Kiss My Cupcake
Copyright © 2021 Debra Anastasia
All rights reserved
Published by Debra Anastasia
Skating on the Stars is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are all products of the author’s twisted imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Except as permitted under the US Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
1
Gaze
“Who taught you to skate?” Pixie Rae gave me a suspicious glare.
“The Burathons. When I was with them.” I searched her face for any hint of pain. I knew it was there. I hoped she could see the pain in my eyes, too. She was alone then, but not now. And never again.
Pixie was sitting on a fallen tree while I laced up her ice skates. Luckily, Teddi had the same size feet and enjoyed the frozen lake trips as much as I did when we were younger. I wanted Pixie to have a memory like mine. Once I was sure her skates were on properly, I stood on mine. We waddle-walked to the edge of the lake. The conditions were perfect. The ice was as clear as magic.
Pixie hesitated to put her skate on the surface. “Are you sure? This looks like it will crack in a second.” I let go of her hands and pushed myself on my skates to make sure she knew it was safe. I skated backward in a circle and then back to her. Her eyes were wide as I stretched out one hand to her.
“See? Fine.” I stuttered my steps as I transitioned from ice to snow.
Pixie pursed her lips but trusted my hand enough to grab it. I skated behind her and enveloped her in a hug as she experienced the ice with blades for the first time.
I was able to right her for the first three pushes, and then she started to get the hang of it. I wasn’t surprised. She was an agile human. She didn’t enjoy sports as much as I did, but she could play them decently if she wanted.
That was my Pixie. No matter what she set her mind to, she could figure it out. Even if it meant surviving our childhood in the city together.
I wasn’t in a huge rush, but I had a destination. Valentine’s Day had expectations, after all. I kept a grip on her hand or put my fingers on her back as she figured out more and more how to move on skates.
“Like rollerblades, right?”
She was good on skates with wheels. We had two sets at our apartment by the college.
“Yeah. Except for the giant optical illusion that I’m on top of water that is ready to crack any second.” She gestured with her hand at our feet.
I couldn’t hide my grin. “Well, I didn’t plan that, but I’m glad it happened.”
Usually the ice was frosted, and you could rarely see to the depths below, but this freeze was different. The slow build of the cold allowed large chunks to form without the impurities that would normally cloud it up.
It was close to dusk, but there was enough sunlight to see straight through to the bottom in some spots. The sandy bottom revealed a few jagged rocks. It was hard to perceive the depth.
The whole effect made the simple act of ice skating seem far more thrilling than usual.
“I feel like this exact ice will slip into my nightmares for the rest of my life.” Pixie squeezed her eyes shut.
“That was not the feeling I was after.” I slowed us both down and caught her at her waist. “You okay? I can get you out of here in a hot minute.”
Her cheeks were pinking up from the cold. I kissed each one.
“I’m good. I’m safe with you.” She leaned up and tried to give me a kiss on my nose. She overextended and slipped. I pulled her to me and kept our balance. “See? Now let me get my juggling knives out and see how you do when I add those.”
“Come here, hilarious.” I swooped down and picked her up, slinging her over my shoulder. “Don’t kick or you’ll turn my brain into a kabob.”
I felt her put her hands on my back to steady herself. “Gaze. What the hell?”
I wanted her to see the setup before we lost the light. I skated her around the outcropping of trees so she could see what I had planned.
Once I saw the candles flickering, I slowed and set her down.
She was focused on her feet and then glanced up. I watched her face while she took in the scene.
Earlier, my brother, Ruffian, helped me set it up. We arranged a huge heart shape with LED candles. Then I spread out a blanket with a large picnic basket. In it were some sandwiches and a cake with “Will you marry me?” written on the top in icing.
Tonight was a big night. It had to go perfectly. When Pixie went from sighing happily to screaming, I knew something awful was going down.
2
Pixie Rae
Gaze had a flare for romance, I had to hand it to him. It wasn’t necessary. I was his no matter what. We would always be each other’s person. You couldn’t have one of us without the other. And the beautiful scene in front of me with the flickering candles was awe-inspiring. I loved that he had gone to all this work.
But then, the huge picnic basket moved once. Then again. Then one more time. A hairy hand stretched out, opening the basket from the inside.
I knew I was screaming, and I should have probably stopped. There had to be a reason for what I was seeing. I clapped my hands over my lips.
Gaze leaned closer to me and then followed my line of sight.
“Oh shit.” Gaze took off on his skates so quickly, I had to toss out my arms to keep my balance. He could skate really, really fast. He slid next to the blanket as if it was home base.
He grabbed the basket and the hand disappeared back inside.
“Oh no. No. You evil little thing.” Gaze flipped open the basket and slowly an adorable, huge raccoon popped his head out. “Not the cake. Shit.”
The raccoon licked his chops.
“You ate the whole cake? No. No!” Gaze wagged his finger at the raccoon.
I was taking a video before I realized I had my phone in my hand. It was a habit. When something was video-worthy, it was a reflex.
The raccoon scrambled to get out of the basket. Gaze didn’t seem to know if he wanted to trap the raccoon inside the basket or shoo him away.
Finally, Gaze’s super quick reflexes kicked in and he popped the lid closed. The raccoon protested with a squeak.
“What do I do?” He was holding the basket close to his chest.
“What were you trying to do?” It sure seemed like the raccoon was a surprise, so I didn’t think it was a new pet.
Gaze frowned and didn’t answer me.
I moved slowly in his direction. My skating skills were super new.
When I got close enough, I held onto Gaze’s bicep. His distress was next level, and he was usually calm.
“If you ate the cake, you dumbass…” He lifted the lid again, and the adorable raccoon looked up at us both. He was covered in something thick and white. I slapped the lid down.
“Is that rabies? Is he sick?” I swallowed hard. I was a city girl, but I knew rabies was bad news.