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CSLimeWriter

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            Quietly I laced up my skates and then pushed through the double doors, breathing in the cold air. In front of me lay the huge ice rink, surrounded by a wall of thick glass and then rows and rows of chairs.

            There was only one person on the rink, and when I recognized her form and face my mouth dropped open in delighted surprise. It was a good friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in years; Avery Holman.

            I was tempted to call out to her but changed my mind and leaned against the door-post leading to the ice; my dark jeans and coat and skates blending in. But after five minutes I was surprised she didn’t see me.  

            She skated a few laps and then did some spins and jumps; she was pretty good. When she came close enough I saw a look of pure joy on her face. I didn’t know she took skating lessons, but then I hadn’t seen her since she was 17. Now she was 19.

            My time had come. As she skated past me I reached out and grabbed her arm. She spun around, very surprised, but she started to laugh when I leaned in to make us spin faster.

            “Michael!” she said after we stopped spinning. Smiling, she embraced me. “What are you doing here? I haven’t seen you since you moved to New York. When did you get here?”

            “Oh, about an hour ago.” I grinned mischievously.        

            She punched my arm. “No, stupid, I meant when did you get here, in Indiana?” She paused and when I didn’t answer right away she continued, “Wait, you mean you’ve been here, in this rink, watching me, for an hour?”
            “Yep,” I said, clasping my hands behind my back and skating circles around her. “Ever since we got off the plane I’ve been busy with my writing, so mom kicked me out of the house and told me to go ice skating.”       

            Avery’s eyes widened. “She seriously kicked you out?”

            I nodded and waited while she retied her laces. She straightened up and I wondered how much she’d changed. Still the same determined blue eyes, small nose, lips that were almost always turned up in a smile, she was a bit taller. It made me sad to think about the years I had missed being in her life.                     

            “You wanna skate or did you just come to stand there?” she said.

            My doubts immediately vanished.

            Smiling, I started to skate – backwards.           

            “Show off,” Avery muttered rolling her eyes. Out loud she said, “Michael, what do ya think would happen if I surprised you by doing something… unexpected?” A sly smile grew on her face.

            I looked at her blankly. “I don’t know and I don’t think I want to find –”          

            Suddenly Avery pushed me down with surprising strength. I fell onto the ice with a confused and shocked face, until I came to my senses and dashed after her.

            Laughing, Avery sprinted down the other end, but I was soon right behind her. Grinning with satisfaction I grabbed her arms and she screamed, “No! I don’t want to spin again!” but once we started we couldn’t stop; I almost fell over from laughing so hard and that just made us spin faster.

            Finally, using her skill of skating, Avery managed to stop us. “No, no, no. I want to dance.” So saying, she held up her hands as if dancing with an invisible partner and began to glide over the ice.

            At first I leaned up against the wall, smiling, my arms folded across my chest, but when she passed by I smoothly slid into place as her partner. She’d known I would, and grinned once her hand was in mine, my hand on her side, and her hand lightly on my shoulder.

            She led me most of the time; surprising me at times by spinning herself under my arm and then perfectly getting back into place, and then spinning me while she kept her pace up.