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FIVE

KYLE

AS IF I wasn’t nervous enough, the pushing and shoving backstage didn’t help. I don’t know what happened with Layne, but trying to keep a hockey player from going off on somebody is never easy—even more difficult when you’re not supposed to mess up how you look.

Just one more thing in a surreal day where I skated my ass off in an arena full of people and a nationwide TV audience. The whole event shot by, and I had a blast. A couple of hours later, I couldn’t contain my giddiness. Yes, I lost. But I had no more speed to give, so I had nothing to regret.

Mom had hugged me so hard when I caught up with her and Bobby afterward. She didn’t even let Bobby mess with me about just barely losing.

Thank God this event was sold out. Mom had tried to get Bobby to bring her along as they were leaving. I couldn’t handle Mom watching—it’d be too weird.

Since Layne dropped out after the altercation, I ended up going on sooner—only by five minutes, but it still amped my anxiety about a million times higher. The speed of my heart confirmed that.

The place looked jammed to capacity as I walked out. At least on the stage I didn’t have the press of the crowd against me. We should’ve rehearsed with the frenzy of the cheering people and super loud music. It was all much closer in this small space than in a large arena.

After brunch, I’d snagged Bobby and Sebastian to figure out my walk. They’d agreed I should think James Bond suave with a wide smile and as much warmth as I could muster. Thankfully, Sebastian explained that the Pressgrove brothers’ smiles could win over anyone. He went on to do a couple of walks that looked good on him and then I’d tried.

Bobby had snickered, but at least they’d given me something I didn’t feel too self-conscious about doing. It’d been a major relief they decided I didn’t have to groove in any way.

I second guessed everything as I waited in the wings.

“And here we have Kyle Pressgrove from the Detroit Arsenal.” The emcee, Booker Blake, gave me my cue. G gave me one last bit of encouragement from our place backstage.

I strode to the middle of the stage, turned to the crowd, held it for a moment, and then put my James Bond strut or swagger—Bobby and Seb couldn’t decide what to call it—to work to travel the catwalk. Booker kept talking. I tried not to focus too much on what he said in case he said something embarrassing.

“You know this guy’s got good stamina because he’s here and smiling after nearly winning the fastest skater competition. It means he’ll be an energetic date.”

And then I paid too much attention. Heat rose in my cheeks—the last thing I needed.

I turned twice, slowly, trying to make eye contact with some of the guys as I did. Bobby said the more I connected, the better the bids. I unbuttoned my jacket, dropped my hands to my sides, and hoped I had the look Bobby wanted. I couldn’t find him to get any sign.

“We’ll start the bidding at the minimum one hundred dollars. Who wants a date with this power forward?”

Someone make him stop.

Several paddles went up, and I tried to not look too shocked. I worried about getting one, but this many ratcheted my embarrassment further. A bright red face was not a winning trait.

“Come on, Kyle, move around. Let everybody see what they’re bidding on,” Booker chided me.

I’d planned to stay right at the end of the walkway, focusing on some of the guys as they bid. I wish I’d paid attention to what other people had done.

I moved though because I didn’t want to give Booker the opportunity to pick on me. The guy had been an amazing player but his tendency for biting remarks and trash talk was legendary.

There were people pressed against the catwalk, some holding hands up, and I shook a few, fist bumped others.

“Who wants to go to two hundred?”

Were there even more paddles this time? I wasn’t sure.

“Let’s go three hundred.”

Slightly fewer went up.

Good. The sooner we got down to one, the sooner I’d be allowed to leave the stage.

“How about four?”

That whittled it down to five. I finally found Bobby and Seb, sitting along the wall, and I got a thumbs up. That relaxed me a bit.