Page 41 of Pivot Point

It wasn’t my preferred style of skating. Every movement was a bit stiff, a bit too calculated without the emotion and artistry that drew me in.

That didn’t mean there was anything actuallywrongwith it, though. Beat after beat, they sped through each move without a single fault. Their music blared through the speakers, the notes pouring forth at their quick-paced tempo.

They missed nothing—every waltz jump and side swipe of their skates was rendered in just the right angles. I waited for them to falter, for them to fail at something,anything, but every move and position was flawless.

They weren’t pouring their heart into this routine. That much was obvious to me. The only emotion I saw on Quentin’s face was the moment that his eyes met mine as he skated by and he flashed me a cocky smirk.

My hands clenched at my sides. The dick did know how to push people’s buttons.

Even so, I couldn’t deny that he was something to watch. With the fiery red costumes they’d chosen that highlighted his lean frame and muscular thighs, he kept drawing my gaze back to him whether I liked it or not.

The two of them ended their routine in an abstract pose that gained a massive outpouring of applause from the crowd. My heart sank. It was undeniable that the two of them were incredibly skilled. The audience knew it, the judges knew it, and unfortunately, so did Quentin and Jess.

Niko tutted under his breath. “Impressive talent, yes, but they didn’t have an ounce of the passion you two did. Artistry counts with the judges too.”

My heart kicked around in my chest like a bad motor as we waited for the judges’ verdict. It didn’t take them long to settle on a score. They handed it over to the announcer, whose voice boomed through the PA system.

“Quentin Wolfe and Jess Hendrix together have scored… One hundred and eleven point three seven points.”

My hands dropped to my sides. They’d smashed us, a whole nine points ahead.

“We’re in third,” I said. The words came out flat. “I can’t believe I fucked up this badly…”

Niko was quick to jump in. “Third is still going to get you into the Finals. I promise. This is the last of the qualifying competitions, and the average top scores are mostly in the ninety to a hundred and ten range. You’re still going to be in the upper ranks overall, high enough.”

“But at the bottom of the pack when it comes to Finals.” I resisted the urge to hug myself, not wanting to show even that much weakness in front of my men.

I wanted to do better than scraping by. I wanted to earn the kind of cheers Emi had called out for us.

I wanted to rub Quentin Wolfe’s face in our success. I wanted to make him and Jess eat their words.

Most of all, I wanted to show everyone who told me I couldn’t that Icould. Now Coach Balakin’s admonishments were ringing in my head all over again.

No. This wasn’t over, not by a long shot.

“We’ll have a month to prepare,” Niko went on. “And we know what we’re up against now. The two of you will come back absolutely breathtaking.”

Unless my nerves got the better of me again. Unless the other side of my life interfered at the worst possible time.

If I didn’t get it together, I could ruin this chance for both myself and for Jasper and Niko. They’d both worked so hard.

If I screwed up again, we were out for the rest of the circuit. Rank low at Finals, and Jasper and I could kiss any hope of competing in the US Championships or the international competitions afterward goodbye.

SIXTEEN

Luciana

Even though we’donly come in third, the Okabe siblings were not going to hear talk of defeat. The sound of Emi’s high-pitched praise filled every room of the apartment as she fawned over me and Jasper.

“Anyone with eyes could see your performance was so much better than that blond guy,” she insisted around a huge bite of her meatball sub. We’d picked up dinner from a local sandwich shop to celebrate our qualifying for Finals—which did deserve celebrating, even if we’d only made it by a hair.

I couldn’t help smiling, even though the mouthful of Philly-style cheesesteak stuck in my throat before continuing down. “Pretty sure the judges had eyes.”

She let out a huff and patted my arm. “They got too caught up in the specifics of the moves. But you had all the passion! The little mistakes don’t matter when you both showed how much the routine meant to the two of you.” She aimed a smile Jasper’s way too.

Niko came back to the table with a beer and gave me a quick hug from behind. “That’s what I keep saying. Once you get your nerves totally under control, your combination of skill and emotion will be unbeatable.”

I inhaled deeply, fighting with my guilt and my irritation over having lost to Quentin, of all people. I hadn’t been able to tell the guys exactly what had messed up my nerves yet, since Emi had been with us since we’d left the arena.

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