Taking the Ice (Ice Series Book 3) (4 page)

“If you see Mrs. Tucker, run in the opposite direction. I swear, I just can’t with that woman. If we make—“ I stopped and held up one finger. “
When
we make the Olympic team, she’ll be on the first plane to Sochi. She’s going to somehow get herself on TV every chance she gets. Watch, she’ll have her own interview on the TODAY show.”

“I wish you were going to have nicer in-laws. You deserve a second family that loves you as their own.”

“They don’t even love their own as their own.” I shook my head. “At least Stephanie and I get along now. She’s been great with designing our costumes this year. I mean, I know she did it to get her name out there, but I think she genuinely wants Josh to be happy. I can’t say the same for his parents.”

“I don’t understand people like that. I really don’t,” Mom said.

“It’s good you don’t. I’d be worried if you did.”

My phone dinged, and I pulled it from my purse to read the text.

Josh:
I’m contemplating stabbing myself with my fork to end this meal.

I cringed and looked up at Mom. “Josh’s dinner isn’t going so well.”

“Poor guy. I feel for him.”

Me:
Do you need more payment from me on my debt to you? :)

Only a few seconds passed before my phone chimed.

Josh:
Yes, especially since this morning you benefited just as much as I did ;)

Heat bloomed inside me, and I smiled and returned the phone to my purse.

“Things looking up?” Mom asked.

“Josh helped distract me after my bad practice, so I’m going to help ease his pain after dinner.” I lifted my glass to my lips.

“From that smile I think I know how.”

My throat spazzed as I swallowed, sending water down my windpipe. I went into a coughing fit that lasted well over a minute.

“You alright?” Mom asked. “I didn’t mean to make you choke.”

“I’m okay.”

I cleared my throat and beat on my chest. Mom and I had gone my entire teen and adult life without any awkward sex conversations. I wanted to keep it that way.

“In all seriousness, I think it’s wonderful how you and Josh are always there for each other. You make a great team.”

I took a tiny sip of water and swallowed slowly. “We just have to be our greatest for two-and-a-half minutes on Thursday and four minutes on Saturday. Then we’ll be able to show the whole world what an amazing team we are.”

****

W
ITH THE BRIGHT LIGHTS
of TD Garden shining overhead, I shaded my eyes and peered into the small crowd scattered throughout the yellow seats. Spotting my parents, I crept closer to the ice door and waved my arms to get their attention. Mom caught my signal and nudged Dad’s shoulder. They both waved back and walked through the seats to where I stood in the corner of the rink.

“Hey, Dad.” I reached over the railing separating the stands from the tunnel.

He hugged me and then stood tall, straightening his tie. “You hangin’ in, Kiddo?”

I smiled and tightened my ponytail. “Be glad you missed yesterday’s practice. I promise today will be different.”

“Better to work through the nerves now than during the competition.”

“That’s what I told her last night,” Mom said.

A loud boom came from the ice, and I jumped and saw one of my top competitors Roxanne sprawled against the boards. Her partner Evan helped her up, but she shook off his hands and glared at him. I hadn’t seen what had caused her fall, but my guess was the quadruple Salchow throw they’d been trying unsuccessfully all season.

“That sounded pretty bad,” Mom said.

“I remember when Em and Chris used to practice the quad,” I said. “Some of the falls Em took scared me to death.”

“I bet she never gave Chris a death stare like that,” Dad said.

I laughed. “No, but I wouldn’t expect any less from Roxanne.”

Evan had won a few national titles with another partner, but Roxanne acted like she was the more accomplished one. She and Evan had narrowly won the championship over us two years ago, and her obnoxious screams in the kiss and cry had given me extra motivation to beat them the following year.

“Hey, Mr. Carlton.” Josh emerged from backstage and shook Dad’s hand. He followed with a kiss on Mom’s cheek.

“Look, they’re trying it again.” Dad turned to the ice.

We all watched Evan fling Roxanne into the air. She spun four times but crashed on the landing, earning Evan another scowl.

“I don’t know why she’s mad at him. She’s not checking out for the landing quickly enough,” Josh said.

