"I’ve had it," Courtney Rogers spat. She and Ryan had been back from Worlds for a week, and she was incensed.
"Courtney, what’s wrong now?" Ryan hissed.
"What’s wrong is you," she spat. "This season has been a disaster, and it’s all your fault!"
"I don’t need to listen to this," Ryan spat.
"Oh, yes you do!" Courtney said. "Because you have a decision to make. Me, or her."
"What?" Ryan hissed.
"You heard me. You’re distracted, and she is the reason! You either dump Jessica, or you find yourself a new dance partner."
"You’ve got to be kidding," Ryan said.
"No, I am not. I’ve had it."
"You can’t interfere in my personal life!"
"When your personal life affects our skating, yes I can!"
"It isn’t. The only thing that’s affecting our skating, is you. How you treat me."
"I treat you like I’ve always treated you, why is it a problem now? I’ll tell you why-because of her. I’m not going to argue about this. We start working up our programs in, what, three weeks or so? By that time, I want her gone." With that, she stormed out of the room.
Two weeks later, Ryan and Jessie were in bed, after having made love.
"Honey, we have to talk," Jessie told him.
"What’s up, Jess?"
"It’s the middle of April. As of May 15 th , I don’t have a place to live. Warren and Sophie are going back to Massachusetts."
"Can’t you just pick up their lease?" Ryan asked.
"I can’t afford it. Not unless I can find a roommate, and that’s tough to do in May. In September, when school starts again, I could swing it-but I won’t be able to afford the place until then." She took a breath. "Unless you want to move in with me. Or me with you, whichever."
"Oh, Jess," Ryan sighed.
"Look, Ryan, I love you. We get along great. We could make it work, I know we could."
Ryan took a deep breath. "This isn’t a good idea right now."
"Why not?"
"Courtney. Look, she threatened me-break up with you, or she’s going to drop me from the team. Now, I have no intention of breaking up with you, but I’m trying to finesse this."
Jessie sighed. "You’re not going to be able to, you should know that. Either way, you stay with me, she’s going to carry out her threat. But why should you care? You can find another partner."
"One as good as Courtney? As a skater, I mean."
"Courtney’s not that good, Ryan! You’re the strength of that team! Ask Warren and Sophie, if you don’t believe me, they see it!"
"We’ve been skating together for a long time. We’re used to each other. I’m 22, it’s too late to try to start with another partner."
Jess looked at him for a good long minute, then got out of bed and started gathering her clothes. She started pulling them on.
"Jess. Where are you going?"
"Ryan, Courtney gave you a choice. She wasn’t kidding. And you’ve made it."
"Jess! What are you saying?"
"I’m not going to live like this. I’m not going to live with this hanging over my head. The minute you didn’t dump her as a partner when she gave you that ultimatum, you made your choice." She looked at him. "Ryan, I love you-but I can’t do this anymore. I’m leaving. I’m going back to Massachusetts."
"You can’t!"
"Then you pick up that phone, call Courtney, and tell her you’re not breaking up with me under any circumstances. No sneaking around. Put the ball back in her court." Ryan just gave her a look of despair. "You can’t do it."
"Jess, this is my career!"
"No, it’s not. It’s just one partner. Female ice dancers looking for male partners are a dime a dozen, and you know it. This isn’t about your career, this is about Courtney. You’re still loyal to her, for reasons I’ll never figure out, and I can’t deal with it any more." She gathered her stuff up and headed for the door. "Goodbye, Ryan." And she left.
"Jess! Come back!" Ryan yelled-but she was already gone.
The next day, Warren and Sophie came back from class to find Jess crying.
"Jess? What happened?" Sophie asked. In between her sobs, the whole story spilled out.
"I think you should give him time," Warren told her when she had finished.
"He had plenty of time," Jess sniffled. "He’s had months. He knew this was coming. He must have-I certainly saw it."
Warren didn’t know what to say to that.
They had a solemn supper-enlivened only by Betsy’s antics, which at least made Jess laugh a little bit. Afterwards, Warren and Sophie studied, while Jess played with Betsy to cheer herself up a bit.
Warren and Sophie were getting ready for bed, when Jess came into the room. "Do you guys mind if I sleep with you tonight? I don’t feel like being alone."
"Of course," Sophie smiled at her.
None of them intended on making love. Jess just didn’t want to be alone, and Sophie and Warren just wanted to comfort her. However, once they got in bed, things started to happen-and they did end up making love.
Warren and Sophie woke up the next morning, to find no Jess in the bed. They went out into the apartment, and found her in Betsy’s room-packing a suitcase.
"Jess? What’s up?" Sophie asked.
She smiled at them sadly. "I’m going home. To Oceanview. I’ve already called work and quit-told them I had an emergency at home and had to move back there. I’ve got a flight late this afternoon. Can you guys get me to the airport?"
"Sure," Warren told her, "but, Jess, you don’t have to leave."
"Yeah, I do. I can’t stick around here with Ryan around all the time. And I have to stop jumping into bed with the two of you every time my heart gets broken. I love you, and I’m grateful, but it has to stop. It’s not fair to anyone. And, if I stay here, I’ll just be too tempted. You two need to live your life-and I need to find one."
"Jess, you’re always welcome with us," Sophie told her.
"I know that," she smiled. "You two make it too easy. But this is the second time I’ve come running to you two when I get dumped. It’s turning into a crutch. That has to stop." She looked at them. "You guys know how I feel about you. But I don’t think we could ever go back to being the Happy Threesome, not after Ryan. Not now that I know what I want. " She sighed. "Even if I can’t have it with the person I want it with."
"I wouldn’t count Ryan out," Warren said.
"I already have." Jessie said sadly. "He made his choice."
"We can’t talk you out of this?" Sophie said.
"No, my mind is made up. Hey, I’ll see you guys in a month when you get back there. Don’t worry about that."
"We worry about you," Warren said.
"I’ll be fine."
They took her to the airport and said goodbye. The next day, at the rink, they ran into Ryan.
"Is Jessie in your apartment?" he asked Warren.
"Jessie is in Boston," Warren told him.
"WHAT?"
"She went home. Yesterday afternoon. Nice going, hotshot-you blew it," Warren spat at him, then walked away. Ryan just looked at him watching in disbelief.
In late April, Warren took the MCAT. He was advised to take it now, even though he wouldn’t be going to med school for more than a year-so he could take it again in August if he didn’t get a good enough score. He didn’t think that’d be a problem, but was glad to get it out of the way. He thought he did well.
They had called home in early April, and Sophie had asked her mother to keep on the lookout for a house. With all their endorsement money, they could afford one, and didn’t want to move back into the basement. Ellen had called back with a good prospect. She had gone to see it, and described it fully to them. It was in Oceanview, and was everything they wanted-four bedrooms, a newer kitchen, a decent-sized yard, and within their price range. Even though they hadn’t seen it, they authorized Ellen to put in an offer. She had signature rights on their bank account-something they had arranged just for an occurrence like this-and they trusted her. She put in the offer, it was accepted, and Sophie and Warren would be moving back to Oceanview into their own home. There was no need for a mortgage-they bought the place outright.
"After that hit to the ol’ bank account, we’re going to have to keep making money," Warren laughed.
"Are you kidding? After that whole ‘incredible comeback’ thing at Worlds? We’ve got plenty of offers to keep us busy," Sophie told him. And it was true. They were doing a number of commercials over the next few months. Sophie had just started a very lucrative gig with Maybelline cosmetics-something she used anyway, so getting paid to advertise for them was a bonus.
"True. We’ve got more than enough money for now."
"And all those things we’re planning on doing in the fall, that’ll help," Sophie reminded him. As the upcoming year was the last year they’d be skating, they were taking everything that was offered. They were doing two pro-ams and two shows, at least, before the Grand Prix season started. This was going to be their Year For Skating. They were looking forward to it.
"Talked to Jess today," Sophie told him. It had been a couple weeks since she had gone home.
"How is she?" Warren asked.
"Doesn’t sound good at all," Sophie sighed. "I know she went out with Jay for longer-but I think this one’s a lot worse."
"I don’t doubt it," Warren agreed. "She and Jay broke up because they gradually became incompatible. She and Ryan are perfectly compatible. The problem is external."
"Well, that, and the fact that Ryan needs to go out and buy a fucking spine," Sophie snapped. Warren let out a guffaw at that. "Jesus. He could find another partner in a heartbeat! What is wrong with him?"
"Fear of the unknown, I think," Warren guessed.
"Ah. Well, I can relate to that. Scott and all. I didn’t get over that fear until you were yanking me out of it. Of course, Jess was yanking Ryan out of it!"
"But Jess couldn’t do anything about the skating part. And I think that’s where the big fear is."
"Good point."
Their last couple of weeks in Wisconsin were frantic. They had the end of their classes, and finals. They had to pack up everything in the apartment-they were renting a truck for the drive back. Ellen was overnighting papers and stuff relating to the purchase of the house. They were helping arrange hotel rooms for all the people flying out for graduation.
They caught a quiet night, the Saturday before finals, to spend time with their two best Wisconsin friends.
"Damn, we’re going to miss you," Papa Bear told them.
"We’re going to miss you, too," Sophie smiled.
"You’d better keep in touch!" Caitlin warned.
"We plan on it," Warren said. "You’ve got our IM screen names and our email addresses and the address at the new house-as soon as we have a phone put in, we’ll call."
"And you have our cel numbers anyway," Sophie laughed, "and we have all your stuff."
"And we’ll see you at the wedding this summer in any case," Warren reminded them. "By the way, how are things going with that?"
"It’s a bit of a struggle, having to plan it from so far away," Cait told them. They’d be getting married in Rochester, NY, Cait’s home town. "But my mom’s been a real trooper."
"Well, I hope she is," Papa Bear laughed, "considering she’s the one that insisted we get married in Rochester!"
"Well, it’s easier for everyone. Even Paul’s relatives-Rochester’s closer to Cleveland than Madison is."
"Easier for everyone except the bride and groom!" Sophie laughed.
"True. But now that it’s summer, it’ll be easier. Paul’s out of school, and I will be soon." Cait was a guidance counselor at a high school. "We’ll be spending more time in Rochester."
As they waited to parade into the football stadium, where graduation would be held, Sophie got a little misty-eyed.
"What’s up, Pookie?" Warren asked.
"Just thinking. Remembering the day I met you. I’ll tell you, the way I was then, graduating from college someday was the furthest thing from my mind. It still kind of amazes me that I’m actually going to have a college degree in an hour or so."
"And with a 3.46 GPA, no less," Warren laughed. "You always had it in you."
"Yeah, but I needed you to find it," she smiled.
"You would’ve found it eventually. I just sped up the process a bit. You did this all by yourself. Don’t forget that for a minute."
"You supported me. You’ve always supported me. It’s made all the difference."
"That goes both ways, love," he reminded her. He got a blinding smile for his trouble.
"Ah, you’re a genius, remember?" she laughed. "You didn’t need me to do well. In fact, without me and skating and Betsy and all, you might’ve done better."
"I’m graduating with a 3.78, how much better could I have done?" he chuckled. "Besides which, that’s not the point. If I didn’t have you, I wouldn’t be half the person I am today. Don’t you ever forget that."
"I won’t," she sniffled. "Thank you for saying that."
"You’re welcome. I love you."
"Love you, too."
"Ready to go become a college graduate?"
"You betcha!"
Both sets of parents pitched in to throw Warren and Sophie a graduation party in the ballroom of the hotel where the parents were staying. All of the family was there, plus various friends.
"Damn, I was hoping Jess would be here. I wanted to say hi," Crash told Warren-he and Liz had flown out to see the graduation.
"I wish she was here, too," Warren told him. "We’re kind of disappointed that she didn’t come, but I understand her reasons."
"Something happened," Crash said.
"Yeah." Warren filled him in on all the details.
"Damn. Damn, damn, damn," Crash hissed. "That sucks. When I get back to LA, I’ll give her a call, to say hi and stuff."
"Liz won’t mind?"
"Liz? Miss Unpossessive?" Crash laughed. "Besides which, she knows how I feel about Jessie. I’ll always love her, except now I love her as a dear friend. Liz knows that. Liz likes her, too-when I tell her about this, she’ll want me to call Jess."
"Good. How are things with the lovely Miss Cushman, anyhow?"
"Pretty much perfect," Crash grinned. "It’s funny-we’ve been living together a little less than a year-and it feels like twenty. And I mean that in a good way. It’s so damn comfortable." His face fell a bit. "I thought we were going to have a problem, but I guess I handled it the right way."
"What do you mean?" Warren asked.
"Well, I realized something. I went to Nationals, but I couldn’t go to any of the Grand Prix events, or to Worlds. So, she’s been gone some. And she’s been on tour for a month-she took a week off so we could come here and see you guys graduate." He sighed. "And I’ve come to realize that I really miss her when she’s gone. But being a pain in the ass about that is why her old boyfriend, that Rich guy, bugged her. So I’ve tried to be cool about it."
"Did you slip up?" Warren asked.
"I guess not," Crash grinned. "She was only home for a week after Worlds before she went on tour. One night that week, we were in bed. It was afterwards, and we were cuddling, and I told her. I told her that I knew this was her career and I loved her for it and I was proud of her and I’d never do anything to jeopardize it-but I missed her when she was gone. I guess that was the right thing to say, judging from her reaction."
"Good!"
"I mean it, too, you know. I love that she’s a skater-because I know how much it means to her. I wouldn’t want her to give that up. But I miss her."
"So," Warren said, "How serious do you think this is?"
"Can you keep a secret?" Crash grinned. Warren nodded. "Well, after the Olympics. Let her get through that first. But, after that-I’m planning on popping the question."
"Good for you!"
They had rented a truck for the drive home, just like the drive out last year. As on the drive out, Sophie drove Warren’s van, and Warren drove the truck. This time, however, they had different partners for the drive, as Jessie wasn’t there and Crash was headed for LA. Sophie’s sister Kate volunteered to go with her. As for Warren, he got his sister Kristin, who was all excited about ‘the adventure’.
"So, how’s Tom?" Warren asked.
"A dream," Kristin giggled. "The perfect boyfriend."
"Good. I thought there might be some problems with Allison living in his apartment and all."
"Well, I’ll admit, I had a moment or two," Kristin said. "But it’s fine. They’re really good friends, and that’s good-but that’s it. For one thing, she’s not Tom’s type at all. For another thing, she has a boyfriend, they were made for one another, and they’re nuts about each other. So, no worries."
"That’s good. You all ready for Harvard?"
"NO!" she laughed. "God, it’s scary-me going to college in three months."
"You’ll do fine."
"I hope so. I’m wondering if I picked right. Ah, well, I can always transfer if it doesn’t work out."
"You don’t think you should’ve gone to Harvard?"
"We’ll see," Kristin said. "The education will be great, but we’ll see. Look, I’m a suburban middle-class girl and I spent high school at Snob City. I’m afraid Harvard is going to be more of the same. I was attracted to the education part-I’m just afraid the social part won’t be good." She grinned at him. "Of course, I can always go spend every weekend in Acton, so why do I care?"
"That’s the spirit," Warren laughed. "So, your graduation’s a week from Saturday. Got your speech written, Miss Valedictorian?"
"All set," she laughed. "You’ll love it. It’s funny."
"I like funny," Warren grinned.
Warren and Sophie got home, took one look at the house, and started grinning from ear to ear. Ellen had done great-it was perfect, and she had described it to a T.
Everybody helped unpack the truck-then Sophie and Warren went furniture shopping!
The Kellehers took a few days to fix up their new home. They hadn’t heard from Jess, so Sophie called her. She invited Jess over to see the new place.
Warren and Sophie were alarmed at how bad she looked. She’d lost weight. Her face was mottled. Her eyes were dull and lifeless.
And she threw up, twice, while she was there.
She was putting on a good act, but there was something seriously wrong.
"My God," Warren said, after she had left, "she looks like death."
"I know," Sophie said. "She’s so weak and frail. And the throwing up."
"What is wrong with her?"
"I’m afraid I might know," Sophie said.
A couple days later, Sophie invited Jess over again. When she got there, Sophie handed her a bag. "Jess? I want you to go into the bathroom and use this. No arguments."
Jess looked at her quizzically, then opened the bag. "What?" she hissed. "What makes you think I need this?"
"Because you’re showing all the signs. Believe me, I know, I’ve been there."
"Oh, God, I haven’t even wanted to think about this."
"I know you haven’t, but you have to know."
Jess sighed, and withdrew into the bathroom. When she returned, tears were running down her face. She held out the object she had been given to Sophie.
It was a pregnancy test-and it was positive.
As Sophie tried to calm Jessie down, Warren came home. Sophie, greatly suspecting what was wrong with Jess, had discussed it with Warren.
"It was positive," Sophie told Warren as he walked in.
"Oh, God, what am I going to do?" Jessie sobbed. "I’m on birth control! This wasn’t supposed to happen! Shit. I have to tell Ryan."
Sophie and Warren looked at each other. "Jess," Sophie said softly, "Warren and I have talked about this. I suspected you were pregnant. So we’ve talked about it."
"Jessie," Warren said gently, "it might not be Ryan’s. It might be mine."
Jessie’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open-and then she realized. "The night before I left Wisconsin."
"Yes," Warren said.
"Oh God," Jess wailed, "you mean I’m pregnant and I don’t even know whose it is?"
"Jess, this gives you an out," Sophie said.
"An out?"
"With Ryan, if you want it," Sophie said. "You don’t have to tell him."
"We can just assume it’s mine," Warren continued. "You know we’ll take care of you, Jess. And I’ll just assume it’s mine and not ask for any kind of proof. It’s up to you."
"We can handle this any way you want," Sophie added. "You can move in here with us if you want. We can all live together in a happy family-a strange one, to be sure, but what the heck," she giggled. "But, if you want to tell Ryan, that’s your choice, too."
"You guys would do that?" Jess asked.
"Of course," Warren said. "We love you, you know that. Though I don’t know how happy you’ll be with us, it is an option, and one we wanted to make sure you knew about."
"You guys are too much," Jess sighed. "I’ll love you forever. But I think I have to tell Ryan."
"Of course," Warren said. "What are you going to do?"
"Well, I’m going to have it, I know that much," Jessie said, "there’s not any question of that. And I’ll have to tell Ryan-tell him everything, including that it might be yours, Warren. Then he’ll have a decision to make. I think I want to know whose it is, though, and we can’t test for that until after it’s born."
"Keep one thing in mind," Warren told her. "We’re probably in a better position to help you financially than Ryan is."
"Yeah, and that’s going to be more important considering I haven’t found a job here yet. And now it’s going to be tougher," she sighed. "But if it’s not yours, Warren, you shouldn’t be responsible for it."
"I will anyway," he smiled.
"I know. And that means more to me than you could ever imagine. But I know Ryan well enough-if it’s his, he will want to know." She sighed. "Listen, could I stay with you tonight? No sex. But I think I don’t want to sleep by myself."
"Of course," Sophie told her.
Warren and Sophie were woken up at 3 AM the next morning by screaming. They popped up in bed, and looked to see Jess, wailing, holding her stomach. They looked down, between her legs, and saw the blood.
At Oceanview hospital, at 6 AM, they got the official news.
"She miscarried," her mother told Warren and Sophie.
"We figured," Sophie told Corinne.
"I didn’t even know she was pregnant," Corinne said.
"She didn’t either, until yesterday," Sophie told her. "I suspected, but she was in denial. I forced her to take a pregnancy test. She was on birth control, but obviously it failed."
"That guy in Wisconsin, right? The skater?" Corinne asked.
"Well, possibly," Warren said softly. "There’s a chance that it was mine."
"Oh, God," Corinne hissed. "She was sleeping with both of you?"
"No," Warren said. "With me, it was a one-time thing, the night after she and Ryan broke up. But the timing was close enough that I could’ve been the father. And, believe me, I’m not proud of that. She turned to us for comfort, and one thing led to another. Though I know that’s no excuse."
"Damn, Warren, don’t you think I know enough to know that you and Sophie are not the problem, and never were?" Corinne sighed. "You two were good for her. I just don’t think it was enough-so she went for the first jerk that showed an interest. You didn’t break her heart. What would you have done if she’d had the baby and it were yours?"
"Whatever she wanted," Warren said.
"Of course, you would have. And Sophie would’ve gone right along with it." Sophie nodded agreement. "This Ryan character is the one that fucked her over."
"It’s not quite like that," Sophia told her. "Ryan-well, he’s confused. And, quite honestly, I think he would’ve done the right thing if the baby had been his."
"Well, I guess we’ll never know," Corinne sighed.
They kept Jess overnight in the hospital. Sophie and Warren were home. Sophie had put Betsy to bed, and went and found Warren, in the kitchen, sitting at the table and staring into space.
"Hi, Snugglebear. You OK?"
"I suppose."
"Worried about Jess?"
"No. I mean, yes, of course I’m worried about Jess. But that’s not all of it. I mean, there was a chance it was mine, you know?"
"Oh, damn," she said. She sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. "I’ve been so worried about Jess I didn’t even stop to think how this would affect you."
"I’ll be OK."
"I know. But you would’ve loved that baby as much as you love Betsy."
"Of course I would’ve."
"And now it’s gone."
"Yeah. Jess has to deal with the brunt of this, I know that. But, I admit it-I feel a loss."
"Of course you do."
"You know, I never planned to have babies with anyone other than you." He smiled slightly. "But I have to admit, I was curious to see what a kid that was half me and half Jessie would turn out like."
"The smartest she-devil on earth," Sophie laughed, getting a welcome chuckle out of Warren. "Hey, there might be another chance. I’d have no problem with it, not with Jessie. I’ve always said, I’d be willing to make the threesome permanent. And I know Jessie wants kids. If she wants to move in and help with the baby-making, I’d have no problem."
"I don’t think so," Warren argued. "I think Jess is done with us, in that way. And, you know what? I think she probably should be done with us in that way. The only problem is, she should be with Ryan. And she’s not."
"Yeah."
A few days later, Sophie went to visit Jessie at home.
"Oh, good, maybe you can do something with her," Corinne said. "Sophie, she hasn’t left her bedroom since she came home from the hospital."
Sophie went upstairs and knocked on Jessie’s door. "Jess, it’s Sophie."
"Go away."
Sophie sighed, and opened the door. "Jess, I’m worried about you."
"Sophie, I know you are, but I want to be alone."
"Your mom says you’ve been alone for three days."
"Yeah, and I might as well just stay that way, ‘cause it ain’t gonna change. Let’s face it, Soph, I blew it. I fucked everything up." She sighed. "I knew it, you know. I knew, deep down, that I was pregnant. Hell, I missed a period-and I’m as regular as sunrise. And I knew what the throwing up was. And I just completely went into denial about it." Her face dropped. "And I didn’t take care of myself. I just went into a shell, didn’t eat, didn’t take care of myself-and look what happened. I lost the baby. And I didn’t even think that it might have been Warren’s. If I had realized…"
"Oh, Jess," Sophie sighed.
"And Ryan. I blew that, too. He didn’t want to break up, all he wanted was time to finesse the Courtney thing-and I just went off the wall. I could’ve stayed there. It might have been a stretch financially, but it would’ve only been for the summer, I’d have had no problem finding a roommate to split the rent when school started back up. But I ran-because I couldn’t deal with it."
"I don’t know, Jess, I might have done the same thing," Sophia told her. "Courtney’s trouble."
"Yeah, but it was why I did it that bothers me. Ryan’s looking at Courtney as a, you know, business partner. But I wasn’t. I was looking at her as his ex-lover-which means the competition. And I know he doesn’t feel that way about her."
"I don’t know, Jess, I’ve wondered about his loyalty to her-though I do think it’s mostly fear."
"It is fear," Jessie agreed, "And I didn’t help."
"Jess, I still think not putting up with it was reasonable."
"Yeah. Reasonable," she snorted. "And here I am, alone, miserable, and dealing with a miscarriage. It might have been reasonable, but it wasn’t smart." She looked at Sophia. "I know you’re trying to help, but I really do need to be alone."
"OK. For now. But I’m not going to let you get away with this forever, Jessie-and neither is Warren. You need to snap out of this."
Jessie just shrugged. With one more pleading look, Sophie left, more worried than ever.
Three days after Sophie had been to Jessie’s house, Sophie and Warren were surprised by a knock on their door. It was Jessie, looking much better.
"Hi, can I come in?"
"Of course," Sophie said. They went into the living room, where they chatted-Jessie playing with Betsy. "You look a lot better," Sophie said.
"Well, I ate some. I still feel horrible. I’m depressed and I feel guilty. But I’ve been in my room crying for three days. Enough. I need to get a damn life."
"I think that’s good, though you have reason to be upset," Sophie told her.
"A lot of reasons to be upset," she sighed.
"Maybe you should call Ryan," Sophie said.
"What would be the point? No, I’m just going to have to move on. But I’m not going to lie in bed feeling fucking sorry for myself. There are other fish in the sea, right?"
"That’s the spirit," Sophie laughed.
A few days after that, they had gone over to Sophie’s mother’s house for a visit. They walked in to yelling and screaming. They went into the kitchen to see Ellen with her head in her hands.
"Hey, Mom, what’s wrong?" Sophie asked.
"Oh, hi, kids."
"Gramma!" Betsy chirped.
"Oh, come here sweetie, you always make Gramma feel better," Ellen smiled. Betsy climbed into her lap. "It’s your brother," Ellen said to Sophie. "He’s driving me absolutely up the wall."
"Eric? He’s always been a good kid," Sophie said. Eric was 16, and was finishing up his sophomore year in high school.
"Not anymore," Ellen said. "He’s contrary, obstinate, disrespectful. He argues about everything. He’s sullen, his grades are dropping."
"Sounds like hormones to me," Warren laughed.
"Oh, no doubt," Ellen agreed with a grin. "But he’s not dating. He’s picky, I think. I never see any girls around here. I know Charlie’s talked with him about it, and Charlie told me that Eric said that the girls he likes aren’t interested, and the girls that are interested he doesn’t want anything to do with."
"He’s a good-looking kid," Warren said.
"Yeah, but that sullen act only goes so far," Ellen pointed out.
"With some girls, it goes a long way," Sophie snorted. "Believe me, I know."
"Yes, true, but I don’t think Eric is attracted to girls like that," Ellen said.
"Well, I don’t know if he’s really found one he’s attracted to, then," Warren pointed out. "If he was really attracted to someone, I think the sullen bit would go away."
"Hmmmm, that’s a good point," Ellen said. "Well, I hope he finds one soon because he’s driving me crazy!"
When Warren and Sophie got to practice a few days later, June pulled them aside. "Guys, I need to ask you a favor. And, knowing you two, it’s a huge favor, but I don’t know where else to turn."
"What’s up?" Sophie asked.
"Warren, would you be willing to skate with someone else for a week or two?"
"Why?" Warren asked.
"I have a young dancer here, Amy Lowell. She’s 16. Two years ago, she finished second at Junior Nationals. Right after, her partner up and quit. So, last summer, she came here for a tryout with Walt Genzinger. I paired them up."
"And Walt made her want to cry, repeatedly," Sophie guessed. They had known Walt when they were here the year Sophie had the baby-they hadn’t much liked him.
"Exactly," June sighed. "I’ve kicked Walt out of the rink, by the way. I thought Amy-who’s as sweet as pie, incidentally-would tame him. I was wrong. Anyhow, Amy’s without a partner again. She’s good, doesn’t want to quit, and doesn’t want to go traipsing around the country looking for another partner. Her parents pulled up stakes and moved here when she came to skate with Walt. I need to find her a partner.
"What I’ve been thinking, though, is that it would be easier to find her a partner if I could get her to pass the Senior test. She’s ready, and she’s passed the Moves In The Field part, but I need a senior partner so she can pass the Free Dance part. That’s what I need you for, Warren."
"Ah, you want me to skate her through her test?"
"Yes. I dug out the old Glenn Miller program and taught her most of it, since I was here for that one. It was either that or Riverdance, and I think Riverdance is too tough for her. Even the Glenn Miller, we’ll have to cut down some-but she can handle enough of it to pass the test."
"What do you think, Pookie?" Warren asked Sophie.
"I think we owe June a lot, and should help her."
"Ah, hell with that," June said.
"Well, she’s right, we do," Warren said, smiling. "Besides which, helping a talented young skater would be cool. OK, I’ll do it."
Amy was a cute, petite blonde. And she was plainly over the moon about the developments. "You mean I’m going to get to skate with Warren Kelleher????"
"Yes, but don’t get used to it," Sophie teased her.
"Oh! I mean, I’d never!"
"Relax, Amy, I’m just teasing," Sophie said, grinning.
"Oh," Amy said, visibly relieved. "OK. Well, I hope I can keep up with you!" she said to Warren.
"Don’t worry about that," Sophie told her, "he’s the best partner in the world-he’ll lead you through it."
"Let’s not get carried away," Warren laughed. "I’m the best partner in the world skating with you, that’s an entirely different thing." He looked at Amy. "But you’ll be fine."
"Great, let’s run through it," June said.
After a week, things had gone amazingly well. Amy’s test was in another week, and all concerned thought she’d be well ready for it.
Warren was holding up well-a good thing, considering he and Sophie were still spending time together on the ice every day, working on new programs.
"How’s the knee, Snugglebear?" Sophie asked him that Friday at the end of the first week.
"Holding up fine. I get a minor twinge every so often, but I’m fine. So, how are you doing, watching me skate with another girl?"
"Believe it or not, I’m enjoying it," Sophie said. "Surprise, surprise. You’re fun to watch. And Amy really is a dear. She’s so sweet and appreciative, and she’s in complete hero-worship every time she skates with you, which is cute."
Warren laughed. "At least she’s not standing around mooning. She works hard."
"Yeah, and she’s a lot of fun. Bubbly, happy, all that good stuff. I like her," Sophie said.
"I do too," Warren agreed. "I hope June can find her a partner after she passes Seniors, she’s got talent."
"I was thinking about that. Maybe we should give Evan a call, let him know she’s available."
"There’s two problems with that," Warren said. "First is distance. She’s resistant to leaving the Boston area, after her parents moved heaven and earth to move here in the first place; and Evan won’t want to leave Detroit. The second problem is temperament. You and I both know that Evan is a pussycat underneath-but, on the ice, he’s all business and tends to be a taskmaster. Shawna dealt with it fine, because she’s no shrinking violet. However, if we teamed him up with Amy, I think Amy would be having flashbacks to the way Walt treated her. She’d be wrong, because Evan’s not Walt, not even close-but I think she needs a lighter touch. I’ve been handling her with kid gloves all week, and she responds to that. Evan might put her off."
