Page 147 of Oh, Flutz!

“I’m too impatient for this,” Juliet blurts, jumping out of the way and spinning the chair around.

“Surprise?” I say, smiling.

His jaw drops, eyes popping out of his head. “You’re…”

“Gorgeous?” Juliet offers, and Nina chimes in with, “Beautiful? Insanely hot?”

“Blonde,”Bryan says, dumbstruck, making me giggle.

“It was about time for a change,” I reply. Understatement of the century.

“You let them dye your hair?” he asks me in disbelief. “You, the biggest control freak I’ve ever met?”

“Juliet’s trained,” I say defensively. “She showed me the license.”

“I had a lot of free time after I retired,” Juliet says with a laugh.

“Juliet Uma Campbell, assistant coach, ex-Olympic ice dancer and hairstylist extraordinaire,” Nina says, waggling her brows.

Bryan throws his hands up. “Consider me proven wrong.”

“To be fair, I was worried it’d turn out slightly green like it did the time you did mine,” Nina admits, and Juliet groans.

“It was one time!”

“Yeah, and it wasnottemporary!”

“It turned out fine, didn’t it?” Juliet points out, and I grin.

“Yes. Yes, it did. Thank you.”

She smiles back. “Anytime.”

CSN SPORTS LIVE COVERAGE: PAIRS FREE SKATE

U.S. NATIONALS—GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

TAYLOR DAVIS:Here we are at the National Championships, and so are our newbies, if it’s possible to call them that. On camera warming up right now are Ekaterina Andreyeva and Bryan Young.

NAOMIANDERSEN: They’ve had a phenomenal run this season; they only just started skating together and they’ve got three Prix medals under their belt and are coming into their first nationals with a pretty high chance of winning.

MARISSA CAPE:It’s clear that they’re one of the biggest reasons why attendance numbers have skyrocketed this year for this event. These last few years, the stands have been half-empty, but people are really excited to see this team compete.

TAYLOR:AFSC made a smart move putting them in the spotlight, that’s for sure. They’ve had enough drama to pull figure skating back into the national consciousness.

MARISSA:It’s like the nineties all over again. We never thought this would happen.

NAOMI:That’s exactly right. And it seems we’ve got Andreyeva and Young to thank.

TAYLOR:Well, we’ll see after they skate, Naomi. For now, we’re looking at two very talented skaters, who may or may not take home a gold medal tonight at their first Nationals appearance. There’s only two pairs spots on the U.S. Olympic team, though. A lot’s on the line—let’s see if these two will crack under pressure.

Chapter Fifty-Two

BRYAN

The opening chords of“Hallelujah” sound over the speakers.

Jeff Buckley’s heavy sigh fades into otherworldly guitar reverb, each string reverberating in the vastness of the arena. The step sequence, the opening element—quad twist—letting everything go away. Skates scraping against the ice.

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