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Belle joined her on the bench and said, “Hey, we’re good.” She put her hand on Chandler’s knee. “We’re ready for this, and we’re going to do great.”
“Will we? We put this all together at the last minute because my sister didn’t have faith in us as a pair, and then I tossed her out of our practice right when we probably needed her most.”
“Chandler, you don’t need Cat.” Belle bumped her shoulder playfully with her own. “You just need yourself, your talent, and your knowledge of skating. You need yourself. That’s all.”
“And you. You’re out there with me.”
“Yes, but you start with you. Don’t worry about what I’m doing. Just focus on yourself. My hand will be there when it’s supposed to be. Yours will be there, too. We’re good together. At skating, I mean, obviously.” She removed her hand from Chandler’s thigh. “We might not win tonight because we haven’t been partners for as long as the male-female pairs here, but we’re good enough to win anywhere with a little more training and time.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I do, or I wouldn’t be here.” Belle stood up. “Come on. We’re up.” She held out her hand for Chandler to take. “Big smiles, everybody,” she added with a wide, fake smile that made Chandler laugh.
When they took the ice, Belle held Chandler’s hand, and they skated to their starting spot.
“Remember something for me?” Belle said between tight lips.
“What?”
“Cat’s not here. Your mom’s not here. You’re doing this for you, okay?”
Chandler gave her a small nod. Then, the music started. They’d arranged their routine to build, so the first thirty seconds or so consisted of small movements and turns and tricks that led up to them both doing a double Axel. They landed them, and Belle reached out for Chandler’s hand. It was there. They turned and prepared for their first of two lifts. Timed right, Chandler was lifted into the air as high as Belle could get her, and Belle heard the surprised applause from people who probably were doubting her strength. She let Chandler down at the right moment, and it was time for their combination. Three jumps, which was the maximum they were allowed to do in a competition. They landed the first, turned into the second, landed it, and out of the third, Belle let out a deep breath. The second and more difficult lift was next, and it required her to put Chandler’s skate on her leg, which was easier for the guys to do because they wore pants in competitions. Women had only just been permitted to wear pants in competition, which Belle was glad for because she had a pair of black ones on now. When Chandler’s skate landed on her thigh, Belle held on to her and waited, counting in her head until it was time for Chandler to dismount and land back on the ice, turn, and they’d move into their next jumps.
It felt like they were out there for ten minutes, but it had only been a little over two when the song ended, and they stood in the middle of the rink with their arms out wide, bowing and waving at the stands.
No trip-ups, no falls, no mistimed grabs, or anything else that Belle could see them losing a ton of points for, so when they covered their blades and sat down, waiting for their scores, Belle was out of breath and optimistic.
“I can’t believe I just did that,” she said mostly to herself.
“You were great,” Chandler told her with a genuine smile on her face. “God, Belle, we were amazing. I had one moment where I thought my skate wasn’t going to hit the spot on your leg, but you lifted me and got me there, and it’s…” She shook her head. “That was the best I’ve skated in years.”
“I’m glad,” Belle replied.
Chandler then turned to look toward where their scores would appear in a few seconds, but Belle could only look at her. Chandler was beautiful, even with her now slightly disheveled tight bun and flushed skin; probably especially because of those things. That genuine smile on Chandler’s face was a rare occurrence, and Belle had only seen it a few times. Mostly, when they were kids and had been on this very ice skating together but not as partners. She hadn’t seen it much since reconnecting with Chandler, but when she had, it was beautiful. When it then fell from Chandler’s face, Belle worried she’d done something wrong, but she turned to see their scores appear on the board, and her own smile fell, too.
“What? Where did they get those deductions from?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Chandler replied and looked down at the ground beneath her feet.
“We’re in third. That’s not bad,” Belle said after their names were placed on the board under the first and second-place teams so far in the competition. “I expected worse, to be honest, but after that performance, I’m not sure why we’re not at least in second.”
“Because we’re two girls,” Chandler replied and stood up. “We should go.”
“You think they deducted points because I’m not a dude?” she asked and stood up, too.
“I think that, despite the fact that we gave them no reason to deduct that many points, that’s the only reason I can come up with. Got to love the traditionalists in our sport, huh? Old judges are probably not too happy with the new changes, and athletes like you and me suffer because of it.” Chandler walked out of the box, with Belle following close behind.
“We still have the long program tomorrow.”
“I know. Listen, I’m going to hang out here for a bit, talk to some people, and be around for the program, like I told them I would – or, I guess, how Cat told them I would. You can go back to the hotel, though. I’ll give you the car keys and get a ride there when I’m done here.”
“I don’t mind sticking around with you,” Belle replied.
“It’s all fundraising stuff. I’m sure it’ll bore you to tears. And I won’t be long, anyway. Just going to make the rounds, have a drink, and probably head back to my room for a bath and to not think about skating for, like, ten minutes of my life.”
“Okay. If you want me to go, I’ll go. I’ll head to the hotel. Will you message me when you’re in your room, though, so that I know you’re okay?”
Chandler looked at her in confusion and said, “Yeah, okay.”
