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I could glide around for as long as I cared to, really get acclimated to the feeling of this new rink beneath my skates.
After all, this strange, tiny town was home now. This little arena would be the backdrop for my skating from now on.
The familiar sound of my blades hissing over the ice filled my ears, chasing away all doubts. I shifted directions, pumping my legs with long, swift movements as my skates propelled me backwards.
My hands spread wide, my slender fingers reaching out towards the empty stands. A well of power had begun to course through me, surging in my veins and pulsing in my limbs.
Deep breath in, and out again.
This headspace was familiar. This was comfortable. Again, that mantra sailed through my thoughts, but this time, I knew the words were true.
I was made for this.
Sweeping one leg out behind me, I pushed up with the opposite foot and swung my arms around my slim form. I ascended like a bird in flight, the thrilling rush racing through my gut.
Pure, unfiltered bliss pumped throughout my body, pounding in my chest and bursting in my vision. I couldn’t have stopped the smile from curving my lips even if I’d wanted to.
I knew in my heart that this was where I belonged. No matter whatanyone said.
Landing felt more like floating. My skates met the ice again with a softshrrrkbefore I pushed off again with one foot.
Another triple Salchow, this one even easier than the first. I might have tried for a triple Lutz if it hadn’t been a few days since my last practice.
I closed my eyes when I landed this time, tilting the point of my toes and sweeping off once more. The moves felt natural, just as they always had before I’d left the only home I’d ever known.
I breezed across the ice in arcs and leaps, the blades connecting with the frozen surface almost magnetically. One, two, three, four, five…
By the time I reached the end of the routine’s final sequence, my legs were screaming for a break, but giddy exhilaration still flowed through the rest of my body. I raised my hands in a graceful ending pose, fingertips reaching towards the arched ceiling.
My mind conjured the sound of applause, the adoring crowd roaring behind me. I almost let out a laugh.
Like that would ever happen.
A satisfied breath puffed through my lips. I was just about to turn towards the stands to tell Rafael that we should call it a day when a very real noise reached my ears.
Not a flurry of applause, but a single set of hands clapping in a slow rhythm that somehow didn’t feel entirely complimentary.
As I spun toward the sound, another pair of hands joined the first, faster and more emphatic. I found myself staring at two men who’d come down to the boards at the other side of the rink.
Oh, shit.
How long had they been there? I hadn’t noticed them as I’d been skating, but then again, how could I have? I’d drifted into that trance-like state of joy that had always come with being on the ice.
I grimaced. Maybe this plan wasn’t so well thought out after all. I’d been in town for a whole hour and the first thing I did was get busted for trespassing. I could just imagine my mother shaking her head at me with disdain in her dark eyes.
At least neither of the guys appeared to be law enforcement or security. They weren’t dressed in employee uniforms either, but regular T-shirts.
T-shirts that showed off a whole lot of impressive musculature on both of them, now that I was paying attention.
The bigger guy, who had to be as tall as Rafael and nearly as brawny, was the one clapping more slowly. Auburn waves tumbled across his face over full lips slanted at a skeptical angle. That didn’t stop him from also being awfully delicious-looking.
The man next to him stood half a foot shorter, leaner but still plenty toned. A broad grin split his equally gorgeous face, sending a twinkle into his bright eyes that I could make out even across the distance.
A twinge of recognition shot through me, though I couldn’t place it. Why did they look familiar? Had I seen them without really registering them when we drove through town?
Rafael hadn’t emerged from his shadowy alcove to interrupt them, so he mustn’t consider them much of a threat.
The slimmer man waved me over with obvious enthusiasm, still grinning away. He didn’t look like he was about to accuse me of breaking and entering, but I wasn’t so sure about his companion.