“Because she can do no wrong,” I said. “How dare you imply otherwise?”

“I see the rivalry between you is stronger than ever.” Dad chuckled.

“Every time Roxanne directs some veiled insult toward us, Em reminds me it’s good to have another team pushing us.” I tugged harder on my ponytail. “My question is why can’t they just let their skating speak for itself?”

“Someone had to take Stephanie’s place in getting under your skin.” Mom winked.

Josh looked up at the scoreboard. “This session’s almost over. We should finish warming up.”

My parents returned to their seats, and Josh and I resumed our stretching routine. I replayed all my successfully-executed jumps over and over in my head, not allowing myself to visualize any outcome except perfection.

The announcer gave the teams on the ice a “one minute remaining” notification, and I strode up to the boards, ready to go the moment our session began. When time expired, I ripped off my guards and skated along the boards to the front row where Em and Sergei sat.

“What the hell are Roxanne and Evan doing?” Sergei said.

I looked behind me. They were supposed to have taken their bows and exited with the other teams in their group, but they were just then making their way to center ice.

“That’s bush league,” Josh said as he took my hand.

We sped away from the boards and pumped our legs in unison, covering more ice with each push. Josh locked his grip around my wrist, and we moved into my favorite warm-up, side-by-side back crossovers. Roxanne and Evan were skating to the ice door, and we zoomed around them with added speed.

Our strokes took us past Em and Sergei, and as we rounded the corner, my right blade caught in the ice. Shock waves of panic bolted through me as I lost both Josh’s grip and my footing, and I flew backward. My back slammed into the boards, stealing my breath and stunning me with pain. I bounced off the wooden barrier and slid sideways, slowly coming to a stop. I stayed completely still and tried to catch my breath as my body recovered from the impact.

“Court!” Josh crouched over me. “Did you hit your head?”

I gingerly lifted myself from the ice and winced as I bent my spine. “No, just my back and shoulder.”

I’d somehow curled my chin toward my chest so my head wouldn’t hit the boards. After Josh’s concussion drama a few years ago, my body probably knew instinctively to protect itself from a head injury.

Josh carefully helped me to my feet, and we skated over to Em and Sergei. A burning sensation on my arm briefly took my attention away from the ache in my ribs and shoulder, and I found cuts and scrapes all along my forearm.

“Are you okay?” Sergei asked.

I nodded and picked up my water bottle, but my hand was shaking so badly that I had to set it right back down. The panic and fear I’d felt as I was sliding out of control were now exiting my body in the form of tremors.

Josh put his arm around my waist. “Take as long as you need.”

“Let me clean you up,” Em said as she dug in her purse.

She brushed my skin with alcohol and put a bandage on the largest cut. Meanwhile, my hand stopped trembling enough for me to sip my water. The fans sitting in the row behind Em and Sergei were watching us and also typing on their phones. Soon the whole world would know I’d wiped out in the first two minutes of our practice.

“Do you want to stay on the session?” Sergei asked. “We can have the doctor check you out now or wait until after.”

Pain was still radiating from my shoulder down my back, but it wasn’t as strong as before. Moving around and not thinking about it would probably help even more.

“I’m okay to stay.”

“If anything doesn’t feel right, let us know right away,” Em said.

Josh and I rejoined the skater traffic but at a much slower pace. I looked up into the seats where my parents were standing, watching me with concern, and I gave them a thumbs-up sign. Not far from them sat Mrs. Tucker, who held her hand to her head as if she was the one hurting.

We continued our warm-up, but my crossovers were hesitant, not powerful like they usually were. All I could think about was how my Olympic dream had almost ended with a fluke fall. If my head had hit the boards or if my arm had taken the brunt of the impact and had broken, I would be in an ambulance right now. Every step I took on the ice was a potential disaster waiting to happen.

My exterior shaking had ceased, but my insides were still quivering. As we ran through our Muse free skate, I landed every jump and throw on two feet or with a hand on the ice. I didn’t trust myself to attack the program. Josh kept encouraging me with “You got this” and “Free and easy,” but I couldn’t relax.

