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Lou leaned in to give me a lingering kiss on the mouth that made me wish I could strip the clothes right off her. Well, there was always later tonight for that.
“Thank you,” she said with a sly smile that suggested she knew how she’d affected me. “For reassuring me and helping me figure things out. It’s not something I’d ever want to do alone.”
I squeezed her hand before she stepped away. “You’ll never be alone, mi amada.”
Now I just had to hold on to hope that I’d guided her well—and not into total disaster.
FIVE
Luciana
There wasnothing better than hearing our coach’s voice ring out from the stands as Jasper and I came out of our short program’s ending pose.
“That was a really good run-through,” Niko called from his bench. He’d been cleared to leave the hospital a couple of days ago, but he was mostly staying off his feet to avoid straining himself—a precaution the rest of us were strictly enforcing. “You’ve managed to stay on track even without my help.”
I laughed, relief flowing through my chest. “We’re a lot better off with that help, though.” I glided over to the boards to grab my water bottle, Jasper following behind me.
Emi, who’d insisted on coming along to her brother’s first few practices after his release to watch over him, clapped her hands in excitement. “I can’t believe I’m getting to watch future world champions perfect their routine right in front of me.”
My next laugh was a little shakier. “We’re not world champions yet.”
“And it’s notquiteperfect,” Niko said, with a playful twinkle in his eye that made the critique he was about to deliver go down easier. “I think you could hit the footwork in that first sequence even more precisely—really nail that beat. And you pulled off the second lift just fine, but I’d like to see Lou get a little more height. You’ll always be good that way.”
I ran through the routine in my mind, absorbing his suggestions. “We can work on that. We’ve still got five weeks to polish everything up.”
Emi cocked her head. “Are you going to keep the routines the same as from Nationals, or add something new to spice them up?”
Niko nudged his sister. “I think we’re better off sticking with what we already know works. They’ve gotten fantastic scores with the current routines.”
The rasp of blades against the ice announced Quentin’s arrival. He’d been working through his own routines with an eye to next year’s competitions, but now he leaned against the boards next to us and held out his phone. “I don’t know. After you see this, you might want to rethink getting complacent.”
Jasper shot him a mild glower. “I wouldn’t call our routines complacent.”
“Maybe not,” Quentin said, agreeably enough. “But there’s great, and then there’s holy fucking crap. One of the guys I know who made it to Nagano for singles is practicing at the same rink as a couple of the pairs. He sent me this. Check out what the main Russian contenders for the gold are up to.”
He turned his phone’s screen toward us. Niko leaned forward, and Jasper and I studied the handheld recording.
A lithe blond woman skated next to a tall, broad-shouldered man whose darker hair was slicked close to his skull. They swept across the ice with perfect synchronization, grace radiating from their movements. Both strength and artistry showed as they whirled around each other.
“Okay,” Jasper said. “They’re really good. But what’s the big—”
His voice died as the two skaters launched into matching triple Axels, hitting the ice at the exact same time. They circled around and immediately came together in a stunning lift that ended with… a quadruple Salchow throw.
My jaw dropped as the woman touched down without any significant wobble, one foot still lifted, even her hands at exactly the right angle. Holy fucking crap indeed.
“Wow,” I said when I got my breath back. “That’s—hardly anyone’s managed one of those.”
Jasper was staring. “Their form is good, they’ve got the creative aspects,andthe technical difficulty on top of that… Their scores are going to be through the roof if they keep up that standard in the actual competition.”
Even Niko was momentarily speechless. “I had no idea anyone was attempting a quad throw this year. It’s usually considered too much of a risk… but they do seem to be up to the challenge.”
Emi blinked hard. “OMG. That looked amazing.” She shook herself and glanced between the four of us. “But, I mean, Lou and Jasper are amazing too. Is that really going to top their routine?”
“If they do everything right, most likely,” Niko admitted. “I think that was their free routine, from the pacing. Ours doesn’t have quite the same level of difficulty.”
Quentin grimaced. “That’s why I thought you should see it. If youaregoing to make any changes, you should get on with that ASAP.”
I bit my lip, dread pooling in my stomach. I’d never assumed that we’d win at Worlds, but it was hard not to despair at the idea that we didn’t even have a chance. “What can we do? I’ve got the throw triple Axel, but I can’t land a quad Axel even in regular circumstances. I guess we could try to switch it out for our own quad Salchow…”
