Crossing the Ice (9 page)

He pointed to the stereo. “This is the part I thought you’d really like.”

The beat slowed, and the lead singer began crooning a familiar tune, one that brought up memories of being on the ice.

“That’s from
Samson and Delilah
!” I said.

Mark and I had skated our long program to the opera score three seasons ago, so I’d heard this melody every day for months at the rink. But I’d never heard it like this, woven into the middle of a rock song.

“I love this so much,” I said.

Josh smiled. “As soon as I heard it, I thought of you.”

I turned my head fully toward him, but he wouldn’t look at me. His smile had faded, and he quietly cleared his throat.

“You know, since you um… since you skated to it,” he stammered.

Yeah,
three
years
ago. And tons of other skaters had used the music over the years, including a lot more memorable names than Mark and me. But I was the first person who came to mind when he heard the song.

There went my fluttery stomach again.

The fog rolled in thicker as we rode beside one of the many ponds in the area. Josh leaned slightly forward and slowed the car while going through the sharp curves.

“It’s the next left?” he asked.

“Uhh… yeah.”

I wouldn’t mind if he slowed down even more so I could be in the car longer, and not just because I wanted to listen to more of the CD. Em and Sergei’s house soon came into view, though, and Josh parked in front of the driveway.

“You should hear the rest of this.” He ejected the disc and popped it into its case. “Keep it as long as you want.”

He handed the CD to me, and I asked, “Are you sure it’s okay?”

His mouth curled upward. “I trust you.”

He treated me to another long look, my third of the night. Not that I was counting. That kind of look was just usually so rare from him that I felt something had changed between us. Or I could be totally overanalyzing everything.

I opened the door and set one foot on the pavement. “Thanks so much for the ride. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.” He patted the stick shift. “Hey, let me give you my number in case you need a lift while your car’s in the shop.”

He took his phone from the cup holder and pressed a few keys. “What’s your number? I’ll text you and then you’ll have mine.”

I bit my lip to keep from smiling. If he was trying to be smooth, he’d pulled it off excellently. I recited my digits and heard my phone ding in my bag a few seconds later.

I waved goodbye as I stepped out, and I put the CD in my purse before unlocking the front door of the house. Josh didn’t pull away until I was inside. I went through the foyer to the living room, and Em and Sergei were cuddled together on the couch, watching TV.

“Why didn’t you come through the garage?” Em asked.

“My car wouldn’t start, so I got a ride home. I’ll get it towed tomorrow.” I loosened the knot on my uniform tie as I headed for the stairs. “Have a good night.”

“‘Night,” they said in unison.

Upstairs Liza’s bedroom door was closed, so I moved quietly past it to my room. I couldn’t wait to get showered and comfy in my pajamas so I could listen to the CD. As I lathered my strawberry-scented shampoo in my hair, I hummed the aria from
Samson and Delilah
, hitting all the high notes.

Once I was dry and cozy under my comforter, I slid the CD into my laptop and plugged in my headphones. I flopped back against the pillows, blasted the music so loud Mom would tell me my eardrums would burst, and closed my eyes.

The epic sound of the lead singer’s voice mixed with the unique and vibrant beat took me out of my bedroom and into a rocking concert hall. Every song was fabulous and surprising. Just when I didn’t think the record could give me any more surprises, the next song began with only a slow piano. The beautiful, emotional melody immediately made me think of skating.

With Josh.

I saw us so clearly. I could even feel his hand around mine as it had been in the car for that brief moment. We were alone on a fresh sheet of ice, doing crossovers perfectly in sync. He pressed me up into a soaring star lift, carrying me swiftly across the rink, and then brought me down securely into his strong arms. We were so close his warm breath fanned over my lips. The music kept building around us, but we were both completely still as our momentum took us over the ice. When we finally glided to a halt, Josh leaned into me and his lips—

Stop!

My eyes flew open.

This isn’t going to happen, so you need to stop daydreaming about it. You
CANNOT
fall for him.

I drew in a deep breath and covered my face with my hands. Who was I kidding? I was already falling for him. So freaking hard.

