Chapter 17
~Riley~
Waiting backstage at the arena, a smile keeps creeping onto my face.
Knowing Hudson is out there in the crowd, waiting for me, makes it impossible not to smile, especially when combined with the memory of how he didn’t go out last night, preferring to wait until I could join him.
If Trevor had done the same, maybe he never would have ended up with Evelyn.
Or maybe he would have; maybe it was inevitable that it would happen sometime and him going out that night without me had simply been the catalyst. Since I still don’t know exactly why or how they ended up together, or even if it was the first time it happened, I can’t say for certain.
What I do know for sure is that today, for the first time in the weeks since that awful morning, I’m not devastated that it happened.
After all, if it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have moved to Riverbend, I wouldn’t be in Helsinki, about to skate for the chance at a medal, and I wouldn’t have met Hudson, at least not more than in passing.
Maybe… well, maybe things were supposed to work out this way.
The thought is a new one for me, and one that’s going to take a bit of time to digest, but it still manages to make me smile all the same.
Hudson’s sign for me stands out as soon as I take the ice for my warm-up, as does his booming voice shouting out encouragement.
A couple of the other women on the ice give me curious looks while I try not to grin.
The warm-up hardly seems necessary; I already feel not only ready but excited to show everyone what I can do.
The pressure that normally pushes down on me in situations like this doesn’t make an appearance, and when my turn finally comes, only the excitement remains.
Hudson did us all proud yesterday, and now it’s my turn to step up.
My music opens with the unmistakable chords of Livin’ on a Prayer, and the crowd reacts with a cheer of recognition.
I’m sure I can hear Hudson’s shout above the rest, and it makes me smile once again as I head into my opening combination, the same one I over-rotated in the short program.
The triple Lutz explodes in a burst of energy.
I push off the ice with every ounce of power in my legs, my body twisting in the air as the world spins faster than I can track.
My core tenses as I hold the position, and the sharpness of the landing vibrates through my feet as I hit the ice again, throwing on a solid triple toe on the end. “Yes, Riley!”
Hudson’s voice carries over everyone else in the whole arena as he calls out his approval.
Honestly, it feels like the whole crowd is on my side when I land my triple loop and three-turn out of the edge right into a layback spin.
It’s a difficult sequence but my choreographer swore if I could do it justice, those extra transition points would rack up.
This is the first time it really felt smooth, and I’m fighting another smile as the music morphs into the slower strains of Always.
My spiral sequence is one of my favourite parts of the program, and today, the edges come easily. The whole sequence flows straight into my double Axel-half loop-triple Salchow combination. The landing is a little shaky, but it’s fully rotated, and the crowd cheers in encouragement.
I might actually win that medal, I realize, but I force the thought down as I line up for my triple flip. Snap, pick, lift, and it lands beautifully. Energy buzzes beneath my skin as I launch myself into a flying camel spin.
Just a couple more jumps left to go. Don’t fall, don’t fall, don’t fall, my brain chants as the music shifts to Bad Medicine and the crowd begins to clap along.
Although I don’t fall, I do step out of the landing of my double Axel. It’s okay, I reassure myself. Do the combo, and it’s fine.
My triple toe-triple toe combo comes late in the program, earning me extra points because of the effort it takes after everything else I’ve done.
My muscles tense on the entry, my fatigue trying to hold me back, so I push even harder.
My toe digs into the ice and I launch upwards, pulling the rotation in tight, and as soon as I hit the ice, I do it again.
The landing wobbles, but I refuse to put my other foot down to steady myself.
I hold onto the edge with every ounce of determination I have, and I hear Hudson call out one more, “Yes!” as I step into my final combination spin.
When I hit the ending position, everything goes quiet. My heaving breaths are all I hear, punctuated by the pounding of my heart in my ears.
Did that really just happen?
A second later, the silence clears and the roar of the crowd surrounds me. Flags wave, people applaud, and I take my bow while the announcer repeats my name. Most people here didn’t know me before this competition, but there’s a good chance they’ll remember this.
They might remember me.
With trembling legs, I step off the ice and follow my coach to the kiss ‘n’ cry area.
She’s praising the performance but honestly, I don’t hear a word of it.
My eyes are glued to the monitor that will show my results.
I’m the last one to skate, so whatever position I’m in when the marks come up will be my final standing.
The flowers that the girls bring to me don’t even register as I mindlessly take them and say thank you, my eyes never drifting from the screen.
It takes so long for the marks to come up that the crowd begins to clap in impatience, a steady drumming that grows faster and faster in a wave of anticipation building around me.
“The judges weren’t expecting that,” my coach says into my ear. “They don’t know what to do with you.”
I nod, but the words are little more than noise. My ears have begun to pound again, my eyes almost watering as I try not to blink, not wanting to miss the second when the scores appear.
Suddenly, they’re there, and the crowd bursts into cheers, the crescendo of their clapping cresting into fuller, rounder applause.
Third place.
I stare at the number three, my mouth open while my coach rubs my back in delight. I know what it means, but at the same time, I can’t fully comprehend it.
“That’ll send the world a message,” my coach beams. “Evelyn Harding better watch out at Nationals.”
Not even the mention of Evelyn’s name can deflate my triumph as the results slowly sink in and I get to my feet, waving at the crowd who cheer their support once more.
It’s only then that I glance down at the biggest bouquet of flowers in my hands and see the “Riley Rocks” card stuck into them.
Hudson.
Looking up again, I try to find him in the crowd, but I’m ushered out of the way so they can set up for the medal ceremony.
My cheeks hurt from smiling as I step up onto the third rung of the podium, waving to the crowd.
They’ve dimmed the lights for the ceremony, so I can’t see the crowd as well now, and I still don’t see Hudson anywhere.
The other two medallists join me on the podium, and we all get a small bouquet of flowers and our medals before the Russian national anthem is played for the woman who came first. After that, we all step up onto the top level of the podium with her to take photos, and that’s when I finally spot him.
Standing by the boards, the American flag now draped over his shoulders, his attention is entirely focused on his phone as he takes photos.
Through the screen, he sees me looking, and a smile spreads wide across his handsome face as he looks up at me and waves.
My chest swells with happiness, but the rest of my body reacts with something else entirely.
I want him.
The more time we’ve spent together, the harder it’s become to ignore the pull between us.
My thoughts around him have shifted, even though I can’t pinpoint exactly when it happened.
His smile and his support only make the feeling stronger, and I’m caught between the urge to retreat and protect myself and the undeniable truth that I want to know what it would feel like to let myself fall.
By the time I get changed and ready to head back to the hotel, I expect him to already be gone, but his now-familiar form waiting by the taxi rank sends another wave of heat through me.
“Now it’s time to celebrate,” he says, wrapping his arms around me in a congratulatory hug. “That was amazing, Pip.”
“Thanks.” My cheeks are sore from smiling, but I grin up at him anyway. “What did you have in mind?”
“Anything you want.” He spreads his hands to indicate that the night is wide open. Our flight home isn’t until the morning and we have no more obligations. “Some of the others are going to a club downtown. We could go with them, or…”
“No.” I cut him off before I even realize I meant to do it, and Hudson stops, his head tilting curiously as he waits to hear my suggestion.
My heart pounds even harder than it did on the ice as I blurt out the words I can hardly believe I’m going to say.
“I’d rather go back to your room. Just you and me. If you want to.”