Page 129 of Chasing Gold, Catching Her

And because they were smiling through it all—no, not just smiling ,they were beaming—they seemed to almost bounce into the next transition. Still holding hands, they accelerated again through flowing edge work.

Loke then guided Tora into a supported movement sequence, taking her by one hand, then the other, before launching her over his shoulder. She rotated above him cleanly, landing into a controlled position behind him, even though she was slightly taller, almost hovering above his frame for a moment before settling into the movement.

They began a synchronized spin, Tora arched slightly into a lateral split position, her body stretched like a drawn bow. She shifted her grip with Loke mid-rotation, flowing seamlessly from one position to another, her body suspended and then supported again as he turned.

At one point she leaned back across him, one arm extended elegantly behind her, before being pulled back in, their bodies reconnecting in tight synchronization. He held her at the waist, and they rotated together chest to back, before he gently set her back onto the ice.

They clasped wrists, she dropped into a deep lean, and flowed into a swallow-like position. He pulled her in, lifted her slightly, and they returned seamlessly to footwork.

A small jump, a controlled knee slide on the ice, hands raised overhead, then they rose together again, stepping into a mohawk sequence and immediately into synchronized twizzles, perfectly parallel.

Then came a highlight: Loke lifted Tora onto his shoulder, and with a sharp controlled motion, she rotated off him in a backflip-like assisted transition before landing cleanly back onto the ice.

The arena erupted.

Twizzles again. Acceleration again.

Then the death spiral entry, but it wasn’t standard, not even close. Tora launched into the entry with a split-like motion in the air while still connected to Loke’s hand, dropping smoothly into the spiral. The crowd reacted instantly with loud, stunned, almost disbelieving applause.

They flowed into a synchronized sit spin in pistol position, side by side.

Then into a layback variation and a half-Billman extension, finishing with flowing rotations that blurred into the music.

A few final steps, a shared lean into each other’s backs like an embrace—

And the music ended.

The arena erupted in applause.

The first program of the day was over.

They performed it without a single mistake… and ended up in first place among all the pairs who skated that day.

Alisa saw Tora smiling at her from the ice, but it wasn’t the kind of smile she gave to the audience. It was softer and more private, almost playful in the way it reached her eyes, like it was meant only for her.

Alisa’s lips pressed together. Her cheeks warmed instantly, and she bit her lip before finally smiling back.

Tora and Loke rolled into the Kiss & Cry area, waiting for the judges’ scores.

They had done it.

And Alisa’s heart told her they were going to win gold. She was genuinely happy for Tora, truly happy in a way that surprised even her, because she had wanted this for so long. The Olympic gold medal… it meant everything to her.

And for a moment, Alisa allowed herself to think that maybe it was for the best they weren’t competing against each other here. She couldn’t imagine standing across from Tora at the Olympics, chasing the same medal, the same dream. Somehow, life had placed them side by side instead of opposite each other and Alisa found herself quietly grateful for that.

Tora and Loke stayed surrounded by family, coaches, and teammates afterward, the celebration already swallowing them whole.

Alisa wanted to go over and congratulate her in person on the first-place finish of the day, but there were too many people, too much noise, too many hands pulling Tora in every direction. So in the end, she never made it through the crowd.

That evening, she congratulated her through a message instead.

Alisa: congratulations on the high scores for the short program… and the gold in the short!

Tora: that’s for now.

Alisa: what do you mean “for now”? You’re going to take gold tomorrow! Where’s your spirit?!

Tora: I think I was bitten by a girl with dark hair and brown eyes… her name starts with A…