Page 36 of Oh, Flutz!

She puts a hand up. “I’ll be back in five minutes. I need a break from this.”

Apologize, Lian mouths as she walks away.

I close my eyes.Shit.

“Look, I know whatyou think.”

I’ve found her standing in front of the water fountain, refilling the battering ram of a water bottle she’s always carrying around.

Katya seems unsurprised I’ve come to find her. She puts the water down. “You’re going to have to be more specific.”

I huff. “About…me.”

“What, that you’re a total moron?”

I remember what I was telling myself earlier, and force myself to keep cool.

“That I don’t care about this.” I wave my hands around at the rink we’re standing in. “But you’re wrong, alright? I do care. And I want to win.” I sigh deeply. “I trust Lian, and if she says she thinks we have what it takes, then I believe her. So…are you willing to work with me?”

Katya stares at me, arms crossed across her chest. She looks like she’s analyzing me, trying to figure out whether I’m being serious or not. It hits me that I probably wouldn’t trust me either, if I were in her position. Especially after what I said back there.

“Listen. I’m sure you’ve already heard all this from Lee, but I want you to hear it from me. I’ll give everything I’ve got. I might not like you,at all—”I make sure to stress that part “—but I love this sport like you wouldn’t believe, which is the only reason I’m trying to make a peace offering. But you’re going to have to promise me that you’re not gonna bail out on me before the season’s over.”

She makes a little scoffing noise, but doesn’t deny she would. I get the feeling that, she might hate my guts for no reason, and bully me mercilessly, and leave me stranded if she got something out of it, but she wouldn’t lie to me. And, at least for now, our interests are aligned.

Which is exactly what I point out. “We both want gold. I don’t know about you, but I want to stand on top of that fucking podium in Helsinki and prove to everyone that they were wrong about me.” I take a deep breath. “I want to make Taylor Davis and Chris Heffner and Gordon Brewer cry themselves to sleep.”

She bites her lip a little bit, which is how I know I’ve got her.

“I know it sounds crazy, but I think we’re both unhinged enough to actually try to get there in a year. You want to prove ‘em wrong. Right? You want them to come crawling back to you.”

Katya doesn’t say anything for a minute, fingering the ends of her ponytail. “I don’t know who Brewer or Heffner are, but Taylor Davis is a total—how do you say? Douchebag?”

I grin. “Damn right.” Then I tilt my head at her. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“It was a stupid question. You already know the answer.”

“Exactly.” I take a step closer towards her. “So…we’re in agreement.”

She lets go of her ponytail, grey eyes piercing mine as she looks up at me. “I suppose.”

I roll my eyes. “You can agree with me, it won’t kill you.”

“I can already feel my stomach churning.”

When did we get so close to each other? I can see all the red hairs that have flown out from her ponytail, the freckles peeking through the traces of unblended makeup, the strange glint in her eyes.

“Did you hear anything I just said?”

That shakes me out of my daze. “What?”

“I said, we have a deal.”

Chapter Eleven

KATYA

MARCH

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