"Hmm, you’ve got a point. Well, after she takes the Senior test, I’ll at least mention it to him-including all the reservations that you just said. If he knows that from the start-well, it can’t hurt to let him know she’s available."
"True."
That Saturday, Sophie left the house before Warren did, and dropped Betsy off with Ellen. Then, she did Ellen a favor.
"Hey," she said to her brother Eric. "Get your ass dressed. We’re going out for breakfast."
"Uh, why?" Eric grunted.
"Because you’re my little brother and I never see you! Now move it!"
"Okay, okay," Eric chuckled.
They went out to the pancake house. They settled in and ordered. While they were waiting for their food, Sophie talked to him. "Mom says you’ve been a bear lately."
Eric sighed. "Mom is a big huge pain in my ass."
"Well, of course she is, she’s your mother," Sophie giggled. "I’m not hear to take Mom’s side-I’m here to find out what’s wrong. She says you’re sullen and surly and miserable. That’s not like you."
"Well…"
"I guessed hormones," Sophie laughed. Eric looked at her, startled. "I think I was right."
"Yeah, what would you know about it? You’ve been getting it regularly since you were twelve!"
"There are times when it hasn’t been as regular as you think," Sophie laughed. "It’s kind of hard to have regular sex when you’re juggling school and skating and a baby-and your husband is in a knee brace. Trust me, I know all about hormones and frustration."
"OK, but at least you know it’s temporary."
"True."
"And at least you know, well, I mean, you have done it…"
"Ah," Sophie said. "You’re still a virgin."
"Yeah," Eric admitted, with difficulty.
"And not by choice."
"Not hardly." Eric took a breath. "But you know, Soph, it’s not just that. It’s not just sex. Do you know my social life has gone right to shit? You know my three best friends."
"Of course." Eric had been hanging out with the same three guys since grammar school.
"They all have girlfriends. They go out with them all the time. And, yeah, they invite me, but then I feel like a fifth wheel. And they’re all so damn happy. And I don’t have that."
"OK, why?" Sophie asked. "Eric, you’re a good looking kid. You’re smart, you’re a nice guy-what’s the problem?"
Eric sighed. "It’s a lot of things. I’m picky, for one-I’ll admit that. And it seems the girls I’m attracted to aren’t attracted to me-and the ones that are attracted to me I have no interest in. I don’t just want a girlfriend for the sake of having a girlfriend, you know?"
"Well, that’s a good thing, you know," Sophie told him.
"Yeah, yeah."
"What do you like?"
"It’s weird-I guess I like girls that are really outgoing. You know, bubbly. Which I don’t get coming to me, ‘cause I’m not like that."
"I told Mom, that sullen act only goes so far," she teased.
"I know, I know," he sighed. "I get tongue-tied around girls, you know."
"Yeah. That can be tough."
"Well, I guess I just have to keep looking."
"Good, but try to cut Mom a little slack, would you?"
"Yeah, yeah," Eric laughed. "I suppose."
After they ate, they got in the car. They didn’t head to Ellen’s house. "Where we going?" Eric asked.
"To the rink. Got to check up on Warren."
"What’s he doing there without you?"
Sophie explained the situation. "So, he’s working with Amy right now."
"That’s cool," Eric said. "I hope your coach is able to find her a partner."
That’s when a light went off in Sophia’s head. Amy was cute, outgoing, bubbly-and the same age as Eric. In fact, she’d be attending Oceanview High as a junior, in Eric’s class, the next year-she’d been homeschooled this year but didn’t want to do that anymore, even if her skating career picked up. Maybe Amy’d be interested in a partner for something other than skating. Sophie grinned at that.
"What’s the grin for, Sis?" Eric asked.
"Oh, nothing. Here we are."
They walked in, and Sophie pulled her skates on in the lobby. Then they walked into the rink.
Eric looked out on the ice and saw his brother-in-law skating with a cute blonde girl, who was laughing at something-or-other.
"That’s Amy?" Eric asked.
"Yup," Sophie told him.
"Wow. She’s beautiful."
"That she is."
"How old is she?"
"Sixteen. She’s going to be in your class at Oceanview this year."
"What’s she like?"
"Sweet, outgoing, bubbly, happy. She’s a ball of energy. She’s great."
Eric slowly turned to look at his sister with a smirk on his face. "Are you setting me up?"
"Actually, I didn’t think of it until we were driving over here. When you asked me what Warren was up to, and I told you about Amy, a little light went on in my head."
"Oh, jeez," Eric moaned.
"Eric. You’re a good kid. Remember, I’m your sister and I love you, and I’m here, OK?"
"Yeah, whatever you say." He looked back out on the ice. "Damn, she really is cute, isn’t she?"
Little did Eric know, that Amy had spotted him. She had waved to Sophie, then turned to Warren. "Who’s that hunk over with Sophia?"
"Oh, that’s her brother Eric," Warren laughed. "Good kid. He’s your age, 16."
"I don’t suppose he skates," she laughed.
"Nope, sorry."
"Ah, well. Then again, skating’s not my whole life. And, boy, is he gorgeous!"
"Amy’s got an itch," Warren laughed.
"And how. You know how hard it is to get dates when you’re a skater? We’re not considered ‘normal’ teenagers."
"Well, Eric’s grown up with it, so he’d be more understanding than your average guy."
"What’s he like?"
"Smart. Nice. He’s a bit quiet at times."
"Damn," Amy said. "Quiet guys tend to have a problem with me."
"I don’t think Eric would-look who his big sister is. And his younger sister, Tara, makes you look absolutely sedate." Amy laughed at that. "Come on, we’re done anyway."
They skated over. Sophie had taken the ice, but was standing next to the boards where Eric was. "Hey, sexy," she purred at Warren. "How’d it go?"
"It’s going really well. She’s going to pass, no problem, we think."
"I hope so," Amy said, stealing glances at Eric.
Sophie picked up on it immediately, and stifled a grin. "Hey, Amy, I want you to meet my brother Eric. Eric, this is Amy."
"Nice to meet you," Eric said. "You skate really well."
"Thanks," she said. "Nice to meet you, too."
"Hey, Snugglebear, I thought up something-a transition in our free skate. I need to show you."
"Cool," Warren said.
"Eric, can you hang for fifteen or twenty?" Sophie asked him, shooting him a meaningful look and gesturing with her eyes to Amy.
"Sure," Eric said. "Uh, Amy, you want to go to the snack bar and get something to drink?"
"Love to! I’m parched! Thanks, Warren, see you tomorrow." She skated over to the gate and stepped off the ice. "Just let me get my skates off, OK?"
"Sure."
They disappeared into the snack bar, and Warren grinned at Sophie. "So, what was that about?"
"Eric needs a girlfriend. He’s lonely and horny. He told me what type of girls he’s attracted to. I realized driving over here that he was describing Amy, to a T. So, what the heck-let them talk and see what happens. And I do want to show you a move I thought of."
"Fine. By the way, you should know that when you guys showed up, Amy asked me who the hunk standing next to you was."
"Good!"
Eric and Amy had settled at a table in the snack bar with drinks. "So, how long have you been skating?" Eric managed to ask her.
"Since I was 8. I’ve been dancing since 10, that’s when I hooked up with Joel, my first partner. We skated together for four years. When I was 14, two years ago, we finished second at Junior Nationals, and 10 th at Junior Worlds. I thought we were on our way." She sighed. "Then Joel up and quit. I came here because there was a guy looking for a partner, but he turned out to be a complete jerk."
"Sophie told me you’re going to be in school with me next year."
"Yeah. I’ve been homeschooled for three years, and I’m tired of it. With my skating career going down the drain, I have no life. Even if skating picks back up, I want to go to school. I have no friends, no guys, no nothing."
"Well, you have friends in skating, don’t you?"
"That’s hard. A lot of skaters are cutthroat, especially the girls." She grinned. "Your sister’s unusual. Most female ice dancers are more like Courtney Rogers." Eric laughed-he’d heard all about Courtney from Sophie. "As for guys, there’s three types of guys in skating-gay, taken, or complete gigolos. I’m sure there’s a few exceptions, but most of them are one of the three. Joel, my first partner, was so gay he didn’t even like touching me. And we were friends! I swear, if they made guy-guy ice dancing an event, he’d come out of retirement." Eric cracked up at that. "Anyhow, that’s why I need a non-skating social life. And I want to go back to school. If I’ve learned anything the past two years, it’s that I can’t count on skating."
Boy, could this girl talk! Eric thought to himself. He loved it. And that was making it easier for him not to get all tongue-tied. "I think that’s smart," he told her. "I mean, look at Warren and Sophie. With all the success they’ve had, they never quit school-and now they have college degrees."
"I know," she said, "and, believe me, that made me think. They’ve done it the right way. I put too many of my eggs in the skating basket. Even if I find the world’s greatest partner and we go to the Olympics, I’m never doing that again. I’m smart, I can go to college-why not?" She shook her head. "They amaze me. I’ve talked a lot to Warren while we’ve been working. College and skating and a baby? It’s amazing."
"Yeah, it is-but a lot of it is that they have each other. I saw it, when they were in high school, and especially two years ago when they were home after Betsy was born. They really do pick each other up through all the rough spots. It’s really cool."
Amy grinned at him. "You’re a romantic," she teased. He couldn’t help grinning back-but also couldn’t help blushing! "So, what do you do for fun?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Ah, not much. I like to read. I like to watch sports. I play soccer. I was on the JV team this year, though I’m not very good," he laughed. "I just do it for fun."
"Hey, I started skating for fun. That’s why I dumped the asshole I was partnered with this year-because it wasn’t fun. I’ll never take a partner just to have a partner again, believe me."
They chatted easily for a while, until Sophie emerged. "Hey, little brother. Ready to go?"
"Sure."
"Warren’ll be out in a bit to drive you home, Amy."
"Good enough. Thanks for the Coke, Eric-it was fun."
"Yeah, it was. I’ll see you later, OK?"
"Good."
Driving home, Sophie easily brought it up. "So, what do you think of Amy?"
"She’s nice," Eric said. "Seems like she’s a lot of fun. Good to talk to, real easy."
"Good." Sophie didn’t say anything else, but had a little smile on her face that she hid from Eric.
The next day, Sophie dropped Betsy off with Ellen again. She walked in, and saw Eric there, fully dressed. "Hey, Soph, are you going to the rink?"
"Yeah. Warren and I need to work on some things after he’s done with Amy."
"Do you mind if I tag along?"
"Not at all," she said, smiling to herself.
They got there, and Warren shouted a hello from the ice. "Hey, Sophie. Hi, Eric!" Amy yelled, plainly delighted that Eric had come along again.
"Hi, Amy," Eric said, blushing a bit.
Sophie and Eric watched the two work out for a while, and then they finished up. Sophie put on her skates and skated out to Warren. Amy came off the ice and plopped down next to Eric. "Whew! That brother-in-law of yours wears me out. He’s so good, I have to strain all my muscles just to keep up."
"How’s it going?" Eric asked.
"Great. I should be all ready."
"When’s the test?"
"Saturday. Six more days. It’s at noon, in Boston. I think I’ll be fine."
"Good. Uh, Sophie said they might be a bit. Do you want me to see if I can borrow Sophie’s car and drive you home?"
"Actually, would you like to just hang? I’m in no hurry to get home."
Eric liked that idea much better. "Sure. You want to get something to drink?"
"In a bit. I like watching them, actually. Hey, do you skate?"
"Very little," Eric grimaced.
"Let’s skate! We can stay out of their way-you can go rent some skates!"
"Ah, Amy, I don’t know-I’m really not very good."
"Ah, come on-I promise it’ll be fun."
Eric quickly realized he couldn’t resist this girl to save his life. "Well, OK." He went and rented some skates, and found Amy waiting for him on the ice. He gingerly stepped on. And almost fell over.
"You’re too stiff," she told him. "You need to be looser, especially in the knees."
"Easy for you to say," he muttered. She giggled. "Here goes nothin’," he said, and took a wobbly stroke. He managed to stay up-barely-until he careened to a stop by slamming into the opposite boards.
"You don’t know how to stop, do you? It’s easy. Just point your toes in, a little bit," Amy told him. He pushed off the boards, took a couple of strokes, and tried to stop. However, as with a lot of beginners, he pointed his toes way too much-and went right over. It took one hell of an effort for Amy to stifle her giggle.
Warren and Sophie were watching this with interest from the other end of the rink. "Somebody ought to tell Amy that embarrassing him might not be the way to go," Warren whispered to Sophie.
"Are you kidding me?" Sophie whispered back. "Look at him. He’s basking in the attention."
Amy, still stifling her giggles, was helping Eric up. "Here," she said, holding his hand. "Now. Keep your knees loose, and push." They took a couple of strokes, holding hands. "Now, just gently push your toes toward one another." Eric tried-but went down again. This time, since Amy was holding his hand, he took her with him.
And this time, Amy couldn’t hold in the giggles. She sat on the ice, looking at him, giggling up a storm. "I’m sorry," she hiccuped-and then started giggling again.
Eric tried to look stern, but failed miserably. "Fine. You keep laughing. I’ll get you back."
"How you gonna do that?"
"I’ll get you out on the field and kick soccer balls at your head."
"Oops," Amy said. "I guess I’d better take it easy on you, then," but she couldn’t stop giggling. She got herself up, then helped him. "Here." She still couldn’t stop giggling. "Well, I guess I’m going to have to keep looking for a partner, because you’re not it."
"As if there were any doubt," Eric said wryly. "Well, as long as you’re talking about skating partner."
"What other kind of partner would I be talking about?" Amy laughed.
Eric took a breath, and just said it. "Well, a partner for a date. Saturday night, after your test? Dinner and a movie?"
Just like that, Amy stopped giggling-and her eyes got wide. "Really? Wow! I mean-yes! Great!"
Eric stifled the sigh of relief. "Good!"
Amy passed her test with flying colors. Sophie was there to watch them-as was Eric. Eric also got to meet her parents-who were thrilled she had a date.
They went out, and Eric told Sophie the next day that "It was awesome."
"Are you taking her out again?"
"Yup. Next weekend. She’s really great. And she seems to like me!"
"You think this could be something?" Sophie asked.
"Yeah. We’ll see, but yeah."
"Eric, if she finds a partner and starts competing again, that could get rough. She’ll have less time."
"I know, but that’s fine. I hope she does find a partner. She’s too good not to. And, if we keep dating, we’ll work it out. You and Warren did."
"That’s the spirit."
Sophie and Warren went to the rink the next day, to work on their programs. Warren laughed when Sophie told him about Eric and Amy. "That’s just perfect. My sister’s dating a skater, and now your brother. What would our siblings do for dates if we weren’t skaters?"
They got to the rink and started working. After about a half hour, they heard the door to the rink slam open. "Warren! Sophie! Thank goodness you’re here!"
They turned-and were amazed to see Ryan Killen standing there. "Ryan?" Sophie asked. "What on earth are you doing here?"
"I just got off a plane. Rented a car, headed here, asked for directions to the rink. I was hoping you’d be here." He took a deep breath. "I need to see Jessie. Please."
FIXES (Chapter 153)
Warren and Sophie had pulled Ryan into the snack bar. "Why do you want to see Jess?" Sophie asked him.
"To tell her I’m sorry. Guys, I fucked up. I should’ve never let her leave."
"What about Courtney?" Warren asked.
Ryan laughed bitterly. "I walked out on Courtney yesterday. Right in the middle of practice. Got sick of listening to her, and got sick of asking myself what the hell I was doing putting up with her bullshit when Jess was a thousand miles away." He got a look of disgust on his face. "She wanted to start sleeping with me again. When I said, in effect, over my dead body-she said she thought it would help us become closer again. That’s when I realized, once and for all, that the last thing I wanted to be was closer to Courtney Rogers-on or off the ice. I walked out, and told her to find a new partner."
"Wow," Sophie said. "You mean you found your spine after all?"
"I guess so," Ryan said. "I just couldn’t live without Jess any more." He sighed. "Of course, now my career is in shambles, but fuck it. I can find another partner. I hope."
"Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re going to have to work on Jess, I think," Sophie told him. "You hurt her very badly. And she’s had one hell of a rough month."
"Rough month?"
"She’s going to have to tell you that-if she chooses to do so," Sophie said. "We’ll bring you over to her house, though."
They got changed and got in Warren’s van. Ryan followed them in his rental car to Jessie’s house. He parked behind them, and walked up to the van. "There you go, Ryan, that’s her house, and I know she’s there alone. Good luck."
"Thanks." Warren and Sophie took off, Ryan took a deep breath, and walked up to the door. He knocked. Jess was there in a second.
"RYAN?" she said, shocked.
"Hi, Jess. Can we talk?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I flew out here this morning. I need to talk to you. Can I come in?" Jess opened the door and let him in, still wondering what the hell was going on. She led him to the living room. He sat down on the couch. She took a chair opposite.
"So, talk," she said.
"Jess, I’m sorry. Letting you go was the biggest mistake of my life."
"And that’s supposed to make it all better?"
"No," he said. "It isn’t."
"Dammit, Ryan, you put me through hell! Do you know what you did to me? I damn near wanted to kill myself! You kicked me out and left me pregnant!"
Ryan looked at her in complete shock. "Pregnant?"
"Yes, pregnant! I denied it for over a month. Sophie forced me to take a pregnancy test. It was positive." She took a deep breath. "But because I was so fucking depressed and in denial and wasn’t taking care of myself-I miscarried that night."
"Oh, God, Jess," Ryan breathed. "Why didn’t you tell me?"
"What was the point? I miscarried. It’s gone. You don’t have anything to worry about. I was going to call you, but when I miscarried… Besides which, it might not have been yours. I slept with Warren the night you dumped me."
"But odds are it was," Ryan said sadly.
"Yes," Jess agreed. "Odds are it was. Odds are you left me pregnant, to go through this alone. I was fucking devastated. First at the thought I might be pregnant-and then, after I found out for sure I was, I was devastated to lose it. And where were you? With fucking Courtney!"
Ryan felt horrible-but he was also starting to get angry. "You could’ve called! The minute you suspected it, you could’ve called!"
"Where would that have gotten me? Oh, Jess, that’s nice, maybe I’ll deal with it if Courtney lets me out of my fucking cage!" Jess was practically screaming by now.
"I’m here now, aren’t I?" Ryan said, his own voice rising.
"Yeah, for how long? How long until Courtney cricks her little finger and you come running?"
"I WALKED OUT ON HER!" Ryan screamed. "I walked off that fucking ice yesterday and told her to find another damn partner! I sabotaged my career so I could get on a fucking plane this morning to come find you!"
All the fury drained out of Jess in an instant-it was like watching Full Metal Jessica deflate. "Oh, God, you did?" she squeaked.
"Yes! I did! I don’t care anymore. Every day you were gone, it got worse."
"Oh, God," Jess repeated, slumped into her chair.
"Look," Ryan said, calmer now, "I know you’re angry with me, and you have a right to be. But I want another chance. I fucked up, I know that-but I want another chance. Jess, I gave up everything to get on that plane this morning."
"You did, didn’t you?" She looked at him, then jumped out of her chair and launched herself at the couch and into his arms, sobbing. "Damn, I thought I’d never see you again!"
"I’m so sorry, Jess."
"I know. I am, too. I could’ve stayed, called Courtney’s bluff, let you work around it for a while."
"No, you were right, and I know that now. She was so glad you were gone. She even tried to get me to go to bed with her again. That’s when I knew I needed to dump her. I hate her guts, frankly. It’s just not worth it."
"I’m glad, but I’m sorry about the skating part of it. What are you going to do?"
"Well, hold you just like this for about three days. Is that all right?"
"More than all right," Jess sighed.
"Well, I supposed I’d also better find a place to stay. I went right to the ice rink from the airport-I need to find a hotel."
"Hell with that! You’ll stay right here!"
"What will your parents say?" Ryan asked.
"They’ll be thrilled we worked things out. My parents are cool, want me to be happy, and treat me like an adult."
"Cool," Ryan said admiringly.
"Anyhow, back to my original question-I meant, what are you going to do in the long run?"
"That’s a good question. I need to find a partner. Hey, it’s an Olympic year, I’m 22. I’m young enough so that’s another Olympic cycle that I can skate through-but I need to find a partner now to set that up. Have you found a job?"
"I haven’t really looked. You know, I’ve been preoccupied. I was going to start looking soon, though-my parents are going to get pissed if I keep lying around the house like a depressed lump," she grinned. "Though they don’t have to worry about the depressed part anymore. Anyhow, why do you ask?"
"I’m going to ask you to hold off. Would you be willing to move?"
"You mean, with you? If you find a partner somewhere else? Of course I would." She grinned. "As long as said partner knows you have a life out of skating, that life includes me, and her name’s not Courtney Rogers."
"I think I can handle that," he grinned.
"And I’d rather it not be back in Madison. As long as she’s still there."
"I don’t know what she’s going to do. Kathy doesn’t have anyone for her to skate with-nor does she have anyone for me to skate with, so I won’t be going back there. I’ll have to keep my apartment there until I figure out where I’m going-it’s got all my stuff in it."
"We’ll figure something out. Meantime, I need to show you something," she said, standing up.
"Oh, yeah?" He joined her.
"Yeah." She led him to the stairs, and started up.
"What are you showing me?" Ryan asked.
"My bed," Jess giggled. "With me in it. Naked as a jaybird, as soon as I can get that way."
"I think I’d like to see that," Ryan grinned.
They were done making love-which was glorious-and curled up on the couch, just chatting, when Jessie’s parents came home.
"Mom? Dad? I want you to meet Ryan," Jessie said.
"Ryan? The guy that broke my little girl’s heart?" her Dad thundered.
"Oh, shit," Ryan moaned.
"Dad, that’s all over with, OK? It’s fixed."
"Fixed? How?" Jess’s mother asked.
"I’m here," Ryan said. "I told my former partner to go take a flying leap, and hopped on a plane. I’m not losing Jessie, not ever again."
"Oh, and he’s staying here," Jessie said. "He was going to go find a hotel-I told him what he could do with that idea."
"Just for a bit," Ryan said. "I need to figure out what I’m going to do with my skating career."
They ate dinner, and things went better. Jessie’s parents were a little apprehensive-but less so as the evening went on. They realized that the two really did love each other. They were also satisfied with Ryan’s explanation. He really did take a big chance in ripping apart his partnership.
"Hey, we’ve skated together for six years, and we were starting to go places. This is a big gamble-and, I admit it, I was scared to death to take it. But I finally decided that Jess was more important."
After dinner, Sophie and Warren stopped by.
"Everything worked out?" Sophie asked.
"Perfectly," Jess told them.
"Now I just need to call the USFSA and see if there’s anyone looking for a partner."
Sophie and Warren looked at each other. "Did you bring your skates with you?" Warren asked.
"Yeah."
"Come to the rink tomorrow."
"OK," Ryan agreed.
Ryan and Jess both showed up while Warren and Sophie were working. When they were done, Warren skated over. "We have a prospect for you," he told Ryan.
"Oh?"
"Her name’s Amy Lowell. She’s 16. She just passed her senior test-in fact, I skated with her to pass it-but she’s got talent and she works hard. She’s been without a partner for a while." Warren explained Amy’s skating history. "Now, she was a little difficult for me to skate with, because she’s a lot smaller than Sophie. But she’s very similar in size to Courtney, so you won’t have that problem."
"What’s she like, personality wise?" Ryan asked, a little hesitantly.
"The anti-Courtney," Warren grinned. "She’s bubbly, happy, sweet. And she won’t be trying to get her hooks in you, I don’t think-she just started dating Sophie’s little brother Eric."
"Little Eric’s got a girlfriend?" Jessie said. "Boy, do I feel old now."
Everyone laughed at that. "Well, they just started dating, but they get along well," Sophie told her.
"OK, I’ll try it," Ryan agreed. "Sixteen’s a little young, but a six-year age difference isn’t unheard of in dance. What have I got to lose?"
A few minutes after, Amy walked in. Warren explained to her that they had someone who wanted to try skating with her. She happily agreed-and then looked over and saw who it was. "RYAN KILLEN?" she gasped.
"Hi," Ryan said. "You must be Amy."
Amy’s mouth was opening and closing like a fish. "You want me to skate with Ryan Killen? He’s the national champion!"
"You can do this, Amy. You skated with me just fine, and I’m better," Warren teased. Ryan playfully punched him in the arm.
"I thought you skated with Courtney Rogers?" Amy said.
"I used to. That’s all done with. I walked out on her two days ago."
"Oh," Amy said. "Well, OK, we can try."
June was there, watching. "Amy. Ryan’s a good partner. You can do this."
"OK." They took the ice, and started working on some simple steps.
Warren had to go run an errand, so he stripped his skates off and told Sophie he’d be back in a half hour or so. Sophie settled next to Jess in the stands. As they started to watch, Eric walked in.
"Hey, little brother, what you doing here?"
"Had a half day at school. I’m going to take Amy to lunch." He looked out at the ice. "Isn’t that the guy who skates with that bitch you hate?" he asked Sophie.
"Used to skate with her. He’s trying out with Amy," Sophie told him.
"Oh," Eric said. "Well, that’s good," he added, but didn’t sound like he meant it.
"Something wrong?" Sophie asked.
"Nah."
"Come on, Eric, spill the beans."
"I feel like an idiot," he sighed. "We’ve only been on a couple dates. The thing is, I really like her. And I know how important skating is to her and I want her to find a partner. It’s just, watching her dancing with another guy hit me harder than I thought it would."
"Oh," Sophie said. "You have nothing to worry about when it comes to Ryan, you know."
"Why, is he gay?" Eric asked.
Jessie couldn’t hold back the laughter. "No, Eric, he’s very straight. He’s also very, very taken. By me."
"Oh," Eric said.
"That’s why he’s here," Jess said. "Courtney hated my guts, and gave Ryan an ultimatum-her or me. Well, he initially picked her; but realized what a dumb move that was and hopped on a plane."
"Yeah, and we needed to find him a partner," Sophie said. "Amy seemed like a good choice."
"Oh, OK. Good," Eric said-then looked at them sheepishly. "I know I’m being an idiot. It’s just that-hell, we’ve only had a few dates. It’s only been a couple weeks. I don’t know."
"But you really like her," Sophia said softly.
"Yeah."
"How does she feel?"
"I’m still trying to figure that one out," Eric said wryly.
"Well, is she happy when she’s around you?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, but she’s always happy. That’s what makes her hard to read. She’s always happy."
"No, she’s not," they heard. They looked up and saw a woman approaching-it was Alice Lowell, Amy’s mother, who Eric and Sophie had met at Amy’s test. "Hello, Eric, Sophia. Nice to see you again."
"Likewise," Sophie said. "This is my best friend Jessica."
"Nice to meet you. As for what you were saying, Eric, she’s not always this happy. She’s usually pretty happy, but this is very happy, even for her. I know a lot of it has to do with passing her test-but the rest? Well, all I’ve heard for two weeks is Eric, Eric, Eric," she smiled. Eric blushed at that! "You’re very good for her." Mrs. Lowell looked out onto the ice. "Now. Is that Ryan Killen I see skating with my daughter?"
"Yes. A tryout," Sophie said.
"I thought he skated with the barracuda."
Jessie giggled at that. "He walked out on her two days ago. Figured he could find another partner, but he couldn’t find another girlfriend. So he flew into town yesterday and pleaded with me to take him back. Courtney hated my guts, you see, and forced him to choose."
"And he finally made the right choice," Sophie grinned. "But now we need to find him a partner-and Warren and I thought of Amy. And they seem to be doing well together."
"That would be excellent, Ryan is a superb skater," Mrs. Lowell said. "So. Let me get this straight. Your brother, here, is dating my daughter-and your best friend is dating Ryan Killen. Now, I remember Warren telling me his sister dates Tom Bellamy?" Sophie nodded. "And his best friend dates Liz Cushman, correct?" Sophie nodded again. Mrs. Lowell grinned widely at her. "What the heck are you and Warren, the USFSA dating service?"
The laughter after that remark was loud enough to draw the attention of the people on the ice. Amy looked over. "Hi, Mom! ERIC!" She skated over, Ryan in tow. "What are you doing here?"
"I had a half day at school so I thought I’d take you to lunch after you skate."
"Awesome!" she said, smiling widely. "Ryan, this is my mother." They shook hands. "And this here is Eric, Sophie’s brother. He’s also my brand-spanking-new boyfriend." She dropped her voice into a mock-whisper, and told Ryan, "So watch where you put your hands. I think he gets jealous," she giggled.
"That’s OK. I know Jessie gets jealous," Ryan laughed.
"And don’t you forget it, bub," Jessie teased.
They skated back out to finish the practice, and Sophie leaned into Eric and whispered, "I don’t think you have anything to worry about when it comes to how she feels about you."
"You might be right," Eric whispered back with a smile. "She called me her boyfriend." He was plainly thrilled with that. Sophie grinned at him.
After practice ended, everyone there-including June; and Warren, who had returned-were huddled up at the boards.
"So, what do you guys think?" June said.
"Well, he’s a whole lot better than I am," Amy admitted.
"I don’t think it’s as much as you think," Ryan said.
"And besides which, he was a whole lot better than Courtney," Warren added, to giggles and chuckles.
"Honestly, I’m all for it," Ryan said. "I think you’re great, and can get better. I’m just more experienced, that’s all. And that’s been the most fun I’ve had on the ice in years."
"Don’t sell yourself short, Amy," June told her. "You will catch up. It’ll take work, but you can do it. And you and Ryan already have a natural rhythm."
"Really? You think so?" Amy said.
"I know so," June told her. "The only question, really, is if Ryan thinks I can coach you guys."
"No question about it," Ryan said definitively. "Good enough for Warren and Sophie, good enough for me."
"Warren and Sophie do a lot on their own," June said.
"Not at first we didn’t," Sophie argued. "And without you we never would’ve been capable of doing a lot on our own, you know that."
June tried to protest, but Ryan interrupted. "It’s settled. I have no problems with you as a coach, June. I like your style already, and Warren and Sophie have always raved about you."
"Okay, okay," June laughed.
"So," Ryan said to Amy, "you wanna skate with me?"
"Yes," Amy replied, happy as a clam.
