Topic: Dance With Me

Tali Granger

Date: 2011-12-19 13:46 EST
"Whoa! Ho! Oh no!" Nathan's arms pinwheeled and the blades of his skates made chopping noises as he fought valiantly to maintain his balance. He teetered back and forth from the waist. Trying to keep his feet underneath him had proven to be harder than he imagined. And just when he thought he had it, his arms down and hands horizontal to the ice, an eight year old on hockey blades zoomed by a little too closely. "Oh crap!" he yelled as his feet flew out from under him and he landed on his bum. "Ow."

Tali heard the pinwheeling and yelling from behind her, turning easily on her own skates to watch as Nate went down under the momentum of a tiny child brushing past. She couldn't help it; she let out a laugh that only barely escaped being a guffaw as she glided back toward him, a wide grin on her face. Looking down at the over-confident Antipodean who had insisted he knew how to skate, she somehow managed to school her expression into something a little less mocking. "Would you like some help there?"

Nathan looked up, chagrinned. "Yeah, that's if you can lift me." He chuckled and lay back on the ice, then rolled over. Soon he was on his hands and knees, crawling towards the safety of the outer wall and the concession stand beyond it. "Tell me again why I agreed to this?"

Skating back and forth behind him with sickening ease, Tali giggled as she answered, unashamedly admiring the view he had presented to her with his crawl. "Because if we'd spent another minute in that studio, we would have started to carve each other up into little pieces," she suggested, bracing herself against the outer wall as she leant down to grasp the back of his jacket and arm, pulling to get him back on his feet. "And you insisted that you knew how to skate."

"I think you need your hearing checked," he chuckled. With her assistance, he finally got back onto his blades. Clinging to the wall with a two handed white knuckled clutch of life, he daren't even move his body. "I insisted that I didn't know how, but was willing to learn." Okay, so maybe only part of that was true. But his ego was as bruised as his bum at this point!

Still laughing, but somehow managing to make the sound almost apologetic for her mirth, Tali moved to help him get his balance again. "Look, lesson one," she chuckled, blowing her hair out of her face. "Relax. The worst that can happen is that you fall over, and you've already done that, right?" She skated back a little way, holding her hands out to him. "'C'mon, it really isn't that hard."

"The ice is!" He looked at her as if she'd grown two heads. "Uh uh. There's a nice, hot cup of cocoa with my name on it. Has little marshmallows and cinnamon. There's one with your name, too. Only get me off the ice or it'll all disappear!" He smiled his most charming smile, his eyes pleading with her. "I promise, I'll give it another go in a little while."

She murmured something that could have been likening him to a baby, covering it with a wide smile. "You're still going to have to let go of that wall to get off the ice," Tali pointed out impishly, twisting to point to where the opening off the rink was. On the opposite side to where Nate was clinging. "I promise, you won't fall over. And if you do, you can take me with you."

His eyes shifted to where she pointed and he gained a look of frustration. "Well, alright. But don't be surprised if we both end up on the ice." He let go of the wall then and remained as still as he could. After a few long moments, he blew out the breath he was holding. "Ok, I've got this." Slowly he lifted his arm to reach out to her.

Calming herself so that she didn't giggle at the wrong moment and drop him to the ice again, Tali let him take hold of her hand, offering him the other one to steady himself. She was more than happy to skate backwards if that's what it took to get Nate off the ice in one piece.

An elderly couple skating past looked over at them with a shared smile. "Remember when that was us?" the woman asked her husband, who chuckled as he replied, "I remember you landing on the ring when I fell over."

Nathan looked up when the older couple skated by and he couldn't help but smile. Slowly they made their way around the rink. "How do you not fall on your ass when you're not looking where you're going?"

"Practise," Tali grinned to him, smoothly releasing one of his hands to reverse her position, skating alongside him with the other hand held safely in her own. "The rink's going to be open all winter - plenty of time for you to get good."

"After my bum heals, I'll think about it." He was laughing, of course. When she released his one hand he bobbled a bit, but managed to stay upright. "This uses muscles I never thought I even had!"

"I'd offer to kiss it better, but you'll get all scowly on me again," she teased laughingly, easing to a halt by the opening in the outer wall. "There we go, safely delivered." She let go of his hand, and since he had mentioned his backside, gave that a pat to urge him off the ice.

