Page 155 of Chasing Gold, Catching Her

Tora looked around the rink, watching the girls skate across the ice with bright smiles, first performing swallows with their arms stretched out and one leg lifted high behind them, then transitioning into Biellmann positions with trembling knees and nervous laughter. It was scary — one wrong movement forward and they could hit the ice hard. Tora pursed her lips for a moment, worried for the girls too, but they already knew how to fall and they had done it many times before.

Her attention returned to Alisa, who had already tensed up again while watching her students closely. Tora noticed it and smiled. She loved working with children too, although her own group trained later than Alisa’s today.

“They’re trying, and that’s what matters. Not without falls, of course, but thankfully there are no quitters and have protective cases on their bodies.”

Alisa waved to the girls as they circled around her before bowing at the end of practice, hugging Alisa one by one and saying goodbye until tomorrow. Then they skated off toward the exit, where their parents were already waiting for them.

Alisa was finally left alone on the ice. She exhaled softly and returned all her attention to Tora.

“You’re doing great. You’re a really good coach,” Tora praised her again.

Alisa smiled immediately, her cheeks turning pink from the compliment. “Thanks, baby. I’m glad you think that about me.”

The Zamboni had already come out onto the ice to prepare it before the next practice session. Alisa was just about to leave when Tora suddenly stepped closer to the glass, immediately pulling all of Alisa’s attention back to her. Tora placed her hand against the glass as high as possible, then stuck out her tongue and licked the glass with an exaggeratedly serious expression.

Alisa laughed and jokingly kissed the glass back, and both of them burst into laughter.

“Are you going out onto the ice or are you just going to stand there fooling around?” Alisa raised her eyebrows and nodded toward the gate where they usually entered the rink, where the senior skaters had already gathered on the benches.

“What, you want the Zamboni driver to run us over before the World Championship? Have you already given up?”

Tora only giggled and headed in the right direction, while Alisa skated toward the gate, following her parallel movements from the other side of the glass.

“Yeah, come on, walk that mesmerizing gait, my girl!” Alisa shouted after Tora, while watching her hips sway from side to side. It was mesmerizing! Alisa only had a couple of seconds left to get off the ice before the driver started yelling at her to move so he could do his job.

Alisa accelerated at full speed around the rink and suddenly launched into a quadruple Axel, and applause and excited shouts immediately erupted from the benches.

“Yes! Keep it up, girlie!” the figure skaters from the Norwegian national team shouted in support.

Alisa broke into a smile, warmth spreading through her heart at the recognition. She was home.

Alisa stepped off the ice, waiting for the Zamboni to finish preparing the rink. Tora immediately wrapped her arms around her and kissed her on the cheek.

“So, are you ready to work hard today? You’re not tired?” Tora asked excitedly, sitting down beside her on the cold wooden bench, which immediately made Alisa shiver.

Tora draped her warm sweatshirt over Alisa’s shoulders, keeping her warm during the break.

Alisa immediately turned pink and it clearly was not from the warmth, but from Tora’s presence beside her. It was unbearably cute how easily she still blushed around her, whether other people were there or not.

“Yeah, I still have strength left,” Alisa admitted, resting her head on Tora’s shoulder and taking her hand in her own, feeling the warmth even through the blue gloves.

“Are we going to put together our Olympic program today?”

“I hope so. Did I dress up beautifully for nothing?” Alisa replied with a quiet snort.

“Dressed up as always! I’ve never seen so many rhinestones on your skates before. When did you even manage to decorate them? Did you stay up all night?”

Alisa burst out laughing. She really had not slept much because she had spent the entire night bedazzling her skates. She wanted a riot of color, especially before presenting their first program as a pair in figure skating: a woman-and-woman duo. It was something unprecedented on the international stage, and they had been allowed to become pioneers after the Olympics. Now they were planning to tour the World Championships with their new program and conquer the world with their love on the ice.

“I knew you weren’t sleeping!” Tora playfully pinched Alisa’s thigh as she laughed harder. She lifted her skates so the arena lights reflected off the Swarovski crystals, forcing Tora to close her eyes.

“I think you overdid it a little…” Tora murmured with a laugh.

Alisa just smiled and looked toward the Zamboni, which was already rolling back through the gate. The ice sparkled like something fresh and newly born under the spotlights.

“Well… shall we go choreograph our program?”

“Let’s go…” Tora smiled as she watched Alisa practically jump off the bench. She tossed Tora’s jacket back into her lap and flew onto the ice like a bullet.