Taking the Ice (Ice Series Book 3) Page 7

  Josh and I glided separately around the rink as Ellie Goulding’s “Burn” played over the sound system. There was no way I wouldn’t hear Roxanne and Evan’s score when it was announced, no matter how hard I willed myself to tune it out. I just had to do my job and remember what Em and Sergei had preached.

  Just skate.

  The music quieted, and I quickened my strokes, knowing what was coming. The announcer read the score, the very large score, and the tightness in my stomach curled into knots.

  Holy crap, they must’ve landed the quad and everything else.

  I’d never expected to hear a number that big. It completely changed the game. We were down to fighting for second place and the one remaining spot on the team. My legs quivered, and I glanced at Josh as he skated to my side and took my hand.

  He looked stunned, too.

  Double holy crap.

  His fingers squeezed mine with added pressure as he guided me over to Em and Sergei. At least they were still smiling and didn’t seem fazed.

  “Just like the warm-up,” Em said. “Light and easy.”

  I closed my eyes and tried to believe it could be that simple. Heart, please stop beating so fast. Be calm!

  The crowd was anything but calm. Their noise rang so loudly I couldn’t hear what Sergei said as Josh and I skated away. I’d looked forward to feeding off the crazy energy, but it was just making me shakier. I didn’t feel in control of my body. Not the optimal situation when about to start a four-minute program.

  We moved into our opening pose, standing back to back at center ice, and my heart beat up into my throat. I took a long swallow, but I couldn’t push down the panicky sensation.

  You gotta get it together NOW.

  Right on cue, “Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3” began, and I was thankful our choreography didn’t start until a few beats into the song. I breathed along with the slow piano notes and then stretched my right arm out to the side. Josh mimicked me, and we joined hands and turned to skate side by side.

  Our contemporary dance movement took us across the ice and into the triple twist, where Josh’s normally steady hands fumbled my waist on the catch. I sucked in a breath and exhaled when he set me down. His face was frozen with surprise, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was. If we couldn’t execute our money element perfectly, how were we going to get through the hard stuff?

  The hardest happened to be next, so I dialed up the image of the perfect Salchow I’d done in the warm-up. Don’t think. Just jump.

  My body had memorized how to do the Salchow, but my limbs were so freaking jittery. Josh and I spaced apart to prepare for the setup, and I struggled to gain control of my nerves. With a quick push off the edge of my left blade, I sprang upward and pulled my arms in to rotate. I immediately sensed myself off axis and tried to correct my position, but I landed with a forward tilt, all my momentum threatening to take me down in a face-plant. I quickly shot my hand out and palmed the ice to brace myself and keep my body upright.

  Next to me Josh was doing the same thing, and I marveled at our unison even when making mistakes. I doubted the judges would be as impressed. We couldn’t have any more glaring errors or—

  STOP. You know what you have to do.

  I thought of our Daruma and keeping our focus trained on a positive outcome. Regardless of how rattled we felt, we had to give every drop of effort we had in our bodies. There could be no regrets.

  Josh angled into me as we glided on a deep curve, and I said, “We’re in this.”

  He held my gaze and gave me a quick nod.

  We only had a few seconds to set up for the throw triple flip, so I hurried to mentally turn the page. Josh assisted me into the air, and I came down unsteadily on my right blade. I still hadn’t been able to shake the jitters, but I wasn’t going to let them dominate me. I dug into the ice and rode the landing as if it had been the most awesomely-executed throw we’d ever done.

  I wanted to settle into the beautiful choreography Josh had created, but my mind was motoring with thoughts of each upcoming element. I couldn’t rely on my anxiety-riddled body to handle matters on its own. I was going to have to think and grit my way through everything.

  We muscled through the side-by-side triple toe-double toe combination with sticky landings but no hands down, and we carried that success into our star lift. I breathed a little easier, knowing we were halfway home, but I couldn’t let myself relax too much. Between two more lifts, we had another difficult throw ahead — the triple loop.

