It didn't matter that it was through his glove. He was holding his hand! He could die happy, even if Billy meant nothing by it.
Too late on the falling, man.
"Well, if a fall head first, it'll hurt the ice more," he joked. Well, it was mostly a joke. He'd left cracks in brick walls before and walked away with only a slight headache. He braced his knees stiffly at the first small slide on the ice, the blades cutting the surface easily.
Roller skating and ice skating felt way different, he decided.
But he was managing to keep balance. He didn't have weak ankles, after all. And here was where he found a similarity in the two sports. The stepping was much the same. So while he was tottering clumsily foot to foot, he was at least not falling on his ass... yet.