"Do you honestly think I am going to go anywhere with you after last time?" Elise asked, stopping about ten feet away from Bryan with her arms crossed.

Bryan had the good sense not to looks surprised at that greeting. "I won't make you leave with me."

"Damn right," Elise interrupted. "Tell me why I shouldn't go back inside and say you're harassing me."

"Just give me five minutes to explain why I said what I did, and if you still want me to go, I will. I'll even pay for your Uber if you still don't want to sit in a car with me."

"Start. Five minutes goes by real fast."

"I shouldn't have said the things I did, you didn't deserve it. I was an ass," Bryan apologized.

Elise snorted, crossing her arms defensively across her chest. The more he talked without getting to his point, the less she felt like listening.

"Look," Bryan started again. He looked stressed, like he really wanted this conversation to go well. "I know Aaron can take care of himself. But I haven't known him to make good decisions with women."

"That's not an explanation, Bryan," Elise said impatiently. "I don't need you to tell me about Aaron's exes. If there is something I need to know, he can tell me himself. I am upset about how you treated me when I thought you were a good guy. You implied that I'm a slut who dates any guy that crosses my path. You don't have the right to say that to me. You don't know me."

"I don't think you're a slut," Bryan said sincerely. "The girl he's dated on and off is one. He's caught her cheating more than once, but he has just kept going back to her. I wanted to see how you would react to what I said, because if you agreed with any of it, I was going to try to chase you away. I don't want to see him hurt again."

"What?" Elise said, a cold fury washing through her veins at that information.

Aaron had been cheated on.

Multiple times.

By the same woman.

She had always known Aaron as being so confident on and off the ice. Why would he ever get back together with someone that had cheated on him?

"You heard me," he said, barely pausing for her outburst. "I asked her the same questions I asked you and she agreed with every one. She seemed proud of my low opinion of her, even offered to take me back to her place for a good time. I hope you can understand now why I wanted to make sure that you weren't anything like her. I've helped him through heartbreak too many times to want to do it again."

Bryan took a deep breath before offering her a confident smile. "You seem like a reasonable person, Elise. Since you know why I acted like I did, can we start over?"

Elise took a long moment to consider what he had said. It seemed like he was being honest, but she didn't know him. He could be just lying his ass off, and she wouldn't know.

"I can't develop convenient amnesia to forget that conversation," Elise said dryly, finally approaching Bryan. "But I am willing to give you a second chance to not be an ass."

Bryan smiled, leaning against his car while he watched her walk down the sidewalk. "That's more than I thought you'd give me," he admitted. "I thought that you were going to punch me. I deserved it."

When Elise got close enough, she punched him lightly in the arm, laughing. "Like that? Maybe if you'd asked before I got completely exhausted, I would've hit harder."

Bryan just laughed, offering her a hand to step down off the curb. "I'd give you a hug, or something, but you look a little too sweaty for my tastes," he teased.

"Because I'm so much worse than Aaron is after he's been working all day," she teased with a roll of her eyes. "You can just say I look like hell, that's fine. I have proof this is an improvement over half an hour ago."

It was Bryan's turn to snort as he helped her into the car, before he slid into the driver's seat. "Just because I have seen him sweat drenched and close to falling over from working himself to exhaustion doesn't mean I tackle him then. I just throw a towel at his face and tell him he stinks."

Elise laughed, looking over to share a grin with Bryan. "Good. He needs someone to keep him honest."

"Ain't that the truth, sister," he said, winking at her playfully as he pulled out of the parking lot. "I hope you don't mind if we go somewhere different today. I think the waitress wanted to run me out of the joint last night after you left."

"She has good taste. I should've tipped her extra."

"Ha. Don't worry, I did. But you interrupted me. I was going to ask how you feel about pasta."

"There are a lot of carbs in most pasta dishes, but I've been known to enjoy eating it," Elise answered with a shrug.

"Good. There's a place nearby where you get to choose your kind of noodle, sauce, and protein. They have a vegetable noodle substitute, but I haven't tried it to know if it's any good," Bryan said before falling silent to negotiate the traffic on the street.

After a few stop lights and turns, traffic cleared enough for him to resume the conversation. "I'm just being honest. I wouldn't want you to think I was lying and hate me for it. Aaron might kick me out, and have the locks changed. I would be screwed for the semester and have to find a new roommate for the next two years."

That was such an overly dramatic statement Elise started laughing. "Would he really do that?"

"How can you doubt that he can be that much of an ass? I thought the two of you were so close.""He hasn't actually told you anything about us has he?"

"I know he freaked out when you got hurt and has been distracted since you showed up."

"Of course he hasn't," she said dryly. "Aaron and I started skating in the same beginner's class. My parents divorced when I was thirteen and I went with my dad. Aaron and I hadn't seen each other until I moved back to work with Gerald. We were very close, but it's been almost ten years since then. I would choose to call him something other than an ass."

Thinking about the picture he had sent her the day before, she smiled fondly. "I prefer to use grumpy or prickly."

"I'm sure you've heard people call him worse than just 'ass'. He tells me after I make him stop working himself into the ground."

"People are dumb. They see the persona we put on for performances and think that's all we are," Elise said defensively. She didn't know a single skater that hadn't faced some sort of hate, but that didn't mean it was deserved.

"I know that, and you know that, but he takes everything negative to heart without looking at anything positive. It effects him on and off the ice."

Their conversation paused as the car moved through traffic again. Bryan was making a left turn when Elise caught sight of the small restaurant Noodles & More.

"Will be able to walk from the parking lot or do I need to drop you at the door? The closest lot is about a block away."

Elise made a face as she thought for a moment. "I can walk that far. If I sit too long right nowI'll stiffen up and skating tomorrow will be hell."

Bryan chuckled as they passed their destination to find a spot to park. "Let's hope some good food will help you feel better. And we can have a conversation that won't end with you storming off angrily."

"That was rather pointed," Elise said testily. She carefully maneuvered herself out of the car, catching her balance on the roof so she didn't fall. "Watch it or I will storm out again. Then you will have lost your second chance."

"I'll do my best to behave," he promised, drawing an x over his heart. He offered her his arm to lean on as they started walking down the sidewalk. "Oh, lunch is on me. That's how I convinced Gerald to let me hijack your lunch with him."

"Deal. Now, be quiet so I can focus on walking. Don't drag me along faster than I can go. I need time to get my leg moving again after working it so hard."

Bryan fell quiet, and moved at the pace she set for them. She sighed with frustration at the clicking sound her brace made over the traffic in the street. Moving slowly like this was just the next step on the road to recovery. Eventually she would walk with her normal speed and gait without the brace.

That was all she wanted at that moment.

Well, that and food. Pasta sounded like exactly what she needed after working her ass off that morning.

Her stomach growled its agreement loudly enough that Bryan heard it. He was laughing at her for the rest of their walk to the restaurant.