Fate Knows How to Play ✔️ || 1 || Off the Ice Series

16 | The Practice Ceremony

As we walk down the aisle together, Tobias can't seem to keep his hands off me.

"Everyone can see us." I hiss from corner of my mouth, fidgeting as I force myself to take one step in front of the other, watching the officiant watch us with sharp eyes, making sure everything goes perfectly to plan.

His touch sends shivers down my spine and butterflies in my stomach. I can feel his eyes on me, his gaze intense. "Let them see." He hushes back, "I'm only helping a woman down the aisle, exactly as we're meant to as best-man and bridesmaid."

I roll my eyes, staring at the ground and avoiding the officiants eyes.

"You're blushing," he says, his voice low and husky. "It suits you."

I can't help but blush more at his words. "Stop it," I look up at Tobias under my lashes, "We're about to reach the end."

Tobias just chuckles, his hand moving down to rest on the small of my back, his plan warm and comforting. "Okay, I'll stop" he says, his voice full of amusement. "I just can't stop touching you."

I roll my eyes, but I can't deny the thrill that courses through me at his words. "You're insatiable."

Tobias just smirks, his hand sliding down to my hips. "Oh, I know," he says, his voice full of confidence. "But let's save that for later. We have more important things to discuss."

I can feel the butterflies in my stomach intensify at his words, but with it comes the dread. We both know what he means by 'important things.'

The fact that we haven't had a chance to talk about the baby, about what this means for us. The fact that we need to figure out how to navigate this new territory.

What's the next step and how do I take it?

But for now, all I can focus on is the way his touch sends tingles down my spine, the way his gaze makes my heart race. "I don't know if I can wait that long," I say, teasing him, stopping at the bottom of the short stairs and turning for my side of the podium, Tobias splitting to his.

I can feel his gaze on me but I ignore it, or atleast I try to. Forcing myself to watch my sister and her soon-to-be-husband walk down the aisle, their smiles wide.

Asters eyes catch mine and her grins widens slightly, her brow climbing up her forehead in question.

I shake my head subtly, but her grin onto grows mischievous.

The officiant begins to say something but I block it out, going through the rest of the practice ceremony.

• • •

As we step outside, away from the crowd, Tobias turns to me. "I know you're nervous," he says, his hand squeezing mine reassuringly. "But we'll figure this out together. I'm here for you."

I can feel the tears prickling at the corner of my eyes at his words. The fact that he's here for me, that he wants to be a part of this. It means everything to me.

"I know," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. "And I'm grateful for that. But what does this mean for us? We hardly know each other?"

Tobias just pulls me into his arms, his lips brushing against my ear. "It means whatever we want it to mean," he says, his voice low, sending ti goes down my spine. "We can take this one step at a time. Figure things out as we go."

I can feel the tears swimming in my eyes, but I don't care. Tobias' words, his touch, it's more than I'd hoped for.

"I thought I would have to do it alone." I whisper the fear that I haven't fully voiced yet, my tone thready with emotion.

Tobias just pulls back, his hands cupping my face. "You won't be," he says, his voice full of determination.

I nod, blinking the tears away and Tobias takes my hand, leading me back to his room. We make our way through the hallways, our fingers intertwined as we walk.

Once inside his room, Tobias closes the door behind us and turns to face me. He takes both of my hands in his and pulls me closer to him. I can feel my heart racing in my chest as I look up at him, my eyes searching his face.

"When did you find out?" he asks softly, his thumb tracing circles on the back of my hand.

I take a deep breath before responding, my voice barely above a whisper. "A few weeks ago." I pause before saying, "I tried to find you, but-" I shrugs and he shows his head.

"It's okay, it worked out."

Tobias pulls me into a hug, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. I bury my face in his chest, breathing in his scent and feeling his warmth surround me. We stand like that for a few moments, just holding each other and taking comfort in each other's presence.

Eventually, we pull away from each other and Tobias takes a seat on the edge of his bed, patting the spot next to him. I sit down next to him, our legs touching as we face each other.

"I can't believe you're going to have a baby," He says, shaking my head in disbelief.

"I've had a few more weeks then you to come to terms with it and I'm still in shock." I mutter.

"I'm going to be father."

"Yeah. . ." I trail off, watching his face for signs of distress, waiting for him to run.

Suddenly, Tobias leans in and presses his lips to mine, his hand coming up to cup my cheek. The kiss is slow and gentle at first, but quickly deepens as our tongues begin to dance together. I moan softly against his lips, my fingers tangling in his hair as I pull him closer to me.

When we finally break apart, we're both breathless and panting. Tobias looks at me with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"So, are you going to let me take you out on a proper date?" he asks, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

I roll my eyes, a smile tugging at my lips. "Are you really trying to ask me out right now?"

Tobias chuckles, his hand still resting on my knee. "Hey, I've got to start somewhere, right? We've already kind of skipped some stages, so might as well continue doing it in reverse." He shrugs and laughs, "And besides, I figure we should probably talk about this baby of ours over dinner or something."

I nod in agreement, feeling a flutter in my stomach at the thought of spending more time with him. "Okay, fine. You can take me out on a date.

Tobias grins, leaning in to press another kiss to my lips.

As we continue to talk and laugh, I realize that everything is going to be okay. With Tobias by my side, I know that we can handle whatever life throws our way.