I ruefully shook my head, secretly loving that she saw it.
.
8. JP – GARDENS, DOGS, COOKS, & BOOKS
When we were young, Ali used to be so serious on the ice. She never messed around, never made eye-contact with anyone in the stands, and she never smiled. I could still picture her serious face in my mind, the way she always wore black leggings over a leotard, the way she always had her hair gelled back in a tight low bun, not a single fly-away hair out of place, all business all the time.
I’m not sure why I expected her to be the same here on the cruise ship’s small ice, but damn, was I glad to see that she was now the exact opposite. It was ironic really—skating was her job now, but she was having more fun during practice here than she ever did back at Centre Ice.
Her short hair was pulled up in a messy high ponytail with the shorter strands falling out, and she wore a bright blue sports bra and matching shorts over-top of tights and legwarmers. Every once in a while, her perfect posture would crumble as she cracked up laughing at something one of her fellow skaters said. Each time she practiced a portion of a program that faced my section of the stands, she’d give me her little upside-down grin. I fucking loved that grin.
“Okay, some little notes,” the director, a taller blonde skater holding a clipboard, said. The group of about ten skaters went quiet for the first time all practice. “Can Brandon and Val switch for this part?”
“But that’s my part with Ali.” I instantly recognized him as the Russian guy who tried to stop me from going backstage to see Ali last night.
“But it makes sense for you guys to switch, Val,” the director said. “It’ll give you more time to get ready for your program with Melissa, see.” She pointed to her clipboard.
Val studied the board, a look of unease on his face.
Ali, who was sitting up on the ledge of the boards drinking water, gave Val a reassuring nod. “It’s fine, it’s okay.”
For the next minute, Ali and Val seemed to communicate through looks, then Val finally conceded with a sigh and glided over to a younger guy with curly dark hair—the guy who showed up as Val’s backup last night when I was searching for Ali. So this must’ve been Brandon.
I watched curiously as Val whispered to him in what looked like a threatening tone.
Brandon held his hands up in surrender. “Hey man, I’d sacrifice myself before she ever comes close to hitting the ice.”
You better.
“You better,” Val said, echoing my thoughts aloud.
I sat back in my seat. I liked this Val guy. I liked that he was protective of Ali. After studying their interactions, I was pretty sure that he wasn’t looking at Ali with any sort of lust or interest. It was just too bad I couldn’t say the same for this Brandon guy.
He liked Ali.
It was obvious.
Blowing out a sigh, I watched as Brandon skated over to where Ali was sitting on the boards. The way he leaned close to talk to her, and the way his face turned slightly red when she patted his arm told me all I needed to know. Brandon responded with something to make Ali throw her head back laughing, and my entire body tensed. But as soon as Ali settled, she placed her water bottle back on the boards and looked over her shoulder to find me.
I gave her a wink. She bit her lip to contain a grin as she hopped down from the boards, still smiling as she went.
Brandon was left there standing alone. His eyes wandered towhere Ali had just looked. As soon as his eyes met mine, I lifted an eyebrow and gave him a shrug.
His face slightly fell. He pulled at the front of his hair as he skated off toward the rest of the group.
Yeah, that’s right. Back it up, buddy.
—————
“So how is this? Cruise life? Living here?” I asked that night as we walked down the length of the deck eating ice cream.
“I love it,” she answered immediately, then a wistful little smile appeared on her face.
“But?” I coaxed.
She laughed. “How did you know there was a but?”
“Your face,” I said. “Right there.” I reached out and lightly touched the corner of her smile. She went still, but she didn’t flinch from my touch and that had me wanting to fist-pump out of pure happiness.
