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"Okay, but this is amazing!" Aria says excitedly, clearly choosing to ignore the way her brother only has eyes for her best friend. He's never acted on anything, though–they've only ever just been friends. "I know how badly you've wanted to move to the city. This is big. This is something we need to celebrate as soon as we get to Vancouver."
A flight attendant steps behind Brynn and Austin. "Excuse me, but the two of you need to find your seats. We need to prepare for takeoff."
"Oh yes, I am so sorry," Austin says, giving her the sweetest smile. "Buzzkill," he mumbles under his breath as he walks a few rows ahead and finds his seat.
"See you guys in Vancouver," Brynn tells us with a smile and a small wave before she heads to her seat beside Austin.
"So bizarre," I mumble as I look at Aria. "I hope they know our actual competition isn't until later in the week."
Aria shrugs and smiles. "Who knows what they're up to. It will be fun to have them along, though."
"Oh yeah, I'm sure." I laugh, rolling my eyes as the sarcasm drips from my voice. "Your brother who is a fucking menace and your best friend who is right there with him."
"They really do complement one another," she tells me with a wink as the flight attendant's voice comes through the speaker. She begins her speech, going through the different safety reminders in case of an emergency. It brings me back to reality and I buckle my belt and tilt my head back. Closing my eyes, my chest expands as I inhale as much oxygen as possible.
Have I mentioned I hate flying?
I can feel Aria's gaze on me and I slowly turn my head to the side, opening my eyes as I meet her gaze. "What?"
"You know, you can hold my hand," she says with a smirk. "I promise I won't tell anyone."
My mind drifts back to the first time we flew together, when we ended up stuck sitting next to one another. At that point, I was still convincing myself I hated her, while Aria was also doing the same. I impulsively grabbed her hand during takeoff and told her if she told anyone, I'd deny it. Neither of us ever brought it up until this very moment.
Reaching for her, I side my palm against hers and thread our fingers together. I'll never get tired of the way her soft skin feels against mine.
"Tell everyone."
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
ARIA
This is it.
This is the moment we have spent months working toward.
Leo looks over at me, his golden brown eyes flashing to mine as he gives my hand a gentle squeeze. "Are you ready?"
Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I nod. "I am. I'm ready to do this with you."
There's no one else I would rather be here with right now. No one else I would rather be sharing this moment with. The way we skate together feels like it was always meant to be. It was always meant to be us.
Leo smiles that goddamn smile that makes my body feel like it's melting before he releases my hand as they call our names over the speakers. He walks over to the break in the boards that surrounds the rink and steps out of the way, waiting for me to go first. My blades hit the ice and all the fears and anxieties cease to exist. It's like they were never even a real thought before.
Side by side, we slowly skate to the center of the rink, taking our positions beside one another. We've practiced this routine so many times, I could do it in my sleep. Leo and I have spent countless hours preparing for this. We can do this. We got this.
Leo stands behind me, his hands holding my cheeks as he presses his body against mine. His lips dip down to my ear just as the lights cut out.
"As close to perfect as possible," he murmurs before gently pressing his lips to my temple. The music begins to play, the soft melody echoing throughout the arena as Leo lifts his head away from mine. My heart pounds to its own beat inside my chest—steady and strong.
And then the lights flash on, focusing solely on Leo and I as we begin.
Our surroundings fade away and the music becomes a distant sound. I listen to the way our skates cut through the ice as we match one another, skating in perfect harmony. We find our familiar rhythm, moving effortlessly and fluid like water. Each movement is calculated and planned. We're in sync with not even a fraction of a second separating his moves from mine.
We're better than close to perfect.
We are perfect.
Leo flashes a smile at me, revealing his straight white teeth as we move around the rink together. We go through the motions, breaking out in various types of spins, skating forward and backward together. It's an act of push and pull, like there's an invisible thread tethering us together. He moves one way, I move with him. I shift the other direction and he's right there following.