  Our speed increased as we sailed through the carry lift, and Josh dropped me gently into his arms before setting my feet on the ice. His eyes held the same determination I felt, giving me an extra pump of confidence for the throw. He swung me down in a pull-through motion and then stepped behind me, holding my hips for the take-off. As he tossed me upward, I sensed I was leaning again, just like on the Salchow. A shot of fear hit me, and I fought to shift my weight to my right side as I twisted three times. When my blade connected with the ice, I stretched my arms out and clenched every muscle, willing myself not to fall over. The audience erupted with cheers, and I let out the long breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

  We stroked past Em and Sergei, who clapped just as hard as the crowd, and we knocked out our final lift to even louder applause. The music slowed, nearing the end of the program, and Josh pulled me close for our last element, the pair combination spin. His hands spanned my waist, and I arched backward in a layback position. The bright lights above whirled in a blur as we etched circles onto the ice. We changed positions three times and finished with Josh standing behind me, his arms wrapped around my shoulders. The final, quiet orchestral beat echoed through the arena.

  Everyone in the stands jumped up, and gifts of all shapes and sizes flew from their hands onto the ice. Josh pressed me to his chest, and tears stung my eyes. We hadn’t been perfect, but we had gutted out every second of the program. We’d given it more than our all.

  I spun around, and Josh bent his forehead to mine. Our heartbeats and our breathing slowed together.

  “We fought for that,” he said.

  I touched his face with both hands, and he gave me a soft kiss. We had to take our bows, but I wanted to make this moment last just a little longer. Our fate was still very much uncertain, and this could be the last time we’d stand on competition ice together. The tears that had welled in my eyes trickled down my cheeks. How had four years passed so quickly?

  Josh held fast to me, too, but we eventually stepped apart to acknowledge the crowd’s love. As we skated to the boards, I picked up a huge stuffed Minnie Mouse and looked up into the seats. Quinn and Alex were standing at the bottom of an aisle, waving frantically at us. I nudged Josh, and we went over and swallowed them in a group hug.

  “You got our Minnie!” Quinn said.

  “I love her.” I cradled the stuffie in my arms. “And I love you guys.”

  I blew them kisses as we headed for Em and Sergei, and Em embraced us before we could make it off the ice.

  “That was the hardest program I’ve ever done,” I said.

  “I could see you struggling, but you didn’t give in,” Em said. “I’ve never been more proud of you.”

  The four of us crammed onto the blue bench in the kiss and cry, and I reached for the box of Puffs, so fittingly a sponsor of the event. I blotted my face with a tissue and stored it inside my fist. No doubt I was going to need it in a minute. Whether I’d be crying tears of joy or disappointment was the heavy question.

  Josh slipped his fingers between mine, and I rested my head on his shoulder. I didn’t know how anyone other than Roxanne and Evan had skated, so anything could happen. My pulse had come down after our performance but was off to the races again. I’d suffered through this torturous wait so many times in my career, but it had never been as agonizing as this.

  “And now the scores for Courtney Carlton and Joshua Tucker.”

  I lifted my head, and Sergei laid his arm acro
ss my shoulders and patted Josh on the back. My heart threatened to beat right out of my chest.

  “The factored score for their free skate — one hundred thirty-three point two four.”

  A few random screams punctuated the silence, and I looked around at the crowd. Had some of our fans done the math already? Or were those screams for another team?

  “Their total score — one hundred ninety-eight point four nine.”

  I stopped breathing. Was it enough? Had we done it?

  “They are currently in second place.”

  The building exploded with a deafening roar and Josh yelled, “YES!” louder than I’d ever heard him speak.

  He threw himself around me, and I tried to find my voice, but all that came out was a squeak. I was too shocked to move, to cry, to smile. There was so much noise and pandemonium around me, but everything inside me was eerily still and quiet. I couldn’t believe I’d finally done it.

  I was on the Olympic team.

  Josh pulled back and locked his eyes on mine. “We’re going to Sochi, Court.”

  I nodded weakly and whispered, “This is really happening?”

