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Amber squeezed her eyes shut, panic zinging her like electric strikes. "I . . . I have plans with friends tonight."
Her mother paused, the silence on the other end of the line feeling like judgement. "Change them."
It was amazing how quickly her mother's tone could go from excited to stern. Normally, Amber would toe the line, do whatever her mother told her to.
But she wouldn't, couldn't change her plans. "I can't, Mom. How about we meet tomorrow? I'm sure you're exhausted from your flight. Have a nice dinner at the hotel and I'll text you after practice tomorrow?"
"Excuse me?"
"I . . . I have to go now. I'll talk to you in the morning. Love you, Mom. Bye."
She ended the call and stared down at her phone, knowing she'd get a huge lecture tomorrow from her mother. In fact, her mother would likely call her back right away.
She waited for a full minute, but the call didn't come.
Huh. Maybe standing up for herself wouldn't be so hard after all. Maybe her mother would come around.
She laughed. Yeah, right. And tomorrow pigs would sprout wings.
She tucked her phone in her bag, grabbed her coat and walked out the door.
EIGHTEEN
AMBER HADN'T EXPECTED SUCH A BIG GROUP WHEN she gathered with everyone at the main lobby. Then again, she'd never won a gold medal before. It was a big damn deal and they had a right to celebrate.
It was more than the US skating team joining them. Obviously word had gotten out and there were Canadians, Russians, some French and Italians, as well as US athletes from other disciplines. Rory told her they had to rent a bus to take them down the mountain.
She looked around, searching their group for Will. So far, she hadn't spotted him.
"Looking for your boyfriend?" Tia asked.
Her lips tipped into a smile. "Girl, you are way too observant. And I was looking for Brandon."
Tia smiled. "Who is standing two feet away from you."
Dammit. "Okay, so I was looking for--"
"Me?"
She flipped around to see Will standing behind her.
"Oh. Hey, Will."
"Thought so," Tia said, giving her a knowing smile.
Amber cast a grin at Tia. "Stop being so smart. And so . . . I don't know . . . smart."
Tia laughed, then went over to talk to Rory, who'd just walked up to join the group.
"What was that all about?"
"It was about teenagers who see everything."
"I see. Maybe."
They all piled into the bus. They ended up at the Village Taphouse in west Vancouver. It was already crowded, but they were probably prepared for some of the athletes to descend on them, because they were more than gracious about setting up a table for the party of twenty.
Amber had told Tia if she was coming with them, she'd have to stick by Amber's side for the night.
"This is so exciting," Tia said. "I thought I'd be stuck in the village the entire time."
"It is fun to get out of there," Amber said.
She noticed when they were seated that Rory made sure to grab a seat on Tia's other side, which was fine with Amber as long as they didn't disappear. Then again, Tia was entitled to have a little fun, and since she was close enough to eighteen, as long as they didn't hop into a hotel room, what did it matter?
She was still going to keep an eye on the two of them, though.
"Chaperoning?" Will asked as he bent to whisper in her ear.
"Yes. And taking my duties very seriously."
He smiled. "I don't think they can get into too much trouble in here."
"Really. And did you get into any kind of trouble when you were seventeen?"
He gave her a hot smile. "Define trouble."
She shook her head. "Exactly. So I'll be keeping an eye on her."
The restaurant was a great place with incredible ambiance. Music was playing, and there were many TV screens and pool tables. They settled into their table--or tables, really--and everyone ordered drinks. Amber and Will both selected beers. Tia decided on a sparkling water. They looked over the menu.
Amber chose the Kung Pao Noodle Bowl and Will ordered the Backyard Bacon and Cheese Burger. She'd also thought about having that, but the noodle bowl had caught her eye almost immediately, and she couldn't waver.
"I might have to take a taste of your burger," she said to Will.
His eyes gleamed. "You can definitely put your mouth on anything that is mine."
She shook her head. "Such a man."
"Why, thanks, babe."
She looked over at Tia, who was engaged--deeply engaged--in conversation with Rory. But since everyone's hands were on the table, it was all good. Talking wouldn't get anyone in trouble.
"How did it feel, standing on that podium tonight?"
She looked up at Will. "You've been on the podium before. You know what it feels like."
"I've been on the podium for silver. You stood center and got gold draped over you. That had to feel special."
"It did. Even more so because the team won the medal. That was a first for me. It was incredible standing up there with my teammates. And you definitely know how that feels."