"Good," Jessie sighed in relief. "I don’t have to move."
"Yes, you do," Ryan said. "As soon as we can find an apartment."
Jess beamed at him, and then said, "OK, fine-I don’t have to move far!"
Courtney Rogers was furious.
"How the hell could he do this to me?" she ranted to her mother. "What the hell does he think he’s going to do now? Skate with his stupid girlfriend, who doesn’t skate? What an idiot!"
"He’ll be back," Mrs. Rogers said.
"I don’t think so. He’s disconnected his cel phone. I can’t get in touch with him at all. And he’s not at his apartment-I think he’s in Boston, with that bitch!"
"Once he finds out he can’t get another partner, he’ll be back. Meantime, I think we should set some tryouts for you. Maybe you’ll find someone better to skate with."
"Fine."
Of course, Ryan wasn’t having any trouble finding a new partner. In fact, after the first week, he couldn’t believe how well it had gone. Amy was enthusiastic, upbeat, hard-working, and a damn fine skater. They got along well from the start.
Jessie, who sometimes watched them, was bemused. Amy treated Ryan like an older brother that she absolutely idolized. Jess found that very amusing.
She wasn’t there all the time, though-she had other things to take care of. The Friday at the end of the week that Ryan and Amy had started skating together, Jessie marched into the rink in the middle of their session.
"Hey, guess what?" she announced. "I got the job!"
"Great!" Ryan said. "The one in the Emergency Room at Oceanview Hospital?"
"That’s the one. I also looked at an apartment this morning. You have to come see it, but I think it’s perfect."
"Jess, you’re amazing," Ryan grinned.
"I am, ain’t I?"
"Jobs. Apartments," Amy sniffed. "You two are so old."
"Oh THANKS!" Ryan roared, laughing.
"I know, 22 is so ancient," Jess laughed.
"Well. You know," Amy said sheepishly. "It can be strange spending so much time with someone who’s 22 when you’re only 16."
"Vice versa, too," Ryan teased her. Then he got serious. "Actually, I thought the age difference would be a problem. But, Amy, it’s really not. Except for you teasing me about my advanced age, that is."
Amy giggled. "No, it’s really not. And it’ll be better for me when I go to school in September. I have no friends my own age. Except for Eric."
"Friends?" Jessie teased.
"Well, OK," Amy laughed. "More than friends."
"Glad to hear you say that," Jess said. "If you were just thinking of him as a friend, he’d be heartbroken." She grinned. "I think poor Eric is still trying to figure out just exactly how a truck named Amy completely flattened him."
"Oh, I know," Ryan agreed with a chuckle. "He was here the other afternoon when we were working, and he had this completely lovesick expression on his face the whole time. I swear, if an earthquake had torn the building in half, he would’ve still been sitting there, gazing at her."
"Really?" Amy asked hesitantly.
"You hadn’t noticed?" Jess laughed.
"I didn’t know if I was noticing or making it up in my head." Amy stepped off the ice, and sat down in the stands next to Jess. "I really, really like Eric. And that scares me like you wouldn’t believe."
"Why?" Jess asked gently.
Amy took a breath. "Two years ago, at Junior Worlds. There was a Russian pairs skater there, Nikolai Vryazkov. I was 14, he was 17. He was charming, worldly, gorgeous-he swept me off my feet. We spent most of the two weeks we were there together. He was my, you know, first.
"And come to find out he had a serious girlfriend back in Russia. They’re engaged now. It was horrible.
"I learned two things from that. One was that I was never going to let a guy do that to me ever again. Unfortunately, the other one was that I really like sex. And I haven’t had any since then, because I don’t trust guys. So, here I am, lonely, horny, and looking for Prince Charming, who I no longer believe in. And suddenly, here comes Eric."
"And you’re not sure you believe he even exists," Jess said.
"Right," Amy said. "He’s so sweet. I mean, can a guy really be that sweet?"
"I am," Ryan said, looking smug.
"Most of the time," Jess laughed.
"But you’re older," Amy said. "I bet you weren’t that sweet when you were 16 or 18."
"You’re right, I wasn’t," Ryan admitted.
"But Warren was, and Ryan’s seen Warren with Sophie since he was eight," Jess pointed out. "And there’s more. Eric’s parents split up because his dad cheated on his mother. He very much resents that-Sophie’s told me that." She looked at Amy. "One other thing. Before I met Ryan, I was in a three-way relationship with Warren and Sophie."
"You’re kidding," Amy said.
"Nope," Jess grinned. "It was very mutual, and-I won’t lie-a lot of fun. However, the point of me telling you this is that when Eric found out, I got a grilling that you wouldn’t believe. He was only 14, but he pulled me aside to make sure I wasn’t ruining Sophie and Warren by convincing Warren to cheat." She laughed. "It took the poor guy a while to understand exactly what menage a trois means. You know, he didn’t grasp that Sophie was there with us." She cracked up. "And when he did, he blushed purple. Anyway, the point is, he’s horrified by cheating. It’s affected his life to a very negative degree. Because his father couldn’t keep his dick in his pants, Eric’s family was broken up. When it comes to Eric, it’s the last thing you have to worry about."
"Wow," Amy said. "That’s good to know."
"I’ve known Eric his whole life. He really is that sweet," Jess said. "Well, most of the time, just like Ryan. I know he’s been putting Ellen through hell lately. Though I guess that abruptly stopped the minute he met you."
"He’s so good to me," Amy enthused. "I know it hasn’t been long, but still. I just need him to get less shy around me," she giggled.
"Is he?" Jess asked.
"Yeah, some. At least he can talk to me now."
"But you still don’t trust him," Jess said.
"That’ll take a bit," Amy said, "though I do, more and more, every day. I guess I’m waiting for the moment that I trust him enough to rip his clothes off."
Jess cracked up. "Poor Eric. He’s about to get steamrolled again."
"Nah. I’ll let him think it’s all his idea," Amy grinned.
"That’s the way to handle it. I think Ryan still thinks he seduced me, the silly boy."
"HEY!" Ryan said. "And, you forget, you didn’t. I knew right along who was seducing who, and I happily went along with it."
"That’s not how I remember it."
"Who said, ‘I want you’? I do believe that was you, dear," Ryan smirked.
"Yeah, after I very subtly led you into asking me to your apartment."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Are you two done now?" Amy laughed. "We still have to go skate, Seduction King."
"You know, I think as long as I skate with you and go out with her, I’m gonna be outnumbered."
"You bet your ass!" Jess agreed, with a wink at Amy.
The following Monday, Courtney was on the internet, scanning the USFSA site. That’s where she saw it: the press release, announcing the new ice dance pairing of Ryan Killen and Amy Lowell.
"WHAT?" Courtney screamed. "That son of a bitch!!!"
Her mother came running into the room. "What?" she asked.
"Ryan found a new partner!"
"Who?"
"Someone I never heard of! She’s sixteen and just passed her senior test! And she hasn’t competed in two years-she was second at junior nationals two years ago. She’s a nobody! Ryan leaves me for this?" She read further. "Oh, isn’t this just special. ‘The new team will be based out of Oceanview, will be coached blah blah blah-and choreographed by Warren and Sophia Kelleher. Oh, of course! That’s a nice little arrangement, isn’t it?" Courtney punched the off button to her computer in disgust.
"You’ll show them," her mother said. "We’ll find you a perfect partner, and you’ll kick their ass."
"Yeah," Courtney said, but she had her doubts. The partner search wasn’t going well at all.
Warren and Sophie had, indeed, agreed to choreograph for Ryan and Amy. They hadn’t ever choreographed for other dancers-but they figured it would only be one year that they were competitors, and Ryan and Amy were really no threat this year. They were shooting for the future.
Warren and Sophie would also have their other usual glut of choreographic clients. But, before they started flooding in when the tour ended, the duo wanted their own programs set and ready to go.
There would be a lot of them. First of all, they were skating in two pro-ams in the fall, the American Open and the Canadian Open. They’d need two programs for those. The first was a ‘rhythmic’ dance-the guidelines were rather vague, which wasn’t uncommon for a pro-am, but it had to be something with a prominent beat. They decided to skate that to a little Beach Boys, and found rocking live versions of Catch A Wave and Fun Fun Fun. They came up with a fun, rocking, lighthearted dance that was still very technically difficult-and Sophie was delighted to discover that Catch A Wave "gives me the perfect opportunity to shake my ass during the ‘ooh-wahs’."
The other program for the pro-ams was to be an ‘interpretive’ one, meant to be more artistic and less technical. For that, they delved into the world of Celtic-based New Age music. They cobbled together two selections. The first was by Lisa Lynne, called Circle of Joy, from one of the Windham Hill "Celtic Christmas" collections. The second was Enya’s Book Of Days. Their program to that was light and airy, showing off their long edges.
Then, there were the shows. Former British skater Roger Courier had become a skating entrepreneur, and he was putting on some ‘theme’ shows this year. Warren and Sophie would be taking part in two of them. For the first one, celebrating the music of Elvis Presley, the duo had worked up a goofy, fun routine to Burning Love. The second one they were really excited about-it was a celebration of the music of the Beatles. Since they were both fervent Beatlemaniacs, they were very glad to take part in that one. They’d been given the opportunity to skate two programs for that one. The first, to Drive My Car, was their ‘rocking’ Beatles number. The second was to Don’t Let Me Down, a slower and more passionate number.
After all that, there were the most important programs-the competitive programs for the Grand Prix, Nationals, and, of course, the Olympics.
The rhythms for the Original Dances this year were Quickstep and Rock And Roll. Warren and Sophie decided to go out on a limb for both. And they got help from a friend for one of them.
They decided they wanted to skate the Quickstep to Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag. Now, that was not typical quickstep music-but quickstep was a dance, not a musical style, and a quickstep could be done to Maple Leaf Rag without a problem. So, they decided to do it. And the help was from Tom Bellamy. Being a major ragtime fan and an excellent pianist, they asked him to record a version of Maple Leaf Rag for them to skate to. He was thrilled to do it.
The Rock and Roll OD was even more extreme. Warren looked at the beats-per-minute requirements of the dance, and decided to push it as far as it could go. These people wanted rock? Well, Warren and Sophie were going to rock, as fast and furious as it gets. That was their strength, and they knew it. Warren had said, "If they’re going to give us the gift of a Rock and Roll OD, I want one that gets sixes on the technical mark. Push it, right to the limit. I want to do the most technically difficult original dance ever done." So, their choice for music was the legendary punk band The Ramones. They’d lead off with the first verse of Rockaway Beach, then into Rock And Roll High School. It was fast, furious, and never stopped. It was also guaranteed, if they hit it right, to get the folks in the arena right off their seats. They even choreographed, during a fast and demanding side-by-side step sequence, the hand jive. It was non-stop, it was fun, and it was hard.
With that in mind, they decided they wanted their free dance in the Olympic year to be something more elegant. They were looking back to the days when they skated to Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra, but a little different. So, they decided that they’d be skating their Olympic free dance to the music from the soundtrack to Singing In The Rain. They opened with the beginning of the song Singing In The Rain: into the slow section skated to You Were Meant For Me; the fast footwork done to Moses Supposes; then into a final section which went back to the last couple minutes of Singing In The Rain. They were thrilled when they were done.
With the gaggle of clients due to start arriving in mid-July, they took the end of May, all of June, and the first part of July to do work on their own programs, since there were so many of them. They determined that they’d pick any exhibitions they needed from the pro-am or Elvis or Beatles programs. Except, they had already decided, that for their last exhibition at the Olympics, they'd re-skate Romeo and Juliet.
It was a lot of work, but they felt the programs put them in good stead for the most important season-and last-of their skating career.
While things were rolling right along in Oceanview; things in their old haunt, Madison, weren’t good at all.
Courtney Rogers was depressed. It was finally starting to sink in to her exactly what she had done to herself. She’d had the second-best male ice dancer in the US as her partner-only Warren Kelleher was better-and she’d blown it. All because she wanted to control everything about him. And, the thing of it is, she wasn’t quite sure why she wanted to do that.
And the new partner search was not going well. Every single guy her mother brought in to skate with her was inadequate. Has-beens, never-weres, kids that couldn’t keep up to save their lives. The worst part was that her mother was actually enthusiastic about some of these guy. All for the same reason, of course. "He’ll do anything you say." "I like him, he’s nice and docile." Control, it was all about control.
Of course, Courtney realized, that meant her, too. If her mother could control her partner-well, she could control Courtney, too. And Courtney had had it. She wanted to say, "Yeah, we thought Ryan was docile, too-and look how that turned out." She’d finally won a National Championship-yes, by default, but still-and her partner had walked out on her.
Her skating career was slipping away, and she knew it.
There was an alternative-but her mother wouldn’t hear of it. The more she suggested, the more adamant her mother got. But Courtney was fed up. She remembered the last time she let her mother browbeat her-it was her mother’s insistence that she give Ryan the "Jessie or me" ultimatum. It was stupid. And it had backfired.
After another tryout with another hopeless skater, Courtney snapped. She made a decision-and then made a phone call.
And, the next morning, long before her mother had woken-she snuck out of the house, got in her car, drove to the airport, and boarded a plane.
THE TAMING OF COURTNEY ROGERS (Chapter 155)
It was a Tuesday morning, very early, when Courtney landed in Detroit. She had arranged for a hotel room, but couldn’t check in there until later. She rented a car, and drove around a bit, finding something to eat.
Afterwards, she headed slightly outside of town, to the ice rink that was the home of the Detroit Skating Club. It was a lavish rink, a lot of people trained there. The caretaker showed her where the dressing rooms were. She got changed and got her skates on, then emerged into the main rink. Evan Pogdar was waiting for her on the ice. She stepped on and joined him.
"Fine. You’re here. Keep in mind I’m doing this against my better judgement," Evan snapped.
"Well, I thought long and hard about it myself," Courtney said. "But, let’s face it-you’re the best male dancer available, and by a lot. And you obviously haven’t found a partner yet, either."
"True-but keep one thing in mind, Courtney. One of the reasons I haven’t found a partner yet is that I scare some of them off. I’m a demanding prick on the ice." Courtney just gulped at that. "Anyhow, that over there are my coaches. That’s Natalya Shulyenchuk, she’s been my coach forever. And, you know Shawna. She’ll be the co-coach."
Courtney just looked at Shawna. She didn’t count on this. Shawna Vickers scared the shit out of Courtney, though she’d never admit it. Shawna just grinned at her. "Can’t skate any more, so I might as well coach. And if that means I get to torture the living daylights out of you, so much the better."
Courtney wasn’t feeling good about this at all. "By the way, where’s the barracuda?" Evan asked. Courtney just looked at him. "Your mother."
"Home," Courtney said. "She doesn’t even know I’m here. She was opposed to me skating with you."
"You probably should have listened to your mother," Evan chuckled.
"The last time I listened to my mother, I drove Ryan all the way to Boston!" Courtney spat.
Evan laughed at that. "Of course you did. You tortured that boy. We were all surprised it took him as long as it did." He looked right into her eyes. "You understand one thing. I’m not docile. I’m not manipulatable. None of your tricks will work on me. And you’ll find that if you push me I can turn into a considerable asshole."
"I think you’re an asshole anyway," Courtney spat. "However, you’re also a good skater."
"Fine. Let’s skate."
It was brutal. After three days, Courtney hurt all over-and she was getting tired of being yelled at.
At the end of the third day, Evan looked at her. "You can skate. I haven’t tried out with anyone nearly as talented as you are. But you need to learn how to work. If you’re willing to do that, we can give it a try."
"I can work," Courtney said determinedly.
"Fine. Do you have a place to live?"
"I’m in a hotel now."
Evan shrugged. "You can stay with me. I have plenty of room in my house, enough to stay out of each other’s way."
"No thanks!" Courtney blurted.
Evan laughed. "Courtney. You do know I’m gay, right?"
"Oh," Courtney said. She might have heard that, but she had forgotten. "Uh, well, I still don’t think so."
"You can move in with me," Shawna told her. "My house is big as well."
"OK, I think that would work better," Courtney said.
"It would?" Evan laughed. "Courtney, she’s gay, too."
"Oh," Courtney said, blushing. "Well, I still think it would be better."
"Suit yourself," Evan said.
"And don’t worry, you’re not my type," Shawna laughed. "I like my girls sweet."
"Good!" Courtney spat. Shawna just kept laughing.
Courtney flew back to Wisconsin that weekend, and loaded her car up with her stuff. She also had a major blowout with her mother, which she expected.
"You can’t skate with him!" Mrs. Rogers thundered. "You won’t last seven seconds skating with him!"
"He’s the only option," Courtney sighed. "All the guys you were bringing in here were junior-level skaters, or worse. Evan’s the only skater around who’s at my level."
"He’ll eat you alive!"
"I can handle him."
"You have no clue what you can and cannot handle. I’ve been fighting your battles for your whole career."
"Well, Mother, I’m 19 years old. Maybe it’s time I fight my own battles."
Mrs. Rogers snorted. "You’re kidding. You’re incapable of it. Oh well, if you insist on skating with Evan Pogdar, then fine. I’ll put the house up for sale and find something in Detroit."
"That’s not necessary," Courtney said hesitantly.
"Oh, yes it is. Evan Pogdar. Jesus. You’re going to need all the help you can get. I’ll be moving with you."
That’s when Courtney snapped. For the first time ever in her life, she stood up to her mother, because she saw a disaster in the making. "No, Mother, you will not be moving to Detroit. I am going to have all I can do as it is. I can’t deal with Evan, and deal with you too."
"Nonsense. I’ll be there to help you deal with Evan."
"No, you won’t! He’ll freak! He specifically told me that if I wanted to be his partner, I had to keep you out of it!"
"And you agreed to this? Courtney, this is a mistake. You can’t go skate with him. Forget it. Stay here, and I’ll find you a partner."
"NO!" Courtney was almost hysterical by now. "This is my last chance! Don’t you see that? I fucked it up with Ryan. I can’t fuck this up!" She stormed out before her mother could say another word-arguing was pointless. All she could do was hope that her mother wouldn’t show up in Detroit.
Her mother called her cell phone with a diatribe while she was halfway to Detroit-but she didn’t seem to be intent on coming there. That’s all Courtney wanted.
She got back to Detroit and moved into Shawna’s house. She had only had to bring her personal stuff, as Shawna had furniture. Courtney moved into the guest room.
"Can you cook?" Shawna asked.
"Believe it or not, yes," Courtney laughed. "I’ll do some of the cooking, if you want-I like to cook. You just have to let me know what you like."
"I’m not picky," Shawna replied.
"Hey, it’s your house," Courtney said. "Whatever you want."
"Why the hell are you being so cooperative?" Shawna spat. "That’s certainly not your usual style." Courtney just shrugged.
Courtney and Evan hit the ice that next Monday-and, for Courtney, it was brutal.
Evan believed in hard work anyway-but he was really pushing it. To Courtney, it seemed like he was almost being unnecessarily cruel. And it got worse on Tuesday. Courtney hurt herself-she actually had, this wasn’t an excuse. They were working, and Courtney lost an edge and twisted her ankle. Not bad, but she was in a bit of pain.
"Oh, suck it up," Even spat.
"I’m trying," Courtney said. Of course, being Courtney, this phrase was accompanied by her usual pouting and flashing her baby blues. She was barely aware that she was even doing it. Evan took at as a manipulation attempt, and quietly went off on her.
"Don’t even try to pull that shit on me, Courtney, it won’t work."
"What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I’m talking about. Now shut up and skate."
Shawna quietly chuckled to herself about all this-until she got home and noticed that Courtney was limping around the kitchen as she cooked supper. Then, after supper, Shawna wandered into the living room and found Courtney watching TV-with ice taped around her ankle.
"You really did hurt your ankle?" Shawna said.
"No, I’m faking it," Courtney snapped. "I really like being yelled at, so I figured I’d fake an injury so Evan would go off on me some more." Shawna just shook her head and dropped the subject.
Wednesday, if anything, was worse-for a different reason. Courtney showed up at the rink, and Evan had a tape player. "I’ve got the music for our free dance." He played it.
Courtney hated it. It was dark, and foreboding, and not Courtney’s style at all. "Do I get any say in this?" she asked.
"No," Evan said darkly. "I know what you and Ryan skated to. All that overused twee crap. What were you going to suggest? Carmen?" he spat.
"No, but not what you just played me."
"Too bad. You should get one thing straight. I’m only skating with you because I have no other options, and I’m not happy about it. So, we’re going to do this my way. Natalya’s going to start working on a program with us."
They did. And Courtney hated it. The music wasn’t pleasant at all, her ankle started throbbing again, and she was having trouble doing some of the stuff that Evan wanted her to do. The day ended with Evan throwing her off the ice a half hour early. "Come back when you want to work!" he hollered.
Shawna watched all this with a grim satisfaction, though less so after she had realized that Courtney wasn’t faking the sore ankle. She still didn’t have much of an opinion of Courtney, and was waiting for Courtney to show her fangs.
So, she was very surprised that night when she happened to walk past the door to Courtney’s room-and heard her sobbing inside.
The same thing happened Thursday-and Shawna heard the same thing Thursday night. Friday morning, she called Evan and asked to meet him for a cup of coffee before they headed to the rink.
"I’m going to shock you with what I’m about to say," Shawna said. "But I think you need to ease up on that girl."
"WHAT?" Evan said.
"I’m serious. Ev, I’ve walked past her bedroom the last two nights, and she was in there crying. And she really did hurt her ankle, she’s been icing it down every night. And what’s this with the music? I always had a say in the music. How can you expect her to skate her best when she hates the music? She should have veto power, at least." She snorted. "I have to tell you, Ev, I hate that music."
"You don’t have to skate to it," Evan laughed.
"Ev, why are you doing this? Are you trying to drive her out of the rink?"
"No, I’m trying to break her. Look, it’s all an act, Shawna-and she’s sucking you into it. Sooner or later, we’re going to have an explosion and the Courtney we all know and loathe is going to start to try to throw her weight around. I want to break her before that happens. She needs to know who’s boss."
"I think you already broke her."
Evan snorted, "I highly doubt it."
Friday’s practice was more of the same. Shawna avoided Courtney at home that night. She didn’t walk past Courtney’s bedroom. She didn’t want to hear it.
Saturday morning, Shawna walked into the kitchen and found Courtney mixing batter in a bowl. "Good morning," Courtney smiled. "Pancakes OK?"
"Great," Shawna said. "You’re in a better mood this morning."
"Yeah, I don’t have to go to the rink," Courtney laughed.
"Ah, Evan will ease up."
"I doubt that. Besides which, any day I don’t have to skate is a good day."
Shawna looked at her. "You don’t like skating?"
Courtney snorted. "Are you kidding me?"
"Then why do you do it?"
"Because it’s all I know how to do. It’s what I’ve been trained to do. Without skating, I have nothing."
"You could do something else," Shawna said.
"Like what? Do you know I’ve never seen the inside of a school building? I was homeschooled my whole life-and it was sparingly. Mom bamboozled the authorities about what I was learning. Trust me, it wasn’t much. I’m OK with reading and stuff, but that’s because I like to do that on my own. I can barely balance a checkbook, and anything like algebra is completely beyond me. What I know about history only comes from books that I’ve found to read. Science? Forget it. I’m completely ignorant. I have been programmed since practically birth for one thing and one thing only-figure skating. So, that’s what I do. Have to put food on the table somehow."
"Why is your mother like this?"
"Damned if I know," Courtney snorted, pouring the batter into the pan. "Oh, and I taught myself how to cook, too. Anyway, my mother-she wanted to be a figure skater, but my grandparents had no money. My Mom grew up dirt-poor. When she was twenty, she got out the only way she could think of-she married a 67-year-old man who was filthy rich. My Mom was gorgeous when she was younger. He got what he wanted-a babe on his arm, and one that gave him regular sex. She got what she wanted-money. And, eventually, me-so she could program me into being the figure skater that she couldn’t be. Dad died when I was four-so much the better for Mom, who now had all that money, me as her little skating puppet, and nobody to answer to."
Shawna just looked at Courtney in shock, as Courtney pulled the pancakes out of the pan and stacked them on a plate. When she had enough, she carried the plate to the table, and sat down across from Shawna.
"You must have had no childhood," Shawna said finally.
"What figure skater does? But I had less than most. I have no friends. No boyfriend. I have skating, that’s it."
"And you don’t particularly like skating."
"It’s a job," she shrugged. "That’s how I look at it."
That’s when Shawna realized something-she didn’t know Courtney at all. Nobody did. There was more to this girl than the heinous bitch that everyone had seen. And that’s when she made a decision-to get to know her. She wanted to find out what beat at the heart of Courtney Rogers. And that surprised her-because she wasn’t even sure that Courtney had a heart. Well, she hadn’t been sure. Now, she rather suspected that Courtney did have a heart.
Evan made his own decision that weekend. He wasn’t planning on easing up on Courtney, but he did realize he was doing something just to pick a fight that didn’t need to be picked-the music. He went through his library that weekend and found a few other selections.
When Courtney got to the rink the next Monday, Evan pulled her over to the tape player. "All right, how about this?" he said, and played the new selections. They were still powerful and strong, but there was a lovely slow section in the middle, and they weren’t discordant.
"I like that," Courtney smiled. "That would be fine to skate to. Thank you."
"You’re welcome," Evan said, incredulous. He was absolutely stunned that she had thanked him. Because of that-almost without thinking about it-he eased up on her that day. And he was getting results, much to his amazement.
Tuesday was more of the same. Except, at one point, Courtney tripped and fell, banging her head on the boards as she went down. Evan quickly skated over. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"I’m fine," Courtney said. "Clumsy, but fine."
"Are you sure?" Shawna asked from the stands. "You’re not seeing three of Evan, are you?"
"No, thank goodness, one is more than enough," Courtney quipped. Evan, surprised, couldn’t help but laugh. Courtney grinned back, and then said, "Well, since you’re being so solicitous, much to my amazement, would you mind helping me up?" Evan laughed louder, and helped her up.
The rest of the day went very well-but, that night, at home, Shawna had a revelation.
She met Evan early the next morning for coffee again, and she told him about it. First she told him about the conversation she had had with Courtney on Saturday.
"Damn," Evan said. "Some people should never be parents."
"Yep. And it got worse last night. Listen, you’ve seen what she’s been like-especially this week, when you’ve eased up on her somewhat. She’s been fairly pleasant. Relaxed, even. She’s been like that with me at home, too. And then, last night, her mother called.
"Now, they got in a fight over the phone-but it was what happened before that was really spooky. I was the one that answered the phone, see, and the minute I said, ‘Courtney, it’s your mom,’ she changed. Her whole back went rigid. Her shoulders went rigid. Her face went from normally pleasant to a fierce scowl-she looked like she wanted to bite the phone out of my hand. And I’m not even sure she was aware she was doing it.
"She was like that the whole time she was on the phone. When she hung up, she relaxed again, and I mean visibly."
"What do you make of all this?" Evan asked. "I know you have an answer-you’re the one that was a psychology major."
"Yeah, but I never finished. Hmmm, now that I’m not skating anymore, maybe I’ll go back to school. Anyway, yes, I do have an answer. Courtney’s angry. She’s very angry-but she’s angry with her mother. Unfortunately, up until very recently she was completely dependent on her mother. So she took her anger out on everyone else."
"Ah," Evan said. "So, you think that’s why she hasn’t taken any anger out on me, even when I pushed her-because her mother’s not here?"
"Right. She’s not angry with you. And she’s worried that you are angry with her. And, I have to tell you, there’s pieces to this puzzle I don’t have yet-I know it."
"You’ll figure it out," Evan said reassuringly.
On Saturday, she did. First of all, though, they got through the rest of the week of practice and it went very well. By Friday, they’d finished the first section of the free dance. They ran through it a couple of times, and it was excellent.
At home, Courtney said to Shawna, "That was fun!"
"You had fun skating?" Shawna said.
"Yeah. Unbelievable, isn’t it?"
She seemed pretty upbeat for the rest of the night. On Saturday, however, things changed. Saturday morning, after breakfast, she got a call from her mother. Shawna left the room, not wanting to watch Courtney on the phone. Afterwards, Shawna walked back in the room. Courtney looked completely disconsolate.
"She’s coming here," Courtney said despairingly.
"Your mother?"
"Yeah. She’s going to sell the house in Madison and move here. Damn it all!"
"Can’t you do anything to stop here?"
"What can I do?" Courtney asked.
"Let me think about it. And I’ll talk to Evan. He’s better at this sort of thing than I am. He’s very analytical. If there’s a way to stop this, he’ll come up with it."
"OK," Courtney said. She sat there for a good long minute, staring hopelessly into space. Then, suddenly, she said, "I lost my virginity when I was 13."
"Huh?" Shawna said, startled at the change of subject.
"Yeah. With Ryan. He was 16 at the time. It was his first, too."
"Oh. I thought you were all moral and Christian and that."
Courtney snorted. "Publicity. My mother thought it would be a good idea if we positioned ourselves as the anti-Kellehers. Fat lot of good that did."
"Yeah. You were awfully young when you guys did it. He didn’t force you?"
"Ryan?" she snorted. "You know Ryan Killen better than that."
"You must have really been in love with him, then-or horny," Shawna laughed.
Courtney snorted out a giggle, but then got serious. "Neither. You know, I think I fell a little bit in love with him later-but I also hated him. It’s complicated. But I didn’t sleep with him for any normal reason." She took a deep breath. "I slept with him because my mother had convinced me that sex is what you did to keep a man around."
"Oh," Shawna said, completely horrified but trying to hide it.
"Yeah. You know, I often think it would’ve been easier if Ryan had been brutal. I was sleeping with him for the most calculating and mercenary of reasons. It might have been easier if he just took his piece and rolled off of me. But you know Ryan-he’s not like that. He was gentle and all that. I actually came-which was the last thing I expected. I wasn’t having sex for sex-shit, I was 13. I was spreading my legs to keep him interested. And he gave me an orgasm. That’s the day I started hating him. And falling in love with him. All at the same time.
"God, I’m so fucked up."
Shawna looked at her. "Courtney? Why are you telling me all this? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind at all, but why me?"
"Because you’re the only one that ever cared to listen," Courtney said sadly.
"Oh," Shawna said. "Then you just keep talking if you need to."
Courtney shot her a grateful smile. "Anyhow, Ryan and I went on like that for a while. You know what sex was like with us? I either completely dominated him, or lied down motionless. That was because I was ‘offering’ myself for his sake. The first was because I hated him. But I didn’t.
