Ora Pattiniamo [C]

Something dead shown to Nicola's eyes,

She just made a musical reference.

Oh dear god.

At least she isn't hearing whatever musical they are practising for next. It was already haunting her in her sleep.

"I agree," said Nicola, just as there was a little, "Hey," from Ciro at Willow's affectionate insult.

"This is the last time I'll introduce you to anyone if you insult me," he sulked. But it was still in a recognisable in a playful manner.

"Ciro, Nicola's your only friend," Mads pointed out with raised brows. "She's your teacher's sister. You don't have anyone else to introduce us to."

Willow gave a laugh and reached for Chai's hand, pulling her along to sit in one of the comfortable chairs they'd all been perched in throughout the show.

Mads was quick to pull up a chair next to Chai, pulling it out of the neat row it had been sat in.

"So, sweetheart, you've known him a lot longer than we have," Willow began, a wicked grin coming to her red lips. "What embarrassing stories can you share?"

Nicola, ever needing the extra height and being as forward as she was, sat in Mads lap. Her pretty face split into a grin.

"Yes, Chai, please tell. We are always excited to hear new stories about our resident idiot."

"Chai, don't suffer under their peer pressure," Ciro whined, sitting next to Chai and hugging her shoulders. The glitzy costume he was still wearing was sparkling.

When Nicola sat in his lap, Mads' arms wrapped around her, and his lips pressed to her neck affectionately.

Chai looked up at Ciro when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, blinked once. Twice.

An overly innocent look came to her face.

Then she turned back to the congregation. "Has he told you about the time he broke my nose?"

"Chai, not that one! I told you I was sorry," Ciro continued to whine, hugging her tighter.

Nicola laughed, fingers running through Mads hair.

"Obviously not, I would love to know." There was a pause. A sweet smile. "We can punish him again accordingly."

Chai smiled brightly. "It was his first performance like this with Chrys. Just like tonight, actually. They were beautiful together, and we all rushed forward to congratulate them."

Chai leaned against Ciro. "I was first. Ciro and I have been friends forever, so I wanted to congratulate him. He tripped coming off the ice, and headbutted me."

She laughed, fingers coming up to the slight bump in her nose self-consciously. 

"Blood everywhere. All down my dress, his costume. He freaked out. I don't think the poor soul had ever seen a broken nose before." She patted the hand resting on her shoulder mockingly. "Then on the way to the hospital-" Chai huffed dramatically. "What a fuss he made!"

"And that's it!" Ciro stood, face red. "That's the story!"

He turned and grabbed Chai by the shoulders.

"Do you want to see my dressing room?" He blurted, in an attempt to distract her and drag her away from his friends - that he was also trying to get into the pants of. Regularly.

He wanted to remain somewhat alluring.

"Nu-uh, bullshit that's the end," Mads broke out when Ciro's face turned the most ungodly shade of red. Asian people did blush so much harder than white people.

"Chai, sit your fine ass back down and share the rest."

Chai smiled up at Ciro, pushing herself up to kiss his cheek, then sitting down again. "So, he spent the entire ride to the hospital apologising until he was blue in the face-"

Ciro dropped to his knees in defeat, hugging Chai's waist.

"Chai, please."

"Keep going," said Nicola, grinning. This sounded like the Ciro she knew and loved.

Chai thread her fingers through Ciro's hair, carding her fingers through the soft locks affectionately when he wrapped his arms around her waist and plead with her to stop.

"As he was helping me out of the car, trying to be heroic, he fell backwards, yanking me with him."

Mads leaned forwards, gripping onto Nicola tightly so she didn't fall from his lap, eager to hear the rest of the story.

Ciro pressed his face against her thigh, defeated. His life was over. His reputation was ruined. This was it. He would be known as the guy that broke a teenage girls nose because of his own clumsiness. He will never get laid again.

"We were both going down when-"

Chai's words cut short when Ciro's face nuzzled into her thigh, and her gaze turned down to him as her hand reflexively tightened in his hair, tugging it sharply.

Her cheeks pinked under the tan, and she bit her lip.

Ciro waited for the horror end of the story to come. It never came. She cut herself off with her own words.

He stiffened a bit when fingers pulled sharply at his hair.

Nicola raised an eyebrow and gave a suggestive look to both Willow and Mads.

