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     Madison glided over the ice with a sense of grace and confidence that demanded attention from fellow skaters. Small children who scurried clumsily across the crowded rink would pause in awe of her jumps and twirls.

    Her shiny, brown hair flew softly around her tanned face as she skated in a straight line. Her posture was perfect, and her slicing of the ice with the sharp blades was perfection.

    O-Town was there to sing the national anthem for the minor league hockey game later that day. Management had made an error, leaving the guys at the rink two hours earlier than they needed to be there.

    They had all decided to skate for a while instead of trying to find somewhere to go in the meantime. They were three hours from their house in Orlando, and they didn't know the area well enough.

    "She's beautiful," Jacob remarked as the five of them stood observing the rink, and the woman skating perfectly on it.

    "I'd say so!" Erik said playfully as he bent over to tighten the laces on his rented skates.

    "I think she's hot!" Trevor said as he watched the young girl.

    "She's talented too," Ashley remarked as he pulled a black sweatshirt over his golden locks.

    "Dan...it's your time to comment now," Erik said casually when he noticed that Dan was the only one who hadn't commented on the exquisite stranger gliding across the ice majestically.

    "Dan?" Ashley questioned when they all noticed the way that Dan stood staring at the woman in the black pants and gray turtleneck sweater.

    "Dan, are you okay?" Erik asked.

    "Oh, umm yeah. I'm fine," Dan mumbled, seemingly tearing his eyes away from the girl.

    "What was that all about? You like her?" Ashley asked as they moved slowly, on their skates, towards the opening of the rink.

    "Actually, I know her," Dan whispered so quietly that the rest of the guys had to strain to hear him.

    "Are you kidding me?" Erik asked excitedly looking at his friend.

    "No, I'm serious. We dated for a while. Her name is Madison Mitchell. She's... She's amazing," Dan said painfully as they stepped onto the ice and began moving in a group.

    Dan stayed behind the group and tried to avoid looking up at the fellow skaters passing by.

    "How long did you date, and why aren't you talking to her?" Jacob asked.

    "For a few months, and because we didn't exactly end on the best terms. It's a long story," Dan said hoping that his friends would get the hint and leave him alone.

    "I've got nowhere to be," Erik stated with a smile.

    "Me neither," Ashley agreed.

    "I, god, I treated her badly. I was told that she was cheating on me by another friend, and I believed it," Dan began slowly.

    "I was so sure that it was all too good to be true, and I figured that she probably was cheating, because I couldn't believe that she was really mine. I accused her, said some terrible things, and then realized I had made the biggest mistake of my life when she looked at me with the most broken-hearted expression that I have ever seen in my life," Dan completed and stood silently as they group stopped skating and stood to listen to him.

    "Boy..." Erik said in sympathy.

    "Yeah," Dan whispered as he raised his head and saw Madison twirl around, lifting her right leg and extending it out in back of her, curving it up. She then grasped her foot by raising her arms above her head and holding onto the skate over her head. It was a position that they had all seen professional skaters do, and it impressed all of them except Dan.

    He had seen her skate while they dated. It was one of things that he had fallen in love with. The smooth motions of her slender arms as she moved them gracefully about her body, and the confidence in her facial expressions as she executed difficult moves expertly.

    She held the pose for a few seconds as some kids clapped for her.

    She smiled sweetly at them and then moved off to circle the rink a few times. As she went a young girl with pigtails fell down in front of her. Madison expertly stopped behind the girl and helped her up.

    Dan watched in awe as she guided the tiny girl's frame in her hands and helped her to get accustomed to the texture and surface of the ice. She skated with the girl around the corners of the rink where no people rushed by, until she was approaching the guys.

    Dan felt his heart beat increase, and he could not take his eyes off of her. She hadn't changed at all. He felt his heart break once again as he pictured the look of hurt, betrayal, and unbelief that he had seen in her eyes when he uttered those words that he so wished he could take back.

    "You're a liar and a cheater Madison, and I wish I that I never gave you the time of day," He yelled at her before slamming his locker shut and staring at her tear soaked face.

    "Don't look down at your feet, sweetie," He heard her voice as she spoke to the little girl, and he felt the urge to run to her and pull her to him.

    He wanted to make all of the pain that he caused her, right again. He wanted to make sure that she knew that he had regretted his actions of mistrust for the past four years.

    "That's right. You're a pro Karly!" Madison said enthusiastically before straightening up to her 5'7" frame and skating a few feet away from the little girl. As she glanced up she caught sight of him, and her heart felt as though it dropped from her chest to her stomach.

    She glided to him without moving her feet at all. She realized that the rest of the guys from the group were there and found it interesting when they all coughed nervously at her approach and moved slowly away leaving Dan behind. She knew who they all were. She had kept up on what he was up to, and where he had been.

    The show had been too painful to watch at first, but with his rapid success in the group, she fond herself becoming proud of him and a dedicated watcher as well.

    He had always been strong. That was for sure. He stood up for himself, for what he believed in, and who he believed in. Madison only wished that he could have believed in her.

    "Dan," she whispered, her voice, creating a puff of vapor in the cold air of the indoor rink.

    She looked into his eyes, and cringed at the unshed tears that she saw there. She had to admit that it was so good to see him. Despite the anger and pain that his presence aroused inside of her; she was relieved to see him in person. To see his face in person was different than watching it on MTV.

    "Maddy," He said with a sad smile.

    "I heard that you guys were coming to town. I didn't expect to see you," she whispered.

