and a light snow had been falling when I’d arrived at the rink.
“I’m gonna call him,” I said and hurried to the locker room.
I took my phone into the lobby to get away from the din of the crowd, and my pulse sped up as Josh’s phone rang and rang. When he finally answered I exhaled.
“Hey, are you on your way?” I asked.
Silence met my question, and I said louder, “Josh?”
“I’m not coming.”
I stood speechless a few seconds. “Are you not feeling well?”
“I can’t handle all those people. I’m sorry.”
“There you are.” Liza rushed into the lobby. “It’s show time.”
I was still gaping at the phone, and I felt an explosion building within me. Liza was frantically motioning for me to go with her, so I pressed the phone screen hard to end the call, not bothering to say goodbye.
The lights had dimmed, and Em was standing on the ice under the spotlight, welcoming everyone. I asked Sergei to hold my phone, and I gathered with the other skaters in the opening number. My heart was still pounding from my conversation with Josh. I shook out my arms and took deep breaths to calm myself, but I couldn’t shake the irritation. How could he not show up?
Sergei directed us to take the ice, and I plastered a smile on my face. We’d practiced the number so many times that I skated mechanically through it, my mind still on Josh’s absence. I needed to get my head in the game for my duet with Liza, though. The choreography for that program was more complex, and we had to do two jumps. Liza, a jumping machine, was going to nail them for sure, so I didn’t want to flub them and mar our performance.
I stretched and paced beside the boards to stay warm while the younger skaters performed, and Em slipped over to me between her emcee duties.
“Did you find Josh?” she asked.
“He didn’t come,” I said.
She must have heard the iciness in my tone because she didn’t ask any questions. She just rubbed my shoulder and went back to her spot at the microphone.
I met Liza at the ice door, and she put her hand up for a high five. “Ready to be awesome?”
I slapped her hand and shut my mental door on everything except the ice in front of us. “Totally.”
Em introduced us, and we skated to the center of the rink, where we stood back to back. When “O Holy Night” by John Legend began to play, we pushed off in opposite directions, me shimmering in silver and Liza in gold. Being in the spotlight with the music playing, my adrenaline kicked into high gear, and I sped around the corner of the rink. I stretched into a spiral, and Liza flew past me in matching position.
As the cool breeze fanned across my face, I wished Josh was there to lift me high into the air so I could truly feel like I was flying. I missed the rush of excitement that I felt every time we did a lift. He wasn’t there, though. Not on the ice and not even in the audience. My annoyance with him bubbled up again, and I quickly refocused on the double Axel ahead. I jumped up and spun two-and-a-half times, and Liza did the same beside me. We landed in sync on the high piano note just as Josh had choreographed it.
I lost myself in the soulful rendition of the song and was sad when we struck our ending poses. I’d had so few chances to perform lately that I didn’t want to leave the ice. Knowing Josh and I might miss nationals, our last chance to compete that season, made me even more reluctant to take my bows.
After Liza and I exited to a rousing ovation, I changed out of my costume and watched the rest of the show from the edge of the bleachers. Once the lights came up, everyone flocked to the tables filled with punch and Christmas cookies. I tried to disappear before I would get inundated with questions about Josh, but I didn’t succeed. I got trapped next to the locker room, forced to make excuses for Josh being a no-show.
When I managed to escape, I grabbed my things, put my head down, and snuck out the side door. With my
“I’m gonna call him,” I said and hurried to the locker room.
I took my phone into the lobby to get away from the din of the crowd, and my pulse sped up as Josh’s phone rang and rang. When he finally answered I exhaled.
“Hey, are you on your way?” I asked.
Silence met my question, and I said louder, “Josh?”
“I’m not coming.”
I stood speechless a few seconds. “Are you not feeling well?”
“I can’t handle all those people. I’m sorry.”
“There you are.” Liza rushed into the lobby. “It’s show time.”
I was still gaping at the phone, and I felt an explosion building within me. Liza was frantically motioning for me to go with her, so I pressed the phone screen hard to end the call, not bothering to say goodbye.
The lights had dimmed, and Em was standing on the ice under the spotlight, welcoming everyone. I asked Sergei to hold my phone, and I gathered with the other skaters in the opening number. My heart was still pounding from my conversation with Josh. I shook out my arms and took deep breaths to calm myself, but I couldn’t shake the irritation. How could he not show up?
Sergei directed us to take the ice, and I plastered a smile on my face. We’d practiced the number so many times that I skated mechanically through it, my mind still on Josh’s absence. I needed to get my head in the game for my duet with Liza, though. The choreography for that program was more complex, and we had to do two jumps. Liza, a jumping machine, was going to nail them for sure, so I didn’t want to flub them and mar our performance.
I stretched and paced beside the boards to stay warm while the younger skaters performed, and Em slipped over to me between her emcee duties.
“Did you find Josh?” she asked.
“He didn’t come,” I said.
She must have heard the iciness in my tone because she didn’t ask any questions. She just rubbed my shoulder and went back to her spot at the microphone.
I met Liza at the ice door, and she put her hand up for a high five. “Ready to be awesome?”
I slapped her hand and shut my mental door on everything except the ice in front of us. “Totally.”
Em introduced us, and we skated to the center of the rink, where we stood back to back. When “O Holy Night” by John Legend began to play, we pushed off in opposite directions, me shimmering in silver and Liza in gold. Being in the spotlight with the music playing, my adrenaline kicked into high gear, and I sped around the corner of the rink. I stretched into a spiral, and Liza flew past me in matching position.
As the cool breeze fanned across my face, I wished Josh was there to lift me high into the air so I could truly feel like I was flying. I missed the rush of excitement that I felt every time we did a lift. He wasn’t there, though. Not on the ice and not even in the audience. My annoyance with him bubbled up again, and I quickly refocused on the double Axel ahead. I jumped up and spun two-and-a-half times, and Liza did the same beside me. We landed in sync on the high piano note just as Josh had choreographed it.
I lost myself in the soulful rendition of the song and was sad when we struck our ending poses. I’d had so few chances to perform lately that I didn’t want to leave the ice. Knowing Josh and I might miss nationals, our last chance to compete that season, made me even more reluctant to take my bows.
After Liza and I exited to a rousing ovation, I changed out of my costume and watched the rest of the show from the edge of the bleachers. Once the lights came up, everyone flocked to the tables filled with punch and Christmas cookies. I tried to disappear before I would get inundated with questions about Josh, but I didn’t succeed. I got trapped next to the locker room, forced to make excuses for Josh being a no-show.
When I managed to escape, I grabbed my things, put my head down, and snuck out the side door. With my
Similar Books