He gave her a pointed look before she let go of his hand. And when she did, he realized he was still upright, with no support! But then he moved his foot. Arms pinwheeled and he wobbled. Running on the skate blades, he did not stop until he got to a table and was able to land in a chair.

Snickering at the dramatic exit from the ice, Tali stepped off with a lot more grace, sheathing the blades on her feet before moving to join Nate at his chosen table. "Feel better for that, Mr Smooth?"

Already he was bent over, untying the long laces. He couldn't get them off fast enough! "My ass will feel a lot better with this place far behind it!" He kicked off the skates, then sat up with a grin on his face. "Ah, better!" Stretching his legs out in front of himself, he wiggled his toes.

"Trust me, you want to put your shoes back on before walking anywhere around here," Tali grinned, bending double to untie her own skates. "Regretting the suggestion that we do something fun already?" she teased warmly.

Tali Granger

Date: 2011-12-19 13:47 EST
"Not regretting it completely." he grinned and sat back. Lowering his legs, he put his feet to the ground. "I'm having fun." Immediately his feet began tapping under his chair. "I'm glad we did this. Put me in my place, that's for sure."

She laughed, catching the eye of the guy behind the counter who may or may not have been someone she went to school with as a child. One quick nod later, and the promised hot chocolate was being made up as she slid her feet back into her warm boots, leaning her elbows onto the table. "Alright, so we're not doing work now," she said firmly. "So tell me something about yourself. Something you've never told a newspaper."

"Oh, hot cocoa!" He wrapped his hands around the mug and simply held it for warmth. "Hmm, something about myself that the papers don't know..." He pondered the question for a few moments before his face lit up. "I know. I've got an appendectomy scar that's covered with make up for topless shows."

"Really?" Her brows rose as she took up a teaspoon, playing with the bobbing marshmallows on top of her chocolate delicately. "I never would have guessed that. How big is it?"

"Bout three inches," he leaned back to pull up his shirt and the waistband of the sweats he was wearing down to expose it. "Can't really see it unless you're looking." He pointed it out, dragging his finger across the slightly less pigmented scar.

Leaning around the side of the table, Tali reached out with the utter lack of regard for personal space that all dancers seemed to share, her fingertip tracing over the slightly raised line. "You know, I've never seen a scar before," she admitted a little ruefully. "Everything here is healed with magic if you've got the money, and my family has the money, so ..." She shrugged, leaning back.

"But how would you identify the body if I were decapitated by a wild, rogue dragon?" He chuckled and lowered his shirt. One foot was lifted to rest his ankle across his thigh. "Seriously, it's not a big deal."

Trying to put out of her mind imaginings as to what it would feel like to lick that little scar of his, Tali flushed a little, settling back in her own seat with one knee crossed over the other. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make out as though it was."

Nate opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. It sounded like the beginnings of an argument and he was certain that if he responded to her apology with an acceptance, he'd be an ass. If he laughed it off and said it really was no big deal, he'd be condescending. So, instead, he changed the subject. "Hot cocoa's pretty good here." He lowered his head to take a tentative sip and ended up with a bit of cocoa on the end of his nose.

"So why did you come to Rhy'Din in the first place?" she asked, raising her eyes from her own cup in time to see his nose decorated with cocoa foam. Her lips curved in a smile as she stared for a moment, finding the image rather endearing, before lifting her hand to gesture toward her own nose. "Uh, you've got some ....on your ..."

"I came to Rhy'din because I needed a break from the pressures of West London. I heard there were some up and coming theaters, thought I'd try my luck." He smiled and wiggled his socked toes again. "I got....oh..." he reached up and wiped his nose clean, then to his sweats. "And you were born here?"

She nodded, hiding her grin in a sip of her own chocolate. "Yes, the Grangers are a pretty old family around here," she told him. "There are loads of us, too. My mom wanted to have a dancer in the family, so I got packed off to a performing arts boarding school when I was ten, and from there, I got into the Royal Ballet in London."

"And then your injury brought you home?" It was a pretty safe assumption, he thought. "Earth must be pretty boring to somebody who lives in a place where drama seems to dictate."

Tali shrugged lightly. "I haven't really spent much time here," she said quietly. "This is my first time home in four years, and even the last time I didn't stay more than a couple of weeks. It's odd, I suppose; I never knew my dad, and my mom has weird ideas about what makes a good daughter. I think my brother's probably the only reason I keep coming back."

