by Jo Cotterill
‘Yeah.’ His hand found Tania’s and he squeezed it.
‘Can’t believe this is the last time we’ll skate together,’ he said quietly.
Tania gulped. That’s not what I was going to say, she thought.
‘Not sure I want to go back to skating on my own,’ said Zac, with a half-laugh.
Tania stared out at Connie, unseeing. ‘Then don’t,’ she whispered.
‘What?’ Zac bent to hear her. ‘What did you say?’
She looked up at him. ‘Don’t. Don’t go back to skating on your own. Skate with me.’
They stared at each other. ‘Are you …’ began Zac.
There was a sudden burst of applause. Connie’s programme had finished.
‘It’s our turn,’ said Tania.
Zac nodded, his eyes never leaving hers. ‘You ready?’
Tania breathed in. Excitement and impatience surged through her. A huge smile spread across her face. ‘Yes.’
He answered her smile with his own. ‘Then let’s go.’
Connie, her cheeks flushed to match her pink dress, stepped off the ice. Tania grabbed her arm as she passed. ‘Don’t let them stop you,’ she said firmly. ‘If you want to skate, don’t let anyone tell you you can’t.’
Connie stared at her. ‘I won’t,’ she said solemnly. ‘Thank you, Tania.’
Tania nodded, then Zac was pulling her onto the ice and into position.
She barely heard the applause as they took up the opening pose. Her whole attention was focused on Zac. The music started, and Tania felt her body respond by itself. By now, every move was so familiar to her that she gave herself up to the ice.
They moved in perfect harmony. Instinctively Zac reached for Tania at precisely the right moments. The air whistled past them as they built up speed around the end of the rink before Tania held out a boot for Zac to grab and lift her into a stag position. There was cheering, but Tania was oblivious. Adrenalin fizzed through her like a firework, and by the look on Zac’s face, she could tell he felt the same. They exchanged looks of pure delight, and the death spiral was the best they had ever done it.
The programme started conventionally enough, but before too long they were into Zac’s skateboarding section. There were gasps from the crowd as Zac used his knees to skid across the ice, and Tania performed two cartwheels in succession. Then the audience burst into spontaneous applause. Tania felt her body flood with excitement, and it felt just like the moment on the zip-wire, when she launched herself into space.
As they went into a pairs spin, Tania was acutely aware of Zac’s hands on her, as though they were burning through her costume. The spin increased speed, and for a moment it was hard to tell where Tania ended and Zac began.
The music built to a climax and Tania felt her heart beat faster. This was it – the tabletop lift. Without hesitation, she sprang up, and Zac lifted her high above his head, his blades skimming the ice below her. Tania closed her eyes for a second, arms stretched out. This was true joy – this was flying.
As though she were a delicate piece of china, Zac lowered her swiftly into their fish dive, and as the music came to an end, Tania turned her head to look back into his eyes. The expression in his matched how she was feeling – more alive than she had ever felt before. Her hand brushed his cheek, tracing the outline of his jaw without thinking. Zac’s lips moved.
‘You know I’m crazy about you, don’t you?’ he was saying. His words were drowned out by the crowd, but Tania knew she had heard him right. She couldn’t reply; the breath stopped in her lungs. She felt dizzy at the look in his eyes. It was as though she were at the centre of his world and nothing else existed.
He set her on her feet, and suddenly Tania was aware of the audience. They were on their feet, clapping and cheering, and as Tania looked out, she caught sight of her parents, standing and cheering with the rest of them. Beside them were Libby and Scott. Libby was whooping so loudly Tania could hear her over everyone else.
Zac said out of the corner of his mouth, ‘I think we’re meant to bow.’
Tania blinked. ‘Of course.’
They bowed to all four sides of the rink. The applause just grew louder and louder, and to her satisfaction, Tania caught a glimpse of Connie’s mother Meg, on her feet and clapping just as enthusiastically as everyone else.
It was time to leave the ice, but for one moment, Tania paused. Her eyes slid across the audience, drinking it all in. This is what I love, she told herself. This is what I lost. But now I’ve found it again.
They skated to the side, where around seventy skaters were waiting to come on for the big finale. Brock nodded to them as he corralled the smaller ones together. It was a nod of approval, and although he didn’t say anything, they knew he was pleased. Tania and Zac moved to the back as the others poured past them, and then, suddenly, they were alone.
‘I guess we should get changed,’ said Tania.
Zac reached for her hand. ‘Wait a minute,’ he said. ‘Before – when we were waiting to skate. You said – did you mean it? Do you want us to keep skating as a pair?’
Tania looked into his eyes, and her gaze didn’t falter. ‘More than anything,’ she told him.
Zac opened his mouth to speak, but his breath caught in his throat. ‘I was hoping you’d say that,’ he whispered. ‘I can’t imagine coming here every day and not skating with you.’ He grinned. ‘I guess we should get changed then, like you said.’
‘One thing first,’ said Tania, as he turned to go. ‘Out there, on the ice. What did you say?’
He looked steadily at her. ‘You heard me.’
‘I want you to say it again.’
Zac glanced down and reached for her other hand. He held them out in front of him. ‘I said I’m crazy about you.’
Tania couldn’t speak, she felt so happy.
‘Didn’t you know?’ asked Zac. ‘I thought it must be obvious how I felt about you.’
She shook her head.
‘Every day, when I wake up,’ he told her, ‘you’re the first thing I think about. Seeing you – skating with you. You make my day better – you make my life better.’
Tania eyes shone. ‘That’s how I feel too,’ she whispered.
Beyond the curtain, far away, the crowd erupted into applause.
‘Then I guess there’s just one thing left to do,’ said Zac softly. He reached for her face, and slowly, as the cheers grew louder, he bent his head to hers and kissed her.
About the Author
Jo Cotterill has worked as an actress and a teacher, but now writes full time in her writing shed in her back garden. She lives in a little village just outside Oxford with her husband and daughter. Jo plays the flute quite well and the piano quite badly, and loves cheese more than anything – even chocolate!
Look out for more
stories!
Star Crossed
Strictly Friends?
Forget Me Not
Ice Dreams
Coming soon:
Model Behaviour
SWEET HEARTS: ICE DREAMS
AN RHCB DIGITAL EBOOK 978 1 849 41216 2
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This ebook edition published 2011
Copyright © Jo Cotterill, 2011
First Published in Great Britain by Red Fox, 2011
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