Taking the Ice (Ice Series Book 3) (16 page)

The announcer read the score, and raucous cheers burst out behind us. We’d earned our personal best score ever! Liza choked me with a screeching hug, and Josh and I looped our arms around each other as we led the group backstage. I wanted a minute alone with him, but we got pulled toward the line of media who needed sound bites.

After we answered questions from journalists from around the world, we learned our performance had tightened the standings, and we were in a virtual tie with Canada and France. We changed out of our costumes and finally found some private space near the locker rooms, away from the competition bustle still going strong.

Josh slipped his hands inside the collar of my jacket, and his fingertips tickled the nape of my neck. I pressed up on the toes of my flats and sealed our lips together in a blissful kiss.

“So, this really happened tonight?” I said.

He smiled. “The Daruma didn’t let us down.”

“I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about that thing anymore.”

“We did more than reach our goal. We killed it and skated the perfect program.”

“Is that how you envisioned it when you drew it up?”

“It was so much better,” he said, his thumbs lightly skimming my jaw. “On paper I couldn’t feel your incredible energy.”

I linked my hands behind his back to draw him closer. “I’ve never felt that confident in a competitive program before. I wasn’t thinking about anything. I was just
feeling
. It was both calming and exhilarating if that makes any sense.”

His smile grew wider. “I know exactly what you mean.”

“And now tomorrow we might become Olympic medalists.
Olympic medalists.
”

“I’m still trying to process that possibility.”

“I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but I think this moment calls for it more than any other.
What is this life?
”

****

I
CLUTCHED MY MINIATURE
American flag in my fist and crossed my legs to stop them from jiggling. Watching my friends compete was more nerve-wracking than getting out there and skating myself. Josh and I sat side by side in the crowded USA box, where we’d just cheered on our teammates in the men’s free skate. The next event was the ladies’ free skate followed by the free dance. We’d built a small lead over Canada and France and could solidify our position on the podium in the ladies’ event, so Liza’s performance was going to be pivotal.

Roxanne and Evan came out from backstage, searching our crammed benches for a spot to sit. I scooted over to make room, and Roxanne looked at me like I had a contagious disease. She reluctantly took a seat beside me and stared straight ahead at the ice. She hadn’t said a word to me since we’d been in Sochi.

“You know, we all have the same goal here,” I said. “We’re all on the same team.”

She gave me major side eye. “Your ice princess friend better come through.”

Oh, no ma’am. You are not going to talk trash about Liza.

“Like you did when you fell on your ass twice?” I said.

Her head whipped in my direction. “You were probably jumping up and down when that happened.”

“Actually, I was defending you to my even more annoying future mother-in-law.”

“Yeah, she’s so annoying to you. I know she’s the one who talked the fed into subbing you in.”

I couldn’t tell her Liza had been our lobbyist or she’d call her something much worse than “ice princess.”

“I’m a firm believer in karma,” I said. “That’s all I’m going to say.”

My ex-boyfriend Kyle sat in front of us, and I tapped him on the shoulder and asked if we could switch seats. He shrugged and stood, and I took Josh’s hand and brought him down to the lower bench with me. I was already wound up enough without listening to Roxanne make rude comments during Liza’s skate.

Sergei stood at the boards with Liza, giving her the encouraging smile I knew so well. She looked gorgeous in her slate blue dress, her raven hair pinned up in a twist. The dress was low on the sparkle factor, which was perfect for the soft and ethereal feel of her program.

The announcer called her name, and I cheered louder than anyone in the building, smacking my hands together and yelling, “Go, Liza!” Josh whistled between his fingers and then leaned forward, his elbows on his thighs. I suspected he felt just as nervous as I did — probably more because he’d choreographed Liza’s long program. Having his work displayed by the best skater in the world on the sport’s biggest stage was going to take his career to an entirely new level.

The music of Debussy began, and Liza floated across the ice, her posture as strong as that of a ballerina. There was nothing dainty about her athleticism, though. She picked into the ice for her first combination, the triple Lutz-triple toe loop, and she sprang into the air as high as some of the guys did on their jumps. Her landings couldn’t be smoother, and I whooped and rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans.