"You can probably imagine what that was like for him. But he never knew what was going on in my mind-and he did try. Somehow I had lumped him in with my mother. I wasn’t going to trust him. And I should have.
"When he found his girlfriend, I panicked. That’s why I gave him the ‘her or me’ ultimatum. And, in the month we were together after Jessie left, I suggested we start sleeping together again."
"Still using it to keep him around," Shawna commented, then wanted to take it back.
However, Courtney said, "Exactly. Shawna, if you could have seen the look of disgust and revulsion in his face when I suggested it. I think that’s when I finally realized the jig was up, that I was fooling myself, and that I had dug myself a hole I was not getting out of.
"And I think that’s when my eyes opened. Look, I know what’s going on. Most of the people that come in contact with me can’t stand to be in the same room with me." Her voice dropped. "The only problem is, one of those people is me."
Shawna sat for a moment, then said, "I guessed, and told Evan, that you were carrying around a lot of anger, and that it was primarily directed at your mother. But that you took it out on everyone else because, up until very recently, you were dependent on your mother."
"That’s probably right," Courtney agreed. "But, also, up until recently, I trusted my mother."
"You didn’t know any different."
"Probably not." Then Courtney started to cry. "Damn, and she’s coming here? Oh, Lord, what am I going to do?"
She sat there crying. Shawna, watching this with dismay, made a decision. She moved over on the couch and took Courtney in her arms. Courtney’s cries got louder, and Shawna held her and let her cry it out. "Don’t worry, we’ll think of something," Shawna said. She stroked Courtney’s hair while she cried. Finally, Courtney stopped sobbing and whispered, "Thank you."
"You’re welcome," Shawna said. She expected Courtney to get up, out of her arms-but she didn’t. She stayed where she was. They were both half-reclined on the couch, leaning back into the arm, Shawna’s arm wrapped around Courtney, her other hand still stroking her hair. Courtney sighed contentedly.
What was going on here? Shawna thought to herself. Courtney knew she was gay, right? Shawna guessed Courtney was still thinking what Shawna had said earlier was true-that Courtney wasn’t Shawna’s type.
Problem is, it wasn’t true. Shawna was definitely attracted to needy girls. Once she had figured out that Courtney’s bitchiness was a shield, hiding away some very deep emotional needs, her whole perspective changed. And Courtney’s physical charms were undeniable.
And she seemed very comfortable lying there in Shawna’s arms.
So, Shawna bit the bullet. "Courtney?" she said quietly. "Have you ever been with a girl?"
"No," she whispered.
"Have you ever thought about it?"
"I don’t think so."
Shawna took the arm that had been wrapped around Courtney, and started sliding it up and down her arm. In doing this, she lightly grazed Courtney’s breast with her palm every time she slid her hand. Courtney shuddered at the contact.
"Are you thinking about it now?" Shawna asked quietly.
"Uhm…uh…" Courtney’s brain was a sieve at this moment. She couldn’t say anything coherent if her life depended on it. But she knew she was enjoying being in Shawna’s arms. Shawna was being so nice to her! And her hand tracing up and down her arm-and skirting over her boob-felt wonderful.
Courtney had never considered being with a girl. To her shock, she realized she was considering it now-and she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that.
Shawna knew she had Courtney in a very vulnerable situation, and she was torn as to whether or not she should take advantage of it. She would stop-all Courtney had to do was say so-but she was drawn to Courtney in a way she didn’t entirely understand. So, she went for it. She leaned down, and let her lips lightly brush Courtney’s.
And Courtney felt an electric shock from her lips to the tips of her toes. She accepted the kiss-in fact, she pressed in harder, giving Shawna the answer she was looking for. Courtney moaned into her mouth, and her lips parted slightly, giving Shawna the opportunity to gently slip her tongue into Courtney’s mouth.
Courtney couldn’t believe it. This was so different from kissing a guy! Shawna was so gentle, and her lips were so soft. And her tongue didn’t invade Courtney’s mouth so much as explore it. Courtney was reeling. She was reeling moreso when she felt Shawna’s hand softly touching her breast.
They did this for a few minutes, Courtney sinking deeper and deeper into it. Then Shawna gave her one more chance to stop it. She broke the kiss, and said, "Court, we’d be a lot more comfortable in my bed."
Courtney thought about it, and decided. "OK," she said hesitantly. They got off the couch, and Shawna took Courtney by the hand and led her to her room. When there, Shawna pressed her advantage. She sat Courtney down on her bed, and started unbuttoning Courtney’s blouse.
Courtney sat there, watching another girl undress her. When Shawna had Courtney’s blouse and bra on, she leaned in again, touching her lips to the other girl’s. As their lips pressed together and their tongues dueled, Shawna put her hand on Courtney’s bare breast, fondling it and rubbing the nipple. Courtney moaned into Shawna’s mouth.
Shawna kept it up, feeling Courtney’s nipple become erect under her hand. Then Courtney surprised her. Shawna felt Courtney tugging on the waistband of her tee shirt. Shawna was amazed-she thought she’d be undressing herself! She gladly broke the kiss and let Courtney get her shirt and bra off. When that was done, she leaned back in, kissing Courtney again and fondling her boob. Then, Shawna felt Courtney place a tentative hand on Shawna’s boob.
Courtney was adrift. She couldn’t believe how this was making her feel. I mean, she’d seen naked girls before-of course she had, in locker rooms if nowhere else. She couldn’t believe the thrills he got when she removed Shawna’s shirt and bra-and the thrill she was getting from touching Shawna’s boob. To say nothing of what Shawna was doing to her.
They ended up sprawled on the bed, Courtney on her back, Shawna hovering over her. Their lips still pressed together, their tongues dancing. Their boobs pressed into each other’s. Shawna roamed her hands all over Courtney’s back-and was surprised to feel Courtney’s hand gently cupping her ass.
Shawna went for it. She rubbed her hands on the lower part of Courtney’s thighs, giving Courtney every opportunity to stop her. Courtney just moaned into her mouth. So, Shawna moved her hand up, slowly and lightly, traveling up Courtney’s thigh underneath her skirt. Her hand reached the top of Courtney’s thing, and brushed across Courtney’s panties. Her panties were drenched.
"God, you’re so wet," Shawna whispered into Courtney’s ear. Courtney just moaned in return. Shawna dragged her fingers up and down Courtney’s panties for a minute, then went for broke. She abruptly reached both hands under Courtney’s skirt, and yanked her panties down. Then her hands were on Courtney’s bare pussy. She broke the kiss, and moved her lips down, and planted them on Courtney’s nipple.
Courtney gasped. She couldn’t believe how good this felt. Shawna’s hand on her pussy and her lips on her tit were gentle. They were coaxing, not insistent. And they were working her up to a frenzy in record time.
Suddenly, Courtney felt Shawna back away. She was about to groan in disappointment, but then she felt Shawna undoing her skirt. She pulled it off, leaving Courtney completely naked. Then, to Courtney’s complete amazement, she felt Shawna parting her thighs with her head!
Courtney gasped. She’d never done this before-she’d never let this be done to her before, and Ryan had wanted to. She didn’t know why she was resistant to it. But she always had been. And as Shawna parted her thighs to get access, her brain was at war. One part wanted to stop this-but the other part wanted her to spread her legs wider. That was the part that won.
Shawna dove in, and stuck her tongue into Courtney’s wet pussy, gently licking at it. Courtney, out of her mind with lust, whinnied like a horse at that.
Shawna loved doing this, so she went at it with great enthusiasm. She made love to Courtney’s pussy with her tongue-gently sucking on the labia and dipping her tongue into Courtney’s opening. She pushed her tongue into Courtney as far as it could go, moving it in and out deliberately. She could smell Courtney’s arousal, it enveloped her, as she worked on the girl’s pussy.
She pulled her tongue out of Courtney’s opening and lightly dragged it up and down her labia. Then she flicked Courtney’s clit with her tongue. Courtney jumped. "AH!" she gasped.
Shawna zeroed in on Courtney’s clit, licking and nibbling away at it. Courtney’s hips lifted off the bed, and she closed her eyes, her moans increasing in volume as Shawna sucked on her clit. After a few minutes of that, Courtney’s eyes flew open, she yelped, and then she exploded.
Shawna licked and nibbled Courtney through her orgasm, then she stopped. Her first instinct was to go for two, but she didn’t want to overwhelm Courtney. Instead, she crawled up the bed so that she was lying beside the other girl, and gently rubbed Courtney’s shoulder and hair as she came down.
"Wow!" Courtney finally said. "You know, I’ve never done that."
"I know," Shawna giggled.
"No, I mean ever. Not even with a guy. Ryan wanted to, but I wouldn’t let him."
"Well, girls are usually better than guys at that," Shawna laughed.
"You know what, though? I think Ryan would have been fine. And I still don’t know why I never let him. Of course, I also don’t know why I let you."
"Because you enjoyed it," Shawna said. "Court, don’t overanalyze it, OK? Go with the flow. We’re having a good time here."
"True," Courtney giggled. "Well, one of us is," she said. Shawna knew exactly what she meant, and what was going through Courtney’s mind-but Shawna was not going to push this. That would be a very stupid thing to do. Yes, she was turned on; and, yes, she wanted to get off. But she wasn’t going to push Courtney into that.
It turned out she didn’t have to. Courtney thought about it for a minute, then went for the snap on Shawna’s jeans. She was hesitant, and scared out of her mind, but she did it. Then she pulled them down, taking Shawna’s panties with them. When she had Shawna naked, she leaned over and started kissing her, and started tentatively exploring Shawna’s body with her hands. Just light touches, nothing urgent yet. Shawna still thoroughly enjoyed it.
After a few minutes, Courtney broke the kiss, and said, "I have no idea what I’m doing."
"It’s OK. Do what you like," Shawna smiled. Courtney looked at her. Shawna went on. "I remember my first time with a girl. I was 14 and so was she. I rather suspected by then that I was more attracted to girls than guys, but I hadn’t done anything about it.
"Anyhow, we were friends, and we were talking about it, and one thing led to another. It was her first time, too. I think we spent more time giggling embarrasedly than we did anything else." Courtney laughed at that. Shawna went on. "But it was still wonderful. It’s something I’ll never forget. Court, this is your first time with a girl. It should be special. Do whatever you want."
Courtney smiled and leaned back in to kiss Shawna again. Then she went back to letting her hands roam all over Shawna’s body, but with a little bit more purpose this time. She cupped Shawna’s breast in her hand and rubbed at the nipple. Shawna moaned into her mouth.
Emboldened, Courtney moved down and took Shawna’s nipple into her mouth. Courtney was rather surprised she was doing this. She was more surprised at how much she was enjoying it. Her hands, which had been somewhat unfocused, got more purposeful-and she took her right hand and slid it up and down Shawna’s thigh while she sucked on her boob. Shawna moved her hips, waiting for more contact. Courtney teased a little bit-then provided it, moving her hand onto Shawna’s pussy.
Courtney gently rubbed her fingers up and down Shawna’s pussy, delighted to find how wet she was. She explored, slipping a finger into Shawna’s opening and enjoying the low moan she got in return. She moved her finger in and out while she continued sucking on Shawna’s nipple. Shawna’s hips rolled, and she moaned, as she ran her hand through Courtney’s curly hair.
Courtney was thoroughly enjoying herself, but she kept thinking that there was another step. Did she want to do it? She thought about that for a while. Then, as Shawna was getting more and more worked up, Courtney decided.
She pulled her lips off of Shawna’s nipple and kissed the underside of her breast. Then she started working her way down, kissing the soft skin along her stomach, dipping her tongue into Shawna’s bellybutton-making Shawna giggle. Then she kept moving lower.
Shawna was quite surprised. She didn’t expect Courtney to do this. She wasn’t going to turn it down, though! Especially when Courtney took a tentative lick up the length of Shawna’s pussy. Shawna shuddered at the contact.
Courtney couldn’t believe she was doing this. She’d never let Ryan’s dick get anywhere near her mouth-and here she was, with her tongue in Shawna’s pussy-and liking it!
She barely had an idea what she was doing-but she knew what Shawna had done to make her feel good-so that’s what she did. She gently licked up and down Shawna’s pussy, then pushed her tongue into Shawna’s opening. Shawna moaned and bucked her hips, then Courtney came out, licking all the way up her pussy. She moved onto her clit and gently nudged it with her tongue.
"Oh, God, Court!" Shawna moaned. Courtney, incredibly satisfied by that, kept it up. Then, in a flash of inspiration, she tried something else. While nibbling on Shawna’s clit, she slipped a finger deep into Shawna’s pussy.
And Shawna went off like a rocket.
Afterwards, Courtney found herself wrapped in Shawna’s arms. That’s when she said, "You know, I’m not gay."
Shawna cracked up laughing. Courtney glared at her, so she tried to stop. It took some effort. "You know, for someone not gay, you’re very good at it. And that was done with remarkable enthusiasm-you know, for a not gay person."
Courtney smiled a bit, and blushed, and then said, "I don’t know. I just feel weird."
"For what it’s worth, I’d bet money that you’re bi, not gay," Shawna said. "You still like guys, I’m betting."
"Yeah."
"But, Court-you’re not straight. Not after that. Admit it to yourself."
Courtney thought about it, and said, "OK. You’re right. I enjoyed that way too much. In fact, it was mind-blowing."
"Right."
"It’s still weird. I mean, you told me you knew you liked girls when you were 14. How would you react if suddenly you found yourself in bed with a guy-and liking it?"
"It’s happened," Shawna admitted.
"Huh?"
"I’m not completely gay, that’s what I discovered. I’m probably 90-10. I am more physically attracted to girls, but I can be attracted to a guy. It has to be a guy a care a whole hell of a lot about before we ever get to that point, though. So, yes, I’ve been in bed with a guy-only one, but more than one time-and I thoroughly enjoyed it."
Light dawned over Courtney. "EVAN?"
"Yeah," Shawna admitted with a blush.
"But I thought Evan was…"
"He’s 90-10, too," Shawna told her. "I’m the only girl he’s ever been with. And, yes, it worked just fine," she smirked. Courtney laughed at that. "It’s mental attraction. Look, a lot of sex is about physical attraction-and you can have sex with just that, and very little mental attraction at all. What Evan and I found out is the opposite is also possible. We’re not particularly physically attracted to one another, because we’re both mostly gay-but we absolutely, positively love one another. Period. Any girl that I ever end up with, long-term, will have to understand that Evan will always be a part of my life, and that may include the odd trip to bed together." She laughed. "We’ve even talked about having a kid someday. I want kids. And Evan’s a whole hell of a lot more fun than a turkey baster."
Courtney laughed so hard that she almost choked. After she came back down, she looked at Shawna. "You were talking about attraction, mental and physical. Uh, what was this?"
"Both," Shawna smiled. "It was not just physical."
"It wasn’t?" Courtney squeaked.
"No, it wasn’t. Courtney, I like you a whole hell of a lot. I think I’m beginning to understand you. The person beneath all that baggage you tote around is pretty special."
"Oh, God," Courtney moaned, then started crying again. Shawna held her while she sobbed.
"It wasn’t just physical with you either, was it?" Shawna asked. Courtney shook her head. "Good," Shawna said. "You know, isn’t this how this whole thing started, with you crying in my arms?"
Courtney giggled through her sobs for a minute, then calmed down "Court?" Shawna asked. "Would you like to stay here with me tonight?"
"Very much so," Courtney said softly.
"Good."
They spent most of the rest of the weekend in bed, exploring, not coming out much except to eat. At one point Sunday night, Shawna got Courtney to admit that she loved it-but she also admitted that she liked a good fuck. That’s when Shawna introduced Courtney to her favorite strap-on. Courtney went nuts.
Afterwards, cuddling, Courtney said, "I am falling for you so fast it’s making my head spin."
"Good. Me too," Shawna grinned.
Before practice Monday, Shawna called Evan and they went for coffee. That’s when Shawna broke it to him.
"You need to know this, pal. Courtney and I became lovers this weekend."
Poor Evan almost choked on his coffee. "You are kidding!"
"Nope. Evan, listen to me, OK? You’ve always trusted my judgement. You will get that girl with honey, you understand me?"
"Yeah," Evan said. "I saw some of that this past week."
"Good. However, we have another problem."
The other problem showed up midway through their practice on Tuesday. Evan and Courtney were skating, working on some steps, when Evan felt Courtney suddenly stiffen up. She was looking past Evan, out of the rink. Evan turned, and saw.
"Mother. What are you doing here?" Courtney said.
"Why, darling, I told you I was coming! The house in Madison is up for sale, so I thought I’d come here and look to see what’s available. Now. Is Evan giving you a hard time?"
"No," Courtney said tightly. "Mother, if you buy a house out here, I won’t be moving into it."
"Of course you will. Where would you live?"
"Where I’m living now, with Shawna."
"Well, that just won’t do, you’ll have to move back in with me. After all, we know what she is."
Courtney stormed off the rink to face her mother, more furious than she’d ever been in her life. "No, I don’t know, Mother. What is she?"
"You know. She’s a lesbian." Mrs. Rogers said ‘lesbian’ like she might have said ‘axe murderer’.
"Is she? Hmmm. Well, then I guess I am, too-since I moved into her bed on Saturday night." Mrs. Rogers went ghost-white at that. "That’s right, Shawna and I are lovers. And it’s not for skating reasons, and it’s not because I’m trying to keep a guy around-it’s because we wanted to. I’ve discovered I’m bisexual. And Shawna and I are sharing a bed, and that’s all there is to it."
"NO IT IS NOT!" Mrs. Rogers shrieked. "That’s it, you’ve been corrupted, I am getting you out of here!"
"I’m 19 years old, you can’t make me do anything," Courtney said. She turned to her partner. "Evan, can you get her banned from the rink?"
"Surely," Evan said.
"Good," Courtney said. "Mother, for the first time in my life, I’m where I want to be, not where I have to be. With Evan. With Shawna. And without you. Go back to Wisconsin." And then she turned her back.
Her mother flew back to Madison that day.
A few days later, Courtney was sitting in the living room, staring at the phone. Shawna knew what was going on, and gave her privacy.
After an hour of staring, Courtney finally picked up the phone, and dialed. She knew the person on the other end wouldn’t recognize Shawna’s number, so she hoped they’d pick up.
They did. "Hello?" she heard.
She took a deep breath. "Ryan? It’s Courtney. Please don’t hang up."
"Courtney? What do you want?" he snorted back over the line.
"Just this." She took another breath. "I’m sorry, for everything. Good luck with your new partner. And thank you." Then, she quietly set the phone back on the cradle.
Warren and Sophia had a busy summer for themselves. They had all those programs of their own to work on, and many others.
Some were easier, because they were closer. Ryan and Amy worked in their rink, so that was real easy to coordinate. Allison Bowman and Tom Bellamy were close by, so that was easy to coordinate. Especially since Tom was around a lot, anyway, visiting with Kristin.
"So, how’s it going to feel in September, going out with a Harvard woman?" Warren teased him.
"Horrible, I feel so inadequate," he mock-moaned.
"Ah, shaddap," Kristin said.
"She’ll have a ball. Harvard girl, going out with a scruffy figure skater."
"Oh, stop it, will you?" Kris told him. "It’s going to be Harvard girl going out with gold medalist, anyway. That ought to get me some notoriety."
"After I won the medal at Worlds last year," Allison said, "Eddie was the star of the school for a while."
"I get some of that, well, I did when school was in," Kristin said.
"Harvard will be different. Those snobs won’t be impressed," Tom grinned.
"Until you come visit and they see what a hunk you are," Kristin joked.
They leisurely worked on the competitive programs for Tom, Allison, and Ryan and Amy throughout the early summer. Ryan and Amy also needed programs for the Pro-Am-they were going to the Canadian one. Since those weren’t ‘serious’ programs, they mostly planned to do those themselves. However, one day Amy cornered Warren and Sophia.
"Hey, will you guys take a look at our rhythmic program for the Pro-Am? It’s kind of up your alley."
"Sure," Warren told her. He and Sophie went and stood by the rink and watched Ryan and Amy.
He was kind of surprised by the choice of music: Ricky Martin’s "Living La Vida Loca." He guessed that this was Amy’s choice, as Ryan had never skated to anything like this with Courtney. Ryan, however, was plainly having a ball skating to it.
And Warren and Sophie quickly realized something-this was one hell of a program.
"That was marvelous," Warren told them when they finished.
"It’s pretty simple choreography, well, compared to you two at least. But it works," Ryan said.
"It’s not that simple," Sophie argued.
"Well, what I was wondering is-is it too sexy?" Amy asked.
"It’s very sexy," Warren laughed, "but not over-the-top. It’s more just hot than suggestive. Is this a problem?"
Amy looked down. "I don’t know how Eric is going to react to it."
"Why would he care if you’re being sexy?" Sophia laughed.
"Because I’m on the ice being sexy with Ryan, not him."
"Ah," Sophie said. "You know, I think Eric understands."
"It worries me. We’ve only been together, what, a month and a half? About that."
Just then, he walked in. "ERIC!" Amy said.
"Hi, honey. Want lunch?" Eric asked her.
"Sure, in a bit, we need to work some more."
"OK," Eric said, and settled in next to Sophia and Warren in the bleachers.
"Amy, show him." Sophie said. Amy shot her a look. "Trust me."
"Uh, OK." She and Ryan headed towards the center of the ice.
"What is she showing me?" Eric asked.
"Their rhythmic program for the Canadian Open. They did this one themselves."
Living La Vida Loca started, and Ryan and Amy started dancing. Warren watched them-but Sophia was watching Eric. And Eric’s jaw was hitting the floor.
Halfway through, Sophie giggled and said to Eric, "Close your mouth, little brother, the flies are getting in."
"Uh, well, I can’t believe how good she looks."
"She was afraid you wouldn’t like it."
"Why on earth?"
"Because it’s rather hot."
"I noticed," Eric smirked, his eyes still riveted to the ice.
"Yes, and because she’s out there being hot with another guy."
"Oh," Eric said. "Well, Ryan’s her partner. I understand all that. I don’t worry about that." He smirked again. "And even if I worried about Amy, I know who Ryan’s girlfriend is. And what she’d cut off if he ever went after Amy."
Sophie cracked up. "Right you are." She sobered. "I think Amy’s a little insecure."
"I don’t know why."
"Well, I have an idea. Just a guess, mind you. But, I saw when you walked in. She got all enthusiastic to see you. You were much more subdued. I know that’s just your personality."
"Well, it’s not just that," Eric said. "I’m less outgoing than she is-but what you see isn’t so much subdued as it is overwhelmed."
"By Amy?"
"Yeah," Eric said with a little grin.
Just then, Ryan and Amy ended the program. Amy skated over to where Eric was sitting, obviously worried. Eric dispelled the worry with a big, "WOW!"
Amy lit up. "You liked it?"
"Loved it. It was awesome. You’re awesome," he told her.
She squeaked happily, and reached over the boards to hug a surprised Eric. Then she let go of him, grinned, and said, "I’m going to go get changed, then we can get lunch."
"OK," Eric said. She bounced off to the dressing room.
Ryan, watching, laughed. "You are so gone, it’s amusing," he said to Eric.
"Uh-huh," Sophie agreed. She turned to Warren. "Snugglebear, I think you’re going to have competition for the most pussywhipped human on the planet."
Everyone laughed at that. Warren said, "To be pussywhipped, you first have to get pussy. I don’t believe Amy and Eric have gotten to that point yet."
"No, we haven’t," Eric admitted, "but I don’t think that’s necessary to be whipped."
"Probably not," Sophia grinned.
Amy came out then, and she and Eric headed for lunch.
In early August, Liz Cushman landed at the airport for her week of choreography. Crash came with her. Warren and Sophia met them at the airport, and Liz said, "We have a surprise for you." She then held out her left hand-and showed them the diamond.
Sophie squealed, and Warren gave Crash a congratulatory hug.
"When?" Sophie asked them.
"Next summer. Will you be a bridesmaid?" Liz asked. "My sister’s going to be my maid of honor, but I’d love for you to be a bridesmaid."
"Of course, I’d be honored," Sophie told her.
"And you, of course, will be the best man," Crash told Warren.
"A natural role for me to fill," Warren smirked.
"When did you do this?" Sophia asked.
"A couple of weeks ago," Liz told her. "We wanted to wait until we saw you in person to tell you."
"My parents don’t even know yet," Crash laughed. "We’re going to go tell them now."
After Liz had left, Brett and Andrea came. They were upbeat and happy, and had a ball with Warren and Sophia, choreographing their new programs.
After a couple days, Warren was with Sophie at their house. "So. Brett and Andrea. Are you seeing what I’m seeing?"
"That they finally figured out that they were nuts about each other? Looks like it," Sophia laughed.
"Yep. It’s hard to choreograph with all that mooning going on. And, jeez, what did it take them-eight, nine years?"
"I know," Sophia laughed. "I think Brett had to grow up a little."
"True. It’s funny-when I first met them, Andrea barely tolerated him."
"That’s been gone for a while," Sophia said, "Andrea’s been mooning over him for the last few years. I think he had to get over her previous scorn."
"Right. Looks like he got over it. I thought they were going to start kissing in the middle of a spin today!"
By the second-last week in August, everyone’s programs were set, including their own. That was good timing, as Warren and Sophia got in their car and drove to Rochester, NY.
Going to Caitlin and Paul’s wedding was an interesting experience for Warren and Sophia. They’d been to a few weddings, including their own, but this was the first where neither the bride nor groom were a family member or a skater.
What this meant was that, at this wedding, Warren and Sophia were the ‘token celebrities.’ They actually worried about this. "You guys are supposed to be the center of attention!" Sophie said at the rehearsal dinner. "People aren’t supposed to be asking a bridesmaid and an usher for autographs!"
Caitlin laughed. "Ah, we knew this was going to happen."
"It’ll be worse at the wedding, when there’s more people," Papa Bear grinned.
Papa Bear wasn’t kidding. When Warren and Sophia walked down the aisle, they heard the ‘recognition gasp’. The reception was, if anything, worse.
At one point, they were dancing, and Paul and Cait were right next to them. "I wonder if my aunt finally recovered at meeting her favorite ice skaters in the flesh," Cait teased.
"Ah, stop it," Warren said.
Even with the minor celebrity interruptions, the wedding was a huge success. Caitlin was a breathtaking bride, and all there had a great time.
Since Warren and Sophie had bought a house, Eric had been offered the Basement Pad. Kate was offered it first, but she turned it down. "I’m settled in my room, besides which, I’m at school 8 months out of the year. Eric’s still got 2 years of high school left, let him take it."
He moved down in August. He told Amy about it, and she was hoping she’d get invited down there. She was ready to take the next step in their relationship. But, a few weeks had gone by, and Eric hadn’t made a move. They kissed, a lot, but that was it.
Eric didn’t want to say this, but he was worried-about school. He was all Amy had, really the only friend she had in Oceanview. He was worried about what would happen when such a pretty, vivacious girl got set loose at Oceanview High.
And, what was worse, he wasn’t there for the first two days of it. He’d come down with a horrible flu, and missed the first two days of school. And Amy had called him up every night, telling her how much she liked it.
When Eric got to school on the third day-his first-he walked into his nightmare. There, in the courtyard, was Amy-holding court. She was sitting on the wall at the edge of the courtyard. Three of the Popular Princess types were sitting next to her. A gaggle of jock-type guys were gathered around, eagerly sopping up every word out of her mouth. Amy looked happy and animated.
Eric looked at her, and felt the dull thud in the pit of his stomach. He was torn whether or not to walk away, or what. The choice was taken from him when Amy spotted him.
"SWEETIE! You’re back!" she yelped, and immediately fought her way through her clutch of courtesans to wrap him in a bear hug. "How are you feeling?"
"A lot better, thanks," Eric said, trying to hide his amazement.
"I’m glad," she said. "My first two days of school here without my sweetie weren’t that fun."
"You looked like you were having fun." Eric said.
"Ah, not like with you." She called over to her erstwhile admirers. "Do you guys all know Eric, my boyfriend?"
The Princesses just looked at him with amazement. And the studs looked jealous.
That’s when something clicked in Eric’s brain. And he made a resolution.
Jessie had spent two months in complete bliss living with Ryan. She liked her new job, she was in a good place with friends, and having a total, complete, no hesitation relationship with Ryan was everything she had dreamed of.
However, here in early September, she found herself ill. She was lethargic and had a stomach bug. Ryan was a wonderful nurse, it turned out.
She was sitting next to Ryan, when, all of a sudden, it struck her. "Ryan, honey?" she said. "I just had a revelation. This isn’t the flu. This is what happened last time."
"Last time?" Ryan asked.
"I think I’m pregnant," she said quietly. "This is how it felt, you know, before."
"Have you missed a period?"
"It’s due day after tomorrow." Jessie sighed in frustration. "This is ridiculous! Why do I even bother taking the damn pill?"
"Sometimes it fails."
"Twice in, what, four months? Ryan, you have to believe me, I take it faithfully! I’ve never missed a day!"
"Jess." Ryan grabbed her chin and tilted her face until he was looking into her eyes. "Jess. It’s OK. If you are, it’s OK."
"Easy for you to say, you didn’t just miscarry."
"You’re scared."
"Damn right I’m scared! We just got back together, we’ve been living together all of two months, and I just had a miscarriage."
"Well, it’ll be OK, but we need to find out for sure."
Four days later, Jess was two days late. They went to the pharmacy and got an early-detection home pregnancy test. They came back to their apartment and Jess took it.
She walked out of the bathroom. "Positive," she said simply.
Ryan was sitting on the couch. He beckoned her over to him. She sat next to him, and he pulled her into his arms.
"Ryan, tell me everything’s going to be OK," Jess pleaded.
"Everything’s going to be OK," he assured her. "I promise."
"Now what do we do?" she said.
"I have an idea about that." He leaned into her, and whispered into her ear, "What do you say we fly to Las Vegas and get married?"
"WHAT?" she blurted, turning to look at him.
"Las Vegas. Married. Look, you told me once you didn’t want a big wedding like Warren and Sophie had, that you had no interest in it. Now, if you’ve changed your mind, we can wait, and you can have that. But, if not-let’s just go do it."
"You’re serious," she gasped.
"Completely. Totally. Jess, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We’re going to have a baby. Let’s do it."
