Page 7 of Chasing Gold, Catching Her

Tora just smirked, winking at Alisa with a knowing, mischievous glint in her eye. “Not into girls? I see…”

Alisa trembled at these words spoken out loud.

“Don’t lie to yourself, babe. I can see exactly what you’re thinking,” Tora said, her voice low and sultry.

Alisa tried again, “No, really, I am not…” But her words lacked conviction as Tora’s boldness left her flustered and aroused.

“Oh, please,” Tora scoffed, stepping closer to Alisa. “No one has ever looked at me quite like you have, babe. I know desire when I see it, and I’m seeing it now,” she said, her voice dripping with confidence and a hint of arrogance. “Oh, if only I were in a hotel with you, I’d really like to hear you moaning and screaming my name, imagining me licking you.”

“What?” Alisa gasped, snapped out of her lustful reverie by Tora’s directness.

Her mind raced with the image of Tora, splayed out beneath her, moaning and screaming her name as she explored every inch of her rival’s body with lips and tongue. She could almost hear the sweet sounds of Tora’s pleasure echoing off the walls of a hotel room, feel the heat of her skin, the slickness of her arousal…

“Imagine it, Alisa,” Tora continued, her voice a husky murmur. And Alisa was already in her fantasies before she even said that, if only Tora knew what was going on inside Alisa’s head in that moment. “Me, tangled in hotel sheets, moaning your name, screaming it as you bring me to the heights of ecstasy with your skilled fingers and teasing tongue. I want to hear you, to feel you, to taste you…” She licked her lips, her gaze smoldering with hunger.

“Although,” Tora said with a wink and a wicked grin, “I’m afraid you’ll have to imagine it all alone in your room since I live in a cozy cottage nestled in the mountains, not too far from here. I’m afraid you won’t have the pleasure of hearing me sing your name tonight.” With that, Tora reached for the faucet, turning it off abruptly, and stepped out of the shower, leaving Alisa alone with her racing heart and erotic thoughts.

Alisa’s mind spun as she tried to process the whirlwind of new feelings and realizations Tora’s words had stirred up inside her. “No, no, I can’t be…” she muttered to herself, shaking her head in disbelief. Alisa had always prided herself on being straight, on not being into girls. But now, faced with the intensity of her body’s reaction to Tora, she couldn’t ignore the spark of desire that had been ignited.

She replayed the scene in her head, seeing Tora’s naked form, feeling the heat of her gaze, the phantom touch of Tora’s hands on her skin. Alisa cursed under her breath, running a hand over her face as if to wash away the forbidden thoughts. She couldn’t let herself go down this path, couldn’t allow herself to want what she had always thought she didn’t.

But even as she tried to push the thoughts away, Alisa couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe, just maybe, falling in love with a girl wasn’t as scary as she had always feared. Maybe it was time to stop running from the truth, to face the reality of her own desires.

Alisa stepped fully under the spray of the shower, letting the water sluice over her body as if she could wash away the confusion and longing. This couldn’t be happening, not with her biggest rival, of all people! She had to get a grip, had to focus on the competition, on winning. She couldn’t let herself be distracted by thoughts of Tora, by the ache of desire that seemed to be growing stronger by the minute.

With a sigh, Alisa finished rinsing off and turned off the water. She stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel to wrap around herself. She had to put Tora out of her mind, had to focus on the task at hand. But even as she walked out of the locker room, Alisa could feel the lingering heat of Tora’s gaze on her skin, the phantom touch of her hands, the echo of her words. God help her, but Alisa already knew she was in trouble.

* * *

Entering the dining hall, Alisa and Lev took trays after standing in a short line of athletes and chose their food according to the nutritionist’s strict recommendations, light steamed fish with vegetables, and in the morning they were allowed a glass of orange juice as a small indulgence. Alisa, however, could not help but glance longingly at the tempting chocolates displayed on the counter, but Lev reacted in time and lightly slapped her hand away.

“You’re not getting even a gram, I won’t be able to lift you,” he said firmly.

Alisa frowned at his words, her mood instantly dropping, and she quickened her pace, looking for an empty table, as the hunger after training was already making itself known. When she finally spotted a free place in the corner of the dining hall, she headed straight for it, and Lev followed her. His portion was slightly larger and included meat instead of fish, but that did not matter, their diets were different anyway.

Alisa began to eat her lunch in silence.

At two o’clock, they had to return to the ice to continue practicing their program and the elements that were the most difficult, because it was necessary to run through the entire routine at least once. When all the pairs returned to the rink, they worked separately on different elements for the time being, and as the coach had explained earlier, in the evening the individual rehearsals would begin, closed sessions where no one would be allowed to see each other’s choreography.

Unexpectedly, they were given the chance to be among the first to run their program that evening, perhaps because they had arrived later than most of the participants. Even though this was an international figure skating competition, many athletes had come from nearby countries and cities, Norwegians, Swedes, Finns, Danes, Russians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, and Poles, as if the entire Baltic region had gathered in one place, all strong, disciplined, and competitive in their own ways.

Alisa did not even notice how several hours had passed, as she continued skating with Lev, repeating elements again and again, her body moving almost automatically under the strain of training.

Twist lifts were one of the most difficult elements for the pair, and for some reason Alisa felt tense every time she had to enter it, most likely because during training Lev had dropped her once, and even though it had happened only a single time on the ice, the memory of it clung to her, resurfacing every time she stepped into this element. It always brought back a wave of unpleasant emotions, something that had clearly settled somewhere deep in her mind, and even after many sessions with the team psychologist, it had not become any easier to deal with.

After a few preparatory steps, Lev firmly took Alisa by the waist and lifted her with both arms into a transverse split, and then, in one smooth motion, threw her over his head, where she began to rotate along her axis, while he lowered his arms below shoulder level, carefully watching her movement, before catching her again precisely at the waist, ensuring that she did not touch any other part of his body, which was essential for achieving maximum points in this element. Then he pushed her slightly away, guiding her into the exit, and Alisa landed cleanly on one leg, finishing in a swallow position, marking the successful completion of the element.

The throw jump also unsettled her, because after all the practice with Lev, she still had to rely entirely on herself in the air and on the landing. Lev took her by the waist again, turned sharply, and sent her into the air, and she rose into a controlled arc, completing the required three rotations before landing cleanly on one leg, gliding backward in a swallow position as the final touch.

After that, they moved on to rehearsing the choreography. The lighting in the rink dimmed, and spotlights focused on the pair as they began to run the program, the coach clapping rhythmically along with the music, her sharp, resonant voice echoing through the vast space of the ice arena, marking the timing and reminding them of each required element.

The death spiral, one of their favorite elements, followed. Entering from a forward inside edge, they approached each other and synchronized into the boat position, transitioning through a complex entry that required precise control along the curve of the edge. They changed their grip, and as Lev locked his hold firmly around Alisa’s hand, she began to descend, lowering herself closer and closer to the ice, until she was almost touching its surface. Lev dropped into the correct position, nearly crouching, stabilizing the element, and together they completed the required rotations, holding the spiral with precision and control before exiting it cleanly.

They continued the program with smiles and fast, steady heartbeats, everything flowing together almost perfectly.

When they finished, the coach applauded with visible satisfaction.

“Well done, keep it like this, one-two-three, one-two-three!”