Page 68 of Jesse and the Ice Princess
"And you never have to." Her mom winked—an honest to God wink.
Charlotte laughed. "Seriously, who are you?" She shook her head and stood. Unzipping her sweatshirt, she handed it to her mom, leaving her in a beautiful flowing blue skating dress made of spandex with a silver rhinestone neckline.
She walked forward and put a hand on the half wall, sucking in a breath before stepping out onto the ice. An announcer's voice introduced her to the crowd.
This was it. The competition all the others had led to, the one she'd been training for all year. Every early morning at the rink, every afternoon after school spent running by herself. The diets, the blisters, the lack of any sort of social life.
It all led to now, to this moment.
She reached center ice and tried to tune out the sounds of the crowd. She’s always prided herself on her lack of nerves. Charlotte Morrison was known for performing a clean program every time.
But now?
Now she wanted to throw up.
Releasing a shaky breath, she took up her first position as she had a thousand times before.
Her music started slow and lyrical, allowing the skating to build on itself. The beginning of her routine was simple. She used it to give herself confidence for the more complicated jumps.
As the music sped up, growing louder, she prepared for her first jump, a double axel-toe loop combination.
Voices broke through her concentration.
I will always believe in you.
If you could play with us, would you?
She jumped, hugging her arms close to her body as she spun and came down for a landing. Her knee buckled as she came down on the wrong edge, sending her pitching forward.
Time stilled, and all she could hear was the beating of her own heart. It felt like she was down for an eternity as she looked to the crowd, wanting some way out. She hadn't fallen in a competition in years. Her pulse thundered in her ears as she found her mom's face near the half-wall cheering her on. Her eyes slid to the side, catching sight of the boy standing beside her.
Jesse's eyes bore into hers, willing her to get to her feet. She didn't know what he was doing here, but at that moment, she didn't care. He'd come.
For her, he'd come.
All her doubts faded away, and she got up, only missing a beat before launching into her next footwork sequence, punctuating her spins with more energy than she'd had in the short program.
She went through the program as if she'd been made for it, landing her triple jump combination with ease.
As she finished her swizzle sequence, she readied herself for her final jump, throwing herself higher than she had before and landing with a firm leg, her chest heaving.
The crowd cheered.
It didn't matter to her that she had no chance of placing after that fall. Not when people who cared about her were there to cheer her on.
As she came to a stop back at center ice, she lifted a hand to the crowd, a grin stretched across her face. It wouldn't be enough for the judges, but it was enough for her.
Her mom waited at the swinging door and handed her a pair of skate guards. Charlotte put them on seconds before strong arms engulfed her, lifting her off her feet. "That was amazing!" Jesse spun her, attracting more than a few onlookers.
When he set her down, she looked from her mom to Jesse. "What about the game? How are you here?"
"Well, I'm here because Hadley brought me." He pointed to where her best friend watched them. "As for the game... we couldn't play without you."
She stepped away from him. "Jesse Carrigan, don't you dare tell me you forfeited the most important game of the season."
"Oh, it's worse than that." Her dad stepped up behind her.
She turned, shocked to see him there. "Dad? What's going on?"
