Taking the Ice (Ice Series Book 3)

by Comeaux, Jennifer

  The music of Debussy began, and Liza floated across the ice, her posture as strong as that of a ballerina. There was nothing dainty about her athleticism, though. She picked into the ice for her first combination, the triple Lutz-triple toe loop, and she sprang into the air as high as some of the guys did on their jumps. Her landings couldn’t be smoother, and I whooped and rubbed my sweaty palms on my jeans.

  Josh stared intensely at the ice, and his head bobbed up and down as if he was doing the steps along with Liza. I hooked my arm through his and tried to relax with the beautiful music, but my jumpy knees wouldn’t stay still. Liza skated toward our end of the rink, and she pushed off from the ice for the triple loop. I sucked in a breath as soon as she went up. Her body was tilted way off axis. She came down with the same lean and tumbled to the ice.

  Roxanne cursed quietly behind me, and I held on tighter to Josh, both to keep me from slapping her and to steady my now heart-attack-level pulse. Liza settled right back into the choreography, and she proved her champion status by doing a textbook double Axel.

  The rest of her jumps came just as easily, and I leapt from the bench the second she spun to a stop at center ice. We all piled out of the box, cheering our way over to the kiss and cry to wait for her. After she donned her skate guards and got a big hug from Sergei, I ran up to her and flung my arms around her as she had done to me.

  “You were so awesome.”

  “The stupid loop,” she mumbled.

  “You dominated everything else. You did your job and then some.”

  We stepped into the kiss and cry, and Josh and I positioned ourselves right behind her as the judges finished punching in their scores. Liza needed to finish first to give us enough points for the team silver medal. I remembered the previous competitor’s score and attempted to do the necessary math in my head, but I couldn’t focus. I was on sensory overload with the buzz of the crowd and the bright lights and the jitters that had returned. It was taking an awfully long time for the score.

  The announcer’s voice quieted the noise, and I watched the video board closely. She read the numbers, and I grabbed Josh’s hand as she paused before giving us the placement. Come on, come on…

  “She is in first place,” the announcer boomed. “Team USA is currently in second place.”

  Screams and shouts of glee exploded from all of us. Amidst the chaos of hugs and high-fives I even hugged Roxanne. Josh and I embraced and looked at each other with disbelief, both of us sputtering things like “This is crazy!” and “I can’t believe this!” We had a big enough lead over Team Canada that they wouldn’t be able to surpass us in the ice dance event. We were the silver medalists. Olympic silver medalists.

  Liza was smiling but not nearly as exuberantly as the others, and I knew she was still mad at herself for the missed jump. I put my arm across her shoulders and walked with her ahead of everyone as we headed backstage.

  “This was your practice run. You’re going to be even more amazing for your individual event.”

  “That’s almost word for word what my dad said. I think you’ve been his student for too long.” She elbowed my side.

  She had to join the media circus so we split up, and I noticed Josh looking serious as he stared at his phone.

  “What’s up?” I asked.

  “My mom texted me, asking to meet her upstairs.”

  We hadn’t heard from Mrs. Tucker since she’d stormed out of the Family House. Not even after we’d skated. I wasn’t sure if she’d taken my advice to the extreme and had hopped on a plane back to California.

  “I’m going to apologize to her,” I said.

  “You don’t have to. What you said was true.”

  “I know, but I could’ve said it a better way.”

  He shot her back a quick reply, and we left the restricted area and entered the concourse of the arena. Spectators crowded the concession stands, trying to grab snacks before the free dance started. We found Mrs. Tucker away from the mob, standing near one of the exits. I steeled myself for God knew what she was going to say to me.

  “Hey,” Josh said.

  “I was going to text you last night, but I knew you would be busy with media. Frankly, I was expecting to hear from one or both of you first.” She glared at me. “With an apology.”

  “I am sorry about the other night,” I said. “I should’ve tried to have a conversation with you instead of attacking you.”

  “You shouldn’t have said anything at all,” she snapped.

  “Yes, she should have,” Josh said. “I agree with all of it.”

  Mrs. Tucker lifted her chin, and her eyes bore the same angry look she’d had with me. “You’re saying you don’t want me here? You don’t want me in your life?”

  “If you’re not here for the right reasons, then no. I don’t.”

  “What do you consider the right reasons?”

  Josh pinched the bridge of his nose. “If you have to ask, then this discussion is pointless.”

  “I am your mother. What other reason do I need to be here?”

  I clamped my lips together, itching to enlighten her. But I had to let Josh handle this.

  “It has to be about more than a title,” he said. “There has to be some meaningful substance behind it.”

  Mrs. Tucker folded her arms and shook her head. “After everything I gave you, all the opportunities—“

  “When I said substance, I didn’t mean material things. You don’t—” Josh let out a frustrated breath. “You just don’t understand, and I don’t know that you ever will.”

  My phone vibrated in my jacket pocket, and I debated whether I should check it. If the text was from someone in the federation, it could be important.

  I pulled it from my jacket and heard a quiet huff from Mrs. Tucker. I quickly read the text and hid the phone again.

  “Marni said they need us downstairs,” I said to Josh.