"Well that's reason enough. I got on well with my parents, they were a little too enthusiastic about my dancing though. They collected my winnings and I didn't get a thing. When I found out, I flew the coop and never looked back." He frowned at the memory. "Not sure if I have siblings or not. I might."

"Would it make any difference?" Tali asked astutely, eyeing him over the rim of her mug. She knew what it was like having one overbearing parent, she couldn't imagine two at once.

"I don't know," he answered honestly. The mug was set down and he looked at her with a kind smile. "I mean, I'd hate for another kid to go through what I did. But I'm not sure that I can stomach being in the same room with those selfish bastards."

"Maybe they've changed," she suggested with a faint shrug, brown eyes locking to his with the kind of intimate understanding not many other people could raise. "Or, you know, they could be radiating poison every time your name is mentioned." Her lips flickered into a teasing smile, deciding this was too serious for now. "Think you're going to be up to another round of the rink, or have you given up for the day?"

He shrugged when he did. Nathan didn't hold much hope that his parents might have changed. And when she looked into his eyes, he knew that she completely understood; all without saying a word. And then, subject change! Thank God! He grinned at her and pointed down at her boots. "You're the one that changed gear. I merely took it off."

"I changed gear because I don't want cold feet!" she laughed defensively. "Trust me, chilly toes are a problem with me, as you'll find out if you ever sit next to me on a couch in winter." She flicked him a wink cheekily. "Or share a bed with me."

Tali Granger

Date: 2011-12-19 13:49 EST
"Are you offering to share a bed with me, twinkle toes?" He chuckled and bent to begin putting the skates back on. "Because it's been quite a while since I've even seen a girl's bed, much less been in one." He shoved his foot into the boot and began lacing it up. "All work and all of that....you know."

"Mmm, you must be really good friends with your right hand," she chuckled, toeing out of her boots to slip her skates back on, her fingers tying the knots far more easily than his simply because she was used to it. "C'mon, I promise I won't go too fast for you." Rising to her feet, she held out her hand to him with a grin.

"I shave my palms daily," he grinned. When he was finished tying the skates on, he took her hand and stood up. A brow was raised at her reassurance. He couldn't help but wonder if it had double meaning. "Hey, I stayed on my feet for ten minutes last time. I'm getting it, I think."

Giggling softly, Tali guided him out onto the ice, a small skinny woman totally at ease on her blades trying to stablise a man almost twice her size. "The point is not to fall on your arse so hard you can't get back up again, though." Her eyes were sparkling with amusement; she was genuinely enjoying herself, and while the thoughts about what it might be like to be up against him and not rehearsing were never particularly far from her mind, she'd accepted that he didn't find her attractive and was content to leave it at that.

It was just the opposite. He found her very attractive and in the deep of night, alone in his bed, he thought of her quite often. The truth of the matter was that he felt very inadequate when it came to dating, much less charming the ladies. Besides, they worked together and the fear that becoming close would ruin their professional relationship was always in the back of his mind. He smiled at her, how could he not' "So that's the big secret. This is all about graceful falling?" He chuckled and squeezed her hands tightly.

"Well, to begin with," she laughed back, glancing down at the clumsy glide of his blades on the ice. "Okay, you know what? You really need to relax, Nate." She grinned at him, letting go of his hand. "Bend your knees a little and lean onto your right foot, then push away with your left on the ice. Like you're shovelling snow behind you with the blade on your skate, back and to the side." She exaggerated the movement to show him how to propel himself forward. "It's easier if you don't hold onto anything, too."

"But if I don't hold on, I'm going to fall." He studied her feet and the movement didn't look that much different than a drag. If he closed his eyes, he could almost feel the taps on his feet. Slide right, shift weight, slide left. Soon his eyes opened and his arms were at shoulder height to keep his balance. "I'm doing it! Tali! I'm really....oh crap!" He'd hit a rough spot on the ice and went back to his pinwheel arms and choppy footsteps. "Help!"

Ducking under the pinwheeling arms again, Tali slammed her giggling self up against him, her own blades apart and braced to try and keep them both upright. "Stop waving your feet around," she laughed warmly. "Calm and relaxed!"

His arms went around her as the only stable thing to hold onto and he inadvertantly spun them around. "Calm and relaxed!" was yelled; he was hardly either of those things. It took several long moments before his breathing was finally under control. "Don't they have things so that the ice stays smooth' Coulda broken my fool neck!" Okay, so he was having a little trouble calming down. That is, until he realized that his arms were around Tali. He looked down at her and impulsively lowered his head to capture her lips with his own.

