Falling All Over (Riley)

Ice skating. Just another in the long list of things that Riley was willing to do because Aurum seemed to want to. Why did she keep agreeing to things like this? They were at Rockefeller Center today, getting ready to join the masses of other people who glided around on the ice in front of the giant Christmas tree.

No matter how cynical she wanted to be, Riley had to admit that the tree was an impressive sight with all its ornaments and lights and decorations. It was the sort of thing that put you in the Holiday spirit whether you wanted to be or not. It was the sort of thing that made you agree to things you’d never even remotely considered trying before.

Still, she thought, looking at the ice skates. This was a stretch. Out she looked at the couples, skating round and round. How the hell did they stay on their feet?

She sighed. Oh well, if there were that many people out there...it couldn’t be that hard. Aurum asked if she knew how to lace up the skates and Riley had to admit...she did not. If it had been anything other than razor-sharp blades they were tying to their feet, she might have tried to BS her way through. As it was, she shook her head.

”No idea.” she said, then held up a mittened hand. ”Besides. There’s no way I can tie anything with these on.”

Aurum didn’t seem to mind putting her skates on her, and Riley didn’t have any complaints either. It was an odd thing, and something she’d never experienced before. There was something intimate about the action and sweet all at the same time. Aurum’s hand was warm through her stockings, and he really did seem to know what he was doing as he slipped the skate onto her foot. Riley sat, fixing the moment in her mind. Just in case.

In fact she was so caught up, that Riley almost missed the compliment that Aurum paid her.

He thought she looked nice? Riley smiled. ”Thank you.” she said, still amused at the novelty of compliments when she was dressed so casually. She’d been going for warm, and he liked it. Riley filed that information away too, it wouldn’t hurt to take Aurum’s preferences into consideration the next time they went out.

”So.” she asked, as casually as possible. ”You seem to know what you’re doing with these skates. Done this a lot?”

Ah the proverbial family vacation. That was another thing that Riley had never done growing up. There’s never been the money, and her mom had never had the time to take off work. Aurum had gone skiing though, and skating, and he’d played hockey.

For some reason, the image of Aurum decked out in hockey gear...worked. Riley smiled, ”I’ll bet you look good in hockey gear.” she said with a smile as he patted her leg and set one skate on the ground. The blade felt so thin, Riley wondered for a moment how this was going to work. Then Aurum oh-so-casually slid that hand down her calf and she kind of forgot about the fact that in a few minutes she was going to be trying to glide over frozen water with razors on her feet.

What did she have to add to the conversation? Not a whole lot to be honest. It couldn’t be quid pro quo because Riley had never played sports.

”Well, I’ve never skated.” she said, watching Aurum as he worked on the second skate and trying not to think about hands on legs. ”You sure you don’t want to go somewhere and watch old Christmas movies? You can make fancy hot chocolate.”

Man. Aurum played dirty. How the hell was she supposed to say no when he was looking at her that way, and when he’d done the whole trick with her leg again. Riley broke away from looking at him to look at the couples on the ice again. So many of them were moving so smoothly. Why did Riley have a sneaking suspicion it just wasn’t going to work that well.

Back she looked at Aurum...he’d said he wanted to glide...with her, and he just looked so.

Riley had lost. She knew it.

”Okay. But I’m picking the first movie.”

Aurum stood and offered his hand, Riley took it, and once they’d stowed their shoes in the cubbies that were under the benches they were moving towards the ice. On razor blades. That were tied to their feet. She tripped and stumbled, trying to find a way to walk on the darn things that didn’t send her balance off to one side or catch the serrated front edge on the ground.

This was ridiculous. She could walk in six inch heels...why was this so much different? It wasn’t that far, but to Riley it seemed like a marathon. Aurum didn’t seem to be having any trouble. Nobody else seemed to be having any trouble. Man, she was embarrassed already. This was a terrible idea.

But then again. Aurum hadn’t said anything yet, and he wasn’t the type to hold back if she was making an ass out of herself.

Then they were there. The edge of the ice. It looked like semi-transparent glass. Again, Riley looked at the other skaters who seemed to be skimming over the surface so easily. Now or never, she decided and out went a skate, onto the surface.

And right out from under her body it went. Riley tried to correct the momentum, but it was too late, forward went her legs, back went the rest of her body.

Ice, as it turned out, was hard. And cold. Mutinous was a good word to describe the look she gave up to Aurum as she sat, nursing her wounded pride.

How did he know she could do this? Wasn’t he supposed to be a lawyer, and good at looking at evidence? Wasn’t all the evidence adding up to show that she was going to be terrible at this? She wanted to snap, and ask him those things, but he wanted to help her up. He was offering to guide her.

Part of Riley railed so hard against that simple offer of help. If she was going to do this, she could do it herself. She didn’t need a man to guide her by the hand like a child. She wasn’t helpless...

Except that she kind of was, and the day had been going so well.

She took his hand, able to keep her mouth shut but unable to keep the skeptical look off her face.

”Don’t let me fall again?” she asked softly. It had hurt, and it had felt like everyone was looking at her. Riley didn’t want a repeat.

Oh. Of course he could skate backwards. As they got her on her feet, and stable, Riley tried to look at the other people skating. They were just pushing forward, gliding like it was as natural as walking. Every time she tried to scoot her feet, though, they both tried to slide in opposite directions.

More stumbles, more slips, she stayed on her feet for the first moment though. Progress it was, if only minor. Riley bit her lip in concentration as she inched forward, starting to get into a bit of a rhythm as she watched her skates get a little traction.

She was moving!

Riley looked up to grin at Aurum, and caught her toe pick on the ice. Apparently breaking eye contact with her boots had been the wrong thing to do. Forward she went, testing Aurum’s vow to keep her off the ice.