Nicola's suggestive look was returned by Willow, who grinned openly, licking her teeth.

Their obvious lust for each other - more on Chai's part, but they knew Ciro well enough to know when he liked someone now - could work to the whole group's advantage.

Willow tipped her head to the side and mouthed to Nicola: "Invite her tonight?"

She was pretty as a picture to look at, and clearly wasn't all that shy with Ciro. It could make for a fun evening.

Chai cleared her throat delicately, her eyes turning back to the other three. "And by some miracle, this clumsy idiot managed to catch himself before he went down for the first time ever. The wrong time, because I was still falling. He headbutted my broken nose. Again. Right there in front of the hospital."

The end of the story made Mads snort loudly.

There was a grin from Nicola and a tip of her head. Yes, she was definitely coming back to Ciro's with them all tonight.

Nicola's flirtatious smile was traded for a burst of laughter.

"Again?! Ciro you absolute clutz! At least you did it next to the hospital this time, talk about being a gentleman."

Ciro just whined louder against her though, perfectly happy not showing his red face. There were a few things he was embarrassed about, but this story was one of them.

Chai laughed, her fingers still weaving through Ciro's hair, now more comforting than affectionate.

"He was quite a gentleman. He stayed with me the entire night waiting for it to be cleaned up and reset. Called me every day for weeks asking how it was healing."

She tugged gently on his hair. "Quite sweet about it all, weren't you? I just found it funny. Only Ciro could be unlucky enough to break someone's nose twice in such a short amount of time."

Nicola still grinned, fondly.

"That definitely still sounds like Ciro, doesn't it?" She asked Willow and Mads.

A tiny noise caught the back of his throat and he lifted his head.

"I told you I was sorry and I didn't mean to."

Now she was using this story to embarrass him, in some sort of longwinded revenge?

The grown-ass man pouted.

"For sure," Willow agreed. Mads nodded against Nicola's neck, too busy with trying to leave a little mark to vocalise his agreement.

Chai smiled down at the pouting man.

"I know you did, babe." She ran her hand gently over his hair, then let it slide down to cup his chin, her thumb running over his pushed out lower lip.

"Apologising doesn't stop it from being funny."

Nicola said something along the lines of, "Diamonds don't look good with hickeys," but made no further attempt to push him away, preening in the attention. She was dressed like a hoe for a reason.

Ciro licked his lip instinctively. It had tickled where she brushed her thumb over his lip.

"At my expense," he said, despite the fact that she had to break her nose twice to be able to tell this story in the first place.

"Hickeys look good with everything," Mads responded flippantly, purposefully nipping her neck sharply.

God, his lips looked good wet, cam the unbidden lustful thought when his tongue ran over his lower lip. Then her mind whirled down an entirely new and even more lustful path.

Shit.


"Always at your expense, babe. Always."

Ciro sat back and childishly stuck his tongue out. He assessed the room, which was slowly filtering out. None of the other skaters was present.

"I should probably get changed," he sulked.

There would probably be a few reporters milling about. If not asking about the show, or jumping on Chrys about the flip, then they were going to ask him about the latest competition he was in.

"You know the rule about tongues," Willow piped up as soon as his tongue passed his lips.

She leaned forwards, one thin brow arched. "So which one of us lucky ladies...or Nicola," she teased, "is getting your tongue?"

Don't stick out your tongue unless you were planning to use it. It was their rule.

"But you look so good in skin-tight lycra," Chai commented, her fingers sliding down to trace the collar of the costume that clung to his throat.

Nicola rolled her eyes. "Hilarious," she said deadpan, but content in her spot, stroking through Mads hair.

Ciro retracted his tongue with heat in his cheeks. Right. He forgot about that.

He gulped as the finger traced the collar of his costume.

"Do you still want a tour of my dressing room?" He asked Chai.

"I know I am," Willow purred in reply, grinning at Nicola. She enjoyed prodding at Nicola. It always made things more interesting behind closed doors.

"Oh no, sweetheart. You can't retract it now. Pick a lady."

Chai watched the scene between Willow and Ciro with some curiosity before she nodded at Ciro's suggestion. "I'd love a tour. Will it be extensive?"

Ciro gave Willow a look. If it wasn't for their rule, he would have stuck his tongue out again. He hoped the look had the same effect.

"We can take as long as you want," he said with a beaming smile, cheeks flushed.