I had been to this ice rink a few times before, with my sister Mari and her friends. However, due to a fear of how my clumsiness would fare if I dared step foot on the ice, I always just sat to the side and watched the others skate. And this is exactly what I did when I saw the man lace up his ice skates. With a delicate and practice hand, he quickly knotted the laces into a firm bow. Wow, he must be pretty good. I can't wait to see what he has in store. Wait... A sudden realization hit me.

"Hey! Um... You never told me your name!" I choked out. He gave me a sideways wink and gracefully putted his way over to the ice. How does he stay so steady? "It's Victor Nikiforov. Don't wear it out." I couldn't help but give a small grin at his lame attempt at humor- but that faded to a slack-jawed expression of amazement once he skated onto the ice.

Before I knew it, Victor was sailing around the rink, twirling and flying and spinning as if he was a fairy- no, a god. I couldn't pinpoint what he resembled, because I had never seen a sport expressed in such an artistic way. My eyes darted to and fro to keep up with what I knew were master-level moves in ice skating, and despite my lack of knowledge in the area, I could tell he was a professional. So this is what he meant when he seemed so high-and-mighty earlier. He must be famous for this!

I couldn't control my gaze when it scanned over his defined muscles that flexed just perfectly at every jump and skate. Once again, a furious blush took over my cheeks. You're blushing from the cold, Yuri. Not his body. DEFINITELY not his ass. He explicitly told you not to stare at that.

My mind was separated from this degrading path when I saw him slow his movements, for what seemed to be a huge final jump. He soared into the air, giving elegant yet concise twirls, with his arms poised perfectly. Victor landed it without a single wobble, and stilled in a pose that entranced my eyes. I was still in a daze, staring at the rink when he approached me and tapped my shoulder.

"So, what do you think?"

And before I could even begin to process my words, I said, "Teach me, Victor. I want to be just as good as you."

I quickly clamped my hand over my mouth at the realization of what I said, knowing that I could never dream of reaching his level of expertise. Yet he still extended his hand to me, and said with deep sincerity, "Then let's get started. We have a bit of work to do."