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Leaning against the side of the rink, I stretched one leg and then the other, trying to keep my expression natural. The last thing I wanted was Niko or Jasper noticing my sweaty face and heaving chest.
“Great legwork with that shoot-the-duck,” Niko called. “You were really cruising! Nudge that foot just half an inch higher, and it’ll be even easier.”
“Thanks!” I called back as evenly as I could. “I’ll try that next time.”
Which wouldn’t be until tomorrow—or next week, if my legs got any say in it.
I would have glowed with the praise, but as my gaze slid from Niko to Jasper next to him, I caught the bigger man scowling at me.
The second our eyes met, Jasper jerked his head away, his mouth pressing flat. But I knew what I’d seen. Especially since I’d seen it more than once over our training sessions.
Anytime Niko paid much attention to me, Jasper started looking even grouchier than usual, which was a massive feat. The coolly handsome face he put on during his professional performances had to be as much of a costume as the intricate outfits he wore, because I’d only caught rare glimpses of it as he ran through his routines here.
I’d have thought he was simply annoyed that I was stealing some of his coach’s attention… but he didn’t seem all that happy when Niko was focused onhimeither.
Like right now, as Niko turned to him and murmured something I couldn’t hear. Jasper shook his head sharply, a storminess coming back into his eyes that I could see even from halfway across the rink.
Sometimes they’d joke together, and I’d see a looser side of the hotshot skater. But just as often, an odd tension would come over his brawny frame for reasons I didn’t understand.
What was buzzing around in that gorgeous head of his under those tussled auburn waves?
Niko had obviously noticed it too. As Jasper pushed off into a circuit of the rink, building up to a jump, the slimmer man’s constant smile briefly faded.
For just a second, he looked almost…sad.
It wasn’t the first time I’d seen Niko look at Jasper like that, either. I couldn’t shake the impression that there was more to his insistence on crossing the ocean to train Jasper than either of them were letting on.
But it wasn’t my business. If I got too nosy, I could kiss this once-in-a-lifetime chance good-bye.
Jasper launched himself into a breath-taking double Axel. As he swerved around past me, I offered a thumbs up. “Nice one!”
I’d been trying to make friendly, but Jasper just grimaced. “I was aiming for a triple,” he muttered.
I would have said something about how it was impressive to be able to switch intentions and pull off a double so smoothly when you realized you weren’t going to land the harder move, but I suspected he wouldn’t appreciate my insight.
Gulping a little more water, I rolled my shoulders. My skin was starting to feel muggy under my long-sleeved thermal.
And I couldn’t say it was totally due to my work on the ice and not the company I was keeping.
I tugged off the thermal and tossed it onto my bag in the stands. My faded Metallica tee hung to my hips, matching my plaid leggings better than the plain blue shirt had anyway.
Who said you couldn’t bring a little style even to practice?
“What’s that on your back?”
I glanced over to see Jasper tipping his head toward me, his expression still grim but a hint of curiosity in his voice. My hand moved to the rough-edged neckline of the shirt that dipped to reveal the tops of my shoulder blades.
Oh, he meant my tattoo.
I patted it and offered a tentative smile. “Got this a few years ago.”
With a tug downward, I revealed enough of my back that they’d be able to decipher the dark lines as angel wings, swooping from my spine to the tops of my shoulders.
“It’s kind of in honor of the skating,” I added. “I love feeling like I’m flying.”
The second the words came out, my face flushed. I’d never told anyone that before.
Jasper didn’t say anything particularly caustic, though. He just grunted, his gaze skimming down over my clothes. “So you’re a real punk, then.”