Chapter Seven

I listened to the piano song over and over on Sunday and itched to text Josh my thoughts on the album. But all I did was stare at his number on my phone. Texting him would add another dimension to our friendship, and I was already thinking about him enough without constantly waiting for my phone to buzz.

When Monday morning came I reluctantly packed the CD in my skate bag to return it to Josh. Even though he’d said to keep it as long as I wanted, I didn’t want to take advantage of his generosity. Too many people were around during our morning warm-up for me to give it to him, so when I went into the locker room later and saw his bag open on the floor, I quickly slipped the disc inside.

“What are you doing?”

I jumped back and spun to see Stephanie just inside the doorway. She stalked over to me and narrowed her steely blue eyes.

“Were you taking something from Josh’s bag?” she asked.

My first instinct was to laugh because Stephanie acted too ridiculous sometimes to be real. She was like a character in
Mean Girls
. I pressed my lips together to hold in the laughter, and I backed away from her.

“Because I’m not rich you automatically assume I’m a thief?” I said. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I was returning something.”

“What were you returning that you had to put in his bag instead of handing it to him?”

“It’s just a CD he let me borrow.”

Stephanie crossed her arms. “Josh doesn’t let anyone borrow his music. He’s a total freak about keeping it in perfect condition.”

My heart ballooned with a big
Aww
that Josh had made an exception for me. Stephanie’s suspicious glare quickly snapped me out of happy-sappy land, though.

“Well, he loaned one to me, so I guess that makes me special,” I said, knowing how much it would irritate her that Josh and I had become friends.

“Didn’t I explain that you have no chance with him? You’re just going to embarrass yourself if you keep sniffing after him.”

Sniffing after him?
If anyone was doing any sniffing it was Josh, who kept showing up at my workplace. The words were on the edge of my tongue, but I clamped my mouth shut. Telling Stephanie about our time together at the restaurant would taint it somehow. Plus, I had the feeling Josh didn’t like his sister knowing all his business.

“I really don’t give a crap what you think, but you’re way off base anyway,” I said.

Josh walked into the room, carrying his skates, and he stopped when he saw Stephanie and me facing each other with scowls. “What’s going on?”

Stephanie relaxed her posture and picked up her bag. “We were just chatting.”

Josh glanced at me as if to corroborate Stephanie’s statement. I kept mum and sat on the bench.

“I’m going to the spa,” Stephanie said as she passed Josh. “Don’t forget yoga is an hour later today.”

I thought back to Josh telling me I should try it, and I smiled wickedly to myself at how much I’d piss off Stephanie if I did.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about giving hot yoga a try since Em swears by it,” I said. “I might see you there tonight.”

The tightness returned to Stephanie’s face. “It’s not really for everyone. You’d probably hate it.”

“I think you’ll like it,” Josh said with a subtle smile.

“Don’t you work nights?” Stephanie tapped her foot.

“The restaurant is closed on Mondays.”

She stared me down and let out a little huff. “I have to go.”

She blew out of the room, and Josh looked back and forth from me to the door. “So, what did I miss before I came in?”

“She saw me putting the CD in your bag, and she was questioning me about it.”

“You could’ve kept it longer.”

“I didn’t want to hog it,” I said as I toyed with my maroon and gold bracelet. “I listened to it all day yesterday. I think I played ‘Exogenesis Symphony Part 3’ at least ten times.”

Josh’s eyes lit up. “That’s one of my favorites, too.”

We smiled at each other, and I quickly focused on examining my bracelet as if some of the threads were loose. They were all perfectly intact.

Josh bent to pack his skates in his duffel. “Do you need a ride to the yoga studio?”

“Um… I can probably borrow Em’s car. It’s on Route Twenty-Eight in Centerville?” I’d grown up in that area, so I was familiar with the strip mall where the studio was located.

“Yep, that’s it.” He walked backward to the door. “Call me if you end up needing a lift.”

He told Liza hello as they almost bumped into each other in the doorway. Liza bounced over to join me on the long bench, her long black ponytail swaying behind her.

“I landed the double Axel-triple toe,” she said while doing a jig.

“That’s awesome!”

