Page 30 of Shining Through

“Passion, I know. I’ll be ready tomorrow. But I still have to move.”

“You should not have any problem. So what do we work on? Jumps? Your free skate?”

“No jumps,” she said, remembering Peter’s concern. Not that she believed Daniil or his coaches would intentionally sabotage her. She doubted Peter believed it either. But she would respect his wishes. “Antigone, I suppose. But maybe…”

“What?”

The idea had flashed into her brain and initially, she dismissed it out of habit. There were always more pressing things to work on. Time was short, and ice was too expensive for just goofing around. But she kept hearing his words, about indulging her senses to release her passion. This whole week was an indulgence that she hoped would rekindle what she’d lost in her skating.

Perhaps the first step was to try something new. “This may sound silly, and if it’s inconvenient, I don’t have to do it.”

“What, Tabitha? Whatever it is, it’s not silly or inconvenient, and you have to do it! Now tell me, what is this thing?”

CHAPTER TWELVE

HER CHEEKS FLUSHED PINK. WHATEVERpersuasion he’d managed with his talk about indulging the senses, seemed to have had an effect. His mind swirled with interesting possibilities, many of them X-rated. Though he shouldn’t get his hopes up. She’d admitted she had no experience with sex. But if she wanted to learn, he was happy to teach.

“Okay,” she said. “Most people don’t know this about me, but I started my career in ice dance. I haven’t ice danced for a long time. But I’d like to this week.”

“Ice dance.” He hoped he didn’t sound disappointed.

“Yes!”

Whatever Tabitha wanted, she should have. He leaned back in his chair. “Splendid. You can teach me.”

“Oh. I hadn’t really planned on that.”

He spread his hands. “You need a partner, don’t you?”

“I would if I were going to perform, which I’m not. I thought it would be fun to experiment with moves that’s all.”

“If you’re going to do it, you should do it right. Consider it an exchange. You show me what you know; I show you what I know. About passion. On the ice.”

After dinner, they walked along the harbor, back to the car. The sun had set, but there was still time for a drive along the coast. “We could drive up to Horseshoe Bay. It’s not far, about thirty miles. There’s a park that looks out over the water. I discovered it the first night I was here. I know you would like it.”

She pushed her hair back behind her ear, thinking. Then she shook her head. “Not tonight. I had a nice time though. Dinner was amazing.”

“Thank you.”

“Was the restaurant a place you discovered while you were exploring?”

He nodded.

“You’re lucky your coaches give you time to do that.”

“I give myself time. But they understand enough about what I need and don’t force me into a box. Not that I would go there.”

She laughed. “Peter is all about the box. I love him dearly, but he’s never given me much leeway to do things my way.”

“He agreed for you to come here.”

“Yes, he did.”

She sounded sad. Was she having doubts after less than a day? “Do you wish he hadn’t?”

“Not at all. But this wasn’t a good time to leave LA. My mom and sister are in the middle of moving. They insisted they didn’t need my help, but I feel guilty anyway.”

“You care a lot about them.”

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