Page 179 of Hell Hath No Fury
THE FACEOFF
A BONUS SCENE
CALI MELLE
CHAPTER ONE
Eden
As I land the Lutz jump I’ve been working on to perfect my routine, I feel the cold air slide across my skin. A shiver moves up my spine, my flesh breaking out in goosebumps. Adrenaline courses through my body as I skate harder across the ice, counting the strides in my head to match what I’ve practiced.
I’ve been working endlessly for years in preparation for this series of performances. It’s one of the final stepping stones that gets me to my end goal. The Olympics may have seemed like a pipe dream at one point, but now it’s definitely within my grasp. I have a series of competitions coming up, all of which will lead me to the qualifying one for the Olympic team.
My skates slide effortlessly along the ice as I set myself up for my last move in the center of the rink. Spinning around, I lift my leg behind my body, my hamstrings stretching as my skate nears the back of my head. Reaching back with my hands, I grab ahold of the heel of my skate and lift my foot above my head in a Biellmann spin.
As I spin in a spiral motion, I close my eyes, a grin pulling on the corners of my lips as the cold air rushes past me. It’s a goddamn rush that borders close to an addiction. I could live off the euphoric rush I get from skating. My body begins to slow down and I release my foot as I slowly bring my skate back down to the ice.
The blade cuts through it as I continue to spin. My body slows to a stop and I bring my hands to my chest before sweeping myarms out above me as I slide one skate behind me. The music cuts off as I hang my head, my chest heaving with every breath I take.
The crowd from the arena begins to clap as I rise up and politely curtesy to each side of the stands. I can’t fight the grin that has made itself a permanent fixture on my face right now. I fucking nailed that performance and I’m pretty positive none of the other skaters are going to come close to my score.
Pushing off on one skate, I begin to move back across the ice, heading in the direction of the door that leads to where my coach is currently standing. As I lift my gaze, I look up into the stands at all of the people who came here to watch.
And as my eyes meet his, I can’t help but feel like the air was just drained from my lungs. My lips part as a ragged breath escapes me. He’s not supposed to be here, yet there he is. Watching me from where he’s standing.
I swallow roughly over the lump lodged in my throat and tear my gaze away from his.
Hayden King is nothing but trouble, which is exactly why I’ve been putting as much distance between us as possible. I’ve made a few mistakes with him, but that was all it was supposed to be. I don’t even like him, for God’s sake. He stands for everything that I don’t like in a guy.
He’s a playboy and a hockey player. That alone is enough for me to stay as far away from him as possible. I don’t get involved with anyone from the hockey team, especially when our university acts like they are gods. Everyone worships the ice they skate on because the team is our school’s greatest asset.
But I refuse to get on my knees for any man—or god.
And then there’s me. One of the figure skaters who has to share the same ice as these assholes. Yet, we don’t get the same treatment they do. We don’t create the same kind of revenue, soour skill practically goes unnoticed. We just so happen to get to use their rink when they don’t have practice.
I’m not sure why Hayden is here. He literally has no business being here right now and we don’t talk enough for him to know that I had a competition. Somehow, he found out about it and showed up uninvited. I don’t want anything to do with him or his reputation.
We’ve messed around before, but that ship had left the shore long ago.
We’re better off as just enemies.
“You did amazing out there, Eden!” Melissa, my coach beams at me as I walk over to her. She grabs my coat from the seat beside her and hands it to me as I wrap it around my shoulders. “There’s no doubt in my mind that you already won.”
“Thanks.” I smile back at her, grabbing a water bottle from my friend, Winter, who approaches us. “There’s only two skaters left, right?”
Winter nods. “Honestly, I’ve seen them skate before. Neither of them is coming close to touching your score.”
My heart soars, adrenaline still racing through my bloodstream. It’s a rush and I like winning even more than I like skating. Winter isn’t as experienced as I am, so neither of us have to worry about being in competition with each other. But even if we did, we’re good enough friends that I would root for her, regardless of if she were going to beat me.
I like winning, but not enough to sabotage the only real friendship I have.
The three of us watch the other two skaters as they go through their performances. It feels like an eternity as we wait for the announcer to finally say who came in first, second, and third. I listen as the first two names are called for third and second place and hold my breath as I wait impatiently.
Shifting my weight nervously on my skates, I close my eyes and pray to the universe that my name is called. I need this more than anything right now. And I would love to be able to skate out there to get my trophy before giving Hayden King the middle finger.
“Eden Finley!” The announcer calls out my name. Winter throws her arms up in the air, letting out a scream as Melissa wraps her arms around me. I’m almost in a daze—a state of euphoric catatonia—as I hug both of them.
Winter spins me around, grabbing my coat from my shoulders before pushing her palms against my back. “Hurry up and get out there!”
