Love on Thin Ice
I lost my edge.
My left skate skittered across a rut in the ice, and my balance vanished.
I went down hard, my broad frame slamming against the frozen surface with a dull, heavy thud that rattled my teeth.
I slid across the blue line, my bruised left shoulder taking the brunt of the impact, a sharp, white-hot spike of agony ripping through my joint.
I lay flat on my back, staring up into the dark, empty rafters of the arena, my chest heaving as the physical pain radiated through my arm.