then held her up as Felicity, Jane and Karen hurried, as best they could on skates, over to the side of the rink.
‘ Is she OK?’ Felicity asked Jimmy as the group watched Samantha attempt to recover from another bout of coughing.
‘ I am here you know, I’m not deaf or dying,’ Samantha snapped between coughs as she removed herself from Jimmy’s grasp and clutched at the barrier at the side of the ice.
‘ What’s the matter with her?’ Jane enquired, looking concerned for her colleague.
‘ There’s a virus going around the skating guys, could be the same sort of thing. Perhaps one of you could get her a drink or something while I take her to sit down,’ Jimmy suggested, taking hold of Samantha’s shoulders and shepherding her off the ice.
‘ I’m fine! Please - just - stop touching me!’ Samantha hissed, her chest burning.
Jimmy ignored her request and helped her walk to the first row of seats. He flipped one of the seats down and helped lower her onto it.
‘ I’m fine. Thank you for your help, but I need to get back to the front desk. Dave only gave us twenty minutes and I hate to think what he’ll have done to my systems if I leave him any longer,’ Samantha spoke, attempting to rise to her feet.
‘ You’re not going anywhere until you’ve sat down and had some water,’ Jimmy said as an order.
‘ You don’t understand. We don’t get breaks you know, just lunch and that’s no more than an hour,’ Samantha said, clearing her throat.
‘ Will you quit quoting that employment manual,’ Jimmy replied.
‘ Rules are rules and…’ Samantha started, putting her hand to her chest to try and stop the aching.
‘ Sam, come on, it’s five minutes.’
She was trying not to look at him. Bare arms, tight clothes, very close to her, it was uncomfortable.
‘ So do you get the panic attacks a lot ?’ Jimmy wanted to know.
‘ I don’t get panic attacks,’ Samantha exclaimed, her voice starting to squeak.
Jimmy didn’t reply.
‘ And what was with all that making me skate business? I can’t skate, I’m a box office assistant. This is Dave’s madcap idea and I hate it,’ Samantha spoke, looking up at Jimmy.
He had amazing eyes, deep, dark brown. The colour of Galaxy Minstrels. His face was just perfect in every way, except for the small scar under his lip, but even that was straight. He had well defined cheek bones and a firm jaw. Samantha suddenly realised she was just staring at him, like he was a piece of real life art in a gallery she couldn’t draw her eyes from. The sick feeling returned to her throat. She could almost taste that morning’s toast.
‘ I think you’re a natural skater. Some people have that raw ability and some of us have to work at it. I think you could be good if you put in some practice,’ Jimmy told her.
The Minstrel eyes were looking at her, it was off putting when she didn’t feel very well and she was no good at conversation, particularly with men. This was by no means the first time she had had trouble stringing sentences together when it came to the opposite sex. How dissimilar she and Cleo were.
She could feel words coming to her mouth and she tried to clamp her lips shut before they spilled out involuntarily. It was to no avail.
‘ Cleo says you’ve been to rehab.’
The chocolate brown eyes dimmed slightly, but only for a moment, and Jimmy’s expression remained unchanged.
‘ Yes I have. So, tell me, is the sister I’ve heard so much about coming to one of the shows? I can’t wait to meet her. I feel like I know her intimately already,’ he responded with a smile.
‘ She’s not like me, at all. She’s bubbly, you know, the type of person that walks into a room and makes everyone aware of her - in a good way though,’ Samantha spoke hurriedly.
‘ She sounds great,’ Jimmy replied.
‘ I’m sorry we took up your time on the ice, I…’ Samantha started, scratching around in her brain for something sensible to say.
‘ Not
‘ Is she OK?’ Felicity asked Jimmy as the group watched Samantha attempt to recover from another bout of coughing.
‘ I am here you know, I’m not deaf or dying,’ Samantha snapped between coughs as she removed herself from Jimmy’s grasp and clutched at the barrier at the side of the ice.
‘ What’s the matter with her?’ Jane enquired, looking concerned for her colleague.
‘ There’s a virus going around the skating guys, could be the same sort of thing. Perhaps one of you could get her a drink or something while I take her to sit down,’ Jimmy suggested, taking hold of Samantha’s shoulders and shepherding her off the ice.
‘ I’m fine! Please - just - stop touching me!’ Samantha hissed, her chest burning.
Jimmy ignored her request and helped her walk to the first row of seats. He flipped one of the seats down and helped lower her onto it.
‘ I’m fine. Thank you for your help, but I need to get back to the front desk. Dave only gave us twenty minutes and I hate to think what he’ll have done to my systems if I leave him any longer,’ Samantha spoke, attempting to rise to her feet.
‘ You’re not going anywhere until you’ve sat down and had some water,’ Jimmy said as an order.
‘ You don’t understand. We don’t get breaks you know, just lunch and that’s no more than an hour,’ Samantha said, clearing her throat.
‘ Will you quit quoting that employment manual,’ Jimmy replied.
‘ Rules are rules and…’ Samantha started, putting her hand to her chest to try and stop the aching.
‘ Sam, come on, it’s five minutes.’
She was trying not to look at him. Bare arms, tight clothes, very close to her, it was uncomfortable.
‘ So do you get the panic attacks a lot ?’ Jimmy wanted to know.
‘ I don’t get panic attacks,’ Samantha exclaimed, her voice starting to squeak.
Jimmy didn’t reply.
‘ And what was with all that making me skate business? I can’t skate, I’m a box office assistant. This is Dave’s madcap idea and I hate it,’ Samantha spoke, looking up at Jimmy.
He had amazing eyes, deep, dark brown. The colour of Galaxy Minstrels. His face was just perfect in every way, except for the small scar under his lip, but even that was straight. He had well defined cheek bones and a firm jaw. Samantha suddenly realised she was just staring at him, like he was a piece of real life art in a gallery she couldn’t draw her eyes from. The sick feeling returned to her throat. She could almost taste that morning’s toast.
‘ I think you’re a natural skater. Some people have that raw ability and some of us have to work at it. I think you could be good if you put in some practice,’ Jimmy told her.
The Minstrel eyes were looking at her, it was off putting when she didn’t feel very well and she was no good at conversation, particularly with men. This was by no means the first time she had had trouble stringing sentences together when it came to the opposite sex. How dissimilar she and Cleo were.
She could feel words coming to her mouth and she tried to clamp her lips shut before they spilled out involuntarily. It was to no avail.
‘ Cleo says you’ve been to rehab.’
The chocolate brown eyes dimmed slightly, but only for a moment, and Jimmy’s expression remained unchanged.
‘ Yes I have. So, tell me, is the sister I’ve heard so much about coming to one of the shows? I can’t wait to meet her. I feel like I know her intimately already,’ he responded with a smile.
‘ She’s not like me, at all. She’s bubbly, you know, the type of person that walks into a room and makes everyone aware of her - in a good way though,’ Samantha spoke hurriedly.
‘ She sounds great,’ Jimmy replied.
‘ I’m sorry we took up your time on the ice, I…’ Samantha started, scratching around in her brain for something sensible to say.
‘ Not
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