Page 151 of Chasing Gold, Catching Her

Even if Alisa herself still felt a little broken, uncertain, and completely changed by everything that had happened.

But in their eyes, and perhaps in Tora’s too, there was still only one belief: that somehow, in the end, everything would be alright.

* * *

Alisa couldn’t find Arkadiy anywhere. Not among the coaches, not among the men’s team, not even in the corners where officials usually gathered after events.

Maybe he was just busy. Maybe she was imagining things.

But still… there was a strange feeling sitting in her chest, quiet but persistent, like something had already been decided without her. It made her uneasy.

Then Tora appeared beside her without a word and took her hand, grounding her instantly. They were standing in the corridor outside the arena, where the final exhibition segment of the Olympics was being prepared—the improvisational gala where skaters could perform anything they wanted, with any music, any style, no rules, no scores.

The Olympics were ending.

And the ice was becoming a stage for farewell performances.

Alisa stared toward the rink, her mind turning. She had an idea, something forming slowly in her mind, but when she looked at the ice again, she suddenly didn’t want to go out there alone.

What if… she hesitated, fidgeting with the edge of her costume. “Tora, maybe we could do an improvisation type of performance together?”

Tora blinked, surprised. “Like… pair skating?”

“Not exactly pairs,” Alisa corrected quickly. “More like ice dance… well, kind of. We don’t even know how to do lifts properly together yet, so it’s risky, but—”

She stopped herself, unsure.

Tora smiled immediately. “Well then we learn. Right now. What’s your idea?”

Alisa exhaled, feeling the idea become clearer as she spoke.

“We go out separately,” she said slowly, “from opposite sides of the ice… and then we skate toward each other. And the music could be… Legendary Lovers by Katy Perry.”

Tora’s face lit up instantly. “Ohhh, I love that.”

She bit her lip while smiling, so openly excited that Alisa actually snorted with laughter. That made Tora laugh too, and suddenly both of them were standing there trying not to fall apart from giggling in a corridor before an Olympic exhibition.

“Okay, okay,” Alisa said, still smiling. “We need lifts… or at least something that looks like lifts.”

“Underarm grip?” Tora suggested. “Just to start.”

Alisa nodded and bent slightly so Tora could test the position. The first attempt was awkward, of course—too much laughing, too much adjusting—but they tried again, still laughing, until it finally started to feel natural.

“Can you do a split?” Tora asked suddenly, eyebrows raised.

Alisa nodded immediately.

Tora carefully supported her again, and Alisa dropped smoothly into a clean longitudinal split on the ice.

“Great,” Tora said, impressed.

“Okay… what’s next?” Alisa asked, breathing a little faster now.

“Waist lock lift,” Tora said with growing confidence. “I lift you in front… then behind me.”

Alisa just nodded, spreading her arms slightly as if trusting the air itself. The moment Tora took her at the waist, Alisa jumped and Tora lifted her cleanly off the ice without any hesitation or shaking hands.

Alisa’s eyes widened slightly in shock.