“My goal is to have it consistent by the time we leave for camp.”

The U.S. Skating Federation held a camp in Colorado Springs every summer for its top athletes, and we had to perform our programs for feedback from the powers-that-be. It was a nerve-wracking experience because if they hated our programs, we’d have to scrap them and start all over.

“That’s only a few weeks away,” I said.

“I can do it,” she said with no hesitation.

I smiled at her confidence. Liza might be only fifteen and in her first year as a senior-level skater, but she was a definite contender for the Olympic team. The girl could reel off triple-triples better than many longtime senior ladies.

“You know how you should celebrate your accomplishment?” I said. “By going to hot yoga with me tonight.”

“Huh?”

“It’ll be a great energy release.” I did my best to cheerfully sell it.

The confusion on Liza’s face said I hadn’t done a good enough job. “How many times has Em asked us to go with her and how many times have we said no way?”

“I know, but we’ve done regular yoga before and liked it. Stephanie and Josh were telling me about it, and I want to check it out.” I looped my arm across her shoulders. “And I need a buddy.”

“Since when do you talk to Stephanie?” She lifted one eyebrow.

Busted.

“Okay, so maybe I want to go just to annoy her because she doesn’t want me there. But I still need a buddy.”

I gave her a big hopeful grin, and she studied me as she slowly tapped her chin with her finger. “I do like the idea of annoying Stephanie.”

I squeezed her into a hug. “That’s my girl.”

****

“I think Em was offended that we’ve always turned her down and now we’re doing this on our own,” Liza said as we stored our bags in the yoga studio’s locker room.

I picked up my mat and towels. “We can go with her another time.”

The strap of my loose tank slipped down my shoulder, and I hiked it back into place before pulling open the practice room door. Sticky air hit my face and seeped into my lungs. The first thing I saw was a shirtless guy stretching and another one beside him.
Interesting.
There had never been any shirtless men in the few standard yoga classes I’d attended.

I looked to the back of the room where Stephanie and Josh stood talking. I took two steps in their direction, and then Josh tugged his T-shirt over his head, halting all my motor skills.

Holy Batman.

The view was even better than I’d imagined, and I’d imagined it an embarrassing number of times lately. Josh’s chest and stomach were smooth and cut lean and hard, and his long shorts sat just low enough on his hips to give a peek of the V leading down…

“This might not be so bad after all.” Liza giggled and looked around.

I touched my face. I was already hot, and I hadn’t done any exercising yet.
Yeah, hot and bothered.

Josh noticed me and broke into a smile, and I unstuck my feet from the floor to go forward. Liza followed close at my side.

“I’m glad you guys could make it,” Josh said.

Stephanie rolled her eyes and walked away.
Good riddance.

“We’re super excited to try something new,” Liza said, still preoccupied with checking out our surroundings.

Meanwhile, I struggled to keep from checking out Josh’s body now that I had an up-close view. Looking at his gorgeous smile made it easier to distract myself. I set down my stuff and fanned my tank top, sending a warm breeze over my sports bra.

“You might want to take that off,” Josh said.

I stopped fanning. “What?”

“A sweaty shirt will weigh you down. I learned the hard way when I wore a T-shirt once.”

“Oh. Yeah, I didn’t think about that.”

I paused and then grabbed the hem of my shirt. Josh’s eyes stayed on me as I pulled the top over my head. He glanced downward at my bare stomach, so quickly it was barely perceptible, but I’d caught him. And there was definite appreciation shining in his eyes. The heat in my face spread lower.

“Should we set up?” I asked.

Liza and I lined up our mats next to Josh, and Stephanie situated herself on his other side. I took a long drink from my water bottle and tucked a loose strand of hair into my ponytail holder. The humidity in the room felt like a muggy cloud sinking over me.

The instructor took her spot at the front of the room and demonstrated the first pose, a simple standing position to warm up. I tried to go to a peaceful place mentally, but all I could think about was the blistering heat. And I only grew warmer as we moved through the various poses. When we transitioned to the ninth position, I found myself facing Josh’s back, and my thoughts finally drifted away from the temperature.