottom lip to keep herself from smiling wider than she already was. 

"No," I whispered while shaking my head softly, "Don't go." I kissed her cheek. Then her jaw. Then she pushed me back gently. 

"Goodnight," she smiled before closing the door. 

I rested my forehead against her closed door and sighed, "Goodnight."

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Chapter twenty-eight

Well, there's a pure little date for you

Next Chapter: Let's fucking run

Sneak peek: Everyone is going shopping again and these two just aren't in the mood to do so

Also, if you haven't seen the movie Zodiac and you like murder-crime-mystery movies, I 100% recommend it, it's amazing and it's available on Netflix