Jessie’s face broke out into a giddy smile. She started giggling. "Really?"
"Really."
"Oh, God. YES!" she shouted, and then hurled herself into his arms, laughing and crying at the same time. After they had settled down, she said, "Oh, God, I love you so much."
"Love you, too. So, do you want to do this on the QT, or should we tell people?"
"I want to tell my parents. I want them to come. Warren and Sophie, too."
"OK, then I’ll call my parents." Ryan’s parents lived in California. He called them right away, and they were thrilled. "They want to come, so, once we arrange it, I’ll have to let them know. They’ll probably drive. They can’t wait to meet you."
"That’s funny-you knocked me up, we’re getting married, and they’ve never met me!"
Jessie then called her parents, and told them to expect her that evening. She called Warren and Sophie, too, and told them to meet her there.
When Jessie and Ryan showed up at her parents’ house, Warren and Sophie were already there. "Ok, so what’s the big mystery?" Mrs. Reidel asked them once they got in.
"Well, it’s like this," Jessie said. "Obviously, me and birth control just don’t get along-because I’m pregnant again."
"Oh," Mrs. Reidel said. "Is this OK?" she asked tentatively.
"Definitely OK," Jess smiled.
"Better than OK," Ryan agreed.
"So, anyway," Jess continued, "this is the plan. As soon as we can arrange it, we’re going to Las Vegas to get hitched. Anyone wanna come with?"
The room was silent for a good minute. Finally, Jessica’s mother broke the silence. "Did you just say what I think you said?"
"We’re getting married, ASAP," Jessie said. "I don’t want any big fancy do, so we’re going to go to Vegas and do it. We’d like you all to come, though."
Mrs. Reidel stared at them for a minute, and then squealed. "You’re getting married?"
"Yep."
"I guess we’re going to Las Vegas," Mr. Reidel said with a grin. "You sure you don’t want a traditional wedding, honey?" he asked Jess.
"Nah," Jessie said. "But we want you guys there."
"We’ll be there," her mother said.
"Us, too," Sophia grinned.
Saturday night, two days after Eric had gone back to school, he and Amy were out on a date. They had just left the restaurant and Eric was driving away. "So," Amy laughed, "my dear partner’s in a mad scramble to go to Vegas so he can get married."
"That’s funny. I’m happy for them-I’ve known Jess forever." He chuckled. "I just hope they stay married for longer than Britney Spears did."
"Tell me about it," Amy laughed. "So, the night’s young, what do you want to do now?"
"Uhm, I want to talk," Eric said.
"OK," Amy agreed hesitantly. Eric wanted to talk? This didn’t sound good at all.
Amy was surprised when Eric pulled up in front of his house. He took her into the basement by the direct entrance. When they got into the little apartment, Amy sighed, "Wow, Eric, this is really nice!"
"I know. Sophie and Warren really did a good job down here before they moved out. And they bought a lot of new furniture so they left me most of it." He pointed toward the couch. "Sit down." She did, and Eric sat next to her.
He took a deep breath. "Look, I suck at this. But something happened this week. When I came off the bus Thursday and saw you surrounded by the Beautiful People, and them all enthralled by you, my heart was in my throat."
"Eric-," Amy tried to interrupt.
"No. Let me finish. This is hard enough as it is. Anyhow, I saw you like that and I was worried. And then you saw me, and yelled after me, and left them to come see me. I can’t even describe what that felt like." He took another deep breath. "And that’s when I realized it. Amy, I’m in love with you. In fact, I love you so much it hurts sometimes."
Before Eric knew it, Amy had launched herself onto his lap, clutching at his shoulders, and crying. "Amy?" Eric asked.
"God, hold me!" she sputtered. He did, until she calmed down. "God, Eric, I thought you were going to break up with me!"
"Why would I do that?" he chuckled.
"God, I don’t know. Just because."
"Amy-I love you."
That’s when it really registered. "Oh, Eric, I love you too," she sighed. "Sometimes I worry. I mean, I don’t know-sometimes I don’t know what you’re thinking."
"I know. Hey, this is confusing. And scary, to be honest."
"Scary for me, too."
"It is?" Eric was amazed.
"Yeah." She took a deep breath. "There’s something you need to know. I’m not a virgin."
"OK," Eric said.
"That doesn’t bother you?"
"Well, only that I’m jealous of whoever it was," Eric said with a little laugh.
"Don’t be. You’re ten times the person he is. Which is why this is scary. It was a couple years ago, at Junior Worlds. He was a Russian pairs skater. We had a wonderful two weeks. I thought I was in love-until he told me about his very steady girlfriend back in Russia."
"Oh, Jesus," Eric hissed.
"It’s OK. I’m over it. But it taught me to be cautious. The problem is, I haven’t been able to be cautious with you. I just plunged into this, because my feelings were so strong. And that’s been pretty scary."
"Oh, Amy, you have to know I’d never do anything like that to you."
"Yeah, I do. It took me a while to be sure, but I do."
"There’s nobody else but you," Eric reiterated.
"I know," Amy said. "And the same goes. There’s nobody else but you, either. Look, I’m outgoing. I like making friends. But I wouldn’t date any of those muscleheads that were surrounding me the other day even if you weren’t in the picture."
"I know. I worry."
"I know you do. I know why your parents got divorced." He looked at her, shocked. "Jessie told me. I guess we both have trouble trusting, for different reasons."
"I do trust you," Eric said. "Absolutely. I guess I don’t trust myself. To keep you happy, I mean. This is all so damn new."
Amy beamed at him. "Eric, you make me deliriously happy, don’t you know that? I’ve never met anyone like you. I know you’re not big on talking or anything, but you don’t have to. I can feel it. I can see it when I look at you. I’m glad you told me that you loved me, but you didn’t have to. I already knew. Whenever you’re with me, I feel ten feet tall."
"And whenever you’re with me, I feel like I’m in sunlight," Eric replied.
"Wow, that was poetic!"
"Yeah, especially for me," Eric laughed. "But it’s true."
"I’m so glad we had this talk. I think I’ve been waiting to get this all on the table."
"Yeah. I really do love you, Amy. Lots. And I do trust you."
"I love and trust, you, too. And I’ve been waiting a couple of months to be able to say that and mean it."
"Good."
"Now," Amy said. "We’ve had the conversation you wanted to have. It’s my turn." She leaned into him. "That relationship with the pairs skater? Look, I know he was an asshole, but the parts of it-well, it was a lot of fun. A whole lot of fun. And I haven’t had any fun since, because I needed to trust first. Well, I trust you. So now it’s time for fun."
Eric looked at her, not quite getting it. She made it plain by leaning in and whispering in his ear, "You have no idea how horny I am. I’ve been waiting for this since the day we met. I want you. Oh God do I want you!"
"You what?" Eric blurted, not quite believing what he’d just heard.
"Do you have a hearing problem, sweetie?" she said, but without malice. "Well, then, maybe I’ll have to give you visual clues." She stood up off the couch, and put herself right in front of Eric. She grabbed the hem of her shirt, and quickly whipped it off. Then she reached around and undid her bra. She shrugged it to the floor.
Before Eric could say a word-and he’d have to pick his jaw up off the floor first-Amy’s hands went to her jeans. Off they went, as she kicked her sneakers off with them. Then came the panties. Before Eric had time to blink, his girlfriend was standing there, grinning at him, wearing nothing but her socks.
She pirouetted once for him, then sauntered over to his bed. She climbed on top of it, and cricked her finger at him.
Poor Eric could barely stand. He managed, somehow, and walked over to the bed. "You’re so gorgeous," he gasped, looking down at Amy spread out on the bed. She giggled, and reached for the snap on his jeans.
"I hope you don’t think I’m horrible, or completely out of my mind, but I really have been wanting this for a while. And I’m on the pill, so no worries there."
Eric didn’t say anything, but pulled his shirt over his head. Amy pulled his pants and underwear down. Then she pulled him onto the bed, rolling herself on top of him and kissing him, their nude bodies rubbing together. She reached down, and grabbed Eric’s very hard cock.
"Ooooh, nice," Amy hissed. Eric blushed. "Oh, God, Eric, I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for this!" And before Eric knew what was happening, Amy had scooted down the bed-and slid her mouth over his dick!
"Oh GOD Amy!" Eric moaned, as she slipped her mouth onto his dick. She brushed the underside with her tongue, and gently sucked on it. Then she lowered her mouth on it, getting half of it into her mouth before it bumped up against the back of her mouth. She started moving up and down on it, using her tongue for extra emphasis.
"Jeez!" Eric gasped. "Oh, God, Amy, I’m gonna--" Amy just kept sucking. She knew Eric was going to cum-she’d figured it was his first blow job and knew he wouldn’t last-and she wanted it. She didn’t have to wait long. To Eric’s amazement, she swallowed every drop.
After she was done, she crawled up next to him, grinning from ear to ear. "You like?" she chirped.
"Uhhhhhh," Eric moaned. "I, uh, I mean-my God!"
"Glad you like." She bit her bottom lip. "I’m coming on very strong-are you OK with this?"
"Yes," he said. "I want you as bad as you want me. Just realize-I’ve never even seen a naked girl before, OK?"
"OK," she giggled. "Well, you see one now. You can even touch."
"That’s a good idea," he said, and reached over to cup her breast in his hand. He gently fondled it, causing her to let out with a soft sigh. Then he leaned over and kissed her.
She eagerly returned the kiss, opening her mouth so he could snake his tongue into it. His hand rubbed her boob. Then, it reached down, and went between her legs. He rubbed her pussy lips up and down with his finger. On one pass, he reached her clit, and she squealed.
"OK?" he asked.
"Very OK, but be gentle there," Amy said.
Eric was inexperienced, but he wasn’t clueless-that would’ve been impossible with Sophia as an older sister! He’d asked some frank questions over the past few years, and Sophia was always good about answering them. So he knew what a clit was.
He kept his hand on Amy’s pussy, running his finger up and down it, gently nudging her clit every so often. His other hand was still on her boob.
Amy, for her part, was starting to get very warmed up, but she knew that there were better things than a hand. "Eric?" she asked, shakily. "Would you do what I did?"
It took Eric a minute to get what she meant-but get it he did. He smiled at her, then lowered his mouth to her nipple. He gently sucked on her nipple for a minute, then worked his way down her stomach. He then settled himself between her legs.
This was Eric’s very first close-up look at a pussy, and he took a good long look. Then he leaned in and ran his tongue along the length of it. Amy shuddered. The taste was unusual, Eric decided, but not bad, and definitely intoxicating. He nudged her labia with his tongue again, then dipped down to snake it into her opening. "Oh, God," she hissed.
He pulled his tongue out, and replaced it with a finger, slipping it deep into her. She moaned, and bucked against his hand. Then he went back to work with his tongue, moving up and down the length of her pussy. Then he zeroed in on her clit, gently rubbing it with his tongue.
"Oh, ERIC!" she cried, as she bucked her hips against his finger and tongue. He slipped his finger in and out of her, and increased the pressure with his tongue, sucking on her clit as his tongue lashed against it. "Yesyesyesyesyesyes!" she chanted, her legs stiffening and her hips moving against his face and hand. He kept it up and felt her build. "Yes! Yes! Oh God Yes! Oh ERIC!" And with that, she exploded, her pussy clamping down on his hand, the waves of her orgasm running up through her stomach and down her legs, her hips pushing her pussy against his face.
Eric loved every minute of it.
He climbed back up the bed, next to her, watching her come down. She opened her eyes, and saw him smiling at her. She smiled back. The next thing Eric knew, she was wrapped around him and was pulling him on top of her. "Oh, Jesus, Eric, FUCK ME!" she demanded. He was happy to oblige, and slipped into her in one stroke.
She started gasping and moaning, and didn’t stop. Eric started slow, getting used to the sensations, then picked up the pace. Amy’s groans got deeper and louder. Then she started yelping, every time he hit bottom.
He went into her hard and fast, but not too much, trying to hold of his own orgasm until she went again. Since she was still coming down from the tongue-lashing she had gotten, it didn’t take long. "ERIC!" she screamed, and went again, her hips slamming up into his as her pussy clenched onto his dick. He went right in the middle of it.
Afterwards, cuddling, she looked up at him and grinned. "So, that was your first time. How was it?"
"Un-fucking-believable," he said.
"Good," she giggled. She looked into his eyes, with a twinkle in her own. "So, now that I’ve found you, a guy who I love and trust-I predict I’m going to be pretty much insatiable. Think you can handle that?"
He grinned back at her. "Give me ten minutes."
She laughed-to Eric, a magical sound-and wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, Eric, I love you."
"Love you, too."
When Jessie and Ryan got to Las Vegas, they got a surprise. There was a knock on their hotel room door, and there stood Crash and Liz.
"Crash? Liz? What are you guys doing here?" Jessie said.
"We had to come. After you called me and told me what was going on, I called Warren and found out when and where," Crash told her. "I wanted to be here for this." He reached to Jess and pulled her into a hug. "Congratulations. Be happy."
A little weepy, Jess pulled them into their room. Warren and Sophia came in shortly afterwards, and they chatted for a while, waiting for Ryan’s parents to show up.
They showed up shortly, and finally met Jess. Jess immediately liked them. Ryan’s mother told her, "It’s so nice to finally meet you. I know how good you’ve been for Ryan. Of course, I thought I’d meet you before you married him!"
"Well, you did. By a few hours," Jessie laughed.
The whole group, including Jess’s parents, went out for supper. Luckily, Jessie’s mother and Ryan’s mother hit it off in a big way right from the start. And Jessie’s parents were thrilled to see Crash there.
"So, when are you two doing this?" Mrs. Reidel asked Crash and Liz.
"Next summer," Crash said.
"That’s right, I meant to ask you, but I forgot-I thought you were waiting until after the Olympics to ask her?" Warren said.
"I changed my mind," Crash grinned.
"And I’m glad he did," Liz said.
After supper, they went to the courthouse-which was always open in Vegas-and got the marriage license. Then they hit a jewelry store, looking for rings. They found a nice set, and bought them.
When they got out of the jewelry store, Ryan reached into his pocket. "Before we put on the wedding rings, you need this one on." And he opened a box and pulled out a gorgeous diamond engagement ring.
"Oh, Ryan," Jessie hissed, getting weepy again. "When did you get this?"
"The other day, back home, right before we left. Even though it’s a short engagement, you should have a ring."
"Oh, you," she sniffled. "Put it on." He did. Their parents and friends applauded.
"Now we just need to find a chapel," Mrs. Killen said.
"I want to get married by an Elvis impersonator," Ryan said.
"Don’t you dare!" Jessie told him.
"Ah, come on-it’d be fun. We’d be able to tell everyone we got married by Elvis."
Jessie smirked at him. "No, you would be able to tell everyone you got married by Elvis. Because you wouldn’t be marrying me."
"All right, all right," Ryan laughed.
They found a chapel without an Elvis impersonator. A half-hour later, Ryan and Jessie were married.
Sophie was on the computer, checking out her email and also reading the latest news. Warren was in the room, playing with Betsy.
"It got out," Sophie said with a grin.
"What did?"
"Ryan’s marriage. It’s in the news. ‘American Ice Dancer Ryan Killen married his lady love, Jessica Reidel, in a surprise ceremony in Las Vegas.’"
Warren laughed. "We’ll have to tell Jess she got her name in the paper."
"Yep," Sophie grinned. She read for a few more minutes, then burst out with, "Oh, wow!"
"What, Pookie?"
"The Westerlund burned down!"
"Really?" The Westerlund was an old, historic skating rink-attached to a hotel-in Colorado Springs. It’d been the center of US figure skating for many decades. Though it had lost its singular prominence, it was still a training center, and events were still occasionally held there.
"Yeah. Burned right to the ground. Doesn’t Chris train there?"
Christine Arsenault, Sophie meant. "No, she trains in Denver. She’s from Colorado Springs, but she trains in Denver."
"Oh. It says here all the skaters got out. Three firefighters died, though."
Warren looked up. "Oh, shit!"
"What?"
"Christine’s brother, and her new boyfriend, are Colorado Springs firefighters."
"Oh." Sophie looked at the screen. "One of the dead firefighters is David Arsenault."
"Aw, fuck. That’s her brother. Oh, poor Chris. He’s her big brother-she idolizes him."
"Damn. What’s her boyfriend’s name?"
"Ben something-or-other, I forget his last name."
"The other two weren’t named Ben."
"Well, that’s good." Warren took out his cel phone. "Hi, Chris? It’s Warren. We just heard." He talked to her for a while, then hung up. "She’s absolutely inconsolable," he told Sophie. "Completely devastated. One good thing-her boyfriend wasn’t on duty. He got called down there, of course, but it was pretty much over by then." Warren took a breath. "Apparently, her brother got four terrified young skaters out of the building-but the smoke overtook him before he could get out."
"Wow."
"Wow is right. He was 31. Left a wife and three small children." Sophie just hissed at that. "I know. Listen, Pookie, you’re on the computer-get us some airline tickets to Denver."
"Good idea."
They landed a few days later, and found a hotel. They then rented a car and drove to Colorado Springs. Ellen had kept Betsy for them-she was rather young to be attending a wake and a funeral.
They got into town just in time for the wake, and couldn’t believe the number of people lined up to get in. "Well, that makes sense," Sophie said. "Look at all the firefighters."
They got in line to pay their respects. When they got to the front of the line, Christine saw them, and broke down. "I can’t believe you two came all the way out here!"
"We had to," Warren said. "How are you holding up?"
"God, it’s just awful. Will you guys stick around until after?"
"Sure."
They did, and Jack Garrison and Liz Cushman had also come out, and they stayed as well. "Jason just started class, so he couldn’t come, but he wanted me to," Liz told them.
They all went out to a diner afterwards, where they met Christine’s boyfriend Ben.
"David was the one that took me under his wing when I first joined the department," Ben told him. "He showed me the ropes." Ben grinned at Chris. "Then he introduced me to his little sister." The grin disappeared. "And now he’s gone. I can hardly believe it."
"I don’t know what poor Janet’s going to do," Chris said. "She’s 30 years old, with three kids under the age of 8, and now she’s a widow. My little niece is one year old. She’ll never know her Daddy." Christine started to sob at that. Ben wrapped his arm around her.
"I enjoy being a firefighter, but this is the downside," Ben said. "It could happen to any of us."
"And that scares the shit out of me," Christine admitted.
"I know it does," Ben agreed. "You think it doesn’t scare me? But think of it, Chris. You knew your brother better than I did. He got four young girls out of that burning building. He paid the price, but he got them out. He would’ve wanted it that way, and we both know it."
"I know," Chris agreed. "Sometimes, that’s the only thing that keeps me going, knowing that."
Ben turned to the rest of them with a slight smile. "I got a baby out, about a year ago. Cute little thing, only about six months old. The mother was out in the yard when the house went up. The poor woman was hysterical that she couldn’t get back in and get her baby. I got her. She had some smoke inhalation-but she’s fine now, I’ve kept in contact. The thing is-when you’re going in to get someone out, you don’t think about yourself. You just don’t. Not until the person you’re trying to get is out and safe. Then you think of yourself. David just didn’t have time."
"I understand that," Chris said, "but it’s not just yourself. That’s the problem. It’s the people outside waiting for you. Not me, so much-I had 24 wonderful years with my big brother and I’ll always cherish them. But Stephanie, my niece, had one lousy year with her Daddy. Because he wasn’t thinking about himself, he wasn’t thinking about her. And I know that’s horrible. Believe me, I know it. It’s very selfish."
"Hey," Warren said, putting his hand on hers, "we’re all selfish at times. It’s only natural."
They stayed until the funeral, two days later.
Afterwards, Christine stopped them. "You guys are going to be here in three weeks, aren’t you? For the pro-am in Denver?"
"Yes."
"Good. I’ll see you there. Yes, I’m skating in it. David would’ve wanted me to."
When they got home, Warren and Sophia had an idea. "I think we need to skate something special in Denver," Warren told Sophia.
"I think you’re right. Any idea?"
Warren did have an idea. They had only a short time to work on it, but they pulled it off.
Christine met them when they got into their hotel room in Denver. "I don’t know how to thank you guys for coming to the funeral. That was above and beyond."
"We’re friends," Warren told her. "How are you holding up?"
"Better. It hurts, and I’ll miss him forever, but it’s better. Poor Ben’s really shook up about it."
"Really?"
"He’s going to take classes to become an EMT. He can do that, the Fire Department runs the ambulances. He says he wants to save lives without putting himself in danger. It’s really spooked him. I told him to think about it, but he will, anyway-the EMT classes take a while. So, he can think about it while he’s taking the classes. And having EMT certification can’t hurt, even if he decides to stay a firefighter." Chris smiled a little bit. "And he asked me to move in with him."
"Are you going to?" Warren grinned.
"Yeah. I think he’s gearing up for a proposal-but, for now, he wants me to move in. I’m thrilled."
"Excellent. Are you skating something special?"
"Yes. Wind Beneath My Wings. It’s a cliche, I know, but it really is true. Except for my parents, David was my biggest booster. He was so proud of his skating little sister, you have no idea. He got me through some of the tough moments when we were younger. It just seemed like an appropriate song. And Janet and the kids are going to be here, plus half of the fire department."
"Good," Warren said, not revealing their own plans.
Even with Warren and Sophie’s success, ice dancing, in the USA, was still the runt of the litter as far as figure skating went. So, while there were 7 or 8 singles skaters at the American Pro-Am, and 6 pairs teams, there were only 4 dance teams. Besides the Kellehers, the other eligible team was Brenneman and Watts, the British couple. From the professional ranks came Nicholas and Coleman, and Bradochkina and Zhargov.
Warren and Sophia hadn’t seen Olga Bradochkina in some time, and were glad to see her again. "Darlings," she said as she saw them, "how are you?"
"Not bad, Olga, and yourself?" Warren asked.
"Marvelous. How is knee, all better?"
"All better."
"Good. I expect gold medal this year!"
"That’s what we’re shooting for!"
Warren and Sophia enjoyed meeting up with their old friends, and getting back on the ice.
They did the rhythmic program they had planned, the Beach Boys medley of Catch A Wave and Fun Fun Fun. It was fun and difficult, and it went over well, and they ended that part of the competition in first place.
The interpretive program was where they did their tribute to their friend’s brother. Christine, who’d skate her interpretive program later in the night, was in the stands watching.
They came out in all black. And they had picked an appropriate piece of music. Despite Warren’s joking about "going to the Springsteen well again," it really was the only choice-Springsteen’s impassioned Into The Fire. Written about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, it still worked as a tribute to all firefighters and rescue workers.
Warren and Sophie’s program was understated, but still intense. It was also very beautiful and evocative. They’d done a remarkable job on it in a couple of short weeks.
When they were done, they received a standing ovation. Plus a hug in the kiss-and-cry from a very emotional Christine.
They didn’t even think of winning. There was no time limit on an interpretive program in a pro-am, but there was a minimum: three and a half minutes. Into The Fire was slightly over five, it was slow-building, and they didn’t even touch until over a minute into the program. Despite all that, they won.
Being interviewed afterwards, they commented that it was an emotional program meant as a tribute. "We didn’t even try to win, that wasn’t the point." Warren said.
"Well, you must be glad of the victory anyway," the interviewer said.
"Yes, but only because of the prize money. And only because we’re not keeping it," Sophia told the interviewer, plus the TV audience.
"David Arsenault left three small children," Warren continued. "There is a scholarship fund set up for them. For information, contact the Colorado Springs Fire Department, they have all the information. Our first-place check for this competition will be signed over to that scholarship fund."
After the competition was over-and Christine had won the ladies’, leading Liz Cushman to remark that she’d never been happier to lose in her life-Warren and Sophia went to the competitor’s party. There, they were able to meet Janet, David’s widow, and the three children. Janet hadn’t heard what they had said, and was flabbergasted to be handed the check. "And we put out an appeal when we were interviewed, so hopefully there will be more," Sophia told her.
"I can’t believe this," Janet said.
Christine was sniffly. "You know, they always say, when the chips are down, you find out who your friends are."
"Always," Warren smiled at her.
Warren and Sophia went to the two shows they were doing, the Elvis one and the Beatles one, in the weeks after the pro-am in Denver. They skated well and had a blast.
Then it was time for the other pro-am, the Canadian one, in Hamilton, Ontario. There was a bigger field of dancers for this one. Besides Warren and Sophie and Bradochkina and Zhargov, the Canadian pair, Damphier and Gaudler, would be competing. The former French champions, Borisina and Dravouche, would be there. A young Canadian couple were also competing. And, lastly, the two new American pairs-Courtney and Evan, and Ryan and Amy-would be making their debuts at this competition.
Ryan and Amy flew from Boston to Ontario with Warren and Sophia. Jessie and Eric also came for the ride, as did all kinds of parents-and Betsy.
Warren was sitting behind Ryan in the plane, and leaned over to him. "Hey, you know that you’re going to run into Courtney, right?"
"No doubt," Ryan said.
"How are you going to handle that?"
Ryan sighed. "That’s a good question. I would’ve said I was just going to ignore her. But that phone call threw me." He had told Warren and Sophie about that brief phone call he’d gotten from Courtney. "I mean, that didn’t sound like her at all."
"I know. I haven’t talked to her, but I’ve talked to Evan," Warren told him. "He says she’s like a different person."
"Yeah. Well, we’ll have to see what happens," Ryan said.
They got into Hamilton and practiced, but nobody saw Courtney-because they trained so close, in Detroit, they were just driving in for the competition. So, it wasn’t until the night of the technical program that Courtney and Ryan ran into each other.
"Hi," Courtney called out, happily but a bit shyly, when she saw Ryan.
"Hi, Court. How are you doing?"
"Fine. I hear congratulations are in order."
"Yeah."
"Now, are the rumors true?" Courtney said with a little giggle.
"That this was a shotgun wedding, you mean? Yeah," Ryan laughed. "But that’s OK, we were going to anyway, at least in my mind. We would’ve just taken more time about it."
"That’s good. You’ll make an excellent Daddy." She stopped and bit her lower lip. "Ryan, could you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Watch our interpretive program? Please? I choreographed it. I needed to do it, and Evan went along with me. Thanks." Before Ryan could reply, Courtney took off down the hall.
They all skated their technical program that night. Ryan and Amy’s program to Living La Vida Loca went over very well. Evan and Courtney skated to Sunrise, by Simply Red. It was funky and sultry, and was well-received. Warren and Sophie brought the house down with their Beach Boys medley.
Warren and Sophie were in the lead, with only the Canadians, Damphier and Gaudler, anywhere close. But the new American teams were third and fourth, with Ryan and Amy in third, beating some of the more seasoned pro teams.
The night of the interpretive free program, Ryan and Amy skated first, doing a very unusual and difficult program to an interesting music choice, Oasis’s Wonderwall. A few other couples went, then Evan and Courtney.
Ryan decided to watch-and then understood why Courtney wanted him to. The music they skated to was Sarah McLachlan’s Fallen, a gorgeous piece of music with lyrics that were laced with bitter self-recrimination. The dance that Courtney had choreographed was restrained and understated, and quite beautiful. And Ryan acknowledged this performance to be exactly what Courtney intended it to be-an act of contrition.
After all was said and done-Sophia and Warren won, with their Lisa Lynne/Enya program, and Courtney and Evan beat Ryan and Amy for third-Courtney stopped Ryan back stage. "Can we talk?"
"If you want," Ryan said.
They went to the coffee shop in the hotel. They settled at a corner table with some coffee. "Thanks for agreeing to talk," Courtney said.
"I have to say, the phone call threw me," Ryan told her. "Without that, I might not have agreed to this. But I confess to a degree of curiosity."
Courtney sighed. "Think of it this way. Think of being stuck in a maze. And you try, and you try, and you try, but you can’t get out. Then, somehow, by some miracle, you get out-and you don’t even quite know how you did it. But, once you’re out, when you look back on the maze, it’s so ridiculously simple that you kick yourself for not finding the exit earlier."
"Was I your maze, our partnership?"
"No," Courtney said, and took a deep breath. "Why do you think I seduced you the first time, and kept seducing you?"
"To control me," Ryan said with a wry grin.
"Well, yes. But, think about it. Christ, Ryan, I was thirteen-do you think I came up with that one all by myself?"
Light dawned. "Your mother told you to go to bed with me?" Ryan gasped.
"Yes. ‘You don’t keep a man around unless you spread your legs.’ And that’s a quote. We can start there and go on-but I really didn’t see how badly my mother warped me until I got away from her." She took a breath. "This isn’t an excuse, mind you, it’s a reason. There’s no excuse for the way I treated you. And for that I’m truly sorry."
Ryan took a breath. "I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that your mother told you to sleep with me when you were thirteen."
"That’s Mom for you. But it didn’t help things between us, either. You know, it might have been easier if you were brutal."
"Excuse me?" Ryan said.
"I went to bed with you thinking it was a duty. I was a sperm receptacle. And you were so damn gentle. It fucked me up. Not your fault, of course. But I think that’s why I was the way I was with you. You wanted me to enjoy it, and I was incapable of that at that time." She took a breath. "Jesus, the first time, I actually came. That made my brain explode. I was waiting to be used, and you didn’t use me."
"Jesus, Courtney, I was in love with you!" Ryan blurted.
"WHAT?"
"At first. When it first started. When we first started skating together, and when we first started sleeping together. I thought you were a goddess. My disgust with you-and I’m sorry, but that’s what it turned into-didn’t come until much later. And don’t forget, I was only sixteen myself. I barely knew what was going on. And then you offered yourself to me. I thought it was a dream come true. I thought you felt the same way about me that I did about you. It took me a while to figure out what was going on."
"Oh, Jesus," Courtney hissed, "and I thought you were using me as a convenient place to dip your wick."
"I was, after a while. Well, honestly, it was more inertia. It was easier to sleep with you than fight about it. But, yeah, it was a place to dip my wick, as you put it. But that was later. It wasn’t like that at first."
"I really fucked things up," Courtney sighed.
"As long as you figure things out," Ryan told her. "Are things better?"
"A lot better. Evan and I are actually working out, more than I’d ever thought possible." She laughed. "It didn’t start out that way. He thought he had to break me, not realizing I was already broken. But he eased up in a hurry. You know Evan-he’s strong-willed and controlled and focused. But he’s good to work with." She took a breath. "I’m also in a relationship. In fact, I think I’m falling in love."
"Great," Ryan said sincerely. "I’m happy for you. Who’s the lucky guy?"
