As always, Alexander sits in the stands, waiting for his team to end their practice. He could hear the skates on the ice, making unique designs on the ice. His eyes follow the puck as it makes a zig-zag motion on the ice. Sebastian gets closer and closer to Sebastian, who has gripped his stick and is prepared to make this catch the puck. Sebastian can do it. Alexander knows that but he knows that moving positions can be a bit jarring, The previous few days Sebastian has been staying afterward while the team went in the showers, doing drills of diving and catching the pucks Alexander has been hitting.

Without the coach's knowledge.

The puck is advanced towards Sebastian and in a split second, it was shot. The puck's speed is going very fast and into the net. He about had it. Alexander can see how pissed Sebastian is from such a faraway place, he always was very animated. Alexander gives Sebastian a thumbs up and mouths "Next time". He knows Sebastian will get it, just will take time.

Yet, Alexander only has one thing on his mind. Seeing Isabelle and practicing more and more, feeling free on the ice. He noticed that soon after their first meeting two weeks ago his flask in his pants pocket stayed untouched. By the end of each practice, once he gets to the locker, he pours the rest back in the bottle (Unless Sebastian takes it before he has a chance to), but he always refills it each day as it became a habit in the past few months, but with her, he has found new coping mechanisms when he knows they will be seeing each other.

Skating is pretty much a healthy coping mechanism on its own—one he should be doing every day he can't help but find himself stuck looking down at his skates and debating on putting them on without her there. He has no reason why he feels this way but he does, he grew dependent on the blonde figure skater—which he finds pathetic as he only knows her name and that she loves figure skating

He does know that after her practice she enjoys white chocolate mochas or hot chocolate with whipped cream and cocoa sprinkled on top with a side of marshmallows to dip them in the cream. She would always offer some to him but he needed something stronger than just chocolate and sugar but he does take the offer for the mocha, She would often drink it while he cleaned the rink and rode the Zamboni, hell he even let her drive it one day after one of their sessions. But, he quickly realized that she had no attention span whatsoever to her surroundings and was about to hit the side, luckily Alexander grabbed the wheel before that happened but her laugh was so mischievous yet adorable when that happened.

He knows she is a fast skater, she wears 4 layers. Sometimes 5 depending on the day and her temperature (she told him that) all underneath her long-sleeved black top just to keep warm. He knows that when they skated together for the third team she stole his team hoodie when he took it off and laid it on the bench when he got too hot. Claiming she was "freezing to death" and she never took it off that day, but Alexander never asked for it back. He just noticed that she brings it every day, some days wearing and some just sitting with her bag.

He noticed that Isabelle gets easily frustrated if her twizzle or triple axle doesn't feel right, letting out a huff of frustration and clapping her hands loudly. It was honestly more cute than annoying, he also noticed that she twirls her thumbs around each other when she is deep thought, and she always smelled like vanilla.

So, he doesn't know her. But, felt like he knew everything about her.

A whistle wakes Alexander from his thoughts, signaling his team down to the locker room. That means it's time to get the Zamboni. Alexander stands from his seat and makes his way down to the gate, Sebastian sees him and skates over, his face still shows that he is annoyed about the goal.

"Any plans later tonight Al?" Sebastian asks

"Clean the ice, train, clean it again, go home." He shows Sebastian his key and wiggles it in front of him, "Also stop calling me Al. It makes me feel like I am 50."

Sebastian gave him a grin and a soft chuckle, "Well you are damn near 30." That comment resulted in Alexander giving Sebastian a shove on the arm, "Hey! Don't shove me. I can't fight an old man. But, are you going to be free this weekend?"

Alexander raises an eyebrow, god knows what Sebastian is up to. "Depending on what you say."

"Rude, I was GOING to ask if you wanted to help me train."

"Maybe."

Sebastian claps his hands, "Good! See you on Saturday." He starts to walk towards the locker room before quickly turning around and grabbing Alexander's flask, "I will give this back later." He takes a sip and walks into the locker room.

