"Well?" I pause for a moment. "Did you work through everything?"
Chase hesitates, and for a moment, I’m not sure if he is going to let me in on it or not. Then he steps into the doorway and pauses.
"We’re working on it. Baby steps," he says softly before walking away, never looking back.
I grin, pumping a fist in the air in excitement.Yes! Everything is going to plan.Soon our little group of four will be back together and the world will be as it should be.
I head out, joining them, each of us doing a once over, making sure the locker room looks the same as it was, and any evidence of their being here has disappeared. We each grab a bag and head toward the door.
“Shit, I forgot the camera.”
“Camera?!” Chase and Blake both shout in unison.
“You fucking filmed us?” Chase asks harshly.
“No.” I hold up my hands in defense. “It was only so I could pop in here and there in case something happened. If you had an emergency. Which you didn’t. I didn’t record, and I didn’t turn the volume on. I cross my heart.” I lift my hand, making a cross over my chest.
I toss Chase the keys to the truck and he catches them in mid-air. “Go ahead and load your stuff into the truck and I’ll get the camera. It won’t take but a minute.”
“Okay, but we’re not done talking about your voyeuristic tendencies.” Chase lets out a laugh as he leaves the locker room.
True to what I told him, it only takes me a minute to get the nanny cam and head outside. I still don’t understand how they never noticed it. But that thought doesn’t last long before I have a new one that involves making a little video with my pixie. One that we can watch on repeat. It’ll make the time between when we see each other go a little easier.
“Am I taking you home?” I ask Blake, as I glance up at his reflection in the rearview mirror.
“Yeah. I got to do some homework before my class at noon and then we have practice,” he replies.
“Can you come to our place for dinner? I have something I want to share with the two of you.” Not just something to tell them, but someone for them to reconnect with.
“I don’t know,” Blake mumbles.
“He’ll be there. You can ride home with us from practice,” Chase speaks up and I shoot my gaze toward him, but not before catching the look of relief on Blake’s face.
“Sounds good.”
“What do you need to talk to us about?” Chase asks.
“Can’t tell you until dinner,” I say with a little too much glee.
We spend the ride to drop off Blake talking about our upcoming practice and it feels just like old times.
Chapter 27
Ginny
Ihad to givemy father another excuse tonight to get out of the house. But I waited until he was deep in conversation with Antony as they went over the video he made of our rehearsal earlier today.
I can’t wait until I can find a way to get out of this partnership with Antony. Each day I have to skate with him kills a little more of my love for skating. There's no joy when I’m skating with Antony, not like there was that morning with Blake. I felt like I did when I first learned to skate and dreamed of the Olympics. Now I’d rather go through the process of being solo. Learning new routines and building a name as a solo performer sounds a whole lot more enjoyable than continuing with Antony.
So while Dad thinks I’m out to dinner and a movie with a new friend I met at the coffee shop, I’ll really be with the guys. It still sounds surreal saying it, especially after how the holiday ended.
I do have a girls’ night planned with Shelly, and she does work at the coffee shop on campus. She’s a senior in sports medicine and we hit it off right away. Tonight, though, she’s on a date but promised to cover for me should my dad mention anything toher. I might have vented to her one morning while she made my latte about how overbearing my father was. Turns out she has an overbearing mother.
Dad was over the moon that I made a friend. He thinks it will stop me from hiding in my room and being so grouchy.
Before I know it, I’m parking my car behind the guys’ truck and turning off the engine. I'm nervous about tonight and I have to take a few deep breaths to calm down. When I asked Carter how the intervention went, he said it looked promising. We plan to share with them tonight that we’ve rekindled our relationship, and I hope to do the same with them.
For the time being, it will have to be a secret from my father until I can handle the Antony situation. Once that’s done, then we can broach the topic with my father. He’s going to be furious, and I need to make sure the guys are ready for the outcome.