"The ice is fine, you caught your toe pick!" Tali couldn't help laughing more at Nate's protests, holding on in the hopes that he wasn't going to suddenly slip and take her down with him. A sprained ankle was nothing compared with the full weight of a tapper landing on you. Tipping her head back to find Nate's face that close, she didn't even think about leaning away, didn't even consider the consequences of letting him kiss her. She just touched her lips to his, feeling his panic drain away as other skaters whizzed around them.

Nate relaxed considerably into the kiss. His mouth parted, seeking more of her taste. He felt electrified and terrified all at the same time. As far as first kisses go, it was right at the top of his list. Not realizing how much he'd been longing for her touch, her kiss, to be wrapped in her arms, he felt the joyful agony of a dream realized.

He wasn't the only one set a-tremble by the kiss. As her brother could attest, Tali's longest relationship had lasted a grand total of three weeks and consisted of two dates and a lot of sex. And that had been three years ago. She couldn't have imagined that kissing Nate would feel this good, despite the imminent danger of him crashing to the ice at any moment. Her hands shifted on his back, clutching handfuls of his jacket as her head tilted just enough to invite him in further.

The skaters whizzed past, circling and surrounding them. But Nate was in his own little paradise with Tali. One hand cradled the back of her head as he plunged further into the kiss with her invitation. His other hand clutched her jacket. His mind was a whirlwind of blankness. Nothing else mattered at that particular moment.

The clutch of his hand at her brought Tali sliding just that little bit closer ....just close enough to throw of their center of gravity altogether as the same eight-year-old hockey enthusiast who'd buzzed Nate earlier swept by, accidentally nudging them aside.

And that's all it took to send them both tumbling and breaking that first kiss. Twisting his body, he made sure that Tali would land on him, and not the other way around. "Ooof!" He landed and prepared for her to make him her personal landing pad any second.

Which she certainly did. Thank the gods for a dancer's awareness of their limbs at all times - her legs swept outward almost into splits as she went down, ending up straddling him without any danger from her blades coming anywhere near him on the ice. And yes, giggling again. "Oh, Nate, if you wanted me to mount up, why didn't you just say?"

When she finally landed, he looked up at her with a grin. His hands went to her thighs and he shook his head. "You just like being on top a little too much, I think." The ice was cold and his bum was smarting from all of the falls he'd already taken. "I think we're done here. We'll go mount up later. Where it's warm."

"Ah, the man has a plan." Chuckling, Tali swung her leg up and over him to stand using her toe picks. "Roll onto your front and get up that way," she suggested. "Or I could just pull you along the ice as you are. But you'll be soaked by the time you get up."

Tali Granger

Date: 2011-12-19 13:50 EST
"I'll get up," he laughed, then rolled to his stomach. Instead of using toe picks, which he knew nothing about, he crawled to the wall and pulled himself to a stand. "Man, I'm soaked!" Twisting to look at his backside. "Looks like I've p*ssed myself."

Tali peered at his back with a grin. "C'mon, my place is closest. We can dry your clothes off before you head off." And offered with complete innocence - never let it be said that Tali was a man-eater. One hand in Nate's, she drew him to the opening in the wall and stepped off, setting the guards on the hired blades once again before heading for her boots.

Nate followed, feeling much more secure on the carpeted cement floor. He didn't put guards on, just clunked his way over to where their boots were and then flopped onto a chair. "That sounds good to me, but we're getting a taxi. My a*s will have icicles hanging from it if we try to hoof it."

Perching beside him to untie her own skates, Tali flickered a smiling glance his way as she murmured agreement. She wasn't entirely sure what had just happened out there on the ice, whether it was a spur of the moment regret for him, or a sign that he wasn't as indifferent as he pretended to be. "We can grab a hansom," she offered. "You get blankets to wrap around yourself."

Nate sat back to kick off the skates once he'd loosened the ties enough. He turned his head and watched her as she removed her own skates and began to put her boots on. "I really like that idea," his voice had gained a different inflection. One that included more emotion than the plain almost indifference from before. "I'd like it, a lot."

Her lips curved in a faint smile as she tugged her warm boots back on, wriggling her toes for a moment before brushing the hem of her skirt back down to cover her thighs. "I was going to suggest a dragon hansom, but I think you've had enough excitement for one day."