  He grinned and pressed our lips together, and I felt the realness in the joy of his kiss. A cry of elation broke through my shock and burst from my mouth.

  Em and Sergei were standing and embracing each other, and I hopped up to hug both of them. One look at their wet eyes was all I needed to fall apart. My laughter became tears, and I clung to the two people who had been by my side from the beginning. I’d spent more time with them than my own family, and they’d taught me just as much about life and love as they had about skating. I could never thank them enough for all they’d given me.

  “It’s been a long road.” Sergei’s voice wavered. “And you’ve made us proud every step of the way.”

  “I love you both so much,” I croaked.

  Em sniffled. “We love you, too.”

  Josh joined our group lovefest, and we continued it backstage. Congratulations poured in from our competitors, the last being a half-hearted attempt from Roxanne. Her words didn’t exactly match the disappointment on her face. I was flying too high to let her annoy me, but what was her problem? Wasn’t it enough that they had beaten us?

  My cheeks hurt from smiling as we answered questions and posed for photos at the press conference. Our official appointment to the Olympic team wouldn’t come until tomorrow after the federation held its selection meeting, but we’d proven ourselves enough internationally the past few years to know we were a lock.

  We had to wait for the ice dance event to conclude before our medal ceremony could begin, so I finally had a chance to check my phone. I skimmed through the multitude of texts and missed calls and saw one I needed to return immediately.

  Liza picked up after one ring. “You’re in!” she shouted.

  “Sochi Pact, baby!”

  “Oh my God, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown when you were skating. I was literally checking my phone up until the second I had to get on the ice for my warm-up at the convention center. Every time you landed something, Chris would text me ‘YES,’ and when he wrote ‘second place’ I started jumping up and down.”

  I laughed. “Did you have a good warm-up?”

  “The best! I was so fired up from the news that I slayed everything. I am so ready for tonight.”

  “I’m glad we could inspire you.”

  “I was feeling really nervous before but not anymore.” She sounded out of breath from all the excitement, and she paused for a second. “This is our year, Court.”

  Josh walked up behind me and kissed my shoulder, and I looked up into his smiling eyes.

  “Finally.”

  Chapter Eight

  “TO OUR OLYMPIANS, COURTNEY AND JOSHUA.” Mrs. Cassar raised her glass of champagne. “May you have the time of your life in Sochi!”

  All of us at the large table lifted our glasses and clinked them together. We’d taken over the back of the hotel’s pub with our late-night celebration. Liza had won gold an hour earlier but was hung up at the arena doing media, so we’d had to hold our party without her. Em, Sergei, and the twins had joined us along with our families and Mrs. Cassar.

  Quinn and Alex reached across the table to tap their apple juice to my champagne, and our glasses made a loud chime.

  “Are you excited to go to Russia again?” I asked them.

  They nodded their blond heads in tandem.

  “Our babushka and dedushka are gonna be there,” Alex said.

  Sergei’s parents still lived in Moscow, and they usually only saw Liza and the twins once a year.

  “I bet they can’t wait to see your cute little faces.” I pinched their cheeks.

  “Coco,” Quinn whined and backed away. “We’re not babies.”

  “Then how come you still call me Coco?”

  They’d started doing it when they were learning to talk and couldn’t say my name. I loved it but couldn’t resist ribbing them about it.

  “Because…” Quinn looked at her brother.

  “If you hear Coco you know it’s us calling you,” Alex finished.

  “It’s our special nickname for you,” Quinn said.

  “Aww, well I hope you never stop using it, then.”

  Josh stretched his arm across the back of my chair. “I’m so glad we’re not one of those couples that has cutesy nicknames for each other.”

  “Like Cupcake and Honey Bun?”

  He laughed. “I love how your mind immediately went to dessert-themed names.”

  “That’s because I’ve been ready for a huge piece of Boston Cream Pie ever since I saw it on the menu.”

  He leaned in close to me. “I was hoping we could skip dessert.”

  The intention in his soft voice lit me up inside, and I rubbed his thigh under the table.