"Well, that’s the thing. There’s no guy. It’s Shawna."
Ryan practically choked on his coffee. "Excuse me?"
"You know, Shawna? Evan’s ex-partner? We’ve become lovers."
"Oh, Jesus," Ryan said, "our relationship was so disastrous you’ve given up on men?"
Courtney cracked up laughing. "No, not hardly. This just happened, one day. I was crying in her arms because my Mother was threatening to move to Detroit. She actually tried that, by the way, a little later-once she found out I was sleeping with a girl she gave up," Courtney giggled. "Anyhow, I was crying in her arms, and one thing led to another. And I’m very happy with it, I like it a lot, and I’m falling in love with Shawna. But I’m not turned off on guys. I suppose I’m bi. If things fell apart between Shawna and I, I’d be open to either. But, right now, I sleep with another woman."
"This is just about the last thing I ever expected. As long as you’re happy."
"I really am. With everything. Shawna loves me, Evan and I have become friends, and my mother’s not around." She took a deep breath. "The only thing missing is you. I’d like us to be friends. I’d like to know that that’s possible."
"It’s possible, of course, Court," Ryan smiled. "We went through a lot together. And I think I understand more now."
"As do I," Courtney agreed. "Are you happy?"
"Very. I love Jess, and I’m very excited for the baby."
"Good. Please apologize to Jess for me for the way I treated her, OK? And I’ll tell her that in person if she’ll allow me to do so without ripping my head off."
"I’ll pass that along," Ryan laughed.
Courtney grinned at him. "So, Jess isn’t threatened by you skating with that little firecracker, is she?"
Ryan laughed. "No. Amy’s only sixteen, I’d feel like I were robbing the cradle. Besides which, I really do love Jess. Besides which again, Amy’s dating Sophia’s little brother Eric. And boy is he pussywhipped!"
Courtney cracked up. "Oh, really?"
"Oh, you should see it. But it works both ways. Amy’s had some hard knocks romantically, and Eric is true and steadfast and trustworthy. And Eric’s a bit withdrawn, so Amy takes the initiative. And they really do love each other. They complement each other well. And Amy’s thrilled to baby-sit after Jess has the baby."
"You old married fart, you," Courtney teased. "I have to tell you, though, that Amy. She’s young, but she can skate. Lots of charisma."
"It’s worked out well."
"Good. You do realize, I hope, that after the Kellehers win their gold medal in February and get the hell out of Dodge, you and I are going to be chasing each other for the next four years."
"Nationally, for sure. Internationally, it’s possible. Don’t tell Shawna, but you and Evan are better than the two of them were."
Courtney laughed. "And you and Amy are better than you and I were, I could see that already. But I think baggage had a lot to do with that. Anyway, I just don’t want this to be ugly."
"It won’t. The ugliness is over." Ryan took a breath. "I always knew that you were a good person underneath, Court. I’m glad someone pulled that out, even if it wasn’t me."
"Wasn’t your fault. If we had left my mother years ago, it might have worked out. Water under the bridge, Ryan. As long as we’re both happy and we can be friends."
"We can," Ryan said.
"Oh, and I have something else to thank you about. Remember, a few years ago, when you insisted on getting an agent instead of letting my mother deal with our management? Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"Are you still with Don?" Don Granger had been he and Courtney’s agent.
"Yes. And, as it turns out, my mother stole from me. And she could’ve stolen a lot more except Don was watching my back. This all came out when I finally left her. Don really couldn’t say anything before I was 18, because he was technically working for her. But I’ve talked to him, and she was worse than I even realized. Luckily, Don watched my back as much as he could, so she didn’t get much. And now she doesn’t get anything."
"That mother of yours is a piece of work."
"True story, but she can’t get me anymore. I still have a lot of anger to work through, but at least now I know where it belongs-pointed at her, not other people. I’ve started to see a therapist."
"Not a bad idea, all things considering."
They had finished their coffee. "Anyhow," Courtney said, "I’d better get going, Shawna’s waiting for me."
"OK." They got up and left the coffee shop. Shawna was in a seat across the lobby.
"There she is," Courtney said.
"Well, then, I’ll see you at Skate America. Listen, Court? You need anything, anything at all, you have my number, OK?"
"Thanks, Ryan, that means a lot. And same goes. You take care of that wife and unborn kid, you hear me?"
"Count on it," Ryan smiled. They looked at each other for a moment, then Ryan unfolded his arms. Courtney stepped into them, and they wrapped each other in a deep hug. After a minute, Courtney stepped away, smiling.
"Thanks. For everything."
"You’re welcome. Court? Be happy."
"I will. You too." She turned away, and went over to Shawna. They walked out of the hotel holding hands. Ryan watched them go, then stepped into the elevator.
Author’s note: the credit for the ‘dessert’ one-liner goes to my lovely wife, Aphrodite ‹G›
At the end of October, a week and a half after the Canadian Open pro-am, the real skating season started for the eligible skaters, the Grand Prix.
It started with Skate America, which would be held in Lake Placid this year.
All three American dance teams had been invited, and relations between all of them were very good. Since Courtney and Ryan had buried the hatchet, they all got along well. Amy was a little intimidated at first-you know, worrying if Ryan would want his old partner back-but Ryan assured her that that wasn’t going to happen. After that, Amy loosened up and was her charming self.
The night before the competition, all the American contingent took over a big chunk of a steakhouse in Lake Placid for supper. All the dancers were there, plus Eric, Jessie, and Shawna. Allison Bowman was competing (Liz Cushman wasn’t, she’d decided to do Skate Canada and Cup of Russia) so she was there, along with her boyfriend Eddie who had driven up from Albany to watch her skate. Brett and Andrea were there. As was Tom Bellamy.
"All this love," Tom said, "I can’t stand it. Where’s mine?"
"At Harvard, studying like a good girl," Warren teased.
"Yeah, I know," Tom grinned. "At least she’s coming the day after tomorrow, which is the first day I actually skate."
"Yeah, she’s going to miss our first OD, though," Warren mock-grumbled. "Some sister."
"I’m here," Eric said.
"You’re not my brother," Warren teased.
"Well, brother-in-law," Eric reminded him.
"And, somehow, even though you are my brother, I don’t think you’re here to see me," Sophia added.
"Why, Sophia, who else would he be here to see?" Amy grinned, then turned to Eric and batted her eyelashes. Eric blushed, leading to giggles all around the table.
"Jeez," Evan grumped, "is there anyone here besides me that’s not going to be having sex tonight?"
"I think we just established that I’m not," Tom said. "And, before you ask, no, I’m not bi!" Everyone cracked up at that.
"I’m not going to be having sex tonight, either," Courtney said. "And, I have to tell you, skating with my period isn’t much fun."
"I can see where it wouldn’t be," Warren said, "but why would that stop the other thing? You mean Shawna hasn’t earned her Red Wings yet?"
"EEEEEWWWWWW!!!!" Courtney blurted.
Shawna laughed. "Don’t blame me, I’m game for anything, but my sweetie’s a little squeamish."
"Ah, it’s fun," Sophia maintained. "Courtney, you just put a tampon in. Then Shawna can have dessert and floss her teeth!"
The laughter after that was so loud, it filled the whole restaurant.
The closest competition for Warren and Sophia at Skate America were the Irish pair, Dunphy and O’Riordan, who had finished fifth at Worlds. The French couple were there, but they were on a downward trend.
So, winning was almost a foregone conclusion. This was a place for them to show off the new programs in front of international judges and the TV audience.
The Quickstep OD went over very well, with the audience and the judges. The Rock and Roll OD, done to the Ramones, simply had jaws dropping all over the arena. It got 7 6.0s for technical merit, and a raucous standing ovation. And the new Singing In The Rain free dance also got a standing O, plus great marks on both sets. The win was easy, and the programs were quickly being talked about.
The upset was Amy and Ryan defeating the Irish couple for the silver, which shocked and delighted them. Evan and Courtney finished fourth, but weren’t upset with that. "We’re still gelling, we’re not worried," Evan told Warren.
The next week, in Quebec City, the Canadian couple of Damphier and Gaudler started the defense of their World Championship at Skate Canada. They also won easily, with a young German couple, Lignau and Beicher, in second. The other Canadian couple, Ackerman and Sherrick, finished third. The big upset was that the Hungarians, Krasvalyi and Szubacsko, sixth in the World last year, only finished fourth.
The next week, Sophia and Warren were in Marseille, France for Trophee Lalique. They won easily there, over the Russians, Kuznetsova and Vasilyevskiy. A new young Russian pair, Nina Nikolayeva and Mikhail Shlupin, finished third. That was an upset, as the beat the Ukrainians, who had finished 7 th at worlds.
The British couple, Brenneman and Watts, made their debut at Nations Cup the next week-and, in a huge upset, only finished third. They were defeated by the Irish couple, who won, and by Evan and Courtney, who were thrilled with their finish. The German team, competing at home, couldn’t match their great finish at Skate Canada and only finished fourth
Damphier and Gaudler won again at Cup of Russia, with Kuzntesova and Vasilyevskiy in second. The young Russians were third and the other Canadian pair fourth.
At the last competition of the Grand Prix, the NHK Cup in Osaka, Japan, Brenneman and Watts rebounded, winning the competition. Amy and Ryan again finished second, with the Hungarians third.
That got the British pair into the top six, assuring their appearance at the Grand Prix final, a few weeks hence in Berlin. But it also, to their complete shock, got Ryan and Amy into the final. The Kellehers, Damphier and Gaudler, Kuznetsova and Vasilyevskiy, and Dunphy and O’Riordan also would be travelling to Berlin.
Tom Bellamy also made it to the finals, joined by a young American male singles skater named Brian Joss. Liz, of course, made it, as did Allison Bowman. Andrea and Brett would also be there. As the last big international competition before the Olympics, they were all using it as a set-up.
Before their Junior year in college, Kate and Chad decided to get an apartment together.
A simple decision, really-for most people. But for Kate and Chad, it turned out to be the most complicated thing they could’ve considered.
The reason, of course, was football. The first problem was Chad’s coaches at Boston College. They were not in favor of the idea. Yes, players could live off campus. That was no problem-with other players. A player deciding to live with his girlfriend was another matter entirely. But the coaches couldn’t really do much besides grumble about it. And since Chad’s spot on the team was secure-he’d been a starter since midway through his Freshman year and was considered a rising star-they got the apartment anyway.
They found a nice place, close to BC and to Kate’s college, the Massachusetts College of Art. They found a spacious, clean two-bedroom-the second bedroom to be used by Kate for her painting. They settled in early in August, time enough for Chad to go to two-a-days, and plenty of time for Kate to set up her studio before school started.
That happened in early September, as did the football season. That’s when everything changed.
Boston College was a mid-level power in college football. They’d been one of those teams that consistently finished third or fourth in their conference-the Big East for many years and the ACC for the past few-and went to a ‘minor’ bowl game. Year in and year out. The previous year had been typical: 8-4 overall, 5-3 in the ACC, a victory in the Sun Bowl. Always good, never great.
BC did have higher aspirations this year. That team that had gone 8-4 had been made up of mostly sophomores and juniors, including Chad, the Sophomore quarterback. Chad himself had made steady improvement, as had his team, so there were glimmers of higher aspirations this year. Nothing major, though. The pre-season polls had them at 23 rd , most prognosticators picked them for fourth or so in the 12-team ACC.
The sense that things were different, though, started right off the bat, in game one. It was an out-of-conference away game against their old Big East foe, Syracuse. Syracuse was ranked 10 th in the pre-season polls, and was a 6-point favorite in the game. The Orangemen were clearly expecting a hard-fought victory against a quality opponent to open their season.
Instead, they got to be front-row witnesses to the coming-out party of Chad Kozak. Chad threw for 343 yards and 4 touchdowns in a resounding 35-24 victory. Chad and the Eagles solidified that the next week in their opening conference game, shellacking Wake Forest 42-7. Chad threw for 447 yards that day. Wins over Connecticut and North Carolina State brought September to a successful close.
It was the first three games in October, however, that really alerted the college football world that something special was brewing in Chestnut Hill. The first was against perennial power Florida State, a team BC hadn’t beaten since they joined the ACC. And this year, the Seminoles, geared by a terrific defense, were also undefeated and ranked 4 th in the country. They were confident that their stifling defense could shut down Chad and the BC attack.
And it did-for three quarters. Chad found his grove in the fourth, however, passing BC to two touchdowns, including a drive in the last three minutes of the game. The Eagles came out of Tallahassee with a come-from-behind 21-17 victory.
The next week, they were at home against traditional rivals Virginia Tech. That was an easy one-35-14, with Chad going over 400 yards passing again.
Then, they traveled to South Bend to take on undefeated and second-ranked Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish’s long climb back to prominence had been a national story, and this team-which was being touted as National Championship contenders-had gotten much attention. Since BC was also undefeated, this was considered a ‘test’ game for the Irish-but they were still 7-point favorites. Plus, the game was nationally televised.
And the national audience saw Chad throw for over 300 yards again, including yet another last-minute game-winning drive. BC won 28-24.
They were 7-0. They were ranked 5 th in the country, something that hadn’t been seen in Chestnut Hill since the Doug Flutie glory days. And the BC athletic department started making very serious "Chad Kozak for the Heisman Trophy" noises.
There were a few problems with all of this. Chad had not expected this, and was completely overwhelmed. Also, Chad-atypically for a big-time college quarterback-was publicity-shy. He just wanted to play the game and live his life. But he also knew that he owed a lot to BC, and owed a lot to his teammates. So, when the Sports Information department got requests from Sports Illustrated and ESPN to interview Chad, they pressured him to accept. Since the week after the Notre Dame game was an off week for BC, it was the perfect time. He had time off, plus he was ‘hot’ after the performance against the Irish.
SI sent a reporter to Chad’s apartment, and ESPN did part of their interview there with a camera crew. And the viewers on ESPN and the readers in SI got a glimpse at Chad’s life-which only increased interest in him.
Kate and Chad were talking about it after reading the SI article.
"Boy, I didn’t realize you were so atypical," Kate laughed. "I mean, are you the only quarterback in the USA that has a girlfriend that isn’t a size-zero blonde ‘aspiring model-actress’ that has a brain of her own?"
"Yeah," Chad laughed, "and it also seems that I’m the only one that doesn’t live with three other football players, have a posse, and wear lots of bling-bling. Of course, now you’re part of the story, that’s the part that worried me."
"What, that I might embarrass you?"
"Nah," Chad said. "Just that you got sucked into this. You’d never embarrass me."
"Oh, really?" Kate laughed. "The guy from SI didn’t use the quote I gave him while you were in the bathroom."
"Hmm?"
"Yeah. He asked me if a non-athletic artist like myself could appreciate your athleticism anyway. I told him of course I could-it comes in very handy in the bedroom."
Chad burst out laughing. "You didn’t!"
"Of course I did. He didn’t use it, though."
"I suppose that’s a good thing," Chad chuckled. "These guys expecting you to be the adoring girlfriend are in for a surprise."
"Got that right!"
Chad was right in that Kate became part of ‘the story.’ The TV cameras at subsequent games panned the audience looking for her. When she wasn’t at one game, the interviewer even asked Chad about it.
"She’s got a showing tonight, at Mass Art, she’s getting ready for it. So, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go change so I can go to an art gallery."
"Excuse me?" the interviewer said, confused.
"Kate’s a painter. And a very good one. So it’s time for me to go be the adoring boyfriend and goo-goo at her painting," Chad laughed, then hurried off.
BC plowed through the rest of their schedule. Clemson, Maryland, Duke, and Georgia Tech were quickly dispatched. That put them in the ACC championship game against their traditional nemesis, Miami.
Miami was also undefeated. They were ranked first in the country. BC was third. The winner of the ACC championship would surely head towards the national championship game, which this year was the Orange Bowl. Second-ranked (and also undefeated) Michigan awaited them.
The ACC championship was held the first Saturday in December, in Charlotte, NC.
ABC, which was televising the game, had Chad sit for an interview a few days before, to be played during the pre-game show. He answered the standard questions. Then, because Kate had become part of ‘the story’, they called her over at the very end. She sat next to Chad.
"Kate, do you have an inspirational pep talk for Chad?"
"Hmm, let’s see," Kate said with a twinkle in her eye. "We live in Boston. It’s 12 degrees there. If BC wins this game, I get to spend New Year’s in Florida." She turned to Chad. "Sweetie? Here’s your pep talk. Win-or die!" Then she got up off the couch and sauntered out of camera range.
Chad cracked up laughing to the interviewer. "And I’m supposed to be worried about Miami’s defensive line when I live with her?"
The game started out as a disaster for BC. Miami scored on their first possession. Then a BC running back fumbled, and Miami scored again. By the end of the first half, it was 17-0.
Then they got it in gear. Chad went to work and quickly drove down for a touchdown. He got them another one before halftime. Miami was only able to get a field goal in between. The halftime score was 20-14, Miami.
BC got the ball to begin the second half, but was thwarted. Miami came back with another field goal to take a 23-14 lead. BC answered, and with a touchdown, to make it 23-21. Then the teams traded touchdowns, making the score 30-28 Miami. With three minutes left in the game, Miami was trying to score the clinching touchdown, but were stopped. They had to settle for another field goal. They led 33-28, with 3 minutes left.
"OK, boys, more than enough time," Chad said as he entered the huddle. And he was right. He steadily and efficiently led BC down the field, bit by bit, in the remaining time. And, with 10 seconds left, he threw a perfect pass to his best friend Chad in the endzone. Once again Chad had lived up to the nickname he had picked up, Comeback Kozak. BC won, 35-33, and would be headed to the Orange Bowl to play for their very first national championship.
"Miami in January. Gotta love it," Kate said to Chad with a grin after the game.
"Better than Quebec City in February, though we’ll be there, too!"
A week and a half before Christmas, the leading lights of the figure skating community landed in Berlin for the Grand Prix finals.
Sophie and Warren were excited. Because this was their last year in skating, they were trying to savor everything. And they’d never been to Berlin, so this was an opportunity to check out a new city. They arrived early, with Betsy in tow, and did copious sightseeing. They checked out the Brandenberg Gate and strolled down the Unter Den Linden. They checked out the Berlin Wall Museum and Checkpoint Charlie. They took a tour of the Reichstag.
"This is possibly the best thing about being a skater," Warren said. "We’ve seen so many places. It might be the part I miss the most."
"Now we’ll just have to do it as tourists," Sophie laughed.
"Maybe, maybe not," Warren said. "I’ve been thinking about my career."
"How so?"
"I was thinking about what the doc that operated on my knee said to me. About becoming an orthopedic surgeon with a specialty in sports medicine, instead of a pediatrician. He says he still works with mostly kids and teenagers. And it’d give me a way to stay connected with sports."
"You mean like volunteering to be the doctor at competitions, stuff like that?" Sophie said.
"Exactly," Warren said. "I have time to think about it, but I’m seriously thinking about it."
"That would be cool, actually. You know how I feel-whatever you want to do. But, hey, you are an athlete. You know how an athlete’s body works. I think you’d be dynamite at it."
"Yeah. And it’d be fun to go more places."
"We’ve seen a lot, haven’t we?" Sophie said. "I mean, we’ve been all over the US and Canada, but, even outside of that, we’ve seen a lot."
"Yeah. Paris, London, Moscow, now Berlin. We’ve seen Switzerland and Norway."
"Beijing. Nagano, Japan. Don’t forget Amsterdam," Sophie grinned.
"How could I forget Amsterdam?" Warren laughed. "And if we go to Worlds this year, we’ll get to see Budapest."
"That’s the best reason for going to Worlds," Sophia laughed.
The schedule for the Grand Prix Final was thus: the short programs (or original dance) on Thursday; the first free program on Friday; the second free program on Saturday. The second free, which was the current year’s free, was worth half the score. The original program and the other free were worth one fourth each.
Since there are two OD’s in ice dancing now, one would be drawn for the Final. Warren and Sophia were kind of hoping to rip off their rock and roll OD, but it was the quickstep that was drawn. That was OK, too, they were confident in that.
The order of skaters was the same as the Olympics: Pairs, Men, Dance, then Ladies. So, the pairs started out with their short program. The battle seemed to be between Andrea and Brett and the Canadian champs, Sellers and Poulin. However, at least in the short program, that battle was pre-empted, as both the top teams had problems. The leaders after the short program were the Czechs, Trogonickova and Kepul, who had finished fourth at last years’ Worlds. Second were the young Russian pair of Yaskovarina and Chebinskiy. Andrea and Brett were third, Sellers and Poulin fourth. The defending world bronze medallists, Yin and Li of China, plummeted to sixth after major difficulties.
No surprises in the men. Three-time World Champion Lavrenti Bladanikov won, with Tom in second.
Then it was time for Warren and Sophia, who romped. Their Scott Joplin quickstep was almost unbeatable when skated clean-and skate it clean they did. The big surprise was the Brits beating the Canadians for second; and Amy and Ryan beating the Russians for fourth.
Also no surprise in the Ladies: Liz first, Allison second, the rest fighting for third.
The first free skate was the next night. This was to be the ‘second’ free skate, the one not from this year.
Andrea and Brett got a bit more on track, but finished behind Yaskovarina and Chebinskiy. The Czechs fell to third-and Sellers and Poulin, having major problems, were fourth again. The men went right to form.
Warren and Sophia reprised their Bruce Springsteen free dance from last year, which they had only skated once and not at their best. They wanted to perform it right one time. They did, it was excellent, but it placed behind the Canadians just as it had last year. This phase of the competition was the most difficult for Amy and Ryan, since they really didn’t have a second free dance, being a new team. They cobbled something together, but finished sixth and last.
The big shock was in the ladies’, where Liz Cushman had the worst skate in about five years, and finished all the way back in fifth. She was still second overall, but so far behind she’d need help to defeat the leader-a completely stunned Allison Bowman. And Liz was only slightly ahead of a three-way tie for third place.
Andrea and Brett skated the final free program well, but not perfectly, and lost to the Czechs, who skated a wonderful, inspired program. The Canadians managed to pull themselves together somewhat and finish third in the final three, but fourth overall.
The big upset came in Men’s, where Tom Bellamy, for the first time in his career, outskated Lavrenti Bladanikov to win the final. Bladanikov was excellent, but Tom skated the performance of his career and eked out a deserving victory. Kristin went nuts in the stands, and it was a good boost of confidence for Tom going into the Olympics.
Warren and Sophia simply nailed their Singing In The Rain free dance, and weren’t challenged. The Brits finished second and the Canadians third-although they were only fourth in the final free dance, a discouraging development. Third in the final free-and fourth overall-were an ecstatic Ryan and Amy.
And Liz Cushman didn’t get the help she needed. She won the final free, but Alison finished second, which was enough for Alison to win the title. Hungarian champion Ildiko Beres upset the skaters from Russia and Japan to win the bronze.
Tom and Warren and Sophia went back to the USA thrilled. Liz was disappointed, but encouraged by her win in the final free. And Andrea and Brett knew they had some work to do.
Next stop for the USA contingent would be Boston, in January, for Nationals.
It was about a week prior to Christmas. Jess and Ryan were over Sophia and Warren’s house. They had eaten dinner and were gathered in the living room, chatting. Warren’s parents had taken Betsy overnight. They’d watched the Heisman Trophy ceremony, where Chad had finished third. Now, afterwards, they were just chatting.
"So, it’s a boy?" Sophia asked.
"It’s a boy," Jessie confirmed. "We had the ultrasound the other day."
"Any names being bandied about?"
"We’ve actually decided," Jessie told her.
"Jess was nice enough to agree to naming him after my grandfather, who died last year. So he’ll be Seamus Killen," Ryan said.
"Seamus Warren Killen," Jessie smiled.
Warren blinked at her. "Really? Wow. I’m honored."
"Well, it went well together," Jessie laughed. "It just popped out, and Ryan said, ‘That would be cool.’ So, Seamus Warren it is."
"Most excellent," Sophia said. She looked at Jess. "What are you, four months now?"
"Yeah."
"You’re starting to show."
"Yup," Jess said with a grimace.
"Don’t make a face," Sophie told her. "It’s sexy. Very sexy."
"That’s what I keep trying to tell her," Ryan laughed.
"In fact," Sophie teased, "if you’re husband wasn’t in the room I might have to attack you." Everyone cracked up at that.
"Don’t worry about me, go for it anyway," Ryan laughed.
"Nah. I wouldn’t want to cramp your style, Ryan," Sophie giggled.
Ryan looked serious all of a sudden. "You won’t, Sophie. Listen. It has become increasingly aware to me that there is something missing in Jessie’s life. She’s mostly happy, but there’s something missing. I’d bet my Grand Prix winnings that the something that’s missing is you."
Jessie looked at him, wide-eyed. He looked back at her. "Am I right?" Jessie didn’t say anything, but Ryan saw it in her eyes. "That’s what I thought. Sophie? Take Jessie upstairs."
"You’re kidding," Jessie hissed.
"No, I’m not kidding," Ryan said with a smile. "I knew this was coming. I’ve known it for some time. Jessie, I have no problem with you. I love you, I know you love me-but I know about the bond that you have with Sophie. Go for it. It’s fine with me." He turned to Warren. "Any sports on that TV?"
"The Bruins are playing," Warren laughed and found the TV remote.
Jessie looked at Ryan, then squealed and launched herself at him. "Thank you," she said softly into Ryan’s ear. "I love you so much."
"Go," Ryan said with a smile. Sophie whispered something into Warren’s ear, then the two girls went upstairs.
"You want a beer?" Warren said.
"Love one," Ryan replied. Warren went out and got them each one. They settled in with the Bruins playing on the TV.
"That was a mighty generous thing you did," Warren said.
"Ah," Ryan said, "I did know this was coming. I was just waiting for the right time to tell Jess it was all right. I could tell she missed it. It’s gotten worse since she’s gotten pregnant."
"Wait until Sophie gets pregnant again, then it’ll really be bad. Jess has a lactation fetish."
Ryan practically choked on his beer. "She what?!?!?"
"Yup. She was harder to wean than Betsy."
"Oh Jesus," Ryan said through laughter. "Unbelievable." He looked at Warren. "Sophie might find out she has one in about five months."
"Fine with me," Warren grinned.
They watched the game for a while, chatting about not much, then Warren looked at his watch. "Ryan?"
"Yeah?"
"They went up there twenty minutes ago. On her way up, Sophia told me to wait twenty minutes or so-and then ask you if you wanted us to join them."
"She did?"
"Yeah. It’s completely up to you whether or not we do."
"Wow," Ryan said and stared at his beer for a full minute. "What is going to happen if we go up there?"
"A lot of that’s up to you, too. Well, I’m not gay, so that won’t happen," Warren grinned.
"Neither am I," Ryan laughed.
"Good. But, outside of that, what happens is pretty much up to you. You want to watch, we can do that. You want to get involved, we can do that. The three of us have done it before, and with another guy when Jess was dating Crash, so we don’t mind. But it’s up to you. You don’t want me to lay a hand on Jess, I won’t."
"And if I say I don’t mind if you do lay a hand on Jess?"
"Oh, I’ll end up fucking her brains out, no doubt," Warren laughed.
"And what will I be doing?"
"Fucking Sophie’s brains out, probably," Warren chuckled.
Ryan almost dropped his beer at that one! "You mean, you wouldn’t tell me hands off Sophie?"
"Nope," Warren grinned. "If you come up there-like I said, anything’s fine with us. We’ve done this before. Besides which, Sophie and I are very, very secure in our relationship. It took a whole lot to get to that point, but we are. We can do extracurricular things with dear friends, and it’s fine. You have to decide if you are that secure with Jess."
"If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have sent her up there with Sophie."
"That’s different than the two of us getting involved."
"A little, but not that much."
"True. It’s still your call."
Ryan grinned. "Let’s go up. I admit it, I want to see this at the very least."
"Yes, you do," Warren laughed. They headed up the stairs to the bedroom.
They got to the bedroom and found Sophia lying on the bed, Jessie on top of her, engaged in a raucous 69.
"Wow!" Ryan hissed.
"I love that sight," Warren agreed.
Jessie, into what she was doing, was oblivious to their presence. However, Sophie heard them. She peeked past Jessie’s leg and said, "Hi, boys!"
That got Jessie’s attention. "Boys?" She looked over at the door, saw them, and hissed, "Oh, God!"
"Jess, it’s OK," Sophie said. "I told Warren that they could come up if Ryan wanted to."
Jessie looked at Ryan. "You’re OK with this?"
"Uh, yeah, definitely," Ryan managed to get out.
"OK," Jessie laughed, and dove back into Sophie’s pussy.
While the two girls went at it, Warren quickly stripped off his clothes. Ryan shrugged and followed suit. They ended up on the bed, one on either side of the girls. Sophie, being on the bottom, wasn’t using her arms to hold herself up as Jessie was. So, she reached over with her left hand to grab Warren’s dick. Then she did the same with her other hand and wrapped that around Ryan’s dick. Jessie noticed this out of the corner of her eye and grinned. "Go, Sophie!" she said, then dove back into Sophie’s pussy.
Both girls were approaching climax. Sophie’s hips rose from the bed, and she pushed her pussy up into Jessie’s face. Jessie ground her pussy down at Sophie, both of them sucking on the other’s clit. They came almost simultaneously, yelping into each other’s pussy.
Jessie slumped on top of Sophie for a minute, then, suddenly, got up. She looked over at Warren, then crawled off of Sophie. Warren had been sitting up, Sophie’s hand still wrapped around his dick. Jessie pushed him over so he was lying down, then pushed Sophie’s hand away. Quickly she straddled him, and sank down on his dick.
Ryan watched this, and blinked. He knew it was coming, but was still slightly startled to see his wife-his pregnant wife-slowly sliding up and down on another guy’s cock. After a minute, though, he found himself enjoying watching. He trusted Jesse, and he trusted Warren. He was a little surprised, actually, to find himself getting turned on at the sight. Well, the sight-and Sophie tugging on his dick!
Sophie sat up, grinning at him, still grabbing his dick. "You want to do what they’re doing, or you want to watch for a while?" she asked.
"Maybe watch a little," he said.
"OK. It’s pretty beautiful to watch, isn’t it?"
"Yeah. Yeah, it is," he admitted.
They sat there, gently fondling each other, watching as Jessie bounced on Warren’s dick. Jessie gradually picked up speed, and Warren matched her as best he could, pushing himself upward at her. The pace increased, and Jessie started moaning.
