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"That's okay, you don't have to do that." I can't help it but there's a part of me that wants to get as far away from him as I can.
"I know I don't but I want to."
Leo and I walk back through the bar until we're stepping out onto the sidewalk out front. He falls in step beside me, his legs moving slower than normal so he's not walking ahead of me. With our height difference, his stride is naturally longer than mine. The silence stretches between us and I'm afraid to speak a single word to him, as I don't know what the hell I'll say. I can't let Leo in—I can't let him in because I know he'll never stay.
It's a short walk back to the parking lot and I walk over to my car. "This is me," I tell him with a smile as I look back at him. "Thanks for tonight, even though you did interrupt my dinner with Griffin."
"I'll never apologize for that, Aria," he tells me, his voice hoarse. His eyes burn holes through mine. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."
"See you then," I tell him, my words coming out in a rush as I unlock my door and climb inside. Leo takes a few steps back as I turn on the engine. He stays where he is, watching me as I back my car out of the parking spot. My eyes meet his as I push down on the brakes and put my car in drive.
His expression is unreadable as he tucks his hands in the front pockets of his pants, his gaze never leaving mine. His lips part, almost like he wants to say something to me, but I can't hear him. I ease my foot off the brake pedal and push down on the gas pedal before pulling away. As I head out onto the empty street, I glance in my rearview mirror and see Leo as he begins to walk down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. There's an unsettled feeling inside of me as I drive away from him. I know I'll see him in the morning, but I can't quite dissect these emotions that are rippling through my body.
Leo Wells will always be the greatest mystery in my life.
I just hope one day I'll be able to figure him out.
CHAPTER SEVEN
LEO
Aria and I are both silent as we go through our routine again. It's the twelfth time we've gone through it and for some reason, we can't get it right. It's not a technical issue, but more of a unison issue. Our timing is off when we break apart. Something is just off between us right now, and I can't quite put my finger on what the issue is. The tension hanging in the air is so damn thick you couldn't even cut it with a knife. A chainsaw would be the most appropriate tool to cut through the thickness right now.
As we skate around the end of the rink again, Aria glances over her shoulder as I grab her hips. She gets into position and I lower my knees as I hurl her up into the air. She spins three times before she begins to drop down toward the ice. Aria lands the jump perfectly and instantly begins to skate without missing a beat. I lose an edge and stumble as I skate after her. It throws off the entire routine and I'm a few fractions of a second behind her as we both begin to spin in spirals.
Aria comes out of her spiral before me and I see her from the corner of my eye as I begin to slow down. She isn't moving and instead, she's standing there staring at me as I come out of my spin. My chest heaves as I suck in a mouthful of oxygen and stop skating. Disappointment is written across her face and she purses her lips slightly.
"What's wrong?" I ask her breathlessly. I already know the answer, but I want to hear what she has to say about it.
She lets out an exasperated sigh. "You tell me. Why are we off right now?"
I shrug because I genuinely don't have the answer to that question. We hadn't been skating together for long but this was the first time either of us had experienced this disconnect together. So far every time we had skated, it was nothing short of perfection. I don't know if there's some kind of pressure that is hidden beneath everything. We both know we have to perform at an elite level. "I don't know," I tell her honestly. "Maybe it's just an off day. Our timing isn't right."
"We can't have off days." There's nothing playful in her voice. Aria's spine is rigid and her jaw is set. It almost takes me by surprise with how she's acting. I know how she's feeling right now, but we're not in a competition. Mistakes will be made and that's okay. She's clearly under a lot of stress, but we both are.
I tilt my head to the side as I let my arms hang loosely at my sides. "Aria, it's okay. Everyone has days where they are off a little bit. We're still new in the process of skating together, so I think this is normal. We will get it right."
"We have to," she says with irritation in her tone. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before she opens them again. Her shoulders fall as she exhales and looks back at me with a softer expression. "I'm sorry. I'm stressed, I'm anxious. We have less than two weeks now to perfect this if we want to have a chance at winning. We just have to get this right by then and we cannot fuck it up at the competition."
"I promise you, the competition will be fine. Everything will work out and we will do great, okay?"
She shakes her head at me, like she's refusing to believe the words I'm speaking to her. "You don't get it, Leo. It has to be perfect. We have to be perfect."
There it is.
She's a perfectionist. I didn't realize the extent of it until now. I always used to notice how much time she spent on the ice practicing the same things over and over again. I thought it was just because she liked to win and she wanted to be the best at what she was doing. I didn't know it had to do with her having to have everything perfect.
"Things aren't always perfect, Aria. They don't always have to be."
Her eyes widen slightly and she stares at me like I have three heads. She swiftly shakes her own head as she uncomfortably shifts her weight on her feet. "It's better if they are."
"Let's take a break?" I suggest as I motion toward the door. This isn't good for either of us right now. A break would be better, mentally and physically. That way we can almost do a bit of a reset before we get back on the ice. "We have unlimited ice time to practice, so it isn't going to hurt us if we just take a little bit of time to collect ourselves."
"I don't need to take a break."
I stare at her, the muscle in my jaw twitching. She's incredibly stubborn and her perfectionism isn't helping in this moment. "Forget I asked you then. We are taking a break, Aria. It's not up for debate."
A worried look passes through her expression. "We need to use this time sensibly. If we're not on the ice practicing every second that we can, what are we even doing this for?"
