Page 41 of Side By Side

Belle looked at a framed photo on the wall of her with her mom. She had her skates slung over her shoulder and was wearing a pink-and-blue windbreaker. Her mom had her arm around her waist and was smiling wide. Belle also had a small gold medal around her neck.

“I don’t like being there just for some gimmick.”

“You’re not. Belle, it’s–” Chandler paused. “It’s not like that, okay? I know what I said, and that’s true, but I really do believe this is my best chance at making the team.”

“I don’t get why. The girl thing?”

“Mainly, yes. But also because you’re still a good skater, and I think we could have a chance at doing something cool here.”

“What about expenses?”

“Covered. Whatever you need. We’d start by getting you new skates.”

“I like my skates.”

“Yeah, they’re old and terrible.”

Belle laughed and said, “Fine. New skates. You’ll fly me there, too?”

“First class.”

“Oh, I don’t need that,” she replied. “I wouldn’t know what to do with the fourth fork from the right when they served my meal.”

Chandler laughed this time and said, “You really haven’t flown domestic first class, have you? You’re lucky if you get a bowl of pretzels these days.”

“I have to work things out with my dad, so I can’t just book a flight tonight.”

“You… You’re coming?”

“I guess I am.”

CHAPTER 12

She smacked her phone, which caused it to fall from the charging pad to the table and then from the table to the floor.

“Fuck,” Chandler muttered, wiped her hands over her face, and bent over to pick up her phone.

She quickly pressed the button on the screen, turning off the annoying sound. Then, she walked with her eyes half-closed into her bathroom, where she turned the shower on cold and stripped out of her pajamas. She both loved and hated this part of her day.

“Ah, shit!” she yelped when the freezing cold water hit her skin.

She stood there for a solid minute, rotating her body, putting her face under the water, and letting it help her wake up. Cold showers were good for the body first thing in the morning, which was the only reason she did this. After she dried off, Chandler put on her workout clothes and grabbed her phone and headphones, tucking her phone away in the pocket inside her leggings. She turned on her running playlist and jogged down the stairs, outside, and to the rink, where there was an indoor track around it.

The ice was being cleaned for her by a member of the grounds crew on the Zamboni, so she waved at him, and he waved back as she started her morning run. She did a slow jog as her warm-up before she ran the last half mile of her two miles full out. When she finished, she chugged the first full bottle of water for the day and made her way to the gym that was attached to the rink.

“Warmed up?” her trainer asked as he pulled down some resistance bands from a hook.

“Yeah,” Chandler replied. “Also, good morning.”

“Morning,” he said. “Let’s get you stretched out, and we’ll do some arm work today.”

“Okay.”

An hour later, Chandler was sitting at the long formal dining room table with Catalina at the other end like they were an old married couple who never talked anymore. Catalina was reading something on her phone. Chandler still had her headphones in and was listening to a podcast while she ate her bland but healthy breakfast. When she was done, one of the maids took her plate away, and Chandler removed her headphones.

“Okay. So, today, we’re going to work on some basics,” Cat began. “Belle’s flight doesn’t get in until around dinner, so it’s light and easy today, but I don’t want you to miss a day of training just because she couldn’t get here at a reasonable hour.”

“Her flight lands at five. How is that unreasonable?” Chandler asked and sipped her coffee.

---