Everyone gathered in the largest meeting room to get a last-minute refresher on the day’s schedule. “One last on-ice rehearsal slot each. Do not go over your allotted time. Schedule’s posted in the hallway. Your hair and makeup schedules are also posted. The venue will close at five except to those you have given your backstage passes. Okay, now get out of here, get some food, get some coffee, and for fuck’s sake, don’t hurt yourselves.”
“She’s really an inspiration,” Robbie told Finn dryly.
“Honestly I don’t think she even uses her brain for that speech anymore. She just plays it on memory.” He tilted his head in question. “So—are you ready for this?”
“Am I ready to flirt with a man who has knives on his feet on national television?” Robbie thought he’d be more nervous, but when he thought about it—“That was my day job for like twenty years. We got this.”
“I don’t remember flirting being part of a hockey game.”
Robbie shook his head sadly. “That’s because you weren’t playing properly, clearly.”
They ran through both routines on ice—group and individual—and made their appointments for hair and makeup and filmed some more B-roll. Robbie was sent to the “confessional” stage, where he answered various prompts about his emotions.
How was he feeling about his first performance? Was he excited to be on the show? Why had he sought it out? (He manfully did not throw his child under the bus. The last thing Robbie or Sawyer needed was to draw CAS attention to Sawyer’s home life and Robbie’s weird guardianship situation.Until Robbie could convince his brother to sign over his parental rights, they didn’t need Children’s Aid Societies looking their way.) Did he want to say hi to anyone? Who was his inspiration? Why was he supporting his chosen charity? Et cetera, et cetera.
Imogen and Sawyer arrived just after five with Gail and George as their chaperones.
Finn looked surprised to see them, and Gail rolled her eyes. “Honestly, honey, like we were going to miss your grand return to competition.”
Finn snorted. “It’sDance, not the Olympics,” he protested, but his ears had gone red and he looked pleased nonetheless.
George nodded at Robbie, and Gail laughed. “Lovely to see you again. Though I never thought we’d be running into each other like this—a small world.”
Robbie smiled and accepted her hug. He hadn’t really known either of Imogen’s parents until this past year. He’d knownofthem, sure, and occasionally saw them when coordinating Sawyer’s transportation, but he hadn’t gotten toknowthem. Not until they insisted on having Robbie and Sawyer over after his transition, and Gail greeted Robbie with a fierce hug and a whispered, “I’m so glad he has you!” and George patted Robbie’s shoulder and said, “Let us know if you need anything. Or an ear—Gail and I know something about stepparenting.”
Before long, they were all ushered away to their seats, where they watched Emily and her partner jitterbug to “MMMBop” by Hanson. (Who knew that would work?) Robbie turned wide eyes to Finn and mouthed, “Damn.” Finn laughed and bumped their shoulders together as they both clapped.
“We’ll be better,” he murmured.
Robbie and Finn were last to perform, which made sense since they were the novelty pair. It wouldn’t have mattered for the TV segment—the show filmed phone-free performances Mondays but aired Wednesday nights, so they could cut it however they wanted—but since they also had a live audience, he supposed the producers wanted to draw out the anticipation. Going last meant they got to see several acts before they were pulled backstage. This was not, in fact, a kindness, since Robbie’s stomach knotted more and more with each passing group.
This was so dumb. This was a totally different kind of anticipation from what he felt before a hockey game.
The last pair they caught before being ushered away were Sophia and Chad. Despite Robbie’s fervent desire for Chad to fall on his face, the guy stayed upright and swinging. Sophia was damn good and made Chad look good too, as he swung her round and jived to “Only the Good Die Young.” Of course that was the song Chad picked.
Robbie wondered if Stef had offered him “MMMBop.” He wondered what kind of face Chad had made if she had.
As Chad and Sophia came to their climactic spin and stop, Robbie forced himself to clap and look impressed and not get caught with a sour face.
Then he and Finn were backstage for more costume and makeup visits and then they were waiting for their turn on the ice, and another camera was in Robbie’s face, and someone was asking what he thought of the night so far.
“Kinda wishing we weren’t last,” he laughed. “I felt a lot more confident before I saw the competition.”
“Hey, they got nothing on us,” Finn said with a grin. “We’re going to blow their socks off.”
As they took their places at opposite sides of the rink, Robbie was grateful they’d managed to find him a look that approximated Patrick’s jeans, button-up, and military-esque jacket. Finn looked adorable—but definitely less comfortable—in his outfit that evoked Kat’s soccer uniform.
As the music started, vocals only, Robbie took slow, sweeping glides towards his partner. Finn—who was clearly much better at this—had a series of practiced moves that somehow conveyed surprise and embarrassment, even as he positioned himself for their encounter. Just before reaching Finn, Robbie slid past him with his arms out, one up and one down, and shifted into a spin that brought them face-to-face.
Finn took his hands and led Robbie in a chase around the ice, which included a gliding lift where Robbie swung Finn past his hip, both feet out, and then back to stand before him. At that point, Finn spun Robbie in a circle and leaned back for a dip. Robbie might be the one supporting him, but he couldn’t claim he wasleading.
As the music came to a close, the crowd cheered and Robbie let himself look toward the stands for his kid. Sawyer was on his feet, cheering.
While the judges conferred, Robbie and Finn were dragged off the ice to talk with the host. Another thing Robbie was used to—post-game interviews. For a hysterical moment, he wondered if he could tell Michelle that the plan was to keep training and playing his game and to come back out again next week to do his best again for the fans.
Maybe not.
Then it was time to hear from the judges.
