He rested his cheek against the top of my head. “I love you,” he said.
I turned so I could stare up at him. “I love you, too,” I said. It all felt surreal. We could spend all night like this and I would still be trying to convince myself of what had happened in the morning.
Unfortunately, thinking about the morning brought me back to reality. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep tonight,” I said. Dom’s confession and the impending free skate were enough to keep me awake. Both at once made sleep feel far from reach.
“We should at least try,” Dom said. He didn’t sound any more hopeful than I did that we would be successful.
Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Wehadbothbeenawake, cuddled together in my bed, by the time my alarm went off. Dom's lips pressed against my shoulder as I shut it off. "Today's the day," he murmured, arm looped over my side.
My hand found his in the dim morning light. "Today's the day," I repeated. My stomach was in knots. The peace I'd felt the night before had evaporated. Having Dom's arms around me helped a little, but the enormity of the day loomed over me.
He shifted, pulling my back against his bare chest. "Are you ready to get up?"
"No," I grumbled. I pushed backwards, closing the remaining gap between us. I could feel him stirring as my ass pushed against him. "I'm glad you're here."
"You're stuck with me now," he murmured, kissing my shoulder again.
I rolled over so our faces were inches apart. "Good," I whispered. I brushed my lips against his. "Because I don't even want to leave you to go shower."
"I can think of an easy solution to that problem," Dom said.
It was a good thing that neither of us were able to stomach breakfast, because we got down to the dining hall late. Neither of us managed to do more than pick at our food. Dom had managed his usual amount of coffee, but not much more. As I nibbled at some toast, he bounced his leg against mine so aggressively that I was surprised I wasn't shaking along with him.
When we met up with Mark and Olga at the rink, Mark's eyes fixed on the coffee cup in Dom's hand. "Please tell me you ate more than that," he said. "You need to keep your strength up."
"We tried," I said. I swear Dom actually turned green at the mention of food.
“You were confident yesterday and you finished in first place. Why are you like this today?” Olga tutted. As usual, she wasn’t beating around the bush with her words.
“This is it, Olga,” I said, twisting my hands together. Dom reached out with his free hand, shoving it between mine to stop the anxious spinning. “We can’t screw up today.”
“So don’t,” she said, as if it were that simple. “You have already outscored everyone this week. You had a clean skate yesterday. There hasn't been any of that nonsense from December. I trust you can win.”
Trying a gentler approach, Mark said, “Your connection is special." He pointedly looked at how my hands were both clasped around Dom's, knuckles white. "I know it, the crowd knows it, and you guys know it. It shows in your skating. As long as you do your best, you will win a medal. I’m sure of it.”
“No overthinking it,” Dom said, finding his voice.
I had repeated their comments to myself as I got ready in an eerily quiet dressing room. The tension was palpable. I was not the only one affected by the enormity of the situation. Everyone, from bubbly Chloe Thompson to reserved Julie Mercier, kept their focus on what they were doing. There was no unnecessary talking or laughter today. All I saw was a group of womenputting on their makeup and sparkly dresses as though they were armour.
When I stepped into the corridor, Dom instantly stepped away from the far wall. He closed the gap between us in a few strides. We reached out to each other in unison, clasping our hands as we moved farther away from the crowds. Because we were currently in the lead, we would be the last pair to skate. We would have to warm up later, but at that point, there was nothing to do but wait.
I didn’t know what to say and he didn’t seem to know either. But knowing that he was there was enough. I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned my head against his chest. His heartbeat thumped audibly, quicker than usual. We watched the people move around us, just waiting for what was to come.
Mark and Olga found us there several minutes later, still leaning against each other in silence. I watched as they approached one at a time. I expected one or both of them to say something, but they were both quiet for some time. Dom and I separated briefly, but he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer after a minute. The contact was the only thing keeping me from completely spiralling, so I welcomed it. If either Mark or Olga thought we were acting strangely, they kept it to themselves.
Finally, while the first group of skaters had started their programs, Mark broke the silence. “Is there anything either of you two need? I don’t care what it is. Water, a pep talk, cover to go heave in the bathroom? Anything at all?”
There was no question in my mind that he would jump to get us whatever we claimed we needed. I wished I had the bandwidth to come up with something silly just to see what I could get him to grab for me. “Maybe some water,” I said.
Mark walked as if he were on a mission. When he came back and looked at Dom, I tentatively took a few sips. I had asked forthe water mostly because I knew I should try to stay hydrated. And judging from how eager Mark had been to help, I thought he needed to feel like he was doing something. At least I still had control over what happened today. He was in the unenviable position of having to hope that he had done everything he could to put us in a position to win.
We left our spot long enough to warm up, away from the distractions. By the time we came back, the other highest ranking pairs were milling around. Dom and I stood close to the wall again, to allow Mark and Olga to stand between us and everyone else. It was likely that a couple of cameras would appear in the area soon. They always wanted to see what people were doing while waiting for their turns to skate. By standing between us and everyone else, Mark and Olga could give us a small amount of privacy.
When we heard the announcement that the last pair scheduled before our warmup was going onto the ice, Dom grabbed my hand. I looked at our intertwined fingers. He was squeezing far too hard. I bit my lip. I didn’t need to see his face to know that he was nervous.
