2. Aria
CHAPTER TWO
Well, shit.
This is not what I was expecting.
Leo doesn't turn back around to look at me. He continues to stare at Luca as he explains everything to Leo. I overheard about Delaney this morning, but I didn't put two and two together at the time. I honestly didn't give it much thought when Eva told me about it and then the thought really left my brain when I got my own dreaded phone call earlier.
Preston had been having some muscle fatigue issues for a while and it was progressively getting worse. He was constantly tired and growing weaker, which was making it harder for him to lift me into the air. It was affecting the way we skated together, but I didn't want to make him feel bad about it. I did what I could to modify our routines and he did everything he could do to make himself stronger.
And then it kind of stopped working. Preston's doctors were running tests and looking into every aspect of his health. They determined it was some kind of autoimmune disorder but they needed to run more tests to determine what it was and what they could do for it. Preston had to make the impossible decision to take a break from skating. He was at risk from his health and it was also proving to be dangerous for both of us.
He didn't tell me the severity of things until earlier today and I'm still trying to process it all. I went from thinking my partner was having some minimal issues to being without a partner completely. Preston reached out to the coaches after he dropped the bomb on me. I didn't really say much to any of them, but Alanna told me earlier that they had some ideas for a new partner for me.
Like I said, I didn't put two and two together at the time.
Leo and I both need a partner… and they want us to skate together.
I literally want to crawl into a hole and die right now. Of all people, why does it have to be him? Hell, at this point, I will take someone who doesn't skate as well. Okay, that's a lie.
This isn't an ideal situation, but it could work. Leo is an exceptional skater. The two of us have been in a silent competition with one another for years. Even though we skate on the same team, we still compete against each other. I want to win and I know Leo has the same drive. He's one of the sorest losers I've ever met. If we can put our differences aside, we might be able to make this work.
"No."
Every ounce of hope I have falls to the ground as soon as the word leaves Leo's lips. He rises to his feet in a haste. He runs a frustrated hand through his hair and I remember exactly how silky his locks felt running between my fingers. My tongue darts out to wet my lips. I nervously shift my weight on my feet as Leo crosses his arms over his chest.
"What are you talking about?" Eva questions him, her eyebrows pulling together.
"Leo, you don't have any other options," Luca chimes in at the same time.
Alanna looks at me with a sympathetic look on her face. I shrug and take a deep breath as I step farther into the room. I don't want this any more than he does. Hell, he left me feeling more rejected than anyone else ever had. I’d never had someone come to my house, give me an orgasm, and then never speak to me again. He didn't even get anything pleasurable out of it, which stung more than anything.
I wasn't good enough for him to collect on the debt I owed.
"Can I talk to Leo in private?" I ask the three coaches. Leo avoids my gaze and stalks over to the window and stares out at the ice. This isn't really what I want to do, but he's not being receptive right now. I don't know if talking to him will make any difference, but I have to try.
There has to be some way that we can come to an agreement. It's either that or we are both stuck without a partner and neither of us will be able to skate in any of the pair skating competitions.
Luca nods and rises to his feet as Alanna and Eva follow him. "We'll give you two a few minutes. We'll start the meeting in the lobby instead."
I thank them silently as they leave the room. Leo doesn't look at them, he doesn't look at me. He just stares out the window. The small smile that was on my face instantly falls and an exasperated sigh escapes me as I walk over to where he is.
"If it makes you feel any better, I don't want to be your partner either."
Leo snorts and I see him roll his eyes as he continues to look out at the ice. "It doesn't make me feel any better because I never would have expected you to want to be my partner."
"Fair enough," I agree with a shrug. He's not wrong. Leo has his reasons for not liking me and I have my reasons for not liking him. They're all petty and ones that developed when we were younger, but it drove a wedge between us that we never seemed to get over. It was pretty stupid. "We seem to both be at the same crossroads right now."
"That's where you're wrong," he says, his words slicing through me like sharpened blades of steel. "You may be at a crossroads, but I already know my answer. I will not skate with you."
I try to ignore the sting that he leaves behind. His words have always been his weapon. "You like to win, don't you?"
He slowly turns his head to look at me and gives me a knowing look. "Get to the point, Reed. I don't feel like playing games."
"You know that we are equally skilled and we are both at the top. What else could happen if you put two of the best skaters together? It's a sure bet that we will win."
There is no guarantee like that, but it is basic math at this point. We skated together many years ago, but not in a competition. It was one fluke moment when we were both in high school.