  “We can continue this later,” Mrs. Tucker said.

  Josh looked at her for a long minute, resignation settling in his eyes, and he took a small step backward. “There’s nothing to continue. I’ve said everything I needed to.”

  “So that’s it. You’re just dismissing me.”

  “It’s up to you where we go from here.”

  He palmed the small of my back, and I followed his lead. We fought the crowd to get to the security checkpoint, and once we were backstage, I held him up before we met up with our teammates.

  “You okay?”

  He nodded and raked his hand through his hair. “I feel kinda relieved. I’m glad it’s all out there.”

  “It really is up to her whether you can ever have a real relationship.”

  “I don’t see the point in going on like we have been. It’s so meaningless. Steph has started distancing herself from her, too. She just doesn’t want to deal with it anymore, and I feel the same way.”

  “I’m glad you and Steph have gotten closer these past few years.”

  “Me too.” He cupped my shoulders and stared into my eyes. “And she’s not the only family I have. I’ve got you and Mrs. Cassar and your parents and even Em and Sergei. I couldn’t ask for more.”

  I smiled and wrapped him in my arms. I couldn’t ask for more either.

  ****

  TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LATER, I still had a hard time believing I was an Olympic medalist. The Sochi organizers had bucked tradition and weren’t giving out medals at the ice arena, so we’d had to wait a full day to receive our hardware at the nightly ceremony in Olympic Park. Twenty thousand people packed the Medals Plaza, and I stood with my eight teammates just offstage, waiting for the regal music to begin. We all looked super sharp in our silver puffy jackets with the Team USA logo.

  “This has been the longest day in the history of days,” I joked.

  “You’re dying to get your hands on that bling,” Josh said.

  “What can I say? I love pretty, shiny things.”

  We got the cue to line up for our entrance, so we situate
d ourselves with Liza at the front of our group. The music began, and chills shot through me. I bounced on the heels of my sneakers, and behind me Josh squeezed my waist. I turned and flashed him a huge grin.

  We walked out onto the stage, and the sea of people went bananas, mostly because Team Russia was marching out as the champions. Canada followed them as the bronze medalists, and all of us stopped behind our respective steps on the podium.

  Canada received their medals first, and then the attention shifted to us. The eight of us clasped hands and looked at each other, and we all stepped up onto the podium at the same time, raising our arms in celebration. My chills multiplied as the crowd gave us lots of love. I spied a number of American flags and signs of support in the throng.

  The presenters went down the line, bestowing the medals, and my throat constricted as my name was announced. I bent forward and accepted the ribbon around my neck, marveling at how heavy the medal was. While Josh received his, I placed the large silver disc in my palm and lifted it to my lips. Josh did the same, and we couldn’t stop smiling at each other.

  “This is insane.” He shook his head.

  “I’m never taking this off,” I said. “I’m just gonna wear it like jewelry.”

  Liza leaned forward and caught my eye, and she gave me a double thumbs-up. I tapped my heart and pointed to her, hoping she knew how incredibly grateful I was that she’d made this happen for us.

  After Russia was adorned with their gold medals, everyone silenced for the raising of the flags and the Russian national anthem. I watched the Stars and Stripes ascend into the dark night, the Olympic flame burning brightly behind it, and I trembled with excitement and happiness and pride. Tears collected in my eyes and dripped down my cheeks. This was another moment I wanted to burn into my memory and relive over and over the rest of my life.

  I looked down at my glossy medal and then up at Josh’s gorgeous profile, and my tears of joy flowed stronger. I had my dream bling around my neck and on my finger and more love in my heart than I’d ever thought possible.

  Epilogue

  “DOES THIS LOOK STRAIGHT?” I ASKED Josh as I stepped back from the wall. Inside the display box were our silver medals plus photos of the two of us on the ice and our team on the podium. It was the first thing I’d hung in the living room of our new apartment.

  Josh looked up from plugging in his keyboard, and he squinted with one eye closed. “Looks perfect.”

  I stared at the photos and recalled all the wonderful days we’d spent in Sochi. Josh and I had finished fifth in the pairs event with two more spectacular performances, and we’d made so many new friends from different sports around the world. I couldn’t have written a better ending to our competitive career.

  Spinning around, I looked for the next box I should unpack. We’d emptied most of them, and the cozy apartment already felt like home. It was a short commute from Boston College, so I would be set in the fall, and it was also an easy T ride from the studio space Josh had rented.

  I rolled up my T-shirt sleeves and reached into my box labeled “Fun Stuff,” pulling out a stack of CDs. As I shelved them in the entertainment center, I smiled at one in particular.

  “We should play this at the wedding.” I laughed and showed Josh the Mickey Unrapped CD.

  “We should. That was the first gift I ever gave you.”

  Even though over four years had passed since that night, I could still vividly remember the yearning look in Josh’s eyes and how our kisses had come as hard and fast as the rain against the car.

  I hummed softly and filed the disc onto the shelf. “That was such a hot night.”

  Josh broke into a slow grin. “I miss our car make-out sessions.”

  “I’m game anytime you are.”

  He was about to say something, but his laptop rang on the bistro table between the living room and the kitchen. He clicked to answer the video call, and Stephanie’s face popped up on the screen.