"Thank you for that," he chuckled, pulling his own boots onto his feet. "Besides, if horse sh*t smells that bad, can you imagine a dragon's?" He laughed at his own joke and stood up when his feet were properly shod. "Ah, terra firma. It feels awesome!"

"Hey, just be thankful I brought you to a rink and not the Glen," she laughed, stamping to settle her feet once again as she turned toward the boot, skates hanging by their laces from her hand. "Me and Tiber used to skate all over the lake in winter. Even fell through a coupla times."

"You fell through the ice?" He looked at her with horror written on his face. "And you still skate" You got a death wish or something?" He picked up his own skates then and started towards the rental counter. "I'd have given up, right then and there."

"I was ten, it was an adventure," Tali laughed, setting her skates on the counter with a nod to the assistant. "Besides, if you give up doing something just because it hurts once, you'll never learn anything."

This was particularly true, and Nathan knew it. He couldn't count the times he'd sprained ankles, torn muscles or any other slew of injuries from his dancing. He'd learned at a young age that real dancing meant flirting with real pain. It was what he'd accepted from it. "Well, there's a difference between pain, and life or death." He placed his blades up on the counter. "Come on, I think there's a hansom waiting for us." Anything to change the subject; he took her hand and started towards the doors.

Surprised by the wrap of his fingers through her chilly ones, Tali skipped to keep up, her knitted wool coat flapping open with every step to show off the shapely legs clad in decorated tights. "There are always dragons in and around the Glen," she said, utterly missing the desire to change the subject. "We got fished out by one of them. And they dried us off and warmed us up, too."

"Now that is cool. Dragon lifeguards." He laughed and shook his head. "Nobody back at home would believe it." He squeezed her hand as they walked out into the coldness. "This place is incredible. I'm really glad I came."

"When something goes wrong, you'll change your mind about that," Tali laughed back, lifting their joined hands to twirl underneath them before tugging him to where the horse-drawn hansoms were waiting. "Most people run for the nearest portal when the sh*t hits the fan around here."

"But if you run away every time it hurts, you'll never learn anything," he tossed back at her with a laugh. The hansom driver held the door open and he helped her up and in before he got into the cab. "Don't you worry, I'm not going anywhere."

"Who says I'm worrying?" she asked innocently, her eyes wide with impish humor as the driver folded the doors over in front of them. She fished out the blankets from under the seats, opening to spread the thick fleece over their legs. "So is that a no to ever trying figure skating?"

When the blanket was over their legs, his arm went around her shoulders. "I wouldn't say a complete no. But let's stick to ice skating before figure skating." He chuckled and before he knew it, his lips were to hers like a magnet.

The sound she made as he caught her lips in another kiss was soft and surprised, but infinitely welcoming, her eyes falling closed as her hand rose to curl at his cheek. The rock of the hansom as the horse began to trot off didn't even register with her as Tali leaned into Nate, more than happy to revel in the unexpected heat rising between them.

The kiss felt right, perfect. She felt right, perfect. As he held her close and they kissed tenderly, everything felt right, perfect. Only when they'd arrived at their destination did the kissing stop. It hadn't been frenzied and lustful; more loving and yearning than anything else. Reluctantly, he let her go to step out of the cab. Once down, he paid the driver, and then held his hand for her to help her down.

Stepping down, her foot slipped on the step, sending her lurching off with a loud yelp. Her arms flung about his neck to keep herself from landing on the hard cobbles as she laughed at her own clumsiness. "Bet you never thought I'd do that off the dance floor, huh?" she teased impishly.

"Whoa, hey!" He caught her and held her body close to his. "I prefer it off than on," his lips were lowered to hers once more. Quickly he was becoming addicted to the taste and feel of her.

Tali Granger

Date: 2011-12-19 13:52 EST
"Mmm ..." Her hands cradled his jaw for a long moment as her feet dangled, a gentle nip applied to his lower lip as she gently broke away with a soft laugh. "Um ....I sort of need to be on the floor to invite you in, you know. And your arse must be frozen."

"Is it?" He chuckled and lowered her to the ground. Pulling his arms from around her waist, he found her hand. "Then lead and invite away!"

Her hand taken again, Tali tugged him toward the little apartment block they had come up beside, jogging up the front steps to fumble for her key. "I don't have a dryer myself, but the laundry room is always open and no one steals clothes here." The front door opened and she led him inside, turning to march up the stairs toward the third floor.

