The sound of our skates echoed around the rink as we ran on the ice. My takeoff was shockingly strong, but everyone watching knew that I didn’t have a chance at beating a three-time Olympic gold medalist at his own sport.
I wanted Ben to have a chance to show off. To remind the audience watchingThe Scorethat the kickass interviewer was also a peerless athlete. And I wanted to get close to the magic he made on the ice, like his winning streak might rub off on me.
I put on a sloppy, giggly show half the rink behind him. I could tell he hadn’t even moved out of second gear in an effort to let me save face. When he glanced back at me, he was laughing too.
Yeah, I now had zero doubt that having fun with Ben was a given.
Chapter Nineteen
“This might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” Ben marveled as a group of five-year-olds dressed as Minions skated to “Happy Together.”
We’d met at the rink for the showcase, mainly because I’d been subjecting myself to way more Magic Martino than I’d signed on for and didn’t want to do yet another date-adjacent activity with him. Hailey and Neil had to skip the event because they were union and getting close to hitting their hours for the day, which left the two of us without a buffer, sitting side by side in the packed arena.
I had my usual visceral reactions watching the adorable little girls—joy that they were blossoming in the sport, and worry about what they could face if any of them turned out to be like me at age six. All it took was one striving parent plus a driven coach to mine raw talent. The descriptors for a promising young skater sounded positive... small and strong... tiny and powerful... a fearless firecracker. The reality of what might await the girl possessing all those gifts was what stressed me out.
I understood all too well that talent and damage often went hand in hand.
“Do you know any of them?” Ben leaned over to ask me.
“Almost all of them, and I recognize the ones I haven’t met,” I said. “Like you noticed, we’re a close-knit community.”
He looked down at the program. “Zoey skates last.”
“She’s the rink’s star.”
“After you,” he added.
Which we both knew was true, but there was no need to talk about it. It didn’t help that we were attending the event together, because I usually attracted plenty of attention on my own. The parents and athletes I saw every day didn’t give me a second glance, but the friends and family who came along to the event treated me like a celebrity. It wasn’t fair to pull attention from the skaters, so I’d opted for my usual disguise of no makeup and a black knit cap pulled low. Ben had done his part to camouflage his star power in a baseball cap and a half zip with a high collar.
Still, I could feel eyes on us.
The little minions finished and glided off the ice to thunderous applause.
Ben studied the program. “My buddy Nathan is next. This might be his final performance.”
I whirled to face him. “What do you mean? Is he injured?”
The corner of his mouth tipped up. “Not at all. I think it’ll be because he found a new obsession. I gave him my number and he’s been texting me all sorts of questions about speed skating. I gave him a couple of simple tests to try and he sailed through them. The kid has promise. I’m trying to get him hooked up with some folks I know in the area.”
Ben sounded so wistful that I couldn’t resist turning the tables and interviewing him.
“Do you miss it?”
“Fuck yes,” he replied quickly. “Way more than I expected.”
I stared at his profile, waiting for him to continue, but he busied himself with the program. An unfamiliar furrow appeared on his brow.
“Was it hard?” I probed. “Retiring?”
Ben stared out at the ice. When he finally answered his voice was a scrape of gravel. “Yeah. Devastating.”
I didn’t expect such a candid response, especially given that we were surrounded by people. I wanted to continue the conversation, to learn about the post-Olympic reality check that I heard could level even the strongest athletes, but Ben’s expression didn’t welcome additional questions.
I’d gotten a hint of what it was like when I quit. The mix of no rules and an empty calendar had been exhilarating at first, until it felt like a black hole that could swallow me up.
“Did you ever think about coaching?”
We paused to clap as Nathan skated to the center of the rink, dressed in black pants with a sequin stripe up the side and a bright blue silky shirt.