    "Madison, what are you doing here?" He asked wondering why his childhood friend from Ohio was in Florida.

    "I'm visiting my grandparents. Is that allowed?" She asked in an irritated tone.

    She had secretly hoped that he would have something better to say after four years of silence than...why are you here.

    "Oh, I see," Dan responded casually.

    He didn't know what else to say.

    What was he supposed to ask her?

    "Okay, well take care of yourself Dan. Congratulations on your success. And, please tell the rest of the guys hello and good job for me," she stated before turning on her skate and moving away before Dan could respond.

    "Madison!" He called after her.

    "Yeah?" She replied as she turned backwards and continued to skate away from him.

    He watched her and wondered silently how she knew that she wasn't going to crash into somebody behind her.

    "I'm sorry," he said forcefully, watching her face fall, and her foot reach out behind her to stop her progress. He watched in silence and she slowed to a complete stop. Children and teenagers passed by her as she stared intently at Dan. She closed her eyes at the intensity of the hurt and memories flooding her body and mind. She relived that afternoon that had ended their relationship for the millionth time.

    The very relationship that she had sworn would last forever was shattered suddenly and completely. She was positive that she had met the man that she would marry. Dan was that man. She found everything that she had ever dreamed of in him, and she knew that they were very young, but it did not matter.

    She gave her heart and soul to him, only to have her heart ripped away when he accused her of being cold-hearted and untrue to him.

    "I never said sorry, and yet I always wanted to," he spoke to her, breaking her out of her reverie. He spoke loudly enough that she could hear him as her golden, brown eyes remained shut off to the world.

    Dan studied her from where he stood. He could almost sense the internal battle waging inside of her heart. He ached for her to open her eyes and accept his apology, but even he knew that he didn't deserve that grace.

    He skated slowly over to where she stood and reached his right hand out to grasp hers. She kept her eyes closed, but she bit her bottom lip as he moved closer and pulled her body to his in a gentle embrace.

    At first, Madison refused to respond to his affection. She remained still with her arms at her sides as Dan hugged her, but then slowly she felt the rift in her heart begin to close. She breathed a deep breath and prayed for understanding.

    So slowly, Dan felt her right hand raise to the middle of his back. She ran her hand slowly down his back before it came to rest on the small of his back. She pushed lightly on the spot where her hand laid, and this caused Dan to glide forward on the ice until his body was pressed against hers.

    She embraced him with both arms and pressed her face into the crook of his neck. Her eyes remained closed as she took in his sent. His choice cologne had obviously changed over the time, but the essence of what made him Dan was still there. That mix of soap and after shave filled her senses, and she felt goose bumps rise on her skin.

    Dan pulled back first and cupped her face in his hands. She opened her eyes and stared at him intently. He did not say anything. He simply took in her appearance and tried to commit everything about the moment to memory.

    She studied his face. It had matured, and his eyes held a sense of intelligence and experience in them. His lips still held her in awe. His perfectly structured nose and jaw line demanded appraisal, and Madison found herself scanning his eyes as hers danced from his lips to cheeks, and then back.

    "Dan," she whispered.

    "What?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow and bent his head to look into her eyes once again. His heart begged her for the acceptance of his apology and a renewed start, but he knew that would be a miracle.

    He had received more than he could have ever hoped for in her embrace alone.

    "Maybe I'll see you around," she finished as she moved out of his grasp. It was too painful for her.

    His hands were resting on her hips as she glided back, and away. He watched her silently as she moved.

    "Okay. I'd like that," he stated with a smile.

    "Yeah," she replied before waving at him and skating off to the exit of the rink.

    Dan watched her go until he was violently knocked into by a clumsy boy.

    "Ugh!" Dan grunted as he was pushed forward and stopped from falling by using the pick in the toe of his skate.

    "Don't stop in the middle of the rink, jerk!" The guy who had careened into him shouted.

    Dan looked up, angered, by the rudeness of the stranger, but saw Madison, first, laughing at the situation from the outside of the rink.

    He smiled at her and mouthed, "You think this is funny?"

    "YEP!" She shouted before turning and walking out of the large building.

    It wasn't until Dan started moving again that he felt a hand placed on his shoulder.

    "So?" Ashley asked with an intensely interested glare.

    Dan smiled at Ashley and nodded.

    "It feels much better to have seen her. When she left our high school in the middle of senior year, I didn't know why, and I didn't see her after that," Dan explained.

    "We had broken up only three weeks before that. I called her mom, and she said that Madison had gone to visit some relatives. I never heard from her again. I left to come here only one year later," he finished.

    "That's rough," Ashley replied.

    "Yeah," Dan stated.

    "Well she seemed very receptive. That's a good sign, right?" Ashley asked encouragingly.

    "I hope so," Dan replied.

    "Would you want to further your relationship with her if you had the chance?" Ashley asked as they exited the rink and searched for the guys at the snack bar.

    Erik, Trevor, and Jacob had gone in search of some hot chocolate.

    "I would definitely pursue my options. Do you know what it's like to lose the one thing that completed you?" Dan asked Ashley with seriousness.

    Ashley looked at his friend and smiled.

    "No, thankfully. I've never gone through that," Ashley replied honestly.

    "Well I hope that you never do, but should it happen, you'll realize that you're willing to do anything, or wait as long as it takes, to make it right again," Dan stated.

    Ashley smiled and replied, "You'll make it right. I have faith in that."

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