Time flew by, the air filled with random bouts of laughter from the skaters. And before Elise knew it, the club meeting drew to a close. While most of the skaters were heading to the gate, Aaron was still moving around the ice with Bryan at his side.

The two were still far enough away that she couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was accompanied with friendly shoves back and forth, so it must be kidding. They didn't even skate the full length of the ice before they split apart: Aaron to finish getting ready for his session with Gerald, and Bryan, surprising, moved to the boards right in front of her.

"A little birdie told me  you might need a ride home," he said without preamble. "I would be willing to give you one, if you'd agree to join me for dinner."

"It's a trap, Elise," Aaron called from across the rink. "He wants to get you alone so he can talk your ear off, and ask for embarrassing stories about me."

"Maybe I could tell him some," Elise teased, pushing herself to her feet. Immediately, a stab of pain shot through her right side making her wince and lean her weight more onto her left side. She had been sitting for too long in the cold. "But I only know really old stories, Aaron. Surely you won't be embarrassed by stories like the time you ran face first into the boards at our first competition anymore."

"Wait. What?" Bryan asked, leaning in closer to listen to the story.

"Don't you dare," Aaron cut in, sliding to a stop close enough to Bryan to shower his skates with snow. "Neither of you. I won't hear the end of it if you tell any stories, Elise. If you want to hear those stories, talk to me, Bryan."

"You're no fun," Bryan pouted, bumping his shoulder into Aaron's playfully. "I promise I won't pester her. I just want to give the pretty lady here a good meal before taking her home since you're too busy to be her knight in shining armor. Otherwise I would happily give you my keys and walk back to the dorm myself."

Aaron blushed, pushing away from the boards again. "Fine, but no embarrassing stories about me."

"I would never," Elise promised dramatically, putting a hand over her heart.

Bryan laughed loudly, pushing away from the boards. "Let me go get my skates off, and I'll be right back to fetch you. Think about where you want to eat!"

As soon as Bryan was off the ice, Aaron returned to stand in front of Elise. "He'll pester you until he hears the end of that story. That is the only one I won't get upset about you telling," he said reasonably. "He can't stand only getting half of the story."

Elise couldn't help laughing at this information. "You do know that you do the same thing."

"I do not," he protested, obviously offended at her opinion. He made a face, brow furrowing and nose wrinkling in a seldom shown adorable expression.

"You do too, you just aren't as vocal about it. You get glum and glare a lot until you get all the information you want," Elise pointed out, barely keeping herself from reaching out to tweak his cheek.

"He has gotten a bit more subtle with the glaring," Gerald interrupted with a fond laugh. He got off the bench and stepped through the player's gate onto the ice without bothering to put on his skates. "You two can talk more in the morning. Aaron, let's start with your edges. Down and back twice. Remember soft knees and don't hesitate on the switch on your left side. No hopping the transition, make it smooth."

At once, Aaron became all business, and with the smallest wave goodbye, he turned to do as Gerald instructed.

As Elise watched, she shifted back and forth, trying to ease the pain throbbing in her knee. It was nice to watch him go through his paces seriously. The enjoyment was still there as he moved over the surface of the ice, but it almost seemed heightened by his concentration. There was a quiet, confident grace that appeared in him at that moment that was almost as much fun to watch as his muscles.

While Aaron and Gerald were starting their session, a couple other coaches that worked in the rink filtering into the rink, skaters coming not too long after that. There weren't as many as she was used to seeing when she worked with Sacha, but it was a good amount for the size of the area. As much as she had felt at home in the rink with fewer people there, this was more what she was used to.

Aaron finished his edge exercise while the others moved through their warm ups, all going at their own pace. There was less laughter than when it had only been the older college club members on the ice, yet the air wasn't full of the competitive feeling that she had gotten used to. That was probably because Aaron was the only senior on the ice, everyone else looked to be novices and juniors. From the looks a few of them had sneaked as they moved past where he was now talking with Gerald, they all looked up to him.

Elise smiled at that knowledge. This was just one more reason she could use while convincing him he would be a good choreographer. Surely some of the other coaches with the rink would see his potential and agree to let him work with their skaters.

"Are you ready for some dinner?" Bryan's voice came from behind Elise, startling her from the quiet contemplation.

"Yes," she agreed, turning from the ice to offer Bryan a sweet smile. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Snow: The bits of ice that get kicked up off the surface while skating. It looks like snow, so that is what it is named.