Page 53 of Skid Spiral

I didn’t want to ask those questions. I wanted to believe this was just a temporary tiff.

But as I flicked on the TV to try to distract myself, I couldn’t shake the sinking sensation creeping through my gut.

FIFTEEN

Luciana

Sometime between lastnight’s encounter and this afternoon’s practice, Jasper had reverted back to the same prickly grouch that I’d started to know so well.

“Let’s try that new lift again,” Niko called from the sidelines. “I think you almost had it this time!”

Jasper grumbled something about not having it the last thousand times but got back into position anyway. My heart raced as his hand settled on my hip, the other grasping my hand. Then I was soaring up into the air.

For a moment, we were perfectly balanced.

But only for a moment.

As we whirled around, Jasper’s arms wobbled. And over his head, so did I.

“Shit,” I said, trying my best to right myself, and added an extraShitshitshit!in my head for good measure.

His arms had shifted, throwing off my fragile balance. There wasn’t much I could do from above.

He let out a few curses of his own as he attempted to adjust himself, but it was too late. The damage was done. I was teetering over.

I braced myself to fall in the least painful way, instincts honed by years of collisions with the ice, but Jasper managed to catch me against his chest before I hit the ground. He quickly set me on my feet, his face flushed and his eyes dark with frustration.

"That was my fault,” he admitted with a grimace. “I fucked up. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. These things happen.” I straightened up and smoothed my tee shirt. “You made sure I didn’t eat ice too badly. No harm done.”

The truth was that we both knew what was eatinghim. Obviously his visit to my house last night had thrown our dynamic out of kilter—whether because we’d made out or because of Rafael barging in or both, I couldn’t tell.

I’d tried to bring it up at the start of practice and again during our snack break, but he’d brushed off my attempts both times. The second occasion, he’d taken off to the other end of the rink rather than talk to me.

So yeah. Things were definitelynotokay, but I had no idea how to fix them.

When we skated back around toward Niko, he was watching us with a thoughtful expression. Had he guessed that something had gone down between us outside of practice?

Lord help me, had Jasper told him about it?

No, I was pretty sure I was safe from that embarrassment. When Jasper clammed up, you’d need a jackhammer to force him open.

But our coach had clearly caught on that something wasn’t quite clicking between us. He motioned toward the stands.

“It’s time to wrap it up for the day. You guys have been really putting your all in. Don’t skimp on your cool-down stretches now!”

Jasper didn’t argue that we should keep at it a little longer, but then, maybe he was just grateful not to have to be around me much longer today.

My heart sank. Was he really that pissed off with me for whatever reason, or was something else behind his renewed shitty mood?

We skated off in separate directions to loosen our muscles. I could feel Niko’s gaze from the center of the rink, shifting between Jasper and me.

Maybe we needed some more time off the ice and away from each other. If Jasper and I were going to get the hang of the short routine Niko was choreographing for us even well enough to pass the qualifying round, then we had to get our heads straight.

And it seemed like being around me was having the opposite effect on my partner.

I stretched out my aching muscles, doing my best not to steal peeks at Jasper’s muscles rippling beneath his own tee. Getting caught ogling him would only make this whole situation twice as embarrassing.

---