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"What's taking so long?" I asked.
"I do not know," he said under his breath. Kova glanced at his watch then back at the judges. His eyes were fixated on them.
Just then, one of the judges stood. I drew in a lungful of air and held it as she quickly walked up the stairs to the technical committee. She was running out of time.
Chills pebbled down my arms as I anxiously waited, and waited, and waited.
"What does this mean?" I asked Kova. He would know more than me. When he didn't respond, I glanced over my shoulder at him and paled.
His face grim, defeat marked his handsome features. The only time I'd ever seen that look on him was when he’d lacerated my heart with the news of his secret marriage.
His look said it all.
His gaze never left the new group of judges. Time moved so slowly. My heart plummeted to my stomach and I looked back up the stairs. There were three people. Two shook their heads and one nodded.
Hope was a distant dream and my faith was slipping through my fingers…until the crowd erupted.
I spun around to face the screen and searched for my score. Shock ricocheted through me and my lips parted.
I was one-tenth of a point ahead, and back in first place. One-freaking-tenth.
This couldn't be real.
I reached blindly for Kova, but he was already reaching for me. He tugged me to him and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, hoisting me up. He gave me the biggest hug as cameras flashed around us. I squeezed him tight, holding back the tears.
He put me down. Kova, like all coaches when something profound like this happened, alternated between pressing a kiss to the top of my head and congratulating me.
"How?" I asked, my voice muffled against his chest.
Kova reared back with a smile bigger than I’d ever seen before. "The judges made a huge mistake. I knew they did and acted quickly. It looks like you got the difficulty points, and possibly some for execution."
My brows rose, my vision blurred. I sniffled through a smile. Only by the skin of my teeth was I in first place. It was too bad reviewing routines via television weren't permitted in general.
"Really?"
"Yes. You are only leading by a small fraction of a point now, but I have a feeling it is enough. You deserve to have those
points you killed yourself for."
I went in for another hug, squeezing Kova in appreciation.
He rubbed my back. "Well done, Adrianna."
"Thank you, Kova," I whispered.
He looked at me with such an intense affection, like I was the only person in the room who mattered to him, and it filled my heart.
I gave Kova a smile only for him before I broke apart and turned to look for my dad in the stands. He was much closer today.
For the first time since I could remember, he had tears in his eyes as he waved frantically…with Katja next to him.
"I'm so proud of you. More than you could ever know," Dad said. "You amazed me today. I had so much pride watching you. I thought I was going to burst from it." He paused. "I regret not being at the other competitions, but that's going to change from here on out."
I smiled from ear to ear. "Thanks, Dad. You're here now and that's what matters."
We were in the airport, and I'd fallen asleep waiting for my plane to arrive. Dad wasn't flying back with me, but my plane was supposed to take off before his, so he’d stayed.
Sitting up higher, I winced from the stiffness in my joints. Everything hurt.
