Page 100 of Hate You Most

Dakota’s mouth tilted slightly. “Now you’re getting it.”

Viktoriya smiled. “And if we lose?”

Dakota let out a quiet laugh. “Then we lose.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Viktoriya stared at her for a second longer, across the ice.

“But,” Dakota added after a beat, her tone shifting into something far too confident to be taken seriously. “We’re probably not going to lose. One of us is absolutely taking gold over some fourteen-year-old who thinks she’s the next big thing because no one’s ever told her to fix her axels.”

Viktoriya let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head slightly. “That’s incredibly generous of you,” she said dryly. “Assuming she even knows what axels are.”

Dakota glanced at her. “You’re right. That might be my wishful thinking.”

“Also,” Viktoriya continued, pushing off lightly, “If you fall on a triple axel in front of a child, I’m never letting you recover from it.”

Dakota scoffed. “Please. If I fall, it’s part of the choreography.”

Viktoriya’s lips curved faintly. “Of course it is. Very advanced. The judges will be stunned.”

“They won’t know what hit them.”

“They won’t know what happened,” Viktoriya corrected with a smile.

It was dangerous, Viktoriya knew that. She hadn't done an actual competition in years, even though her body seemed ready enough. This competition also removed everything she had been taught to rely on. The pressure and the perfection. The only thing remaining would be her passion and her love for a sport that didn't favor it. And Dakota Sanchez, as her competition. That alone made it worth it.

“Okay,” she said finally.

Dakota raised an eyebrow. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Viktoriya repeated.

For a moment, Dakota just looked at her, like she was trying to decide whether she meant it or not.

Then she nodded once.

Dakota pushed off, skating past her with a quick glance over her shoulder. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s see if you can still keep up, or if that head injury has finally made you a shitty skater.”

Viktoriya followed, closing the distance between them with ease before answering, “If I’m shitty skater now, it's only because I’m being considerate.”

Dakota snorted. “Considerate of what?”

Viktoriya tilted her head slightly, just enough to let the edge of a smile show. “Your ego. It seems awfully fragile lately.”

“Oh, fuck you!” Dakota laughed.

March 30th, 2023.

— Dakota Sanchez apartment. Detroit, Michigan.

They didn’t talk about getting back together.

There was no moment or conversation where they carefully outlined what this was or what it meant or what it would require from either of them. It was just a quiet and mutual understanding that settled between lingering touches and the way neither of them pulled away anymore.

Dakota grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close. Whispered the words into her ears that Viktoriya didn't know she needed to hear. “I love you. You know that, right?”