I wasn't as fortunate as the other kids. My parents were separated and both worked, so sometimes it was hard for me to get to the rink on time. One night, I ended up being late to practice. Our coach said I had to sit out and watch everyone else as I did off-ice exercises. It was brutal and also humiliating.
Leo told me he needed my help with something after everyone was finished. He was working at the rink at the time, running the Zamboni and working at the front desk. He was supposed to close up after practice was over, but he didn't.
He waited until everyone was gone and locked the door with both of us inside. He told me that I could skate as long as I wanted to. Free ice time was next to impossible to come by and considering the fact that I had missed the entirety of practice, I was not going to pass up the opportunity to skate.
What I wasn't expecting was for him to ask me to skate with him. We had never done that before, we didn't have a routine. We made it up as we went… and I never had a moment skating with someone like that again. We were in perfect harmony together, absolutely flawless. He whispered sweet words of how he never wanted to skate with anyone but me.
Leo went back to pretending I didn't exist after that, like he never said those words, and I started dating his rival, who I ended up partnering with for a few years. Things couldn't have gone any further south between Leo and I. For whatever reason, I hung on to that memory of us together that night. It meant something to me.
"We've never skated together before." He narrows his eyes on mine. "There's no way you can be sure we will win together."
Hearing those words cuts deep. He has to remember or else I've been holding on to nothing. It was a pivotal moment in my life. He extended a kindness that no one else would understand. "Yes, we did."
Leo looks at me—really looks at me—and the rug is pulled out from under my feet as he smiles. "Are you talking about that time in high school?" He pauses, shaking his head. "Aria, that wasn't anything choreographed. We were just messing around on the ice. There's no guarantee it would be the same now. You know there has to be chemistry, there has to be emotion woven into the performance."
He's doing this on purpose, either because he doesn't want to skate together or he doesn't want to admit the truth. We do have chemistry. We've always had chemistry. There has always been a magnetic pull between us. Or that's what I thought. After the past few months of silence, I wasn't so sure. Perhaps I'm delusional. Perhaps there never was anything there.
"You're right," I agree, nodding as I take a step away from him. "It's fine. I'm sure we will both be able to find someone else."
He stares at me, the smile falling from his face as he sets his lips in a straight line. "You don't like me, Aria. Why are you acting like this?"
"Because I like to win, Leo. I don't have to like you to skate with you. I just want to win and you might be my best shot at it."
It's the truth. He's an emotionally unavailable, avoidant man. He's not the type of person I would ever want to get involved with. Leo Wells is too much work for me. I need a partner that will help me win. I need someone that will help me stay at the top. He's the one, but if he doesn't want it, I can't force him.
"That's all you've ever cared about."
I recoil a bit at the harshness of his tone. My spine straightens and I push my shoulders back. "If you're not winning, what are you doing?"
He sets his jaw as he stands as still as a statue with his gaze trained on mine. His eyes shimmer under the fluorescent lights above. Moments like this are the ones where I find myself cursing the universe for how damn good this man looks. I don't know if I would call him grumpy, but he definitely has some tendencies. "Fine."
I cock my head to the side as confusion washes over me. For a second, I'm not sure if I heard him correctly, or if I'm hallucinating. "What?"
"I said fine," he huffs, uncrossing his arms. They hang down at his sides and he carefully tucks them in the front pockets of his joggers. His face softens a bit as he stares down at me. The coldness around him defrosts a fraction. “I’ll skate with you.”
I straighten my head and lift my chin. “As my partner?”
“As in, we do a trial skate together and see if it will work or not.”
It will. I know it will, and so does he. He doesn't want to admit it, so of course he has to make it more difficult.
"So, you don't want to commit to anything without knowing it will be a good fit," I say, looking for clarification from him.
The corners of his mouth twitch. "I'm not a huge fan of commitments."
I'm not going to bring up the fact that he was committed to skating with Delaney for years. That was a different type of commitment. This is an unusual situation we’ve both found ourselves in. We have the chemistry, I just need to remind him of that electricity that crackles between us.
"You have yourself a deal."
I hold my hand out for him. His gaze drops down to my hand and he looks at it for a moment before dragging his gaze slowly up my torso. Heat creeps up my neck and spreads across my cheeks as his eyes finally find mine again. I absolutely hate the effect he has on me. He blinks twice, his breathing increasing a bit, before his warm palm slides against mine. It's a stark contrast to the cold that radiates from him.
His hand wraps around mine and he holds it firmly. "Just one skate and then we will decide what happens."
"Just one taste," he whispers, his lips brushing against my skin…
I swallow roughly. "Just one skate," I echo as I push the memory of him on his knees for me from my mind.
Leo Wells shakes my hand.
"Deal."