"Well, that's a relief," he chuckled as he followed her up the steps. "Or we could just, you know, leave them on the radiator while we go over some moves or watch a movie or just make out on the couch."

"All very good ideas," she giggled, already undoing her coat as they rose to the top floor. Her keys jangled in her hand as she paused outside her own door, unlocking and opening it to let them inside. Her apartment was a loft, yes, and lacking in furniture. Two rooms and a bathroom; there was a couch and a load of cushions by the window on the far wall, a stereo set up near them, but aside from the kitchenette, there was no other furniture in the main room at all. Just space to dance in. "Welcome, whip 'em off."

"Whip what off?" He teased as he walked into the barebones room. Immediately he liked it. Only another dancer would understand without an explanation. The door closed behind him and he went to the couch. Sitting down, he began to untie his boots. "I really love this room!"

She chuckled, sliding out of her coat and letting it fall over the back of the couch before perching on the arm to pull her boots off. "My brother helped me find it," she admitted with a grin. "Lots of space, decent area. But it was the other room that sold it for me. Come and see." Rising, she slid across the polished floor in her stockinged feet to open the door to the bedroom. It was dominated by a large double futon, the roof sloping downward on either side of a french door that opened out onto a rooftop garden, hidden from the streets below.

Once his boots were off and hidden under her couch, he stood up and slid his jeans right off of his legs. They were tossed aside and he followed in his socked feet and whitey tighties. "Wow, this view is amazing." He walked over to look at the frozen garden. "Wow."

"Bathroom's through there if you want to grab a towel or something," she offered, pointing to the door on the left wall. "Protect your modesty and all." Flashing him a cheeky little smile, she twisted to find his jeans and lay them over the radiator in the main room. "Want a drink or something?"

"Now when has a dancer ever been modest?" He shook his head and followed her back out into the main room. "A drink sounds good, whatcha got?" He walked over and flopped down onto the mound of cushions by the window, making himself at home.

"Mmm, let's see." She pulled open the fridge thoughtfully. "Juice, milk, coffee, tea ....what?s this?" Lifting a cartoon out of the fridge, she inspected it for a date before adding that to her list. "Chocolate thickshake. Anything tickling your fancy?"

"That chocolate stuff sounds good," he grinned, hands behind his head as he watched her be domesticated. "So, what?re we going to do, Tali?"

"It's up to you," she shrugged, pulling a couple of glasses out of a cupboard to pour the thick chocolate milk into them. "We could run through a couple of the dances, or ....whatever. I don't mind." She didn't want to seem entirely focused on making out, although that was at the forefront of her mind. Especially with him sitting there in his underwear.

"I mean about us." Nathan sat up, Indian style, and folded his hands in his lap. "I couldn't help it, Tali. And now I'm scared that what we have now is going to ruin our dancing. And I'm scared that our dancing is going to ruin this. Help me to find a happy medium?"

Moving over to him, she folded herself down onto the cushions, handing over his glass. "We're going to be professional," she said quietly. "It has no bearing on our working relationship. We just ....we have to learn how to keep things separate."

He took the glass and a sip was taken. Chocolate-moustached, he looked over at her with a smile. "I'm so glad to hear you say that." Then he leaned to kiss her.

She squeaked with laughter as he leaned close, one hand on his chest to let her lick his top lip clean before giving him the kiss he was aiming for. Her fingertips stroked against his throat as her lips played with his teasingly. "Were you expecting me to say something else?"

He scoot closer, careful not to spill his drink. "I was afraid it was going to be a one time thing," he admitted. "That's why it took me so long." He looked into her eyes and his smile faded. "I don't want either of us to get hurt. I had to be sure."

She gazed into his eyes, understanding deeply his fears. They had a good thing going with the dance; moving whatever this was between them too quickly would have destroyed any chance they had to make the professional side work. Her smile softened gently as her nose touched his, her voice a low murmur. "Dance with me."

The tip of his nose circled hers before he leaned back to take the glasses and set them aside. Then he was up and holding his hand out to Tali. Dancers didn't necessarily need music other than what was in their heads. When two dancers had the same song in their minds, it was magic. And when that song became physical reality, it was beyond every wish ever made ....something of a Christmas miracle.

((Sappy sentimentality for the season! Thanks to Nate's player!))