  “Maybe we can get it to go,” I said.

  One corner of his mouth curled up, and he tickled the nape of my neck. “Fun with chocolate.”

  I grinned. “I love how your mind works, too.”

  “I’d also like to make a toast,” Mrs. Tucker announced.

  My smile weakened, and I hesitantly picked up my glass, not knowing what to expect from the woman who never handed out well-wishes.

  “To Courtney and Josh. May you have greater success in Sochi.”

  It took all my restraint not to roll my eyes. Her toast was her not-so-subtle way of expressing her displeasure that we hadn’t won the title. I’d heard her muttering about it to Josh’s dad when we’d arrived at the restaurant.

  Everyone raised their glasses and drank, but Mrs. Cassar stared down Mrs. Tucker. “The Olympics are about more than results. These two have waited a lifetime to have this experience together.”

  “It’s a competition, is it not? Results are important,” Mrs. Tucker said.

  “If they enjoy themselves, the results will come,” Mrs. Cassar countered.

  I couldn’t let the volley across the table continue. This was a celebration fourteen years in the making, and Josh’s mom was not going to ruin it.

  “Josh and I know we can skate better than we did this week, and we plan to do that in Russia. We also plan to have fun every moment we’re there.”

  We hadn’t had time to talk about our strategy at the Olympics since we were still in the afterglow of making the team, but I felt confident Josh would agree with me.

  He squeezed my shoulder, confirming his agreement. “And we’re not going to put any pressure on ourselves.”

  “What about the team event?” Mrs. Tucker asked. “You won’t be able to avoid pressure there.”

  “We don’t even know yet if we’ll be picked to be in it,” Josh said.

  I grabbed my glass and swigged the remainder of my drink. If Mrs. Tucker made one more snarky comment, I wasn’t going to be able to keep my mouth shut.

  “You’d better be in it,” she said. “It’s your only chance at a medal.”

  No more!

&nb
sp; “You know what? We’ve—“ I started, but Sergei cut me off.

  “There will be plenty of time to address the team event later. Courtney and Josh have worked a very long time for this day, so nothing is going to interrupt this party.” He picked up the bottle of champagne and topped off Mrs. Tucker’s glass.

  “Here, here,” Mrs. Cassar said.

  I gave Sergei a little smile of thanks for saving me from causing an ugly scene. I shouldn’t let anything Josh’s mom said irritate me. This was our night, our party, our time to feel nothing but complete ecstasy. We’d achieved our goal, dammit. First place, second place… it didn’t matter. We were in.

  “Sergei, can you give us some Russian lessons before the trip?” Dad asked.

  “We can teach you,” Quinn said. “We know all the letters and numbers.”

  She and Alex began reciting the Russian alphabet, and Emily said, “Not so loud. The whole restaurant doesn’t need a lesson.”

  Dad chuckled. “Sounds like we have our tour guides lined up.”

  “I really wish I was going,” Stephanie said. “I bet there will be killer parties every night.”

  “You’re sorrier about missing the parties than not seeing us skate?” Josh asked with a teasing smile.

  “That’s not what I said. I’d love to see my beautiful creations in action on Olympic ice. And the people wearing them, of course.”

  The waitress delivered our dinner, and I devoured every last crumb on my plate. My stomach had been so unsettled that I hadn’t enjoyed a meal all week. Sergei saved me again by keeping Josh’s parents occupied with small talk, so Mrs. Tucker didn’t have time to spread her sourness all over us.

  Mrs. Cassar insisted we finish off our final bottle of champagne before we left, so Josh and I ate our dessert with the group. Neither of us were big drinkers, so we were both smiling like fools throughout dinner, and Josh’s cheeks had turned a rosy color. When the party finally broke up, he and I raced ahead of everyone to the elevators and stumbled inside.

  The doors closed, and Josh backed me against the wall, his hands on my hips. He pressed his lips to mine, and I gasped into his mouth. All the blood rushed from my head, giving me a dizzying thrill. I wound my arms around Josh and anchored us together.