“Are you sure you’re okay to do this?” Sutton followed me around our apartment as I left various colors of leotards behind in my wake. I turned around, sucked in a slow breath at the lingering nausea from last night, and nodded at my choice of ballet-pink.
Aasher’s T-shirt was in a pile at my feet. After slicking my hair into a tight, ballerina-like bun, I changed into my skin-colored tights and slipped into my leo that felt more like a second skin than anything.
“I don’t have a choice. I just got the text that they are happening in twenty minutes.” I argued, taking my blush brush and applying some highlighter to my cheek bones and the very tip of my nose. The dark bags under my eyes weren’t going to go away, no matter what I did, so they had to stay.
I turned and looked at Sutton leaning against the doorjamb.
“I do have a choice,” I corrected, knowing that I didn’t have to do this. It was up to me to decide my future, and it was up to me to decide if I wanted to continue with figure skating. Aasher was the one who opened my eyes to that.
“You’re right.” Sutton nodded. “And let me guess…you want to do this.”
“For me,” I whispered, running my hands down my velvet leo. “Someone once took the choice from me, and I refuse to let them do it again. Before leaving Rosewood, I only skated to prove something to someone. I didn’t think I had a choice. It was either I was perfect, made no mistakes, or nothing. This isn’t about that anymore.”
I snagged my keys and rushed to the door, knowing I would be late if I didn’t leave now. “No one is going to take my choice away. Someone roofied me last night, and if I let that stop me from doing something I want, then I’m no different than who I was at Rosewood.”
Sutton opened the door for me and grabbed my hand. “You’re such a badass.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
Then she slapped me on the butt. “Go kill it, Ry. We are all rooting for you.”
First, tryouts.
Second, find Aasher and we go talk to my dad together.
I smelled the cool ice of the rink the moment I stepped into the arena. The hockey team was there, their cars all parked in a single row toward the side entrance. I didn’t let it distract me, though.
“There she is!” I was hurriedly pulled down the stairs by a senior skater, who I recognized from prior competitions. My skates bounced over my shoulder, and every step was like a pulley tugging on my sensitive belly.
“I’m not late,” I announced, eyeing my future coach. The figure skating committee sat in a single row with their clipboards hugged tightly to their chests and glasses perched on the edges of their noses.
“Is that Riley Lennon?”
“I think so.”
“Well, fuck us. We’re out.”
I leaned down to the young girls that were likely hoping for a full ride to Bexley U—or maybe just a spot on the team in general.
“There’s room for us all,” I whispered, winking at them. I’d already made the decision to treat this team differently than my last. I would be a senior, and there was no way I was going to run a team like the seniors did at Rosewood.
Lead by example, not by fear of competition.
“You smell like alcohol,” Gianna whispered. Worry worked over her features, and her eyes widened. “Oh my god, tell me it wasn’t you.”
Shit. It was already around campus.
I gulped and sat down to tie my skates. “I’m fine.”
Her hand landed on my arm. “Are you? I’m certain the committee would understand. You’re Riley Lennon. You are already number one on this team.”
“I don’t want special treatment. Plus, I have to stop the curious looks and worries.”
Gianna lifted her hands. “Alright, well…good luck. We could really benefit from having you on the team.”
The way figure skating worked was we were all scored individually, but every point added up to one overall score. You skated for yourself, but you skated for the team too.
“Thanks.” I smiled and headed toward the ice to meet with the coach. We’d only had a handful of conversations over the last year, but she was well aware of who I was, and she already had my song choice lined up. It was the one that Aasher chose for me one night while I was training as his eyes followed my every move.
“Good luck, Riley.”
I froze, turned, and then glared. My lungs were on fire, and my fingers twitched to slap him.
“How dare you show your face here.”
Graham Sullivan looked guiltier than ever. His temples flicked back and forth as he rested along one of the seats within a row lined with his younger followers. “All of you,” I said, looking at them.
Most of them swung their eyes in different directions, but Sully kept his eye on me. “What?”
“You think just because you weren’t there last night that I don’t know you were behind it?”
Sully’s throat moved. I wanted to wrap my small hands around his neck to choke him. “Behind what? The bet?” He sighed and looked remorseful, his mouth drooping at the sides. “Riley, it was Aasher’s idea. He’s been fooling you from the beginning.”
“Unbelievable,” I whispered.
His hands went into his pockets as he stood and headed toward me. I stayed unmoving. “I know. I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
I laughed. It sounded manic. “No. I mean it’s unbelievable that you can stand there and lie so well. It’s kind of scary.”
He opened his mouth, and I knew that anyone within earshot was listening. My nerves were lessening the longer I talked to him, because it felt good to steal the power back from someone who took it.
“It wasn’t Aasher’s idea,” I said, bending down slowly to make sure my skates were tied tightly. “It was yours.” I popped up and smiled boldly. “I was in the locker room that day, listening to everything you said. The point system, everything.”
Sully knew he’d been caught.
His eyebrows dipped just enough for me to keep going.
“And how fucking dare you slip something in my drink.”
“You put something in her drink? Dude, what?”
I leaned around and eyed one of the younger hockey players. “Well, he didn’t. But he had someone else do it because he can’t even do his own dirty work.”
“Nothing happened.” Sully rolled his eyes. “It’s not like you were touched. Jesus.”
“Taking away someone’s control, even for a few hours, isn’t nothing.” My knee met his groin, and he bent over at the waist, gasping for air. “Don’t you ever do something like that again, or I swear to God, Graham, you’ll regret it.”
After I backed away, I turned around and shook out my arms. I slid onto the ice with a winning smile on my face. I’d never felt more like myself with the ice beneath my feet and fully capable of making my own decisions without trying to prove something to someone.
Skate for you, Riley.
I moved backward, creating little divots in the ice as my pink wispy tutu flew up beside my hips. After taking center ice and shoving away the jumbling in my belly, I inhaled and dug down to the part of myself that I was happy to show off.
“Let’s go, Riley!”
I glanced up to the top of the arena and smiled. Ford, Berkley, Efrain, and even broody Emory were standing with their shirts pulled up, showing off their muscular bodies that were painted with the letters R-I-L-EY.
They were one person short.
Where is Aasher?
Ford pointed, and I scanned the arena before landing on him. He was still wearing the same clothes from last night but somehow still looked put together. My dad walked up behind him, and I froze. I put one skate forward, but Aasher raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “Skate for you,” he mouthed, keeping me level.
I exhaled and took my position.
I would skate for myself, but afterward, I would fight for him.