Alexander rolls his eyes, That kid will be the death of me.

He walks over to the corner where the Zamboni is ready to be used. He opens the door and swings into it and begins his rounds while the ice skaters warm up doing twirls, shaking their limps, and so on.

Yet, Isabelle is not amongst the skaters which he finds odd. Usually, right out the gate, she is the first one on the ice, giving Alexander a small wave and practicing her twirls. He scans the room and finds her sitting in the stands wearing his hoodie and her biting her lip. He has a feeling something is wrong. Not noticing her coach was sitting beside her rifling through page after page having a face filled with disgust whenever she turned a few pages.

Alexander shouldn't focus on her, so he finishes the ice and puts the Zamboni back in its corner. He was sure she would tell him what was going on when she had time. Even if she doesn't he wouldn't pry.

Once he puts the Zamboni in the park he gets back in the stands and watches the ice skaters, yet she never gets on.

An hour passes and practice is now over, he watches as all the skaters disperse along with the coach that had all the papers. Once he sees no one on the ice, that's his cue. He walks around the rink where she is sitting fixing her skates, he throws his bag around his shoulder and slips his on while she is.

"What was that about?"  He asks, they never say hello to each other. Felt wrong, anytime they met they instantly started a conversation. They clicked.

Isabelle groans while rolling her eyes—which reminds him how Kyle acted when they were kids. Not that....he considered her as a sister cause that was not the case. "Going through my new potential partner." She admits and ties her skates in a double know, which he noticed she only did when she was annoyed, which meant she was going to skate for a long time.

Alexander raises an eyebrow, "Any luck?"

"Too many. Just so many, I feel like I went through a speed dating process without the fun." Isabelle groans and stands up, "Some are good, but most are inexperienced or just too young."

"I'm sorry," he says, he doesn't know what else to say in this situation.

Isabelle stomps her feet gently down, Alexander is still lacing up his second foot. Isabelle pokes Alexander on his shoulder, her face now wearing a grin, "Are you free tomorrow afternoon?"

He's bent over his thigh finishing tying his right foot. His heart was immediately going one-thousand miles per hour. He takes a minute trying to think of an answer, the only thing he had tomorrow was to help Sebastian in the morning, "Yeah, why?"

"We are having an audition tomorrow, maybe you can come take a look?"

Alexander laughs shaking his head, "So I can watch you meet your future partner? I don't think so." He stands up beside her, "Even if I did go, I have no idea what's happening. Unless I see you doing a little 360 thingy in the air."

"Oh c'mon." She hits his hip with hers, "You can give me your opinion. You don't have to know everything, just to see if me and my partner have any chemistry."

"Chemistry?"

"Yeah...the most important thing."

"Figured." He stands up and hops over the barrier, his blades hit the ice. He skates in a few circles, getting warmed up as she slips his hoodie off and lays in on the bench. He doesn't give her an answer, he doesn't want to make a promise he can't keep instead he looks at her, "Race to the center and back?"

Before he could even yell go she was already halfway down.

That little cheat.

*
*
*
*
Riding the Zamboni was more exhausting than ever this time around, she made him go over her entire routine since she missed it during practice time. He finally figured out some terms such as twizzles, and pirouettes. And he found himself trying them out as well, probably looking weird in his hockey skates. She also taught him the dance to it, where he held her in his arms as they glided over the ice. She taught him some lifts as well, letting her heave her up and spin her around his body. It was really hard and it wasn't because of her weight, or even his shoulder. He just didn't want to drop her, but after a few tries, he got used to it and knew where to put his hands, grab and pull. It was very fun but tiring. He is fucking beat. It's the most he worked out since his injury a few months ago.

She was already back in his hoodie, sitting beside him sipping on her white mocha that she went all the way to the cafe called "Books n Cups." Which wasn't a bookstore believe it or not. She offers him a sip, the hot beverage is sweet with a small bitterness that explodes on his tongue. Warming him up just the right way. They also share snacks on the Zamboni and tell stories of their pasts.

