Mr. Sandman

thirteen

"Ice skating?"

Dan pulled his car into a small parking lot and picked one of the pull through spots, putting his car into park. "Is that okay?" He looked over to me.

"I mean, yeah. I have just never been ice skating before." I shrugged, taking my seatbelt off. He chuckled lightly as he copied my movements, opening his door.

"It's not too difficult." He said as we approached the small building for skates. The outdoor rink was small and intimate, with christmas lights strung along wires above the rink. After getting our skates, we sat at a small bench inside the fence. "I'll teach you."

I finished up tying my laces and lightly stomped my feet on the group, feeling the blade firmly hit the padded ground. I looked over to the rink and saw a variety of people; small groups of friends, families, and what looked like a few couples. "I'm very clumsy," I said as Dan sat up from tying his laces. He stood and extended a hand to me, which I graciously took.

"As am I, but I manage." He shrugged. "Now, walking is going to be a bit odd, so just try and hold your balance as well as possible."

He took a step forward, subtly urging me to follow him. I did as I was instructed and immediately felt like a baby penguin, completely new to the concept of walking. I slowly got the hang of it, laughing with Dan softly as we made our way to the entrance to the ice. He gracefully glided onto the ice, letting go of my hand. I immediately gripped onto the wooden wall of the rink and looked at him.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he slowly, but surely, got further and further away from me.

"Dan, wait come back." I said as I placed one foot on the ice, feeling terrified the second I felt the blade slip on the wet surface. He came back closer and lent his arm to me, a small smirk hidden behind his features. He knew exactly what he was doing.

I wrapped both hands around his elbow and brought both feet onto the ice, my back wiggling as I attempted to stand up straight. "You good?" He chuckled, watching me in amusement.

"Nope not at all." I said as he began to move us slowly. I released one hand and began to flail it to the wall, hoping to feel the security of the wood.

"Sophia, I have you." He reassured me. "Trust me."

I looked up to him, my blue eyes meeting his brown ones. I secured me loose hand around his arm and nodded. "It's simple, really." He began. "Watch my feet. Keep yours on the ground."

I looked down and saw as his feet would slide to the side, and out ever so slightly. Each movement took us slowly down the rink and around it's corners. "You try." He whispered not even two minutes later.

I took a deep breath and nodded. I remembers his movements and tried my hardest to copy them. Like a miracle, I contributed to our movement, making it much smoother and easier to balance myself. "No way it's this easy-"

Like I had completely cursed myself, I felt the blade on my right foot hit a rut in the ice, sending me wobbling even harder than before. I let out a small screech before I pulled both myself and Dan to the icy floor.

We both hit the group in a loud thump, making the people pass us by look down in what was pity, amusement or a mix of the two. Some how, I had landed sitting up. But Dan was flat on his back.

"I am so sorry, God I can't believe I did that." I moaned as I rubbed my hands together from the cold. I looked to Dan and noticed he was laughing, and fairly hard from what I could tell. He sat up and brushed his hands off on his black jeans.

"It happens," he said and stood up. Once again, he extended his hand to me. I took it and stood to his height. As I went to let go of his hand, his fingers wrapped around mine, locking us together. "Let's try again."