"Oh, God," Ryan hissed, watching this. Sophie giggled, and pulled his face towards hers. They ended up sprawled on the bed, wrapped in a kiss, Ryan’s hand fondling Sophie’s boob as her hands roamed up and down his back. Sophie settle back on the bed, legs spread, and whispered to Ryan, "It’s our turn."
Ryan smiled, and went to position himself as he looked down on Sophie, open and ready in front of him. Ryan had to admit it. He knew he loved Jess, and wouldn’t ever think of cheating on her. But this wasn’t cheating, not when they were all in agreement. And, he had to admit-Sophie was one of the sexiest women he’d ever laid eyes on.
He kneeled in between Sophie’s legs, which put him almost even with Jessie, who was straddled over Warren. Jessie noticed. On an impulse, she stopped moving on top of Warren, leaned over, grabbed a startled Ryan around the neck, and kissed him. She broke the kiss, giggled, and waved at him as if to say, "Continue with what you were doing." Then she started moving on top of Warren again. Ryan grinned, shrugged, and moved to line himself up with Sophia.
He pushed his dick into her, and she moaned. He hit bottom, and she curled her legs up around his ass. They started going at it in earnest just as Jessie reached her climax beside them. Warren grunted and came into her shortly afterwards. Sophie and Ryan were just getting going.
Warren and Jessie curled up together and watched the other two go at it. Warren chuckled at Sophie’s increase in volume. "Here comes the ol’ banshee wailing," he whispered to Jess.
Sophie did just that, screaming as she climaxed around Ryan’s dick. Ryan quickly joined her.
Afterwards, they were spread out on the bed, all four of them-still nude-and sharing a bottle of wine. They’d also fetched some cheese and crackers that Warren and Sophia had in the fridge.
"I expected Jess and Sophie," Ryan said. "I knew that one was not going to go away, and I knew I’d have to let Jess know it was all right with me." He grinned. "I didn’t expect all this, though!"
"Are you OK with it?" Jess asked.
"Yes. Are you?"
"We’ve been down this road before," Sophia laughed, "so the only one we’re worried about is you."
"It’s fine. I had a lot of fun. If it were anyone else but you two, I wouldn’t be able to do it."
"It’ll never be anyone else, I promise," Jessie said. "This is a special thing."
"I know," Ryan said, then grinned. "I can’t wait until Sophie gets pregnant again. Warren told me about your lactation fetish, Jess."
"Oh, great," Jess laughed.
"And I told Warren that, in five months we’ll find out if Sophie has one, too."
"Hmmmmm. Well, hmmmmm," Sophie said, to general laughter.
"Might I also add that I have one?" Warren interjected with a grin.
"That’s all I need," Ryan laughed.
"You’d better get one soon, honey," Jessie teased him. "Or with the baby and those two around, you might never see my boobs."
"Can’t have that," Ryan joked.
They all had a wonderful Christmas.
Then, for New Years’, Warren, Sophie, Ellen and Dan and the whole family, and Kate, found themselves in Miami for the Orange Bowl.
"I’m so nervous!" Kate confessed to Sophia.
"I can see where you would be," Sophia told her. "I think I’d go out of my tree if Warren was a skater and I wasn’t."
"Nationals," Eric interjected. "That’s how I’m going to be at Nationals. Watching Amy skate. I’m gonna bite my fingernails down to the bone, I can see it now."
The game started.
BC put together a great first drive, quickly taking a 7-0 lead. Michigan responded with a drive of their own at the beginning of the second quarter, tying the score. After stopping BC on their next possession, Michigan got the ball back and drove down close enough to kick a field goal. Halftime came with Michigan leading, 10-7.
Michigan put together another drive to start the third quarter, extending their lead to 17-7. BC quickly responded, on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Chad to Butch. That got them to within 3, at 17-14.
After that, the game turned into a defensive struggle. Neither team could sustain a drive for the rest of the third quarter and the first half of the fourth.
BC got the ball again, on their own 25, with a little over 5 minutes left in the game. That’s when Comeback Kozak found his fourth-quarter groove. He quickly led BC down the field, ending the drive by throwing a perfect strike in the end zone to his tight end, Roger Jones. 21-17, BC.
The problem was, they’d left a little more than two minutes on the clock. And Tony Ciara, Michigan’s senior quarterback, had as much of a comeback reputation as Chad. He quickly proved it. A master of the no-huddle offense, Ciara marched Michigan down the field quickly and steadily. They got the ball down to the 10 yard line, with still thirty seconds left on the clock.
BC’s defense stiffened. The first three downs led to incomplete passes, as BC harassed Ciara and caused him to throw hastily. A BC cornerback just missed an interception that would have sealed the victory.
As it was, Ciara had one more chance, on fourth down. And, this time, he made good on it, throwing a touchdown pass. Michigan took a 24-21 lead with only 7 seconds left on the clock.
After the kickoff, Chad had one chance for a might heave downfield-but it went for naught. BC had lost in a heartbreaker.
"Hey, we played well," Chad told Kate after the game. "We have nothing to be ashamed about. And I’ll have another chance next year."
One of the nicest things to Sophia and Warren about their last ever National Championships was where it was being held-Boston.
The two of them still kept active in the online skating community. Sophia was responding to a post on the mailing list about what hotel skaters would be staying in while in Boston.
"None, half of them!" Sophia told the folks on the list. "Warren and I are staying at home, as are Ryan and Amy. Tom’s staying at Warren’s parents’ house. You guys’ll have to just grab your autographs at the Fleet Center!"
This was true enough, though Sophia and Warren did go into the hotel when everyone arrived, to hang out. They got dinner in the hotel restaurant on that Sunday with Liz and Crash. Crash hadn’t returned to law school yet after Christmas break, so would be able to attend.
"What about the Olympics?" Warren asked him.
"I’ve worked that out. I’ve told my professors about it, and they’re going to have me a bit ahead. Sorry, though, I won’t be coming out in time to see you guys-I’m only coming for the ladies’ event."
"Ah, well," Sophia said. "Guess you can’t miss too much class."
"Exactly."
The competition began on Tuesday, with the first Dance OD, the quickstep. Warren and Sophia had no problems with it, and easily won. Amy and Ryan were second, with Courtney and Evan third.
Wednesday afternoon was the pairs’ short program, in which Brett and Andrea romped. Then, that evening, the dancers went back out onto the ice with the Rock and Roll OD.
Warren and Sophie again took first place-and it wasn’t close. In fact, the Ramones OD got them straight 6.0 marks for technical merit. The crowd was on its feet 30 seconds before it was over-and they exploded at the end. Amy and Ryan again held off Courtney and Evan for second place.
Thursday afternoon began the men’s competition with the short program, and Tom had no challengers. Same went that evening with Brett and Andrea in the pairs’ long program, as they easily won the national championship.
The drama started Friday afternoon, with the ladies’ short program.
Since raising her technical level four years before, Liz Cushman had practically been unchallenged, up until her loss to Allison Bowman a month before at the Grand Prix finals. Liz had, for those for years, had the most challenging programs technically in the world.
However, Allison had caught up. Especially in the short program, where the jumps were limited. Liz did the hardest combination being done in the short program, triple lutz-triple toe. Only one other ladies’ skater in the world was doing that-but that one was Allison.
This still usually wasn’t a problem-because Liz had been the best artistic skater in the world for years. But Allison had caught up there, too.
Liz skated first, and had a little problem. It was the slightest of glitches-her free leg came down early on the back end of her combination. The lutz was clean, the takeoff of the toe was clean, she landed on one foot-but that second foot came right down, and she almost came to a complete stop. It was a clean jump, but it wasn’t textbook. The rest of her program was.
Allison’s entire short program, however was textbook. The combination could’ve been used on a jump training film. The rest of the program was just as good. And, after a year and a half of training with Terry and working on choreography with Warren and Sophia, her confidence had increased exponentially. It was close, 6 judges to 3, but Allison defeated Liz in the short program.
Friday night was the free dance.
Sophie and Warren’s coronation was never in doubt. The Singing In The Rain program was a wonderfully constructed program, and the duo delivered it flawlessly. This time it was the second mark, the presentation mark, that received sixes, seven out of nine. The technical mark received one six, with the rest 5.9s.
The drama in dance was, who would win the silver? Ryan and Amy had the lead, but, if Evan and Courtney beat them in the free dance, they would win the silver. That’s exactly what happened. It was close, but Evan and Courtney won the silver medal, Ryan and Amy the bronze. Both teams would be joining Warren and Sophia at the Olympics.
"Let’s see," Courtney said to Ryan afterwards. "You did better in the Grand Prix and made it to the final. We beat you at Nationals. You will, no doubt, beat us at the Olympics; and then we’ll beat you at Worlds. And then we’ll get to do this for four more years."
"It’ll be fun," Ryan laughed. "Hey, at least we’re all going to the Olympics. You and I and Amy have never been."
"I know, I can’t wait!"
Saturday afternoon was the free skate for the men. Tom wasn’t challenged at all, and skated an excellent program, earning an easy victory.
The ladies came down to Allison and Liz. Allison had the lead, but whichever one of them won the free skate would win the National Championship. Allison skated first, and skated wonderfully, earning excellent marks. But then Liz came out onto the ice and skated like a house afire. She landed everything perfectly, and skated the rest of her program with verve and flair. It was a clear victory. Both she and Allison would have their next battle at the Olympics.
Afterwards, sitting with Tom, Kristin, Warren, Sophie, and her boyfriend Eddie, Allison was astounded at how close she came. "Liz Cushman is almost my idol, for goodness’ sake. And how close did I come to beating her? One slip-if she had one slip, I would’ve won. I’m almost stunned."
"I’ve been watching you skate for years," Eddie told her. "And God knows I’m no expert, but even I can see the difference in the past two years, since you left that Ron Aztov bozo."
"I know, but-getting better is one thing. Getting to Liz Cushman’s level, or almost? That’s another thing entirely. I know I beat her at the Grand Prix, but that’s because she blew up, that’s different. She skated clean, and I still took two judges, and was within a tenth with five more. That’s unbelievable to me."
"You earned it," Tom told her. "I see the work you put in at the rink every day."
"Thanks," Allison told him.
"We’re neutral in all this, obviously," Sophia said, "but the ladies’ competition at the Olympics ought to be a barnburner!"
"All I want to do is skate clean and get on the podium. I’m in this for the next four years. I skate two clean programs, I’m happy," Allison said.
"That’s the spirit," Eddie agreed.
The exhibitions were Sunday. Warren and Sophia did the two programs they had worked on for the pro-ams: the Beach Boys medley, and the Lisa Lynne/Enya program. Both went over very well. The rest of the skaters also enjoyed the exhibitions, and all went back to their respective rinks to prepare.
The Olympics were a month away.
Sophia and Warren had less than a month. Nationals had ended on January 15 th . That was a Sunday, the day of the exhibitions. The Olympics would begin on Friday, February 10 th .
They were still working. They wanted those programs down cold before the Olympics, so they were working hard. Sophie was so tired that she wasn’t even in the mood for sex for about a week.
"Are you sure you’re all right, honey?" Warren laughed.
"I’m fine. I’m just tired. We might be working too hard."
"Yeah. We’ll want to ease off some as it gets closer. Are we putting too much pressure on ourselves?"
"Of course we are," Sophia laughed. "But, it makes sense. This is it. Except if we decide to go to Worlds, but still, this is it. This is the only thing we haven’t won. This is what we’ve been gearing up for. And, you know how it goes in figure skating. The audience, what, quadruples or something for the Olympics? If you don’t win an Olympic gold medal, you’re an also-ran, even if you’ve already won a World Championship. Plus, there’s that ‘first American ice dancers’ thing. We’d go down in the history books. If we weren’t feeling pressure, I’d be amazed."
"Too true," Warren said with a wry grin. "And we’ve certainly traveled a long and winding road to get here. Our life has been so wrapped up with skating. So, when we’ve had a twist in life, we’ve had a twist in skating."
"And we’ve had a lot of twists," Sophia laughed. "Nine years. We met each other almost exactly nine years ago."
"And I wouldn’t change a minute. Well, except for being attacked, that I’d change. Everything else, I wouldn’t change."
"Even me breaking up with you Freshman year?" Sophia asked.
"It made us stronger. If we hadn’t gone through that, I don’t think we would’ve been able to deal with Betsy."
"You’re right. I never quite thought of it like that, but you’re right."
"It’s been a hell of a nine years. And a big part of it is almost over."
"Just in time for you to go to Med School-and for me to start popping out more babies," Sophia laughed. "And it’ll never be completely over. I still want to choreograph."
"And I’m leaning towards sports medicine, so I can stay involved. But the skating part’s about to come to an end."
"Do you regret that? If you want, we could turn pro and still skate, and you could put off med school for a while. It’s up to you."
"No," Warren said. "Pro skating actually holds no appeal for me."
"Me, either, actually."
"And as for eligible competition, it’s time to move on. We don’t win this year, we never will, and I don’t want to stick around for the downward slide. Plus, I’ve wanted to be a doctor since I was 8. The problem is, being a doctor isn’t going to be something I do with you. That’s the biggest loss, actually. I wouldn’t have cared about skating so much if I had done it with someone else."
"That’s so sweet," Sophia smiled. "I do know what you mean, though. We’re going to spend less time together. Med school’s a grind, and you’ll have to drive back and forth to Boston every day. So, yeah, I’ll miss the closeness aspect of it. But there’s a lot of it I won’t miss."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Most specifically, the keeping-in-shape part. That I am entirely sick of, I’ll admit it. I think we’ll always skate. Even when we’re like 90, I think we’ll put our creaky bodies out on a public session and waltz."
"Most likely," Warren laughed.
"Yeah. But the rest of it? I’m done, and glad to be done. As of the end of this season, I have lifted my last weight. I have run my last lap. I have counted my last calorie. If I gain thirty pounds from the next kid and it doesn’t bleed right off, so be it." She stopped, and looked sideways at Warren. "You will still love me if I gain thirty pound from the next kid, won’t you?"
"You really have to ask that?" Warren chuckled.
"No," Sophie smiled. "I know you will. Hey, I want to keep myself in reasonable shape, especially when I get older. But I don’t have to care about keeping myself in animal shape anymore. It comes as a relief."
"For me too, actually," Warren agreed. "Getting back after the knee was brutal."
"No doubt," she said. "So, anyway, that I won’t miss at all. I’ve loved skating. I’ve especially loved skating with you. But it’s time to go out."
"Right. So let’s go out on top."
"Damn straight!"
A few weeks before the Olympics, Warren and Sophie, along with Warren’s parents and Tom, traveled into Boston. Cambridge, to be more accurate-they were headed to Harvard.
Because of their crowded autumn schedules, neither Tom nor Warren and Sophie had had a chance to do this. But the second semester was just underway, and they had a chance to squeeze in a trip to go see Kristin sing.
When she arrived at Harvard, Kristin-to the shock of everyone that knew her-got up the gumption to try out for one of Harvard’s a cappella singing groups, the Veritones. "Wow, what a change that is!" Warren had told Tom when they had first found out.
To Kristin’s shock, she was accepted. "They must be hard up for mezzos," she joked to Tom. She’d always considered herself a pianist first, a singer second-but she was a good enough singer for the Veritones.
The only problem with the whole thing was that the Veritones kept up a pretty busy schedule, which cut down Kristin’s time with Tom. Plus, being a freshman pre-med at Harvard was no picnic. But Tom understood, and was secure enough in his relationship with Kristin to deal with it. Plus, it was a pretty busy time for him, too.
So, it hadn’t worked out yet that Tom would be able to see her sing. It finally would. Tom was thrilled-Kristin was even more thrilled.
"You’re particularly nervous tonight," Karen, one of the seniors in the group, said to her before they went out to perform.
"My boyfriend’s here. He hasn’t had a chance to see me sing, yet," Kristin told her.
"Her boyfriend’s a figure skater," Regina, one of the other girls in the group, told Karen. "He’s been too busy winning to come watch Kristin sing."
"Yeah, and my brother and sister-in-law, too," Kristin laughed. "They’re here as well. Since they’re also figure skaters, they’ve been busy, too."
"Ah. This is why you’re leaving us for a week in February-you’re going to the Olympics," Karen realized.
"Yep. Got to go watch my honey win a gold medal. Oh, and my brother, too."
"Is that realistic?" Karen asked.
"Tom won the silver medal at Worlds last year. Warren and Sophie won the World Championship a couple years ago. They won silver as well last year, but Warren was coming off a knee injury. Both Tom and Warren and Sophie won the Grand Prix back in December. So, yeah, it’s realistic. Warren and Sophie actually won the silver medal four years ago."
"That’s cool," Karen said. "Well, then, you don’t have to be nervous. They know what the performing thing is like."
"Too true," Kristin agreed.
Kristin and her colleagues went out and sang wonderfully. Kristin’s family and Tom thoroughly enjoyed it.
A week before the Olympics, Warren and Sophia were on the ice. Warren, on a whim, decided to pop in the CD that had most of their program music on it, and hit random. This had a lot of what they had skated to throughout the years.
The first thing that popped up was "As Long As I (Can Be With You)," the Patti Scialfa song they’d used as an exhibition years ago, and only a couple of times. They cracked each other up with their efforts to remember it.
The next thing was the Riverdance free dance. That they remembered just fine.
The Springsteen free dance was next. They’d just skated that at the Grand Prix final, so they didn’t miss a step.
Their old swing OD, "If You Can’t Rock Me," came on. They hadn’t skated that in four years and were surprised at how well they remembered it.
Next up was True Colors, which they remembered well. "Of course, this is the first time we’ve ever skated it fully clothed," Sophia laughed.
Then it was a real blast to the past, back to Phil Collins’ "You’ll Be In My Heart," their very first exhibition. It had been years since they skated it, but remembered a lot.
The Sinatra free dance followed, another oldie. They forgot a lot of the beginning, but remembered most of the "I’ve Got You Under My Skin" section.
"Damn, this is a lot of fun," Warren said.
Next came REM’s "At My Most Beautiful." It was only a couple years old, but they forgot a huge part of it, which made them crack up.
"One more," Warren said. Sophia nodded agreement. The last one, fittingly enough, was Romeo and Juliet. They remembered every single step.
"We going to exhibition that at the Olympics?" Sophia asked.
"Definitely. If we do two, we’ll do the Beach Boys first, then end with that."
"Sounds like a plan," Sophia agreed. "Damn, I love that program."
"Yep. But Singing In The Rain is pretty special, too."
"I know. It’s so us!"
The opening ceremonies would be on Friday, February 10 th . On the 8 th , they arrived in Quebec City, ready to go for the gold.
The athletes’ village at Quebec City had a small section set off for married couples, so that’s where Warren and Sophie found themselves. Betsy was with Ellen, and would be coming with her when they arrived on Friday, in time for the Opening Ceremonies.
They got settled in on Wednesday, and spent that evening and most of Thursday, just wandering around the village. They explored the various amenities, and met some of the other athletes who were arriving.
Liz had arrived the same day they did, and they ran into her in the dining hall for supper that evening. "Jeez, you’re awfully early for someone who doesn’t skate for two weeks," Warren told her.
Liz laughed. "Don’t you remember? After Nationals, you guys elected Evan and I the figure skating team captains? Well, we have the captains’ meeting tomorrow."
"Lucky you," Sophie said.
"Yep. Well, at least I get to hang out and relax!"
Thursday, after checking out the athletes’ village and eating supper, Warren and Sophia were sitting in their room, just chatting. There was a knock on the door. They opened it up to find Liz and Evan.
"Hey, come on in!" Sophia said. "What’s up with you guys?"
"This isn’t a social call," Evan said with a grin.
"We had the team captain’s meeting," Liz told them. "And, after discussion, we took a vote. And it gives me great, great pleasure to say this." She turned to Warren. "Warren Kelleher, by a vote of all of the team captains, you have been chosen to carry the American flag in the Opening Ceremonies tomorrow night."
Warren was absolutely dumbfounded. He sat down hard on his bed, his mouth wide open in surprise. Sophie squealed, delighted. "Oh, honey, that’s awesome!"
"My God," Warren hissed, "why me?"
Evan told him. "Since you have been a competitive figure skater, you’ve been through more than most people would’ve been able to handle. The beating and rape. The knee injury. Getting married, raising a child, getting through school and doing well. It’s all about perseverance. You put yourself through a lot to get here. All the team captains saw that. You deserve this."
"Sophie’s been through some of that, too, and she had a baby."
"Actually, our first thought was both of you, but we found out that’s not allowed," Liz said. "So we picked you. Sophie gets enough publicity!"
"She’s right," Sophia laughed. "You do deserve this, Snugglebear. I’m thrilled."
"I’m honored. Not to mention stunned," Warren said. Then he looked at Sophie. "We won’t be able to march in together, though."
"I’ll be right behind you," Sophia smiled.
"We’ll make sure she gets in the front row," Liz assured him.
"I’ll be watching your ass the whole way," Sophie said to laughter. "Now. Call your parents!"
"Good idea," Warren laughed, reaching for the phone.
Warren didn’t sleep particularly well that night. And he was jittery all day Friday.
"I’m more nervous about this than I am about skating," he said over lunch.
"Why?" Sophia asked him.
"What if I trip? What if I drop the flag?"
Sophia laughed. "Snugglebear, when’s the last time you fell on the ice? You can do furious footwork without dropping a beat-you can carry a flag into a stadium."
"I hope so. It was just unexpected, so now I’m gonna worry," Warren said.
"Don’t worry," Sophia grinned. "You’re going to be awesome."
They spent the afternoon chilling out, then they headed to the gathering spot where the athletes got together to prepare to march into the stadium. There they saw lots of athletes including Alan Zimmer, the skier they had met four years earlier. Alan was a top contender now.
"Hey, congratulations on the flag," he told Warren. "Don’t drop it!"
"Oh, thanks," Warren laughed.
Warren went and talked to the protocol person from the IOC, who instructed him on the correct protocol about carrying the flag. He chatted briefly with the very nice young lady who’d been chosen to carry the placard with "LES ETATS-UNIS D’AMERIQUE" on the front. She was a local girl, about 18, from Quebec City and was thrilled to have been chosen. And it turns out she was a huge fan of figure skating and knew who Warren was, so that was cool. He chatted with her for a while about skating and the Olympics.
Then, it was time to march.
The folks from the USOC that were with the American team got them lined up and ready to go, with Warren out in front. As they were lined up, waiting to march, Warren heard the unmistakable sound of Sophie’s voice: "Nice buns, flagbearer!" Warren laughed, and thought to himself that Sophie must have made it up front.
The countries ahead of them started filing in, and Warren got ready. There was a belt he wore around his waist, and in the front of the belt was a cup. That’s where the end of the flagpole went, to steady it. The country in front started moving-Estonia, L’Estonie being ahead of Les Etats-Unis D’Amerique in French alphabetical order. So, Warren put the flag in the little cup, and they started moving.
He had to steady himself at first. This wasn’t as easy as it looked, and Warren felt all the nervousness coming back. But he managed, keeping the flag steady and sure as they marched into the stadium.
The ovation for the US team was loud and strong-with the Olympics in Canada, there were quite a few Americans in the audience. Warren just tried to drink it all in-the sights, the sounds, all the people, the pageantry. This was his second time marching in an Olympic opening ceremony, and he still remembered the first one vividly. This would be the last, and he wanted to remember every second. And you only get to bear your country’s flag once.
He carried the flag surely in one trip around the stadium, then veered into the infield. The athletes would gather there in the infield, but the flagbearers were directed to go to the edge of the infield, so they formed a ring around the infield and the outside marching area (what would be the track if this were the summer Olympics). As Warren veered off, he looked back, caught Sophie’s eye, and threw her a kiss. Then he took his place.
He stood there for the duration, eagerly watching the rest of the nations march in, chatting amiably with the woman next to him-the Estonian flagbearer. A luger named Marta, this was also her second Olympics and she was having a ball. She spoke perfect English and had Warren cracking up with her pithy comments about some of the uniforms the other countries were wearing. They talked about their respective sports a bit.
"That’s the cool thing about ice dancing," Marta said, "you can do it with someone you love. Well, doubles luge is theoretically co-ed, but it’s never been done that way."
"Doubles co-ed luge? Now that would be close quarters," Warren teased.
"No doubt," Marta laughed. "My boyfriend, unfortunately, is not a luger. He’s a biathlete."
"Ah, men on skis with guns," Warren said, getting a laugh out of Marta. "I think I’ll stick to ice dancing!"
Afterwards, Warren met up with Sophia, who was waiting for him.
"You were wonderful, Snugglebear," she said, kissing him.
"Were you OK by yourself?"
"Sure," Sophia told him. "I marched with Liz and Evan. I had to listen to Evan make comments about your ass the whole time. And you thought I was bad!"
They headed into the athletes’ dining hall for a late snack. The various American athletes there were quick to congratulate Warren.
"Nice start to the Olympics," Sophia observed.
"Very nice. Now all we need is a nice ending!"
Saturday, the day after the opening ceremonies, was the day the Olympics began in earnest. It was also the first day of figure skating-the pairs’ short program.
It was considered the most wide-open contest of all the figure skating events. The field was led by the defending Olympic champions and the home country favorites, Jenny Sellers and Denis Poulin. However, they’d had a rough year. They’d lost the last World Championship to Andrea and Brett, and had had a rough time at December’s Grand Prix final, finishing only fourth.
Brett and Andrea were the defending World Champions, but had also had problems at the Grand Prix, losing to the young Czech pair of Trogonickova and Kepul. Another impressive pair were the young Russians, Yaskovarina and Chebinskiy, who had won the bronze medal at the Grand Prix. And, then there were the Chinese, Yin and Li. They’d had a disastrous Grand Prix, but were the defending World bronze medallists and couldn’t be counted out.
Any of these pairs could seize the moment in the short program. However, the initial gauntlet was thrown down by none of these. Skating early in the order was a second-tier German pair, Dagmar Lachen and Johann Schusster. They came out and laid down an absolutely flawless short program. With all of the big guns yet to come, their marks were a little lower than might have been expected-but the top teams were going to have to be excellent. The room was there, but the Germans had set a high standard.
The Chinese couldn’t meet it. The problems from the Grand Prix reasserted themselves, and Yin and Li found themselves well behind the Germans. The next of the pre-contest contenders to skate were the Russians. They were good, but had a few minor flaws. They defeated the Chinese handily, but were behind the Germans.
The final group contained the Big Three. Andrea and Brett were the first to go, and they nailed everything in their program. Skating with verve and flair, they went to first place on every judge’s card. The next up were the Canadians, under extreme pressure for being the home country’s best gold medal hope in figure skating. They responded to it well-except for one flaw. Denis two-footed the landing on their side by side triple toes. Minor, but since Andrea and Brett had skated perfectly, it was enough to put them in second.
Then came the Czechs, on a roll after their Grand Prix win. And they were wonderful. As flawless and Andrea and Brett, with a style all their own. It was as close as it gets, a 5-4 split, but they moved into first place. Andrea and Brett were in second and the Canadians in third. The Russians and Germans, fourth and fifth, would join the top three in the final group for the free skate, two days hence.
Sunday, Sophia and Warren gathered Betsy up and headed to the same place they had found themselves four years before-the ski slope, for the men’s downhill.
And, to their delight, they found themselves again in the midst of a bunch of Austrians.
They had kept in contact with their old friends Otto and Wilhelm, and were pleased to find them here. "The last time we talked, you weren’t sure if you were going to make it," Sophia told them.
"Right. Well, it’s harder, going to Canada instead of Switzerland. It costs more. So, we decided to make this the family vacation for this year," Otto told them, smiling. He introduced Sophia and Warren to his wife, and Wilhelm introduced his. All four fawned over Betsy.
"So, Gerhard Weichenbauer retired," Warren said, "so I suppose this is the Ingo Buell fan club now?"
"Got that right," Otto said. "It’s gonna be a battle between him and your American guy, Alan Zimmer. They’ve been trading the World Cup Downhill championship back and forth since the last Olympics."
"Yep, I know. Go Alan!" Warren joked.
They chatted easily as the first couple of skiers came down the slope. Then it was Ingo Buell’s turn. He skied impressively, and easily went into first place, to the delight of the Austrian contingent.
Three skiers later, Alan Zimmer roared down the slope. At the first checkpoint, he was very close to Buell’s time. At the second checkpoint, he was even closer. He came flying down the final stretch, and crossed the finish line. Everyone looked up at the clock, and then it flashed: he’d defeated Buell by half a second. The large American contingent, including Warren and Sophia, went nuts.
"Dat guy win?" Betsy asked.
"Not yet, sweetheart, but he’s in first place," Sophia told her.
"Ah, well," Otto laughed. "Can’t win ‘em all. Zimmer ran an excellent race."
They kept watching. Nobody else approached Buell or Zimmer’s time. Otto, a pretty big guy, had put Betsy on his shoulders, to Betsy’s delight.
The way big time skiing races go was that the top 15 skiers, based on the year’s results, were seeded. They drew lots for the first 15 places in the order. They went first so they could ski on the freshest snow. So, the winner of big races almost always came from skiers in that top 15.
Almost always. Warren and Sophia and their friends were chatting, when they heard a roar drift down the hill. They looked up, and saw that the skier on the slope was ahead of Zimmer’s time at the first checkpoint, even though he was skiing in the nineteenth slot.
They checked the scoreboard, and saw that it was Ed Lazlo, who was Canadian. At the second checkpoint, he was still ahead. "Man, this place is going to go berserk if he wins," Warren said. The shouting was already building at the bottom of the hill as Lazlo came into view. He came down the final stretch, pushed over the finish line by the shouts of his countrymen. Everyone looked up at the scoreboard-and it quickly showed Lazlo in first place. The place just erupted; and Lazlo, a definite underdog, was jumping up and down on his skis in delight.
Lazlo and the Canadian fans watched closely as the other skiers came down the slope. Of course, Lazlo was also besieged by the TV folks. He did one interview standing right in front of Warren and Sophia and their friends, and was completely thunderstruck. "I can’t believe it, I just can’t believe it," he kept telling the interviewer.
"He sounds like us, the first time we medalled at Worlds," Warren laughed.
"Or that first silver at Nationals," Sophia laughed. She turned to the Austrians. "He screamed so loud he punctured my eardrum."
"I remember that," Warren laughed.