"So, what happened to you?" Isabelle never asked but now she was wondering why he was on the Zamboni in the first place instead of on the ice.

Alexander is now driving slowly, not wanting this time to end. She shoves a bag of Swedish fish in his face and Alexander takes one out and pops it in his mouth, trying to find some way to talk about this.

Once he swallows, he starts to speak. "I don't even know where to start."

"Maybe at the beginning?"

"Okay, smartass." Alexander returns his gaze to the ice in front of him, "I used to play for the Colorado Avalanche."

"I figured that." She says pointing at the logo on the sweatshirt and turning around showing his last name and number on the back.

"Yeah," he swallows as he eyes the logo on the front of the hoodie. "I had a great season, hoping to be considered for the U.S. Hockey Team for the upcoming Olympics. I've been twice, once in 06' and 2010. But, this would have been the last one since I have been told I am getting a bit too old." He looked over at her, she took a sip of her mocha and looked ahead listening,"Life can be cruel,"

She snorts. "Yeah, life is a bitch....wait how old are you?"

Alexander looks back on the ice turning slightly so he can get on the other side of the ice, "28."

"They call that old?" Her cup was now in her hands as she looked up at him. "I thought you were at least 25."

"I don't feel like it," Alexander chuckles "I got injured a few months ago, although my shoulder is still not 100% I'm not having trouble and my health is good. But, it's safe to say my career is over."

"I'm sorry." She sounded sincere as she put the cup  back on her lips

He licks his lips as he maneuvers the Zamboni into a turn. "What's your story?"

Isabelle exhales audibly. She takes another sip from her white mocha, hands it over and Dean takes it while driving. "This Olympics will be my first and my last. I was never as good as I am now. And now I feel like I'm ready. I really wanna go, you know?"

He stays quiet and knows that it's not a question. Then she goes on, "It was looking great too. I had a partner whom I skated with for a decade but then we fucked it up – or rather I did."

The laugh that comes out of her is a little bitter and too fake. She proceeds to pop a Swedish fish into her mouth, speaking while she still chews. It's a little endearing rather than annoying. "We were friends but then something changed and he wanted more. I didn't. It's hard when you have to work closely with someone and you know that you can't reciprocate. He became awkward around me because he couldn't shut off his feelings, and well, I couldn't pretend to feel something when there was nothing, right? And I don't want feelings involved with someone I have to work with as I always try to keep my private life and my work life separate, the line is there for a reason. We are supposed to be professional about it but he couldn't. So, our performance suffered and he began to resent me."

"That's heavy."

"You're telling me," she sighs, "So, it's all messed up. He retired quite quickly after we split up and is now traveling the world because he said I held him back."

"Asshole," Alexander provides, not sure if it helps. At least it triggers a chuckle from her. It's pretty awesome.

"I'm sorry you have to deal with me, though."

He hands her back the cup with an eyebrow raised, "What do you mean?"

"I can imagine you have places to be after your practice and I'm here hogging you every time."

Alexander smacks his lips before shaking his head, "Nah, don't worry about it. The only place I would go afterward would be a bar with Sebastian, and honestly, Kyle – that's my brother – is glad he doesn't have to haul both of our sorry asses home every night."

Isabelle smirks a little, "Good to know I'm helping."

"Expect a thank you card from him." He makes another turn and they are already done with half of the rink.

She elbows him, faces half buried behind her thermos, her lips curving up, "I expect a gift basket."

He laughs, and Jesus, it does feel great to be halfway happy again. When he recovers, he grins back at her, "I'll make sure to tell him that."

Nodding her head, she hands him the cup before popping a couple of gummies into her mouth. He continues to clean the rest of the ice in silence, with only the Zamboni humming underneath them. It isn't weird or awkward, though. Somehow, it's kind of perfect.