Chapter 4 #2
Day 2
Alisa hadn’t slept well. For some reason, she was constantly cold, even under a warm blanket and in thick pajamas.
The panel radiator didn’t seem to help, and the underfloor heating offered little comfort.
Perhaps it was nerves, but her body was exhausted, and yet sleep refused to come.
She tossed and turned, frowning as a dull headache crept over her temples.
“Damn, just what I needed,” she hissed, reaching for her gym bag.
She found an antispasmodic painkiller and swallowed it quickly, then pulled on her winter jacket and boots.
The corridors of the hotel were almost empty, but the lobby was buzzing with people.
Alisa moved quietly through the crowd, shushing herself like a shadow, and pushed open the doors to the cold outside.
The wind and snow immediately hit her, sharp and biting, almost threatening to knock her off her feet.
She decided to pace a little, walking up and down the brightly lit streets near the hotel.
Few people were around, an eerie quiet blanketed the city, like a scene from another world.
Occasionally, someone passed on the other side of the street, but otherwise it was almost deserted.
Alisa wandered, waiting for the pill to take effect and for her headache to fade. Her thoughts spun chaotically, drifting between nerves and excitement over the competition. She took some snow and formed a snowball by applying it to the back of her head to ease the pain.
Then, at the hotel entrance, she noticed Tora. The blonde was standing alone, looking up at the dark sky. Steam rose from her mouth as she breathed, and her eyes were closed.
Alisa hesitated, trying to look away, but something pulled her forward. Slowly, she approached.
Tora opened her eyes as if sensing her presence and turned her gaze toward Alisa. She didn’t speak at first, just blinked slowly, sleepily.
Did she live in this hotel too? But I thought she said something about a cottage in the shower back then… or? Or did I make it all up and was it just in my head?
“Hey…” Tora said softly.
“Hello…” Alisa replied, unsure of what to expect from her rival.
“That masturbation of yours had a bad effect on you and you decided to come out in the cold for some fresh air?” Tora teased.
Alisa laughed, shoving her lightly. “Fuck you!”
“Okay, okay… no kidding. It’s cold today, isn’t it?” Tora continued, pulling her jacket tighter around her.
Alisa exhaled deeply, her breath steaming in the freezing air. Snowflakes struck her cheeks sharply, and for a moment, she had to chase away a memory she didn’t want, the image of Tora from the shower earlier. Her body warmed at the thought, but the icy wind reminded her sharply of reality.
“It’s only going to get colder… maybe rain too, brr,” Tora muttered.
“Yeah… I know. Winter’s rough sometimes, bone-chilling,” Alisa replied, desperately steering her thoughts away from Tora and swallowing nervously, waiting for the blonde’s next words.
“Yes, I understand,” Tora said softly. “Even though I’ve never been to Russia, I can imagine. We live at roughly the same latitude…”
“Well,” Alisa replied, warming to the conversation, “I think your climate is a little milder since you’re closer to the Gulf Stream.”
“Ah… well, yes, I suppose so. I’ll trust your experience, you’ve been to two countries now. You can compare it. How do you like it here?”
Alisa looked at Tora for the first time and realized just how close she was standing, close enough to touch.
There was a faint, fresh scent on her, like mint powder.
Alisa took a small, nervous breath and felt the headache ease slightly.
The cold didn’t seem so biting anymore, and the world felt a little softer.
“Well… it’s not bad,” Alisa admitted. “Though the weather is harsh. I’d like to explore the city more, but maybe tomorrow will be better.”
Tora laughed softly. “No, it’s unlikely. Snowstorm all week.”
“Oh…”
A silence fell between them, filled only by the wind brushing the street.
Then Tora spoke again. “You didn’t skate badly today.”
“Yeah?” Alisa snorted, clenching her hands in her jacket pockets.
“Yes,” Tora said, nodding. “Despite the mistakes, of course. Everyone gets nervous.”
“Yes… nerves and all that,” Alisa echoed, her voice monotone.
Then Tora placed a hand lightly on Alisa’s shoulder. Alisa froze, noticing the graceful slenderness of her fingers, and her lips pressed together.
“Well… good luck tomorrow,” Tora said, withdrawing her hand and nodding.
“Thank you. You too,” Alisa replied, managing a small smile.
“Actually, maybe I should send you some nudes of mine? You will be able to fall asleep faster, I promise!” Tora raised her eyebrows and, with a faint smile, pulled out her phone. The screen flashed briefly with a quote and the number 1111, then went dark before Alisa could read it.