After the last skier had descended the slope, the standings had held up. Lazlo won, with Zimmer and Buell filling out the medals. As the first Canadian gold medallist in a Canadian Olympics, Paul Lazlo became a very popular guy.
"The Super G, on Tuesday?" Otto asked Warren and Sophie.
"We’ll be here!"
The free skate for the pairs was Monday night. The Russians and Germans were the first two in the final group. Both skated well, the Russians just a little bit better, and they moved into the lead.
Andrea and Brett were next-and they skated an absolutely perfect program. It all came together, and they were even better than they had been when they had won Worlds last year. Warren and Sophie, watching from the stands, were ecstatic.
"I love it when a program we choreographed is skated that well," Sophia said.
"I know, it’s like seeing it the way you saw it in your head," Warren agreed.
The Czechs were up next, and the pressure got to them, just a little bit. They didn’t make any major errors, but were slow and laboring. They were still young, and, with the pressure of leading the Olympics when they had never even won a world medal, their youth showed. They finished behind Brett and Andrea. That would keep them in the medals, but it would be silver or bronze.
Last to skate were Denis and Poulin. Under a lot of pressure from the Canadian crowd, they dealt with it. Trying to repeat as Olympic champions, they dealt with it. From the beginning, they were strong and sure, hitting every move perfectly.
The crowd noise was building, trying to bring them along, and they just seemed to get stronger and stronger. Until, with about 40 seconds to go in their program, they attempted their last tricky move-a throw triple loop. And Jenny boofed on the landing.
She didn’t fall-but she was wildly out of control, her free leg swinging frantically trying to keep her upright. Her landing leg skidded off the edge. She finally dropped the free leg and came to an almost complete stop. It took them a couple of seconds to get back into the flow of the program.
That was all it took. Since Brett and Andrea had skated flawlessly, that one mistake took the Canadians out of it. They finished second, with the Czechs third. Brett and Andrea became the first American pairs team to win an Olympic gold medal.
"There we go," Brett told Warren and Sophia afterwards. "We got the first-American-pairs thing taken care of-so you guys have to do the first-American-dancers thing."
"Damn right," Warren said.
"American sweep! American sweep!" Sophia chanted, laughing.
"Let’s not count our chickens," Tom Bellamy, who was there, interjected. "There’s this little obstacle known as Lavrenti Bladanikov to worry about."
"You beat him at the Grand Prix," Warren pointed out.
"Fluke, complete fluke," Tom laughed.
"No way. Mark my words," Warren argued. "You’re going to beat him."
"Well, we’ll find out, starting tomorrow," Tom said.
That Monday night, after the pairs’ long program, Sophia pulled Warren into the bedroom.
"I have a confession," she started. "Remember back in January, where there was a stretch of about a week that I was too tired for fooling around?"
"Yeah," Warren said.
"That was a lie. I wasn’t too tired. I was waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"Waiting for now," she said. "Which leads me to my other confession. I went off the pill after my period in December. That’s why I didn’t want to have sex that week, because I was ovulating. And I didn't want to get pregnant then." She grinned at him. "I want to get pregnant here, at the Olympics. Well, give it our best shot, anyhow."
"Really?"
"Really. And I should be ovulating today or tomorrow. So, whaddaya say, big boy? Wanna make a baby?"
Warren answered her by pulling her towards him and kissing her. As their lips melded, he reached for the buttons on her blouse. "I guess you like the idea," Sophie giggled, then went back to kissing.
They ended up on the bed, attempting to keep kissing while they also tried to take each other’s clothes off, a charade that ended with them side-by-side on the bed, laughing uproariously.
"Hmmm. Maybe I should just get these off and then kiss the daylights out of you," Warren said, pulling at her blouse.
"Yeah. It was worth a shot, though," Sophia laughed. She went for his belt buckle. She pulled his belt out of his pants, as he slipped her blouse off of her. He went for the bra as she went for the snap on his jeans.
They ended up in a squirming heap, grasping at bits of the other’s clothing, which somehow managed to come flying out of the writhing mass of arms and legs. They ended up giggling again, but finally naked, and then started making out.
They were kissing, and Warren moved off of Sophie’s lips and went to nibble on her earlobe. "You sure you want to get all big again?" he teased, whispering in her earlobe.
"Yes," she hissed. "You love me that way and you know it."
"True, all true." He kissed his way down her neck, and then moved lower, taking her boob into his mouth. He sucked on her nipple, making her groan, and moved his hand between her leg. "Oooh, baby-making turns my Pookie on," he said, after feeling how wet she was.
"Uh-huh," she groaned. Warren slipped a finger into her and it slipped right in. "Oh, God, honey!" she gasped. After a minute or two of that, she rubbed the back of his head and said, "I don’t think I need any more foreplay tonight."
Warren pulled off of her boob. "Need and want are two different things," he grinned.
"True," she grinned. "So, I want you to fuck me."
"Ah," Warren said, then moved up so he was between her legs. He aimed, and easily slid into her.
"Oh, God," she moaned. "Oh, Warren!" He started moving in and out of her, slowly at first, working up to a rhythm. "Oh, God," she gasped, "I’m so turned on I’m gonna cum real soon!"
"Oh, yeah," Warren hissed, and picked up the pace. She was right-it didn’t take long at all before she stiffened underneath him, screaming his name, as her hips came up off the bed. Warren held himself deep inside her and ground against her clit, as her pussy clenched around his dick.
After she settled down a little, he started moving again. She moaned. "You close?" she asked.
"Getting there," he grunted.
"C’mon, baby," she chanted. "Cum in me. Make me a baby. Do it, love. Make me a baby. Cum in me, cum in me…"
That was all Warren needed to hear!
Afterwards, curled up in a heap on the bed, Sophie giggled and said, "That was quick for us."
"Goal-oriented fucking," Warren quipped, making Sophie crack up. "Of course, you were so turned on that you were halfway there before we got the clothes off."
"And you weren’t?"
"OK, I admit it," he laughed.
"Well, honey, just to make sure, you know-we’re going to probably have to do this for the next couple of nights, at least."
Warren chuckled, and said, "I do believe I can deal with that."
They started Tuesday on the mountain, with their skiing-fan friends, to watch the men’s Super Giant Slalom. Another chance for Alan Zimmer and the Austrian champ, Ingo Buell, to battle it out.
"As long as we don’t have any more pesky Canadians getting in the way," Otto joked.
They didn’t. Ingo Buell skied excellently. However, three skiers later, Alan Zimmer skied the Super G of his life, beating Buell by a full half-second. When all was said and done, Zimmer had won his first Olympic gold medal. The Austrians good-naturedly grumbled-and celebrated with Warren and Sophie. Buell took the silver.
That night, on the ice, was the men’s short program.
Sophia and Warren sat in the stands with a very nervous Kristin. "I think I’m more nervous than Tom is," Kristin confessed with a giggle. "God, I so want him to skate well."
"He will," Warren assured her. "He’s ready for this."
He skated fairly early, and did skate well. He was perfectly clean, and skated with verve and flair. He took the early lead.
However, looming in the later groups was the three-time World Champion, Lavrenti Bladanikov. He was one of the last skaters to skate. Tom was still in the lead when he took the ice.
Everything started out well. He did a fine spin, and some choreography. Then he took off into his combination-the quadruple toe-triple toe. He went up into the quad, landed-and put a hand down.
"Yes!" Kristin hissed softly. Then looked chagrined. "Jeez, it’s not nice to root against people."
"It’s only natural," Warren laughed.
Bladanikov completed the rest of his program without error, but blowing the combination was a huge mistake. That was an automatic.5 deduction on the technical mark.
However, his presentation marks were so high that he still managed to finish the short program in third place. That kept him in contention, because anyone in the top three would win the gold if they won the long program.
"What a gift," Sophia snorted.
"Of course. He’s the three-time defending world champ and he’s Russian. Two things that move him right to the front of the gift-getting line," Warren said.
Tom wasn’t upset, though, when they talked to him afterwards. "I expected them to somehow keep him in the top three. The big thing is, though, I have momentum."
"That’s the spirit," Warren told him.
The next day, Wednesday, after a morning practice, Warren and Sophia headed off to the luge run.
It was the second day of the women’s luge. Warren wanted to come and watch Marta, the Estonian luger who carried their flag in the Opening Ceremonies that Warren had chatted with. Sophia and Warren got there, and checked out the scoreboard-after the first two runs, Marta was in third, behind two German lugers.
They found a place near the luge run-and were surprised to see Marta walking along side, working out the kinks in her muscles. "Warren! You came!"
"Sure did. We love all these sports, anyhow." He introduced Marta to Sophia.
"This is great! I love the Olympics, you get to meet so many people," Marta grinned. "I’m going to be watching you guys skate, too, but there’s a reason for that. There’s an Estonian dance team. They have no shot," she laughed, "but the female of the team is a girl I’ve been friends with for years."
"Inga Taalsen," Sophia smiled. "We’ve met her-she’s a sweetie."
"They’re great, she and her partner. Like you said, they have no chance-top 15 would be a coup-but they love to skate," Warren said.
"I’m gonna love telling her that the Olympic Gold Medallists came to watch me luge."
"Don’t count those chickens, we haven’t won anything yet," Warren warned.
"She says you’re a shoo-in," Marta teased. "Anyhow, got to go slide. Thanks for coming!"
Sophia looked at Warren for a minute, bemused. "You flirt with every girl in the world, don’t you?"
"I wasn’t flirting!"
"Oh, sure you weren’t," she teased.
"I was not. Her boyfriend’s a biathlete. They shoot guns while on skis-do I look stupid to you?"
Sophia cracked up.
Marta ended up moving up to second over the last two runs, winning the silver medal.
The next day, Thursday, Sophia and Warren watched some more skiing, hung around the village, and then headed to the rink for the men’s long program.
Kristin was still nervous. "I think I’m more nervous, because he’s definitely got a shot," she said.
The rest of the skaters skated first. Tom was the second-to-last to skate, and Bladanikov the last. So, they just watched and chatted through the rest of the skaters.
Then Tom took the ice. Skating the program that Warren and Sophia had choreographed for him, he was wonderful. He hit every jump cleanly and sold the program wonderfully.
Then came Bladanikov. His first jumping pass was the same combination, quadruple toe-triple toe, that he had put a hand down in the short program. He didn’t put a hand down this time-but he did, ever so slightly, two-foot the landing. The rest of the program was clean as a whistle.
That little two-foot was all it took. Tom beat him by one-tenth of a point in the technical mark on every judge’s card, and that was the difference. By a 6-3 split, Tom became the Olympic champion.
And, when the results were posted, you could’ve heard Kristin’s scream in Montreal!
Afterwards, talking with the rest of the American team, Sophia said the same thing that she had said after the pairs’ competition: "American sweep! American sweep!"
"Not only that, it’s a Kelleher choreography sweep," Andrea teased.
"Well, the only person that can beat Liz is Allison," Tom pointed out. "So, Sophia, that whole American sweep thing? That’s all up to you two!"
"PRESSURE!" Warren shouted, to laughter all around.
Friday began the ice dancing. The Quickstep original dance was the first phase.
Amy and Ryan skated very early, and very well. Their marks were probably a little low, but that was a function of how early they skated. Courtney and Evan skated shortly thereafter, and were just behind their American teammates.
The first of the contenders to skate were the British team, Brenneman and Watts, and they skated lights-out. They’d had a good quickstep all season, but here they really nailed it. The ovation was rapturous and the marks were very high.
Sophia and Warren were next up, and skated their Scott Joplin program perfectly. It was fun and upbeat and got another thunderous ovation. However, when the marks came up, they had been beaten by the Brits by the slightest of margins.
The Canadians, Damphier and Gaudler, the defending World Champions, had a few problems, which dropped them down to third. The Russians were in fourth.
Saturday was the second original dance, the rock and roll. Sophia and Warren knew their Ramones program was as difficult as it gets. They knew that, if they skated it clean, it was unbeatable.
They skated it clean. In fact, they nailed it as perfectly as they ever had before. Even with all the rest of the contenders still to skate, they got a few sixes on the technical mark.
Brenneman and Watts skated well, but not nearly well enough to challenge Sophia and Warren. The Russians were decent, but finished behind the Brits. The Canadians skated fantastically in front of the home-country crowd, and finished second.
Going into the final phase, the free dance, Sophia and Warren had a clear lead. The Brits were in second and the Canadians third. However, it was so close that any of the top three teams could win if they won the free dance. The Russians were fourth. Amy and Ryan, and Courtney and Evan were tied for fifth.
Sunday was an off-day. Sophia and Warren relaxed, saw some other events, and hung out. They were ready for the free dance Monday night.
Monday night, the Ice Dance finals, the free skate.
Amy and Ryan defeated Courtney and Evan by the slightest of margins to win the battle for fifth place.
Then, the top four couples took the ice for the warm-up. Sophia and Warren would be skating last. They ran through some footwork and warmed up, then stepped off the ice. They went backstage, but in range of a TV, so they could watch the other couples skate.
The Canadians skated excellently. They got top marks and a standing ovation from their home country crowd.
The Russians were just OK, and came nowhere near to the Canadians. Sophia, in fact, said to Warren, "Amy and Ryan should’ve beat that. Courtney and Evan, too. That was weak."
"Ah, well, you know how it goes," Warren laughed.
Then came the Brits. They were good, but not as good as the Canadians.
So, it was all up to Warren and Sophia. The medal winners were set. (Sophia and Warren would have to finish the free dance lower then seventh to not win a medal at all, which wasn’t going to happen.) And the Canadians were higher than the Brits. The final color of the medals would be decided by the Kellehers.
"Ready?" Warren asked Sophia as they waited to take the ice.
"All ready already," Sophia laughed. "It’s been a long road."
"It certainly has."
"We can do this. We can win this thing," Sophia declared.
"Yes, we can. We’re the best ice dancers in the world. Let’s go prove it."
"Damn straight."
They took the ice to thunderous applause. They moved to the center of the ice, to their starting position, and waited for the music.
Warren was dressed in all white. He was wearing a white sweater vest-with black and red trim at the v-neck-over a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and white pants. He was also wearing a white hat. Sophia was wearing a blue dress with ‘wings’ on the sleeves that fluttered when she skated. It was a precise reproduction of the costumes that Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds wore during the ‘dance on the soundstage’ scene of Singing In The Rain.
The music started, the opening passage to the song Singing In The Rain, complete with Gene Kelly’s doo-n-doo-doo’s. The Kellehers started simply, with some side-by-side steps with arms linked, into a spin.
25 seconds in, the music shifted-to You Were Meant For Me, the same music used by Kelly and Reynolds in that soundstage dance scene. It was contrary to ice dance convention to have the ‘slow section’ this early in the program-but Warren and Sophia never let themselves be ruled by ice dance convention. This section was a little over a minute long, and was a tribute to the sustained romanticism of the original movie scene. It was gorgeous and still complex.
The complexity was quickly escalated with the next section of music, the brutally fast Moses. They started out with their side by side footwork, which was fast, powerful, and difficult-and a treat for the audience. It was fun and frisky, and the crowd responded. They continued through the Moses section of music, working in a couple difficult lifts amongst the snappy footwork.
With almost two minutes left in the program, the music shifted again, back to Singing In The Rain. This time it was the end, the sustained instrumental to which Gene Kelly does most of his staggering dance solo in the movie. Warren and Sophia, of course, did it not as a solo, but as a duet. Even so, they tried their hardest to be as faithful to the mood of the Kelly piece as they could.
It started with their circular footwork, in closed position, moving swiftly and surely through the moves. They moved out of that into a quick lift, and then a series of steps that could only be called ecstatic. They loved this program and it showed. They did a spin during a portion of the music that quieted a bit, then came out of that to a series of skipping steps during the crescendo.
After that, the music almost stops-it’s the part in the movie where Kelly is surprised by the suspicious cop-and they pulled into a spin at that point. Then the main theme repeats slower, and they did a series of steps to that. Then they pulled into their final lift, a spinning one, at the part where Kelly sings, "I’m dancing, and singing in the rain." They come out of that into the final repeat of the main theme, which they skipped to, arm-in-arm. Then Warren spun Sophia towards him, and they ended the program on an embrace, grinning at each other, on the final note.
The applause was roof-shattering.
They left the ice ecstatic. "You couldn’t have done it any better," June told them. "Just perfect." They kissed, and babbled happily, and waited for the marks.
In a mailbox in Oceanview, Massachusetts, sat a letter. It was addressed to Warren. It was from the admissions department of Boston University Medical School.
In her purse backstage, Sophia’s cell phone had started ringing. Voice mail would, by the end of the night, have a number of messages from different companies, wanting to discuss more endorsement deals.
Somewhere in Sophie’s body, a fertilized egg was making a journey. It had traveled down the fallopian tubes, and was now preparing, in the next couple of days, to attach itself to the wall of Sophia’s uterus. The creation of the Kelleher’s second child, another daughter, was well underway.
And, in an ice rink in Quebec City, two very happy people skated onto the ice after hearing their name called. They greeted the thunderous applause from the crowd with waves. Then, deliriously happy, they approached a podium, and climbed to the top step. They beamed with pride as the president of the IOC placed gold medals around their necks. And then they beamed, and cried, all at the same time, during the playing of the United States national anthem.
The past had been wonderful. Not without its problems, but wonderful.
The present was plainly glorious.
And the future? Well, that looked the best of all.
Warren and Sophia took their well-deserved victory lap with the gold medals gleaming around their necks. They took a second one with their daughter riding on Warren’s shoulder. The crowd screamed its acceptance.
Then, they stepped off the ice, and into the rest of their lives.
(The epilogue takes place 14 years and 5 months after Chapter 170)
Evan Pogdar looked out at his empire.
Yeah, right, he chuckled to himself.
Well, in a way, it sort of was. This was the Olympics, it was being held in the USA-New York City, to be precise-and Evan, as of the past year, was the president of the United States Olympic Committee. So, in a way, this was his big show. But he really didn’t think of it that way-this show belonged to the athletes. Having been one, he knew that.
He was the very first president of the USOC to own an Olympic medal-a silver. Four years after Warren and Sophie had won the very first gold medal in ice dance, it had been repeated, but this time it was a one-two punch. Ryan Killen and Amy Lowell had won the gold. Evan and Courtney had won the silver. After that, Evan had decided to go into administration. He’d thought about the USFSA, but decided he wanted to work with more than figure skaters. It had been a rapid ascent to the top of the USOC totem pole.
Of course, he still had a soft spot for figure skaters. But he couldn’t think of that now-considering the Olympics that he was about to preside over was the Summer Olympics!
He left his office and headed over to the Athlete’s Village. Officials and stuff were also staying there, and he headed to the cafeteria, hoping Ilona was there. He quickly found her, and happily noted that she was chatting with some old friends.
"Warren! Sophie! How are you?"
"Evan!" Warren greeted him. "Hey, sit down."
"Don’t mind if I do," he grinned. "You corrupting my daughter?"
"Oh, Daddy," Ilona sighed. "I’m already corrupt."
"Uh-huh," Evan grinned, looking upon Ilona with affection. He’d adopted the pretty 14-year-old 11 years ago, from one of those notorious Romanian orphanages. Ilona herself was part of Romania’s large ethnic Hungarian minority-that’s why Evan picked her, considering he was the grandchild of Hungarian immigrants. He saw her in an overcrowded, decrepit orphanage in Cluj, and immediately fell in love. They made a good team.
"So, you’re doing double duty here, huh?" Evan teased Warren. "Daddy and Doctor."
"Yup. That’s one of the great things about being a sports doctor-I get to go to all these Olympics. This is like the fourth straight I’ve been asked to help out at."
"Well, we’ll get you for every one as long as I’m running the USOC."
"It’s a deal. Just don’t expect much from me this time at the swimming venue."
"No doubt," Evan laughed. "Betsy’s in a ton of events, isn’t she?"
"Yup. Let’s see-the 200 and 400 free, the 200 and 400 IM, and the 200 fly. Oh, plus the 4x200 free relay," Warren confirmed.
"And she’s the defending world champion in the two 400 meter events, and won a bronze in the 200 free, so she’s got a good shot at some hardware," Sophie added.
"Of course, she’ll have to go some distance to win more swimming medals that her honorary Aunt Sheila," Warren laughed.
"Too true," Evan agreed. "So how are your partners in crime at the practice, Doctors Carruthers and Bellamy?"
"Sheila and Kris are fine. Well, overworked without me there. We’re going to have to find a fourth for the practice soon anyway." He grinned. "They’re both pregnant."
"No shit!" Evan exclaimed.
"Yup. It’s Sheila and Brendan’s second, they have a little boy, he’s three. But Kris and Tom have been trying for some time, this is their first. They’re thrilled."
"I’ll bet," Evan laughed.
"Well, that kid’s at least going to be born into a normal family," Ilona teased.
"Oh, you love it and you know it," Evan teased back.
"Sure I do," Ilona volleyed. "Two fathers and two mothers telling me what to do!"
"Nobody tells you what to do," Evan returned. "Though I must admit, it’s an interesting situation."
"How exactly has it worked?" Warren asked.
"Well, the house is huge. Ilona has her own bedroom. Courtney’s two kids are sharing a bedroom, but that’s going to change. Shawna’s son has a bedroom. Matt and I share a bedroom, as do Shawna and Courtney, and then there’s an extra. Courtney and Matt sometimes use that, but we’re going to give it to the baby."
"So, who sleeps with who?" Sophia teased.
"Well, Matt sleeps with me and Courtney sleeps with Shawna. Except when Courtney’s sleeping with Matt, which generally happens once or twice a week. Sometimes Shawna and I sleep together," he grinned. "Actually, we generally do sleep together-and by that I mean sleep, and cuddle-if Matt and Courtney are together. And we’re just bi enough that we sometimes have sex-she’s the only woman I’d ever be comfortable doing that with, but we do it occasionally. It’s worked out amazingly well. Shawna and I got lucky. Having a relationship with a bi person can be difficult, especially for this long. It’s 15 years for the two of them, 9 for Matt and I. But Matt and Courtney have someone to scratch the hetero itch with, and they do genuinely love each other. And you know how I feel about Shawna. "
"And it’s worked for making babies," Warren grinned.
"Yes. Shawna’s son is mine, you guys know that. Both of Courtney’s are Matt’s. Shawna and I are happy with the one. Courtney and Matt may have another. And then there’s this one," he said, pointing at Ilona.
"The black sheep," Ilona laughed.
"The scourge of my existence," Evan joked, but it was plainly a joke. The affection between the two of them was palpable. "Still trying to figure out where she came from."
"Romania," Ilona deadpanned. "He doesn’t understand me," she told Sophia and Warren. "Of course, in that house, who would? The babies are still too young, but, outside of them, I’m the straightest person in that whole place. All these bisexual and gay parents-and I’m as hetero as it gets."
"The boys are already gathering," Evan laughed.
"Already? They’ve been gathering since I was eleven. I’m damn near irresistible," Ilona joked.
"Yeah, yeah," Evan laughed. "Now, you guys, you have the four, right?"
"Right. Betsy is 17, Alicia will be 14 in November, Curt is 10, and Isabelle is 8," Warren said.
"I was so happy when the Red Sox acquired Curt Schilling, I didn’t have to name a son Nomar," Sophia laughed.
"And are they-well, the two oldest anyway-definitely your kids?" Evan asked, grinning.
"Are they ever," Sophia laughed. "Betsy’s very sexually active. Has been for a while. She has a boyfriend now, for the last six months. He’s here, somewhere, we brought him with us. Prior to that, it was a different one every three weeks."
"Sounds like my kind of girl," Ilona interjected.
"Shaddap," Evan laughed.
Sophia laughed, then went on. "Anyway, Betsy’s very careful and smart, but it was a wee bit worrisome. She had no problem with sex, but even she worried if she were capable of falling in love. This one-Aidan-turned out to be different, so she’s very happy."
"Especially since the poor girl had Everlasting Love staring her in the face every day, and from her younger sister," Warren said.
"Alicia?" Evan asked.
"Yup," Warren confirmed. "You’ve met Ryan and Jessie’s oldest, Seamus, right? Seamus and Alicia have been joined at the hip since they were toddlers. You ask them when they started going out, and they’ll tell you, ‘Oh, when we were two.’ It’s not really an exaggeration."
"I think they first kissed when they were, like, seven," Sophia said. "I know they were doing naked fondling at eleven. And, last year, two months before her thirteenth birthday, Alicia marched up to Warren and me and said, ‘Seamus is taking my virginity on my birthday. Birth control pills, please?’ And that was that."
"They spend weekends in one of our houses," Warren said, "together. We make them separate on school nights, but they’re together on the weekend."
"That’s amazing," Ilona said.
"Yep," Warren agreed. "They’re practically married, and they’re 14 and 13 at the moment. It’s really quite cool. And they absolutely don’t have eyes for anyone else-and I doubt they ever will."
They met up again a few days later, in a break between events at the Olympic pool.
"So, how’s the practice?" Evan asked Warren
"Good. Like I said, we’re looking for a fourth, but we have some applicants. Maybe even a fifth. Of course, Jessie runs the place with an iron fist. You’d think she was the dictator and not just our head nurse. Sheila calls her Nurse Rached-which she likes, being Jessie and all." They all cracked up at that. "Like I said, though, it’s time to expand. I might do less of the day-to-day stuff and concentrate on this kind of thing. And spend more time relaxing."
"Less money, though, if you’re not billing," Evan said.
"Who needs it?" Warren laughed. "I actually never have to work another day in my life if I don’t want to."
"Still living off Sophie’s endorsement money from fifteen years ago?"
"Hardly," Sophia laughed. "That got us through Warren’s med school and residency. No, it’s an investment Warren made. Have you ever heard of Brenilaur Software?"
"Of course, they’re the number one games software in the country. You’re invested in Brenilaur?"
"At the ground floor, almost ten years ago, when the stock was peanuts, and before it split a gazillion times," Warren told him.
Evan whistled. "How did you manage that?"
"The ‘Bren’ in Brenilaur is Sheila’s husband, Brendan. The ‘Laur’ is my sister-in-law Laurel, my brother Ryan’s wife."
"Oh!"
"Yeah, the two computer geniuses," Sophia laughed.
"I knew they were going to make it, so I got in. It’s been very lucrative."
"No shit," Evan laughed. "And what’s Ryan doing?"
"He’s actually the chief financial officer of Brenilaur. He did the NBA for a few years but that didn’t work out, so he got his MBA."
"He and Laurel have three kids of their own now," Sophia told him.
"And the rink is still going well?" Evan asked.
"You bet. Ryan Killen’s running the place now. Amy’s the chief dance coach. Tom and Allison work with the singles skaters," Sophia told him. "We don’t, unfortunately, have much of a pairs program."
"We have a great choreographer, though," Warren said, smiling at Sophie. "Of course, now Amy’s pregnant with her second."
"Eric’s a programmer at Brenilaur," Sophie said. "That’s my brother, Amy’s husband. He’s a programming genius. They have a two-year-old girl."
"And your stepsister Kate? She just had a big showing, didn’t she?"
"Yep, at a big gallery in Manhattan. Her paintings are selling well. She and Chad have two kids. Chad’s with the Patriots now, as of two years ago," Sophia said. "That’s good, I missed Kate when they were living in Green Bay and then Cleveland. Chad figures he’s got a couple of years left."
"Yeah, we miss Crash and Liz. They still live in California, so we only see them occasionally," Warren added. "They have two kids and we’ve only met them, like, three times."
"Well, you see Liz on TV all the time," Evan laughed.
"True enough," Warren agreed. "The new Peggy Fleming up in the commentator’s booth. She loves doing it, too."
"Got to put those two gold medals to good use," Evan laughed.
"Yup. Especially since the second one was such a close thing," Sophia said.
"It sure was," Evan remembered. "Of course, Alison got hers, four years later."
"How’s the rink out in Detroit?" Sophia asked.
"You should know, we’ve had a dance team win Nationals the past three years. Two different teams. Beating out all of yours," Evan teased.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Shawna and Courtney do a good job. We’d like to get more in the way of disciplines other than Dance, but the dance program is so strong, that sustains us."
They all met up again on the last day of swimming. Evan had invited them all to watch the end of the meet from the USOC president’s box. Even Betsy was there, having finished her events the day before.
"So, what’s that, three golds, a silver, and a bronze?" Evan asked her.
"Yep," Betsy said happily. "Golds in the two 400 meter events and the relay, silver in the 200 free, and bronze in the 200 fly. I choked in the 200 IM."
"Hey, you can’t win them all," Warren teased her.
"Right. I just wanted to win two. You know, one more than my parents," she laughed.
"Of course," Evan agreed, while Sophia just smirked at her. "So, you going to try to stay in for another four years?"
"I think so," Betsy said. "We’ll have to see. Right now, college is the big thing. I’m going to be a senior, so I have to start thinking about colleges. And that’s a problem-because I’m not sure I want to go too far away, and there aren’t a lot of high-level collegiate swimming programs in New England, so I’m torn."
"Her Aunt Sheila is, of course, pushing Stanford," Warren joked.
"Like you wouldn’t believe," Betsy laughed. "But California’s so far away."
"Is the boyfriend a factor in your decision?" Evan grinned, pointing at Aidan, who was chatting with Warren.
"Not really. Aidan can go anywhere. We think we want to go together, but Aidan gets good grades, and he wants to major in accounting, which you can do most anywhere."
"We keep telling her that Wisconsin has a competitive swimming program for a northern school," Sophia joked.
"Yeah, yeah," Betsy laughed. "Actually, I’m looking into Maryland. They’re not Stanford, but they have a decent swimming program and it’s not too far away."
They watched the swimming for a while after that. After the women’s 50 meter freestyle, a Dutch swimmer came out of the water, clearly in pain from cramping of some sort. She collapsed on the pool deck.
"I think duty calls," Warren said with a chuckle, and made his way down to the pool deck.
"He loves being useful," Sophia laughed. "He jokes about retiring, but he’d never be able to do it completely. Hell, some of the Red Sox and Bruins use him as a doctor-he gets all jazzed about that. He’d never be able to give it up completely."
"At least he isn’t in a specialty that requires him to work all hours," Evan pointed out.
"Yes, that’s a fringe benefit. He’s home most of the time at night and on weekends. He loves being a Dad, so he likes to be home with the kids as much as possible."
"And he loves you," Evan teased.
"Yes, he does," Sophia agreed with a smile. "And I love him. It’s a great life. It really is."