Dr. Jackelyn Woods was a very nice woman. She didn’t press for information when Luke told her he was on his own. She just accepted that there would be no parental involvement with his treatment and they moved on.

It only took a few appointments for Dr. Woods to give him a prescription for synthetic testosterone. He went straight to the drug store from her office, and then raced back to the arena. Excitement was bubbling in his chest as he finally took his first dose of hormones.

Rick didn’t say anything, but Luke was pretty sure he had guessed the cause of his grin. Embarrassed about how open he was being, he kept his head down while he worked at the concession that night.

“You know, you can use the ice if you want.”

Luke looked up from the skates he was checking. A few of the rental pairs had to go for sharpening, and he wanted to make sure they sent all of them at once. With peak season approaching, they couldn’t afford to have pairs out of commission.

Rick was looking at him with an expression that told Luke they were not speaking as employer and employee. He sighed and set the skate aside. “I have to work during free skate hours.” He tried.

Rick sighed through his nose. “Perk of living here.” He jerked his head toward the rink doors. “You can use it whenever you want.”

“I can’t.” Luke shook his head wildly. He didn’t feel comfortable taking advantage of where he was living in any way. “That would--”

Rick silenced him with a wave of his hand. “I give all my friends keys.” He nodded at the keyring hanging from Luke’s belt. “They aren’t just for opening for business.”

Luke clutched at the keys, happy that Rick seemed to be implying that he was a friend. “I still can’t. I don’t own any skates.”

Rick actually laughed. “Neither do most of the people who stop by for the free skate hours.” He indicated the rows of rental skates behind Luke. “Just use any pair you want.” He held up a hand when Luke started to protest. “Employee discount. Don’t worry about it.”

Luke was still going to protest, but Rick turned around as if the conversation was over. He looked at the wall of skates instead. Almost immediately, his eyes landed on a pair of figure skates.

He had a strong urge to get on the ice, and if Rick insisted, then he should do it. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the skates and headed for the ice.

He hadn’t skated in years, and he stumbled and fell before any form of muscle memory came back to him. He took it slow, gliding around the perimeter while he adjusted to being taller and having a different center of gravity. He hummed to himself as he relaxed into the motions, a tune that his mother taught her beginner music students.

Luke didn’t know how long he skated the perimeter, but eventually he felt comfortable enough to glide through the center. Then, just because he was alone and revisiting what he could do, he decided to try a jump. It was just a basic one, the first one he had ever learned to do, but he was still nervous.

He landed it, and followed it by a spin. He let out a laugh at how much fun it was.

Applause reached his ears and he came to a stop. Rick was standing at the entrance to the ice. “I should get you to teach one of the classes.” He called, laughing.

Luke grinned at him, not taking the comment seriously but pleased by the praise. He took off again, testing some other things he had learned before his discomfort in his own body had made him quit his lessons.