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I have to win gold now. It’s more important than ever. If I can win, they’ll accept him. If I lose, my dad will never forgive Clint for costing me my dreams. The pressure is on, but as I snuggle into Clint’s body and smell his skin, I know I can do it.
Twelve
Clint
It’s early the next morning when I walk Dani over to the rink and drop her off. Instead of staying to watch, I go to her parents’ hotel. I’m not the kind of guy to put something off, not when it’s important. And no one has ever been as important as Danika. I’ll do anything to make her happy. She told me which hotel her parents are at, so I get a cab over there, then ask the desk clerk to call their room for me.
The phone rings several times before the voicemail picks up. I’m about to leave a message when I see them step off the elevator. I hang up the phone and start toward them. Her dad notices me first and clenches his jaw. Then her mom sees me and says, “Oh,” then looks away.
I stop in front of them and say, “Mr. and Mrs. Cruz, I’m Clint Sullivan.” I reach out my hand to shake Mr. Cruz’s, but he folds his arms across his chest.
For a small man, he’s doing a pretty good job at being intimidating. “We know who you are,” he says with a glare.
“I came to apologize about yesterday. That was pretty much the worst way I could have introduced myself to you.” My heart pounds in my chest as I talk. “I’d like it if we could start over.”
“You defile our daughter in a disgusting locker room and then you want a do over? I don’t think so, pal. Just stay away from her before you ruin her life.” He points a finger at me while he talks, his entire face red with rage.
I knew this wasn’t going to be easy when I came over, but right now, most of me wants to turn and walk out. But I won’t. Instead, I hold my ground and go all in. “I don’t know if it’ll make any difference to you or not, but I’ve never felt this way about a woman before. Dani is a remarkable girl and I’m in love with her. I intend to marry her, if she’ll have me.”
“Marry her? You’ve known her for about ten minutes.” Mrs. Cruz narrows her eyes at me.
“I know how crazy that sounds, I really do, Mrs. Cru. But the moment I laid eyes on Danika, something happened that’s never happened before to me. I just knew it in my bones that she was the one for me.”
“Your bone, you mean.” Her dad spits out.
“No, sir. It’s not like that with us. It’s so much more. She’s all I think about. I want to protect her and take care of her and make sure she’s happy all the time. It was all I could do to drag myself away from her this morning, even though she’s at practice and I’d just be sitting in the stands watching.” I rake one hand through my hair and shake my head in frustration at myself. “I sound like a total crazy person right now.”
Mrs. Cruz’s face softens. “No, you don’t. You sound like a man in love.”
Her husband turns to her. “It doesn’t matter how he feels, Yvetta. He’s going to screw up her chance at a gold! He’s going to steal her dream from her.”
“I would never do that, sir. I’ve been helping her get ready.”
“Oh, I heard your ki
nd of helping. That’s the last thing she needs right now.”
“Come with me. Come watch her skate and you’ll see. Everything has fallen into place for her out there. She’s amazing.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Mr. Cruz says.
“Well, I’m going to watch Dani,” Mrs. Cruz says, “I didn’t come all this way just to not see her skate.”
“I don’t have to come if you don’t want me to,” I tell them. “But, go and see for yourselves. I hope when you see how well she’s doing, you’ll know that I’m good for her.”
I turn and walk out of the lobby, shoving my hands in my pockets as a blast of cold air hits my face. Instead of taking a cab, I walk all the way back to Athlete’s Village to clear my head. I pass by a jewelry shop and stand in front of the window for a full minute before I decide to go in.
Thirteen
Danika
My morning practice is a complete flop. The entire time, I can’t concentrate on skating. When Clint dropped me off, he told me he had something he needed to take care of but he’d be back soon. It’s almost been two hours and there’s still no sign of him. My parents are here though and they don’t look happy. At least my dad doesn’t. When I skate past them, he won’t make eye contact.
The magic that I felt on the ice over the last two weeks seems to have melted and now I’m back to making the same mistakes I was before I got to Korea. I’m even worse than I was because I can’t land my double axel no matter how many runs I take at it. I don’t have to look at Pierre to know that he’s going to be super pissed at me. But he doesn’t have to lecture me. No one could be angrier at me than me. Each jump I don’t land brings more disappointment and fear.
After practice, I slowly shower and get dressed, the entire time dreading seeing my parents when I’m done. They’re going to accuse Clint of distracting me and ruining my chances at a medal and after my performance today, there’s not much I can say to convince them otherwise. Tasha is with me in the change room and I unburden myself while we get dressed.
“Did I peak over the last few days and now I’m over?” My stomach tightens at the thought.