“Yeah, for sure!” Alisa laughed.
She couldn’t take the biting chill any longer and hurried inside the hotel, leaving Tora standing outside. Making her way to her room, Alisa quickly shed her clothes, eager to escape the frigid temperature.
As she climbed into the warm, inviting bed, Alisa’s mind began to race with fantasies of her rival. Memories of Tora’s naked form, glistening with water and soap, flashed through her thoughts. Alisa’s heart raced as she wondered, could Tora have really sent her those nudes?
Alisa bit her lip, smiling to herself as she imagined all the things she wanted to do to Tora’s stunning body. She cursed herself for not agreeing to Tora’s bold flirt.
But even as regret threatened to consume her, Alisa felt her eyelids growing heavy.
Tora’s parting words echoed in her mind, urging her to let go, to surrender to the call of her desires.
With a soft sigh, Alisa let her eyes drift shut, a smile still playing at the corners of her mouth as she tumbled into a deep, dream-filled slumber.
* * *
In the morning, the team gathered for a briefing about yesterday’s performance. Pike held a tablet in her hands, scrolling through yesterday’s results, while Alisa and Lev quietly took their seats at the long table in the meeting room.
Second place… second place… second place… Alisa muttered silently to herself, her mind replaying every small mistake from yesterday. She tried to calm herself, hoping the coach wouldn’t be aggressive like yesterday.
But Pike seemed composed. She went through the debrief calmly, pointing out what could be corrected today and what elements they could add to their program. Today’s routine was longer, more complex, and if executed perfectly, it could make up for lost points.
“You have a chance to win back what you lost,” Pike said, looking at both of them. “Don’t worry about yesterday. Focus on today.”
Lev nodded, his face determined. “We’ll catch up. Everything will be fine.”
Alisa tried to push her nervous thoughts aside, but they returned relentlessly, reviewing her missteps over and over again.
“Let’s catch up and win!” Lev said with an encouraging smile.
“Yes, that’s why you’re here,” Pike added confidently.
“We wake up, smile, and go shine, go earn the gold!” Pike continued, gesturing to the team.
Alisa nodded along, trying to absorb the positivity, but inside, her chest tightened.
The fear of not performing perfectly lingered.
Missing the Olympics or even the qualifiers was unthinkable.
Today was the another step on that path, and they had to dominate.
After the briefing, they moved on to stretching and light warm-up, and then to breakfast. Alisa was silent, lost in thought, conserving her energy for the performance ahead.
“We can catch up with them,” Lev broke her mental silence, glancing at her with a reassuring look. Around them, the dining hall buzzed with chatter, clinking cutlery, and the smell of breakfast.
Alisa remained calm, almost predatory in her focus, as if yesterday’s encounter with Tora had shifted something inside her.
She couldn’t quite define it, but the sharp, aggressive edge she remembered on the ice had softened.
Tora seemed… almost sympathetic and tender.
Alisa didn’t understand it yet, but it lingered in her mind.
Lev leaned closer, his voice low. “The main thing is — we’re in the strongest group today.”
“Yes… and with those Norwegians…” Alisa replied, her stomach tightening slightly.
“Well, it’s not obvious who’ll take the first place yet, but we’re going to be at each other’s throats for it,” Lev confirmed with a mischief in his eyes.
Alisa sighed, nervously shoveling food into her mouth without tasting it. Her mind raced with strategy and anticipation.
“We’re going to win, you’ll see. Today, we win,” Lev said, squeezing her hand lightly.
“Yes… that’s why we’re here,” Alisa whispered, determination hardening in her chest. “To win. To qualify for the Olympics. That was the condition for both of us.”
Lev’s expression brightened. “Yes. We’re here to win.”
“Win,” Alisa echoed.
“Win,” they said together, smiling faintly.
* * *
The arena was buzzing with life, though “buzzing” hardly captured it. The air itself seemed to hum with tension, vibrating like a taut string, as if you could bite it off like cotton candy swirling in the winter wind. It felt like a vibration all around, and everyone and everything was feeling it.
Alisa and Lev stood at the corridor’s edge, fully dressed and warmed up, waiting for their moment.
Pike had warned them: they would be the first of five couples to perform in the final.
Setting the bar for the day, carrying the weight of everyone’s eyes upon them, they had only five minutes, five minutes to define everything.
As they walked toward the ice, the vibration in the arena seemed to shake their bones. The cold air smelled faintly of polished ice and coffee, but it carried more than that, it carried possibility, fear, and the tantalizing weight of triumph.