Arthur handed him his gym bag as he stepped out of the limo. It was Friday afternoon and he was very slowly beginning to feel the weight of another busy week falling away. Sunday to Wednesday had seen him in Moscow for Bass Industries. He had slept for just a few hours on the overnight return flight before emerging to a chilly New York morning and heading to the office. Yesterday had involved a long and detailed debrief with the board on his activities and findings from the trip followed in the evening and this morning by more paperwork from the other projects he had neglected whilst travelling. His right hand rubbed his lower cheek and chin as he entered the building. He'd barely had time to shave since leaving the Bass jet at Teterboro, let alone anything else. He gave the receptionist and security a quick glance as they smiled a welcome and he saw his new acquaintance waiting a few metres away.
An hour and an enduring game of squash later he was feeling physically tired but slightly more lose and relaxed. He appreciated Nate's suggestion for a suitably challenging opponent and would be sure to leave a generous tip for Robbie before leaving. The personal trainer had certainly provided a testing match but, as expected, was unable to break a three year unbeaten run. As he walked towards the locker rooms Chuck paused on hearing familiar classical music through a briefly opened door. Through a window on the same wall he saw a small ballet class of ten or so men and women along with a teacher. Through his weariness his eyes were drawn to a slim brunette in baby pink leggings and a black vest top. He paused. She was moving elegantly across the floor. All parts of her body were in synchrony with each other and the tempo of the music. Her slim arms stretched above her head and reached to her left gracefully and her right side stretched and followed smoothly. Leaning against the wall, he began to smile slowly but with a frown of confusion and surprise as her identity became clear. She moved with a spring into a series of small leaps and turns before the dance slowed again and she reached upwards, her breasts pushing against the top of the vest as she breathed in deeply. She appeared to be completely absorbed in the moment. A lock of brown curls slipped from her messy bun and caressed the pale skin of her neck as she turned fully towards him. This was the confirmation he needed that the love of his life was dancing before him. He quickly took a step back from the window. He felt slightly unfamiliar with the aura of total calm and peacefulness that she radiated. He watched for a few moments longer, ensuring that his body angle by the window meant he would not be seen. For the first time that week the tension fully dropped from his shoulders and torso and it felt like a soft breeze was cleansing his crowded mind. The music slowly faded out and her movements came to a gentle stop. He smirked to himself as he got an idea and slipped away.
The music stopped and Blair remembered where she was. Since a young age she had adored watching and listening to the Waltz of the Snowflakes. Few other pieces managed to take her away from the real world so completely. She took a deep breath to compose herself and followed the other women to the bar for a thorough stretch and cool down. She knew she had been successful in making her mind and body feel elsewhere for the past hour and it had provided a much needed break from missing him. But now it seemed the ache she had felt with increasing severity over the past six days was returning to most parts of her. She headed to the female locker room and collected a fresh towel and her shower items. She slipped out of her ballet shoes and walked across the empty changing area towards the gap in the wall that led to a row of private shower rooms. The dim lighting felt relaxing and she was looking forward to cleansing herself in a monsoon shower behind the frosted glass. As she turned slightly to enter the shower area she noticed his letters out of the corner of her eye - "CB" in italic gold stitching on the heel of a pair of familiar indoor sneakers left by the entrance to the showers. She felt a rush of butterflies, but how could he be here? In the women's shower room of a gym she had never heard him mention before and she had never mentioned to anyone. She wandered along the luxurious marble floor past each vacant shower room towards the sound of running water coming from the last in the row. Unusually, the door was slightly ajar and she pushed it gently. Were there any rules he would not break? "Chuck?"...