"True. It's pretty amazing."
"A once in a lifetime feeling," Brandon said, chiming in from across the table. "As individual skaters, we spend so much time chasing personal glory. I feel so privileged to have been involved in this as a team."
Sergei sat next to him and nodded. "We don't often have the chance to perform with our countrymen. It was exciting and humbling. And we won a medal. Russia will be proud."
Brandon beamed a smile. "You skated beautifully."
"So did you," Sergei said.
Amber slanted her gaze toward Will, who smiled knowingly at her. It was obvious that Sergei and Brandon were into each other. They were the same age, both incredibly good-looking, as well as talented. Since both of them were individual figure skaters, they had a lot in common. She was glad Sergei was able to come out with them tonight. She'd known Brandon for a lot of years, since they often competed at the same events. Though this was the first time she'd been able to spend time with him and really get to know him. He was personable and friendly and always eager to give advice to fellow skaters.
Of course, with very few exceptions, she could say that about almost all of her fellow skaters.
She'd missed out on so much by isolating herself all these years.
Their dinner arrived and they all ate while listening to Telisa and Robbie tell them about how they met and fell in love.
"I was paired with another skater when I first started out skating competitively," Telisa said. "The problem was, I couldn't stand him. He was arrogant, always out for his own glory, and we fought all the time. It showed in our performance. You can't be graded high when you're glaring hate at each other for four minutes."
Will grinned. "I dunno. It works for me."
Telisa laughed. "That helps you score points. For figure skating pairs? Not so much."
"So what did you do?" Tia asked. "It's not like you can abruptly change your partner when you're in the middle of performance season."
"I couldn't. I had to suck it up through the entire season. But at the end of the season I told my parents--I was your age at the time, Tia--that either we changed partners, or I was finished skating."
"It was that bad?" Sergei asked.
"It was awful. I was losing weight, crying all the time. It had been my dream to skate, and finding the right partner is everything when you're a pairs skater."
"It really is," Amaryllis said, looking over adoringly at her partner, Andrew. "We were so lucky to find each other."
Amber couldn't imagine how awful that must have been. She sent up a mental thank-you to the heavens that she'd never had to deal with that level of mental anguish.
"So what did you do?" Rory asked.
"My parents agreed."
Robbie put his arm around her. "And then I came into her life."
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Telisa looked over at Robbie and smiled. "Yes, you did."
"And it was love at first sight?"
Robbie laughed. "Not exactly. She was so burned by her first partner that trust was a big issue for her. Let's just say she put me through my paces in the beginning."
"I really did," Telisa said. "I was mean to him. I didn't trust him and I was certain he was going to be as bad as my previous partner."
"Really?" Brandon asked.
"Really." Telisa shrugged. "I had issues and some serious baggage. But Robbie refused to put up with my shit. He told me he was a damn good partner, and after six months together he said if I didn't start putting all my trust in him, he was gone."
Amber blinked. "Wow."
"Yeah, I was harsh on her," Robbie said. "She'll be the first to admit she needed the wake-up call."
"I did," Telisa said. "Our first skate after that went really well. It went so well, in fact, that Robbie kissed me when it was over."
Robbie slanted the group a triumphant smile. "It was one hell of a kiss. I intended for it to be an 'I told you so' kind of kiss. But it ended up a 'Whoa, where did all these feelings come from?' kind of kiss."
Telisa nodded. "After that, our skating had so much emotion, so much passion. All I'd been looking for was a great skating partner. I found so much more. Robbie was the best thing that ever happened to me. Not only in my skating life, but in my personal life as well. I don't know what I'd do without him."
Robbie leaned over and brushed his lips across hers. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Telisa said.
Robbie smiled at her, then looked at everyone else. "And we got married last year."
Tia pressed her hand to her heart. "That's so incredibly romantic."
"It truly is," Amber said. "I'm so happy for both of you."
"Thank you," Telisa said.
"Okay, enough of this love stuff," Sergei said. "Now we kick your asses in pool."
Will laughed. "I'm up for that. How about you, Amber?"
"You may not know this, but I happen to be exceptionally good at pool."
Will leaned back and searched her face. "I think you're lying."
She shrugged and looked down to inspect her manicure. "I guess you could team up with someone else. But I wouldn't advise it."
She waited while he thought about it.
"Okay, you're with me."