Josh stared intensely at the ice, and his head bobbed up and down as if he was doing the steps along with Liza. I hooked my arm through his and tried to relax with the beautiful music, but my jumpy knees wouldn’t stay still. Liza skated toward our end of the rink, and she pushed off from the ice for the triple loop. I sucked in a breath as soon as she went up. Her body was tilted
way
off axis. She came down with the same lean and tumbled to the ice.

Roxanne cursed quietly behind me, and I held on tighter to Josh, both to keep me from slapping her and to steady my now heart-attack-level pulse. Liza settled right back into the choreography, and she proved her champion status by doing a textbook double Axel.

The rest of her jumps came just as easily, and I leapt from the bench the second she spun to a stop at center ice. We all piled out of the box, cheering our way over to the kiss and cry to wait for her. After she donned her skate guards and got a big hug from Sergei, I ran up to her and flung my arms around her as she had done to me.

“You were so awesome.”

“The stupid loop,” she mumbled.

“You dominated everything else. You did your job and then some.”

We stepped into the kiss and cry, and Josh and I positioned ourselves right behind her as the judges finished punching in their scores. Liza needed to finish first to give us enough points for the team silver medal. I remembered the previous competitor’s score and attempted to do the necessary math in my head, but I couldn’t focus. I was on sensory overload with the buzz of the crowd and the bright lights and the jitters that had returned. It was taking an awfully long time for the score.

The announcer’s voice quieted the noise, and I watched the video board closely. She read the numbers, and I grabbed Josh’s hand as she paused before giving us the placement.
Come on, come on…

“She is in first place,” the announcer boomed. “Team USA is currently in second place.”

Screams and shouts of glee exploded from all of us. Amidst the chaos of hugs and high-fives I even hugged Roxanne. Josh and I embraced and looked at each other with disbelief, both of us sputtering things like “This is crazy!” and “I can’t believe this!” We had a big enough lead over Team Canada that they wouldn’t be able to surpass us in the ice dance event. We were the silver medalists.
Olympic silver medalists.

Liza was smiling but not nearly as exuberantly as the others, and I knew she was still mad at herself for the missed jump. I put my arm across her shoulders and walked with her ahead of everyone as we headed backstage.

“This was your practice run. You’re going to be even more amazing for your individual event.”

“That’s almost word for word what my dad said. I think you’ve been his student for too long.” She elbowed my side.

She had to join the media circus so we split up, and I noticed Josh looking serious as he stared at his phone.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“My mom texted me, asking to meet her upstairs.”

We hadn’t heard from Mrs. Tucker since she’d stormed out of the Family House. Not even after we’d skated. I wasn’t sure if she’d taken my advice to the extreme and had hopped on a plane back to California.

“I’m going to apologize to her,” I said.

“You don’t have to. What you said was true.”

“I know, but I could’ve said it a better way.”

He shot her back a quick reply, and we left the restricted area and entered the concourse of the arena. Spectators crowded the concession stands, trying to grab snacks before the free dance started. We found Mrs. Tucker away from the mob, standing near one of the exits. I steeled myself for God knew what she was going to say to me.

“Hey,” Josh said.

“I was going to text you last night, but I knew you would be busy with media. Frankly, I was expecting to hear from one or both of you first.” She glared at me. “With an apology.”

“I am sorry about the other night,” I said. “I should’ve tried to have a conversation with you instead of attacking you.”

“You shouldn’t have said anything at all,” she snapped.

“Yes, she should have,” Josh said. “I agree with all of it.”

Mrs. Tucker lifted her chin, and her eyes bore the same angry look she’d had with me. “You’re saying you don’t want me here? You don’t want me in your life?”

“If you’re not here for the right reasons, then no. I don’t.”

“What do you consider the right reasons?”

Josh pinched the bridge of his nose. “If you have to ask, then this discussion is pointless.”

“I am your mother. What other reason do I need to be here?”

