Ice Cold

𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥

Hearing Carla speak, I tilt my head in her direction, away from my group. I was surprised that Jay had the nerve to talk to me after ghosting me after our date. I was practically fuming all day. However, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me upset. So, when he joined my group, I plastered a smile on my face and acted like nothing happened. I laughed at his jokes, played along with his flirtatious comments and ignored him looking at my ass. I don't understand how he was so nice when I first spoke to him, and now he is a jackass- I suppose he can't hide behind a fake persona forever. 

"A competition, huh?"

One of the boys in my group speaks to the other, nudging him. I think their names are Jackson and James. I don't know James at all, but he seems to me like just another asshole, who laughs and joins in with teasing whenever he can. Jackson is like him, but I can tell he respects me more. He listens when I talk, and he was definitely the one who learned the most during our session.

I see Lou beckoning me over, and I smile, skating away from my group to join her. By the time I'm at her side, the rest of the figure skaters have followed suit. Soon, we're all gathered together again. The boys gather on the opposite side of the ice, which reminds me of early this morning. When I catch Blake's eye, he's already looking at me, and I wonder if he's thinking the same. 

"You'll never guess what I've just heard!"

The girl beside me looks brimming with excitement, and I tilt my head, curious. Her name is Portia- she's pretty, blue-eyed and blonde with legs for days. She's really tall for a skater, which she often complains is why she 'never gets guys'. The rest of us all look to her, and she continues.

"The boys in my group were saying that Blake has banned them from dating figure skaters. Can you believe that?"

"No way!"

"Seriously?"

"But- he can't!"

They all speak at once, Lou included. I feel sorry for the poor girl, knowing instantly that she's thinking of Cam. Well, I suppose it's her karma for waiting so long to tell him how she feels- now,  it's too late. She's spent years bouncing from boy to girl, always with a reason as to why she can't continue dating them. I think it's because she hopes she'll be single so Cam asks her out. On that matter, I look over towards Jay, who is joking around with James. 

"How long has this ban been a thing?"

I question, and Lou looks over to me. I can tell she knows what I'm thinking as Portia shrugs. 

"Dunno, like, a day?"

I nod and fall silent. This explains exactly why Jay ghosted me today- because Blake has disallowed dating skaters. The timing is impeccable- I mean, the fact that he put the ban in place right after my date with Jay makes it seem as though...no, don't be stupid April. Blake Beckett wouldn't put a ban on skaters because of me- it's absurd. Thankfully, Carla begins her explanation of the competition, allowing me a moment to breathe. 

"So! We'll do it like this- we need six representatives from the boys, and all my girls. We want to make this as fair as possible, so you'll all be trying out something you've never done before. Boys, who will be representing you?"

They all look each other, then pack into a circle. We roll our eyes, watching as they chatter and discuss for a good minute, pointing at one another as though this is a life-altering decision. In all fairness, beating the boys will mean that, figuratively, figure skaters are better than hockey players. If they win, it will be vice versa, and we'll never hear the end of it. Eventually, the boys split up again after an impatient prompt from their Coach, and six of them step forward. Blake leads them, unsurprisingly. And there they are- Blake, Jackson, Lucas, Tyler, Jay and another boy called Charlie, who I suspect they selected because he's one of their fastest players. Lorri now stands beside Carla, and he speaks, looking much too pleased with himself for his own good. 

"And now, if I could have..Lou beside Jackson, Portia with Lucas, April with Blake, Anna with Tyler, Maddie with Charlie and Florence with Jay."

None of us move, because we all hate what we think is coming. 

"Now, please!"

Reluctantly, we skate forward, and I place myself beside Blake, who doesn't look at me once- he just stares straight ahead at Lorri. I blink, though look at Lorri too, wanting him to hurry up and tell us what we're doing. The rest of the boys not with us have planted themselves down onto the ice, watching. 

"This is not a competition of hockey versus figure..this is a competition of pair against pair. You and your partner will freestyle a two-minute pairs performance, and the boys here, alongside Coach, Carla and myself, will decide our winners. And, to make sure you all try..our winners will receive a month of free ice time."

My mouth falls open. A month of free ice time is worth a solid $150, which is about how much my paycheck is a month. I wouldn't have to spend all of my paycheck on skating, for once! By the looks on everyone else's faces, I can tell we're all thinking similarly- we could all do with that ice time. When I glance up at Blake, he's frowning, and I realise that Lorri has just made quite a large sacrifice- $150 could fix one of the patches in the ceiling, or replace three pairs of rent skates for the public sessions. I suppose the game tomorrow is giving him more money than he anticipated, because he doesn't look stressed about this endeavour at all. He's grinning.

"We'll go in the order I sorted you into place..so, we'll have Lou and Jackson first. Carla will put your music on. The rest of you may stand aside."

We all do as we are told, and skate across to lean against the walls. Blake remains beside me, and I briefly catch the scent of his cologne. It smells expensive, and it's almost nice. He catches me looking at him and smirks, so I frown and look to Lou and Jackson, who have arranged themselves in the centre of the ice. Neither look comfortable- Jackson's hand rests a bit too far up her torso, and Lou doesn't look happy to be touching his shoulders. I can't help but grin, before realising that, in a short space of time, this will be me. I grimace, then become distracted as the music starts.

Here we go.