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I’d be able to put my troubles with the gang on hold, at least for a couple of days. Thankfully, Rafael hadn’t observed anything more frightening since their initial round of harassment in town.
The final pieces of my plan were still coming together—with a delivery that should arrive tonight. I’d see it through when we got back from Dellville.
There was only one thing I had to worry about right now: my skating partner.
I glanced across the ice to where Niko was discussing leg positioning with Jasper. The vibe between them had relaxed again after Jasper’s blow up a couple of days ago, but the younger guy still looked a little tense.
And now that Niko had filled me in on their history, I was noticing little signs I would have simply dismissed before. The way Jasper’s gaze lingered on Niko’s face when the other man’s focus was elsewhere, just a little longer and more intensely than you’d expect from a guy simply paying attention to his coach. The faint hint of a flush that colored his cheeks when Niko patted his upraised leg in approval.
It was like a suppressed version of the markers of attraction that’d revealed his interest in me. Maybe he was even more hesitant to let his feelings show when it was another man, especially if Niko was the first guy he’d crushed on.
Or it could be he was hiding it as well as he could because he assumed our coach didn’t return that interest. As far as I could tell, both from watching them and from his comments the other day, Niko was totally oblivious to the signals. Maybe he did see them and was afraid to read anything into them after what he saw as his epic blunder with that first kiss.
So they continued, Niko shooting Jasper a bright but professional smile and turning back to me with a beckoning gesture, Jasper drinking in the graceful planes of the other man’s face with his eyes before jerking his gaze away with another trace of a blush. The tension in his shoulders wound tighter.
No wonder he’d been prickly with Niko—and with me intruding on his time with Niko. The guy had followed him all the way around the world after what sounded like a pretty fantastic kiss and now was acting like he didn’t want anything from Jasper other than to coach him. That’d be enough to throw anyone for a loop.
And naturally Jasper wasn’t going to simply open up his mouth and say something about it.
These men really were hopeless. Possibly it was just as lucky for them that I’d crashed into their lives as it was for me.
I might have brought an unexpected threat down on our heads, as hard as I was working to deflect it, but I could do at least one good thing for them too.
“Are you two ready to try that one again?” Niko asked, smiling at me too.
“Sounds good.” I rubbed my hands and checked with Jasper, who nodded.
We set off together, cruising across the ice. At the right spot, we both kicked our legs up in a single flip jump flowing into a spiraling shotgun spin.
My thigh ached with the stretch of holding my leg as straight and high as possible. Jasper matched my movements in perfect synchronization. But as we dropped our skates to the ground with a whirl of motion, he jerked just a little to the side before catching his balance.
Jasper muttered a curse under his breath as we skated back to Niko.
“Remember to let out your breath while you’re lowering your leg,” Niko said. “That should help keep you steadier.”
Jasper narrowed his eyes at our coach. “I think I know how tobreathe. I’m not quite that inept.”
Niko clicked his tongue playfully. “It’s not about inadequacies. Anyone can forget the basics in the moment when they’re focused on something more complicated.”
“I’m not forgetting,” Jasper grumbled. “I know what I’m doing. It’s just not happening right. How about you figure out the cure for that?”
I caught Niko’s wince before he schooled his expression to placid again, and my gut twisted. Wehadto get in sync before tomorrow—all three of us. If Jasper couldn’t get his head on straight before the competition, my own nerves wouldn’t be the deciding factor.
But I didn’t think he’d be able to shake off his uncertainties until we addressed the elephant in the room that they’d both been so studiously ignoring.
I cleared my throat before Niko had to reply to Jasper’s snarking and crossed my arms over my chest, looking from one of them to the other. “You know, when a hugely respected skater comes halfway around the world just to coach you, it seems like you could try to listen without biting his head off.”
Jasper aimed his glower at me. “I listen. That doesn’t mean I’m going to hear anything helpful.”
“But you are still here training with him, even though you keep complaining about his coaching.” I tapped my finger against my lips. “Did you ever think it’s kind of odd that Niko Okabe would have come all this way to shake you out of a slump, like he’s got nothing better to do?”
Jasper’s posture stiffened a bit, and Niko’s expression tightened. I could tell from the awkward smile he shot at me that he suspected where I was going with this, but he kept quiet, not interfering. So far.
“Maybe he was bored,” Jasper muttered.
“I guess it could be that,” I said, as if I really was thinking it over. “Or it could be the fact that you guys shared that amazing kiss last year right before you fell into your slump, and Niko has spent this whole time thinking he caused the whole problem.”
Jasper’s face outright flared, blazing nearly as red as his auburn hair. “How did—” His gaze jerked to Niko. “You—”
