Page 66 of Wilder

Her coaches had social media, though they hadn’t posted as frequently as Mik had. She went to theirs, but found nothing there either.

Lexi started running scenarios in her mind, but then stopped herself. It was no longer her concern what had happened. Still, she was curious if their short program might indicate what the problem was. Sometimes the commentators had information that had been passed on to them.

In the end, she couldn’t resist.

She switched to her laptop, which was sitting on her desk, and opened YouTube to the skating channel. After scrolling past all the individual videos of the programs, she found their short program.

When she’d last watched them, she had felt anger and regret, and maybe some jealousy. This time, though, as the program began, she compared it to the last one she’d watched, critiquing it just like her coaches would do if they’d had a less than stellar skate.

Lexi winced as she watched Mik throw Amberlyn into the air, but not high enough for her to get the rotations needed before he caught her. She came down too soon and at an awkward angle,sending them both crashing to the ice. From the length of time it took them to get back up, especially Amberlyn, she knew the fall had to have hurt.

When the program ended, there was no hiding their exhaustion and pain as they skated to center ice for their bows and then off the ice to the kiss and cry area.

At one time, she would have kind of felt like Mik deserved what he was enduring, but right then, she just felt badly for both of them.

Sitting back in her chair, she stared at the image frozen on the screen. She didn’t know what was going on with her coaches, because there was no way they would have let them on the ice at an elite competition with the possibility of making an error like that.

Leaning forward, Lexi reached out to close the laptop, then settled back in her chair. She crossed her legs and gazed blankly out the open door toward the rink.

Why wasn’t she feeling the intense emotions she usually felt when viewing her ex-partner/ex-fiancé skate? Oh, she still had plenty of feelings about him and how the whole situation had unfolded. But they weren’t as overwhelmingly negative as they had been in the past.

She still wished she was competing with Mik, though she wasn’t sure she’d want him back as a fiancé. He’d clearly shown that his love for her wasn’t strong enough to stick by her side in a time of crisis.

But as a skating partner? They’d truly been the perfect match.

Lexi thought of all the beautiful costumes she’d worn, now sealed and packed away in a trunk that sat at the foot of her bed.Soon she’d have another costume, but it was one she’d never have imagined wearing.

Mrs. Claus.

It was probably the least pressure she’d ever faced for a program. But at the same time, she felt an intense need for whatever she and Wilder came up with to be the best. She wanted people to enjoy it and for Wilder to be happy with it.

With that in mind, she sat forward and grabbed her phone. Opening her music app, she searched for some Christmas music. She decided rather quickly that, of course, they’d skate toHere Comes Santa Claus.

Putting the song on repeat, Lexi leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Once the rhythm of the song had gotten into her mind, she began to see ways that she and Wilder could move to it.

By the time she’d listened to the song for the tenth time, she had an idea in her mind. Picking up the phone, she went to the bench where she’d left her skates earlier and sat down to put them on. After they were laced, she hooked her phone up to the Bluetooth speaker system in the rink.

As the song played, she tried out on the ice what she’d envisioned in her head. Skating Wilder’s part, and then her own. As the song finished for the second time, Lexi smiled. This could really work. And Wilder would be happy because she found a way to incorporate the hockey stick.

She wasn’t sure when they’d be able to practice, but hopefully it would be soon. There would still be changes to the program that would come about as a result of them actually practicing it together, but that was to be expected. It was possible the final product wouldn’t look much like what she had in mind right then.

But without the complicated jumps and spins that competitive programs had, they should be able to perform what she’d mapped out without too much trouble.

It was a quiet day at the rink, with only a few people wanting to skate. None needed Lexi’s attention, so she sat in the small booth where the sound system was located. Sometimes people had requests for music, which she played for them. That was the case that day, with some Taylor Swift fans wanting her to play the singer’s latest album all the way through.

As she sat in the booth, she tapped out a message to Wilder.

I think I’ve figured out a program for us. Could you come by early tomorrow to try it out?

Tuesday was her day off, but she had no problem coming in before the rink opened to practice. This program and the fundraiser would be something she could focus a lot on over the next few weeks. She was grateful for that, because while it wouldn’t help her figure out her future, it gave her something to work towards in the present.

When her phone’s text alert sounded, Lexi looked down at the screen.

Wilder:Yep! I can do that. Have you figured out the costumes yet?

No. I thought maybe I could find something on Amazon. Or do you have another idea?

Wilder:I have no ideas for that. Amazon is probably a good place to start.

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