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I wasn't as fortunate as the other kids. My parents were separated and both worked, so sometimes it was hard for me to get to the rink on time. One night, I ended up being late to practice. Our coach said I had to sit out and watch everyone else as I did off-ice exercises. It was brutal and also humiliating.
Leo told me he needed my help with something after everyone was finished. He was working at the rink at the time, running the Zamboni and working at the front desk. He was supposed to close up after practice was over, but he didn't.
He waited until everyone was gone and locked the door with both of us inside. He told me that I could skate as long as I wanted to. Free ice time was next to impossible to come by and considering the fact that I had missed the entirety of practice, I was not going to pass up the opportunity to skate.
What I wasn't expecting was for him to ask me to skate with him. We had never done that before, we didn't have a routine. We made it up as we went… and I never had a moment skating with someone like that again. We were in perfect harmony together, absolutely flawless. He whispered sweet words of how he never wanted to skate with anyone but me.
Leo went back to pretending I didn't exist after that, like he never said those words, and I started dating his rival, who I ended up partnering with for a few years. Things couldn't have gone any further south between Leo and I. For whatever reason, I hung on to that memory of us together that night. It meant something to me.
"We've never skated together before." He narrows his eyes on mine. "There's no way you can be sure we will win together."
Hearing those words cuts deep. He has to remember or else I've been holding on to nothing. It was a pivotal moment in my life. He extended a kindness that no one else would understand. "Yes, we did."
Leo looks at me—really looks at me—and the rug is pulled out from under my feet as he smiles. "Are you talking about that time in high school?" He pauses, shaking his head. "Aria, that wasn't anything choreographed. We were just messing around on the ice. There's no guarantee it would be the same now. You know there has to be chemistry, there has to be emotion woven into the performance."
He's doing this on purpose, either because he doesn't want to skate together or he doesn't want to admit the truth. We do have chemistry. We've always had chemistry. There has always been a magnetic pull between us. Or that's what I thought. After the past few months of silence, I wasn't so sure. Perhaps I'm delusional. Perhaps there never was anything there.
"You're right," I agree, nodding as I take a step away from him. "It's fine. I'm sure we will both be able to find someone else."
He stares at me, the smile falling from his face as he sets his lips in a straight line. "You don't like me, Aria. Why are you acting like this?"
"Because I like to win, Leo. I don't have to like you to skate with you. I just want to win and you might be my best shot at it."
It's the truth. He's an emotionally unavailable, avoidant man. He's not the type of person I would ever want to get involved with. Leo Wells is too much work for me. I need a partner that will help me win. I need someone that will help me stay at the top. He's the one, but if he doesn't want it, I can't force him.
"That's all you've ever cared about."
I recoil a bit at the harshness of his tone. My spine straightens and I push my shoulders back. "If you're not winning, what are you doing?"
He sets his jaw as he stands as still as a statue with his gaze trained on mine. His eyes shimmer under the fluorescent lights above. Moments like this are the ones where I find myself cursing the universe for how damn good this man looks. I don't know if I would call him grumpy, but he definitely has some tendencies. "Fine."
I cock my head to the side as confusion washes over me. For a second, I'm not sure if I heard him correctly, or if I'm hallucinating. "What?"
"I said fine," he huffs, uncrossing his arms. They hang down at his sides and he carefully tucks them in the front pockets of his joggers. His face softens a bit as he stares down at me. The coldness around him defrosts a fraction. “I’ll skate with you.”
I straighten my head and lift my chin. “As my partner?”
“As in, we do a trial skate together and see if it will work or not.”
It will. I know it will, and so does he. He doesn't want to admit it, so of course he has to make it more difficult.
"So, you don't want to commit to anything without knowing it will be a good fit," I say, looking for clarification from him.
The corners of his mouth twitch. "I'm not a huge fan of commitments."
I'm not going to bring up the fact that he was committed to skating with Delaney for years. That was a different type of commitment. This is an unusual situation we’ve both found ourselves in. We have the chemistry, I just need to remind him of that electricity that crackles between us.
"You have yourself a deal."
I hold my hand out for him. His gaze drops down to my hand and he looks at it for a moment before dragging his gaze slowly up my torso. Heat creeps up my neck and spreads across my cheeks as his eyes finally find mine again. I absolutely hate the effect he has on me. He blinks twice, his breathing increasing a bit, before his warm palm slides against mine. It's a stark contrast to the cold that radiates from him.
His hand wraps around mine and he holds it firmly. "Just one skate and then we will decide what happens."
"Just one taste," he whispers, his lips brushing against my skin…
I swallow roughly. "Just one skate," I echo as I push the memory of him on his knees for me from my mind.
Leo Wells shakes my hand.