Sergei ushered me to the medical room backstage as soon as the forty-minute practice ended. The doctor confirmed I was just bruised, and he wrapped my back and shoulder with ice. I sat in a chair and tried to get comfortable with the three packs freezing me through my T-shirt.

Josh came in with fruit from the hospitality room, and he handed me a banana as he sat beside me. “To hold you over until we can get lunch.”

“Thanks.” I shifted to find a better position. “This ice is not nearly as fun as ours was yesterday.”

“Court!” Liza cried as she rushed into the room. “I read what happened on Twitter.”

Sergei’s nineteen-year-old daughter was one of my closest friends since she lived part-time with Em and Sergei and trained at our rink. As the three-time national champion and reigning world champion, she was the face of Team USA. Josh and I were under pressure to skate well, but it was nothing compared to the expectations on Liza’s petite shoulders.

“I thought your dad told you to stay off Twitter,” I said.

“I just took a little peek. Don’t tell him.” She lifted her finger to her lips. “So, you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just gonna look like I’m in a fight club. The ice is supposed to help, but I know how badly I bruise.”

“I remember when you got hit with the volleyball at the beach last summer. Your arm was like Barney purple,” Liza said.

“Then your skin will match your dress tomorrow. No one will even notice.” Josh rubbed my arm.

I laughed a little. “I love your silver linings.”

“You better be careful from now on.” Liza’s deep blue eyes crinkled with concern. “Don’t forget the Sochi Pact.”

“What’s the Sochi Pact?” Josh asked.

“That we’ll be roomies in the Village and compete in the team event,” I said.

The new figure skating team event had everyone excited because Team USA had a good chance to win a medal. If all the power players like Liza made it to Sochi, we would be strong in the men’s, ladies, and dance events. Pairs was the biggest question mark. Josh and I weren’t contenders for the podium in our individual competition, but if we were part of the team event I knew we could contribute solid points. It was something I’d tried not to think about too much — the possibility of winning an Olympic medal. I needed to stay focused on just making the team.

Liza’s phone beeped, and she glanced at the notification. “Kristin’s waiting for me upstairs. I came over here to meet with a sponsor.”

“Give her my apologies again for my mom’s unreasonable demands last night,” Josh said.

“My mom is a handful, but yours is in her own category.” Liza leaned over and gave me a gentle hug. “Take it easy. I’ll check in later.”

She hurried out as quickly as she’d come in, and I tore at the banana peel, careful not to mess up the manicure I’d gotten the previous afternoon.

“How do I get in on this pact?” Josh asked before he popped a grape into his mouth.

I patted his thigh. “You can’t be our roommate, Babe.”

“I can do everything else.”

I smiled. “You’re really already included because you’re my partner. Everything I do counts for both of us since we’re one entity.”

He gazed at me with the love I’d become so accustomed to seeing but never grew tired of witnessing. Taking my hand, he laced our fingers together and kissed my knuckles.

“We are,” he said. “An unstoppable, unbreakable entity.”

I rested my cheek against the back of the chair and stared into his eyes, seeking the confidence that had slipped away from me the past two days.
An unstoppable entity
, I repeated to myself, but my crappy practices continued to fuel my doubt.

Unstoppable
, I reminded myself again.

But I couldn’t help but think,
Unless I do something stupid to screw it all up.

Chapter Four

M
Y HEAVY EYELIDS STRUGGLED TO RISE
as Josh’s cheerful phone alarm sang louder and louder. I’d stared at the ceiling most of the night until I’d finally fallen asleep just a few hours ago.

Today is the day.

Short program day.

My stomach flip-flopped, anticipating the competition that was still hours away. Josh shut off the alarm, and he settled back beside me and kissed my mess of curls.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

I scooted upright against the pillows, and my ribs responded with a dull ache. “A little sore.”

Josh reached over to the nightstand and flipped on the lamp, and I turned sideways and pulled off my T-shirt.

“How does my back look?”

His hesitance to answer didn’t give me a good feeling. I looked over my shoulder at him, and his eyes were pained at what he saw.

“That bad?” I said quietly.

His fingertips grazed my skin, and he touched his lips to my shoulder. “I hate seeing you hurt.”

“It probably looks worse than it feels.”