Three is a Crowd

She woke up suddenly, feeling someone behind her wrapping their arms around her, alarming her for a second before she relaxed at the familiar scent of coffee and cigarettes. She turned around to face Gerard.

'Rough night?’ He sounded amused, grinning at her appearance. Amanda hadn’t changed out of her clothes when she flopped herself onto the bed without bothering to take her make up off or brush her teeth. She shrugged her shoulders.

‘I’m not hungover if that’s what you’re thinking.’ He laughed.

‘Good. Then you can get your ass out of bed and get ready. We’re going out!’

‘Where?’ she couldn’t help but smile excitedly, like a child on Christmas morning.

‘That’s a surprise. Go get a shower.’ He slapped her ass before leaping off her bed. Amanda groaned, stretching her body out before letting out a deep breath. The events with Andy last night were still fresh in her mind and she was trying her best to push them to the back of her mind. It was a slip up, one she was determined not to make again. Gerard meant too much for her to lose over a silly attraction. Especially a person who was still hung up over their ex. She refused to be used as Andy’s method to get over, or get back at, his ex. At least not in the way he seemed to want. She was willing to be there for him, she wanted to be there for him even, but not at the expense or her relationship. She sighed with frustration, deciding not to think about it anymore and crawled out of bed and into her bathroom, enjoying the hot shower that woke her up fully and made her feel somewhat better. When she finally came downstairs, she wasn’t surprised to find Gerard was in the kitchen, sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper with vague mild interest as he leaned against the breakfast counter. She greeted him with a kiss, managing not to look disgusted at the taste of coffee on his lips.

'So, where are we going?’

'Like I said, it’s a surprise. It’s a good one, trust me.’

She gave a little childish squeal of delighted, clapping her hands together in excitement.

'Really?’

'You’re adorable when you get so excited’ he laughed, making Amanda blush. He would make comments like that every so often completely out of the blue and Amanda’s response of blushing madly never changed.

'Are you ready?’ he asked, ignoring her red cheeks.

' I think so, unless there’s anything in particular I need.’

‘Alright, let’s go!’ He put his coffee down on the breakfast bar, leaving the remaining contents in it. Amanda smirked when she thought about how Frank would react if he saw it, imagining the evil glare he would give Gerard until it was picked up, washed and put away. Frank was a clean freak to Amanda’s surprise. She came home once to find he had put the pile of clean clothes she left lying on her floor away, all folded away neatly. She let out a small sigh, feeling ridiculous for missing him when he was only gone for one night. The thought quickly vanished when Gerard gently took a hold of her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. It was done naturally and thoughtlessly, their hands fitting perfectly together like two pieces of a puzzle. She wondered if Gerard noticed it too.

An hour later they were at an ice rink

'Are you kidding me?’ Amanda asked, her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the ice as though it was ready to come and attack her.

'You mentioned a while ago that you never went. I thought it’d be fun.’

She racked her brain, trying to remember when she told him that. It was true, she was too afraid of slipping and making a fool of herself to ever try ice skating. The idea was as daunting as it was terrifying.

'We were watching some shitty movie on TV and you said you’d never tried ice skating’ he explained, noticing her confused expression.

'I’m surprised you remembered.’

'I take in more than you realise’ he replied with a shy smile, making Amanda’s heart melt in spite of the cold temperature. She wanted nothing more than to kiss him, right there and then. She cupped his face before planting a gentle, quick kiss on his lips.

'I’m gonna fall’ she murmured.

'You won’t, I promise.’ She nodded, letting him lead her over to the desk where Gerard paid before they were given their skates. They were awkward and clunky to put on, making Amanda cuss under her breath. She could see Gerard laughing at her out of the corner of her eye which she paid no attention to. When she finally managed to fasten the skates on properly she turned to face Gerard, her eyes wide with fear.

'Promise you won’t let go?’

'I promise’ he whispered.

He offered his hand to her, not flinching when she gripped it tightly in fright when she stood up. He gave her an encouraging smile, as though it would somehow help her. It didn’t at all, she stumbled her way to the rink, clutching onto Gerard for dear life as they stood outside the barrier of the rink.

‘This is a bad idea, I can’t do it. I’ve got no balance or coordination at all. This has disaster written all over it. You did this just to embarrass me, didn’t you?’

‘No, I did this because I wanted to do something special with you. Also, confidence is the key to ice skating. If you’re afraid of falling or what other people think your body tenses up and your movements are too stiff, which is why you fall. If you let go, and stop worrying so much about what might happen, you’ll find skating is actually quite easy.’

His eyes were earnest and she knew his words were full of double meaning. She couldn’t form a reply; she just nodded before taking a deep breath. He guided onto the ice, her natural instincts taking over as she clung onto Gerard even tighter.

'Hey, it’s okay. Just relax. Remember what I told you, if you tense up you’re more likely to fall. It’s just like skating with roller blades.’

She perked up at this.

‘Really?’

'Yes, the same principal applies, kind of. Skate the same way you would if you were wearing roller blades, just don’t go so fast until you get use to the ice.’

'Okay’ she took a quick deep breath, before Gerard slowly started to skate on the ice.

She tried her best to loosen up, remembering Gerard’s words about how it was all about confidence. He took her around the rink once and to her surprise she only stumbled twice. After the third time she was confident enough to let go of his hand, she needed to prove that she could do it. He stayed right beside her, ready to catch her if she fell. He grabbed her hand again and started skating faster, holding on to her tightly with a proud smile on his face.

'See, I knew you could do it.’

When their hour was up they were forced to leave the rink, much to Amanda’s dismay. She never got the opportunity to spend time with Gerard like this and she hated that it was over so soon. She tried her best not to show it, not wanting to seem ungrateful for the amazing time she had.

'Thank you’ she spoke softly as they walked out the door, hand in hand.

‘You’re more than welcome. I like making you smile like that.’

Without warning she stopped, pulling him into a hug.

'I love you’ she whispered into his ear.

‘I love you too’ he kissed her cheek, oblivious to the fact that her heart was suddenly spastic in her chest at his words. She had never expected to hear him say those words ever, and now that he had she felt as though their relationship, as fucked up and unconventional as it was, was worth it.

Notes

Hi Everybody, My apologies for the lack of updates, I hadn't realised it's been so long. As always a big thank you to all the amazing readers/commentors/subscribers. Comments are awesome so please drop a line, especially if you notice mistakes. A lot of the time I rush when writing and I don't check my work 99% of the time so please let me know if you spot any so I can correct it. I feel like I should get a beta but I'm too lazy to. Anyway, as always I hope you enjoyed. Until next time :)