I clamped my lips together, itching to enlighten her. But I had to let Josh handle this.

“It has to be about more than a title,” he said. “There has to be some meaningful substance behind it.”

Mrs. Tucker folded her arms and shook her head. “After everything I gave you, all the opportunities—“

“When I said substance, I didn’t mean material things. You don’t—” Josh let out a frustrated breath. “You just don’t understand, and I don’t know that you ever will.”

My phone vibrated in my jacket pocket, and I debated whether I should check it. If the text was from someone in the federation, it could be important.

I pulled it from my jacket and heard a quiet huff from Mrs. Tucker. I quickly read the text and hid the phone again.

“Marni said they need us downstairs,” I said to Josh.

“We can continue this later,” Mrs. Tucker said.

Josh looked at her for a long minute, resignation settling in his eyes, and he took a small step backward. “There’s nothing to continue. I’ve said everything I needed to.”

“So that’s it. You’re just dismissing me.”

“It’s up to you where we go from here.”

He palmed the small of my back, and I followed his lead. We fought the crowd to get to the security checkpoint, and once we were backstage, I held him up before we met up with our teammates.

“You okay?”

He nodded and raked his hand through his hair. “I feel kinda relieved. I’m glad it’s all out there.”

“It really is up to her whether you can ever have a real relationship.”

“I don’t see the point in going on like we have been. It’s so meaningless. Steph has started distancing herself from her, too. She just doesn’t want to deal with it anymore, and I feel the same way.”

“I’m glad you and Steph have gotten closer these past few years.”

“Me too.” He cupped my shoulders and stared into my eyes. “And she’s not the only family I have. I’ve got you and Mrs. Cassar and your parents and even Em and Sergei. I couldn’t ask for more.”

I smiled and wrapped him in my arms. I couldn’t ask for more either.

****

T
WENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER,
I still had a hard time believing I was an Olympic medalist. The Sochi organizers had bucked tradition and weren’t giving out medals at the ice arena, so we’d had to wait a full day to receive our hardware at the nightly ceremony in Olympic Park. Twenty thousand people packed the Medals Plaza, and I stood with my eight teammates just offstage, waiting for the regal music to begin. We all looked super sharp in our silver puffy jackets with the Team USA logo.

“This has been the longest day in the history of days,” I joked.

“You’re dying to get your hands on that bling,” Josh said.

“What can I say? I love pretty, shiny things.”

We got the cue to line up for our entrance, so we situated ourselves with Liza at the front of our group. The music began, and chills shot through me. I bounced on the heels of my sneakers, and behind me Josh squeezed my waist. I turned and flashed him a huge grin.

We walked out onto the stage, and the sea of people went bananas, mostly because Team Russia was marching out as the champions. Canada followed them as the bronze medalists, and all of us stopped behind our respective steps on the podium.

Canada received their medals first, and then the attention shifted to us. The eight of us clasped hands and looked at each other, and we all stepped up onto the podium at the same time, raising our arms in celebration. My chills multiplied as the crowd gave us lots of love. I spied a number of American flags and signs of support in the throng.

The presenters went down the line, bestowing the medals, and my throat constricted as my name was announced. I bent forward and accepted the ribbon around my neck, marveling at how heavy the medal was. While Josh received his, I placed the large silver disc in my palm and lifted it to my lips. Josh did the same, and we couldn’t stop smiling at each other.

“This is insane.” He shook his head.

“I’m never taking this off,” I said. “I’m just gonna wear it like jewelry.”

Liza leaned forward and caught my eye, and she gave me a double thumbs-up. I tapped my heart and pointed to her, hoping she knew how incredibly grateful I was that she’d made this happen for us.

After Russia was adorned with their gold medals, everyone silenced for the raising of the flags and the Russian national anthem. I watched the Stars and Stripes ascend into the dark night, the Olympic flame burning brightly behind it, and I trembled with excitement and happiness and pride. Tears collected in my eyes and dripped down my cheeks. This was another moment I wanted to burn into my memory and relive over and over the rest of my life.