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“I brought other delicious things.” I hold up the Tupperware container. “I figured you might be hungry.”
“Oh hell yeah, are those your banana muffins?”
“With chocolate chips.”
He pops the lid and takes a giant bite out of one, barely chewing before he swallows. “What time is it?” he asks between bites.
The scoreboard is showing all zeros. “Closing in on eight.”
“Shit. I’m so sorry. I completely lost track of time. I hope you didn’t wait on me for dinner.”
“I had a bunch of snacks, so I’m good.”
Adele skates over, her smile tight as she loops her arm through his. “Sorry I’ve been hogging BJ lately. Our upcoming competition is a big one.” She sounds about as sorry as I feel for showing up here unannounced.
“I get it. I just knew BJ hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and you’ve been on the ice for hours.”
“I would have called it quits a while ago if I’d realized the time.” BJ starts on another muffin. He must be starving.
“Should we run through the routine once more?” Adele asks.
BJ shakes his head. “I almost rolled my ankle that last time, and my arms are tired. It’s better if we start fresh tomorrow.” He shoves the rest of the second muffin in his mouth.
“I’m sorry.” Adele ducks her head. “That was my fault. I missed the cue.”
“It’s all right. It happens, but better to call it a day.” He turns to me. “Can you give me fifteen? Just gonna shower real quick.”
“Yeah, for sure. I’ll wait in the lobby.” I thumb over my shoulder.
He holds the gate open for Adele and follows her off the ice, kissing my cheek as he passes.
I take a seat on one of the benches in the lobby and check my messages. I’m unsurprised to find new ones from Lovey and Rose, asking how it’s going. I tell them the plan worked and BJ’s in the shower.
Rose sends back a thrusting gif followed by a cheerleader shaking her pom-poms. Lovey sends a slew of hearts and a you go girl.
Adele passes through the lobby before BJ. When she sees me, her expression flattens and she heads in my direction. “Look.” She flips her hair over her shoulder. “I know you and BJ have this thing going on, but he’s been my skating partner for four years. We have a lot of history, and this competition is important. We need to place if we’re going to move on, and you showing up here is a distraction he doesn’t need. Don’t you get enough time with him already? Or are you pulling the jealous-girlfriend card?”
“Flip the mirror around, Adele. Maybe you should be asking yourself that question.”
She crosses her arms. “This is about getting in enough ice time so we perfect our routine. If we don’t place, we don’t move on. I haven’t spent the last four years not having a life for you to come in as a fun, new pastime and fuck it all up for us.”
BJ enters the lobby, and I stand. I have a lot of height on Adele, so she backs up a step. “He’s been exhausted lately.”
“Whose fault is that?” she hisses.
“Running him into the ground won’t help either of you,” I mutter, smiling as BJ approaches.
“Hey, you ready to roll?” He kisses me before he turns to Adele. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, okay?”
“Yeah, of course.” She adjusts her bag, looking unsure of herself now. “Have a good rest of your night.”
“You too.” He laces our fingers together and tugs me toward the exit. “Thanks for bringing me a snack. It really helped take the edge off.”
“No problem. I know you don’t like to fill up before you get on the ice, so I figured you’d be hungry. There’s leftover pasta with homemade marinara sauce and meatballs at home.”
“That sounds like magic. I need to carb-load like nobody’s business.” He passes me the keys. “Do you mind driving? My arms feel like Jell-O.”
“Not at all.”
