If We Ever Meet Again (If Love Book 1)

“Michelle Kwan, eat your heart out!” Farrah glided so gracefully around the rink one would think she’d been ice skating her whole life—if she wasn’t holding onto the hockey barrier the entire time.

Blake laughed at the triumphant glint in her eyes. Two hours ago, Farrah had never set foot in an ice rink. Now she swanned about like she was a world champion. The smallest achievement—a simple spin, a tiny jump—caused her face to light up with excitement.

It was fucking adorable.

“I’m sure Michelle Kwan’s Olympic medals are trembling in fear,” he teased.

“They should.” Farrah released the barrier and reached for Blake with her other hand. He slowed his pace, waiting for her to hit her stride before he led them to the middle of the rink.

The place was all decked out for Valentine’s Day. Twinkling lights and strings of pink, red, and white pennants crisscrossing overhead. A special concession stand sold hot cocoa, chocolates, and other assorted sweets on the sidelines, while a vendor wandered through the arena, hawking red roses to unsuspecting couples. An eclectic playlist of love songs that included everyone from Luther Vandross to Ariana Grande blasted through the loudspeakers.

“I’m a fast learner.” Farrah entwined her arms around Blake’s neck. “If I tried, I could have three Olympic medals.”

“Of course. You can do anything.” Blake brushed his lips over hers. She tasted like wine and chocolate and something that was quintessentially Farrah. If heaven had a taste, this would be it.

“You’re trying to suck up to me for sex tonight, aren’t you?”

“Hmm. I had something else in mind for sucking.”

Farrah’s cheeks turned the color of ripe tomatoes.

Blake chuckled. Farrah was a wildcat in bed, especially now that they’d done it a few (ok, dozens of) times, but she still got so flustered whenever he made jokes like that, he couldn’t help but tease her from time to time.

“Shhh! Someone might hear you.”

“Let ‘em. We have an awesome sex life. Maybe we’ll inspire them.”

Farrah shook her head. “What am I going to do with you?”

“I can think of a few things.”

“Hmm.” She stepped closer until her body was flush against Blake’s. All his blood rushed south, leaving him so hard he thought he might shatter. “So can I.”

“Careful,” Blake growled. His pulse pounded with desire. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”

“I think we’ve established that I can finish.” Farrah hooked her fingers through his belt loops and pressed their hips together until his arousal nestled in the cleft between her thighs. His breath rushed in and out; his skin was so sensitive the slightest breeze caused him to jerk uncomfortably. “Me and you.”

The student had become the teacher.

Their lips touched in a sweet, warm kiss that didn’t match the dirty, unsweet thoughts racing through Blake’s mind. He tangled his hands in Farrah’s hair and deepened the embrace, letting himself get lost in the taste and touch of her. It was only the two of them—no worries, no guilt, no decisions to make about the future.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Farrah’s lips brushed against his as she spoke.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Blake rubbed his thumb over the smoothness of her cheek. “I hope you’re enjoying it.”

“This is the best Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had. Granted, it’s the only Valentine’s Day I’ve celebrated as part of a couple, but still. It’s amazing.” Farrah’s eyes twinkled. “You did good, Blake Ryan.”

“I aim to please.” Blake smiled, but an all-too-familiar guilt wormed its way into his stomach at the love in her eyes. With help from Sammy—who got his intel from Olivia—he’d crafted the perfect Valentine’s Day celebration. By pure luck, the holiday landed on a Friday this year, so they didn’t have to worry about classes tomorrow.

Their date started with a couples’ massage after their Friday test to help them unwind from the week, followed by a chocolate-tasting and truffle-making class, a leisurely stroll in the surrounding neighborhood, and a sunset dinner at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Bund. Now, they were at their final stop of the night: the ice-skating rink. Farrah mentioned wanting to learn how to skate every time they watched an ice-skating scene in a rom-com—turns out, there are a lot of those types of scenes—so it seemed like a fitting end to the night.

Yes, it was over-the-top (and Blake didn’t even want to check his bank account), but this could be the last Valentine’s Day they spend together in person for a while. He wanted to make it count.

If he was honest, he was also trying to make up for what happened on New Year’s with Cleo—not that he’d told Farrah yet.

The guilt expanded into a lead balloon. He should tell her. The secret was killing him inside, and she deserved to know.

It was a stupid, one-time mistake—one he didn’t even remember. Maybe she’d understand. Valentine’s Day wasn’t the best time to bring it up, though. He’d wait a week, give it enough time between today and her birthday so—

“It’s the perfect day. I’m glad things are back to normal, at least with us.”

Blake frowned. “I didn’t realize they were not normal.”

“Well.” Farrah hesitated. “You’ve been acting kind of strange recently. Like you’re here, but your mind is a thousand miles away. I thought…I don’t know. That something was up.” Her eyes searched his face. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?”

The lead balloon grew heavier. “Yeah. I’m stressed about the bar, but it’s a bunch of technical stuff I didn’t want to bore you with. Leases, liquor licenses, permits. That sort of thing.” Blake forced a smile. “Lots to do before I go home.”

It wasn’t a total lie. He had a shit ton on his plate. Fortunately, Landon was on the ground in Austin, which made it a lot easier to scope out potential rental spaces and deal with contractors. That didn’t mean Blake was going to sit back and let his best friend do all the work.

It was his idea to open a sports bar; he needed to take ownership.

“I can imagine.” Farrah’s face cleared. “Let me know if I can help.”

“Thank you.” Blake kissed her on the forehead. “I will.”

“I was overthinking, as usual.” Farrah rested her cheek against his chest. “Now if Leo and Courtney would just make up, everything would be perfect.”

“They’re still not speaking to each other, huh?” Farrah filled him in on what happened. Blake wasn’t surprised. Courtney didn’t take well to pushback and things not going her way.

Then again, he’d done something far worse, so he wasn’t one to talk.

“More like Leo isn’t speaking to her. I think he needs space. Not that I blame him.” Farrah snuggled closer to Blake. “If someone cheated on me, I’d never speak to them again.”

His heart stopped, then raced double time. “Really?”

“Yeah. It’s a huge violation of trust. If someone cheats once, they’ll cheat again.”

Blake had the sudden urge to throw up. Maybe ice skating wasn’t the best idea right now. He needed to sit down and breathe. “That’s not always true.”

“It is 99% of the time.” Farrah lifted her head to look at him. “I mean, in Court’s case, it was only a kiss. Which isn’t great, but at least she didn’t sleep with Nardo. That would be unforgivable.”

“Yeah. Unforgivable,” Blake choked out.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuckity fuck.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up such a depressing topic, especially on Valentine’s Day.” Farrah laced their fingers together. “Let’s focus on something else. Like what we’re going to do when we get back to the dorm.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “I have a long to-do list. Pun intended.”

Blake forced a smile as his stomach heaved. All traces of arousal had disappeared, replaced by panic.

Forget telling Farrah about what happened with Cleo over New Year’s.

She couldn’t find out.

Ever.