  “What’s up?” Josh said.

  “I’m melting. Why is New York so hot?”

  “Welcome to summer in the northeast.”

  I sat next to Josh in front of the webcam and enlarged the video. “How’s the new job going?”

  “It’s insane. This is the first day I’ve been home before ten.”

  “Have you had time to work on the dress alterations?” I asked as I chewed my thumbnail. The wedding was only a few weeks away.

  “I almost fell asleep on my sewing machine last night, but yes. And I added a little something I think you’re going to like. I personally think it’s fabulous.” She reached off camera. “Josh, go away. You can’t see this.”

  He laughed and pushed his chair back. “I know. Court has already warned me about peeking at photos on her phone.”

  He got up and went into the kitchen, and I leaned closer to the computer. Stephanie held up my dress, and I gasped.

  “How much do you love it?” she said.

  The off-white dress had a simple halter neckline that cut into a deep V, and the skirt flowed softly down to my toes. None of that had changed. The addition was a narrow, pale pink sash tied around the waist with tiny flowers accenting the back.

  “Oh my God, it’s perfect!”

  Josh took a few steps toward the table. “How can I watch you have that reaction and not die of curiosity?”

  “Don’t you dare come any closer.” I held up my hand like a stop sign.

  Stephanie hid the dress off screen. “It’s safe now. You can look.”

  “We should drive down next weekend to pick it up.” Josh returned to his seat. “We can see your new place.”

  “I’ll probably be working the whole time, but you’re welcome to my couch.”

  “You’re not going to have trouble getting time off for the wedding, are you?” I asked.

  “I told my boss the first day that this vacation time is non-negotiable.”

  Josh smiled. “I had no doubt you’d lay down the law.”

  Stephanie swept her long hair over one shoulder and combed her fingers through it. “What did you decide to do about Mom and Dad?”

  “We’re not inviting them. They barely talked to us at your graduation, and they didn’t even ask about the wedding.”

  “I doubt they’d show even if they were invited,” she said.

  Josh shrugged. “I don’t let it bother me anymore. As long as you’re there, that’s all that matters to me.”

  Stephanie dipped her head, but she couldn’t hide her smile. She cleared her throat and said, “Well, I have no problem representing the family.”

  Her phone trilled, and she made a face as she picked it up. “Ugh, it’s work. I have to get it.”

  “Go ahead. We’ll talk later about next weekend,” Josh said.

  “Thank you again for all your work on the dress!” I said as I waved goodbye.

  The video call disconnected, and Josh went back to setting up his keyboard. I finished unpacking the CDs and then drifted over to him, watching him carefully clean the keys.

  “Are you ready to christen the apartment with a song?” I asked.

  He smiled and slid onto the small bench. “I know exactly the one to play.”

  I stood behind him with my hands resting lightly on his shoulders, and he set his fingers on the keys. I had an idea what he might play, and my heart warmed at the first few notes. My favorite rendition of “Over the Rainbow.” I angled forward and kissed his cheek, and I watched as his hands filled our new home with beautiful noise.

  As he pressed the final key he turned to smile at me, and I wound my arms around him. He pulled me onto his lap, and our lips came together in a long, slow kiss that also hit all the right notes.

  “This is officially our place now,” he said between sweet kisses on my lips and my neck and my shoulder.

  “I love the sound of that.” I threaded my fingers into his hair. “Our place.”

  “It’s still blowing my mind that we’re going to be a married couple in a few we
eks.”

  “Let’s make a vow that we’ll never be an old, boring married couple. Even when we’re shuttling kids to ballet practice and baseball games and attending PTA meetings.”

  “Us? Boring? Not possible. We’re going to be the cool couple all the other parents aspire to be. They’ll want all our secrets.”

  “And what will our secrets be?”

  He thought a minute. “Number one — any time we feel stressed we have a lip sync party.”

  I laughed. “I like that.”

  “Number two.” He slipped the rubber band from my ponytail and gently untangled my curls. “I make my wife feel appreciated and desired every single day.”

  “I really, really like that.”

  “Number three — we always find time to talk to each other, no matter how crazy our schedules are.”

  I smiled and tipped our foreheads together, and he said, “We also find time to play, no matter how busy we are.”

  “Is that the code word we’ll use around our kids? ‘Mommy and Daddy need play time tonight?’”

  “Yes.” He grinned. “Totally.”

  “Can I add one?”

  “Of course.”

  “I tell my husband every single day how much I love him.” I laid my hand on his chest. “And how much I want him.”

  I trailed my fingers down to his stomach, tracing the hard ridges under his soft T-shirt. He buried his hands deeper in my hair and guided my mouth toward his. His lips seared mine, sparking heat in the far corners of my body, and I melted into him. No way could we ever be boring. Not when Josh made me feel this every time he touched me.

  “How do you do it?” I murmured against his lips.

  “How do I do what?”

  “Give me all the feelings.”

  I felt his smile as his mouth brushed mine. “That’s one secret I can’t reveal.”

  “Hmm… are you sure?” I kissed his throat, lingering over his quickening pulse.

  “Playing dirty, I see.”