Page 52 of Ice Me Baby

I add in a few spirals that feel right in the moment and point to the others as the chorus begins. The vibration and emotion in the lyrics fill the room as I spin. As the beat drops at the end of the chorus, I go into a low back spin.

I lunge out of the spin before lowering both knees to the ice, just as the second verse starts. I lower my back as my hair slides across the ice. My fingers gliding across the smooth surface before I rise. I kick out my right leg to spin and rise from theposition. I pick up speed as I do a spread eagle, then end on a camel spin. Bringing my leg back in, I do another scratch spin before stabbing my toe pick into the ice to lift one arm toward the stands as the song draws to the end.

When the song ends, I find myself looking at Mac and Dean. My breaths are more like heavy pants as I stare at the guys, unable to take my eyes off them. Their expressions vary but most have wide eyes, filled with a mix of shock and awe. Dean’s eyes appear have a sheen to them.

A sudden roar of applause makes me jump. I finally break eye contact to look around at everyone else. Vic and Taz are jumping up and down like little kids while whistling. I can’t stop the laugh that bubbles up as I give them a bow. My hands come together in prayer position as I bring them to my lips. It’s been so long since I had this type of attention, and I feel my eyes burn. I’m not sure if it’s from excitement or the longing to be seen by others I feel as I skate. It could be both.

I skate over to where you enter and exit the ice, and before I can step off, I’m swung up into Vicy’s arms. I squeal as I do my best to keep my legs from flying, so my skates don’t hurt anyone. He gives me a tight hug before releasing me. “That was amazing!”

My cheeks heat. “Thank you.”

Taz throws an arm around my shoulders and tugs me in for a hug. “Absolutely breathtaking.”

My smile widens. “Thanks.”

Each of the guys give me a hug and tell me how amazing I looked on the ice. Dean and Mac are last, both greeting me with wide grins.

Mac leans forward and presses a soft kiss to my forehead. “You are beautiful on the ice, Lizzy.”

My cheeks brighten as I shrug off the praise. “I didn’t do any impressive jumps.”

Before Mac has a chance to reply, Dean softly nudges me and rolls his eyes. “You don’t have to do impressive jumps to be beautiful on the ice, Ice Princess.”

Their words make me giddy, but I try to hide it by giving them a dramatic eye roll. “If you say so. Are you guys going to wait for me to change?”

They nod, and Dean points to the others. “We’re planning to head back and chill at the common house for a bit.”

I nod as I slide my blade covers on and make my way to the locker room. “I shouldn’t be long.” They nod as I leave to change.

The moment I step into locker, someone snatches me from the doorway. I scream before it’s muffled by a cloth is placed over my mouth and nose. In my panic, I take a deep breath, but my mind becomes hazy.

I hear a warped voice coming from somewhere behind me say, “Not too much. Don’t want you out too long. Just long enough, so you won’t fight me.”

The last thought I have before the haze completely fills my mind is that my stalker must have found me.I’d grown too comfortable and blind with the safety the guys provided. I should have been paying more attention, now that I have my own place again.Please... please, find me.

Dean ‘Lewi’ Lewis

Liz is taking longer than normal to change. I scan the rink to see if maybe we missed her coming out of the locker room, but I don’t see her anywhere. A blood-curdling scream echoes around the rink, and my blood turns to ice. Mac, and I exchange a look, his eyes filled with just as much panic as mine.

“Liz,” he grunts before taking off for the locker room.

Suddenly, the rink’s sound system is filled with a distorted voice repeating, “Mine. Mine. Mine.”

“Fuck!” I shout, looking at the others. “Search the entire building. Liz’s stalker must have come back.”

Their eyes, wide with worry, meet mine before everyone takes off running. I hear them scream her name as Mac and I race to the locker room. We slam through the door, looking around. The lights in the room are off, which makes no sense. After we’ve searched every inch of the room, we are forced to accept that she’s nowhere to be found.

“How the fuck did they take her without us seeing?” Mac asks with a deep growl.

I have no fucking idea. This rink isn’t as big as the hockey one, but it isn’t exactly small either. There are so many places she could be hidden. What if she isn’t even in the rink anymore? Panic builds in my chest as I pull out my phone with shaky hands.

“What are you doing?”

I don’t answer as I pull up Liz’s number and press call. When she went to change, I’d handed her phone. Holding my cell up to my ear, I frantically look around, waiting for it to start ringing.

I hear the faintest sound of Ghosts by Nathan Wagner, and I rush out of the locker room, pausing to figure which direction I need to go. Running to the right, I hear the song getting louder in the direction of the storage closets.

Loud footsteps sound behind me, and I look over my shoulder to see Mac trailing after me. I focus back on my mission, pressing the call button again when it goes to voicemail. I slow when we step into the hallway, listening to find where the music is coming from.

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