Page 105 of Ice Princesses
CHAPTER 36
CECILIA
The rinkin Linz is much louder than it was a few days ago, even though we’re still a week away from the competition.
There is a constant hum of voices, coaches leaning into each other with clipped conversations, skaters pacing along the boards with headphones on, the sharp, familiar sound of blades cutting into fresh ice.
And every time I’m at one of these, I expect it to feel overwhelming. Just the amount of people on a single sheet of ice makes me shiver on a regular basis, but championships have a different feeling.
This part, the competition, has always made sense to me. Even when everything else felt uncertain, being on the ice and running through my program—it asked something of me and gave me something back in return.
Rodrigo is on the far side of the rink, running through his warm-up sequence with a precision that would have made me nervous three months ago and now just makes me… proud. He carries himself with a steadiness that feels completely new, like all the pieces of a puzzle clicked into place and stayed there. Certainly, all the work we’ve been doing has finally stopped feeling like effort and started feeling like instinct.
For both of us.
That part still catches me off guard. That it’s not just mine anymore, and that something I built from scratch actually held and is being passed on to someone that will take it further than I ever could.
I let myself watch him for a second longer than I probably should.
“Have you talked to her?”
I startle out of my thoughts and see Sandra standing next to me, her federation jacket zipped up all the way to her mouth.
“Jesus, Sanchi,” I say, trying to sound normal and not like a person who is so distracted by thoughts of the Ice Princess that she can’t keep her head on.
“I’ve been standing here for at least ten minutes, Ceci.”
“Fuck.” I sigh and rub my eyes. I can’t focus. I haven’t been able to focus since the day we left Colorado to come over here. I’ve been counting down the minutes until I can see Isabella again. “She’s not due to come in until a few days before the short programs.”
I’ve repeated that to myself enough times that it should feel reasonable by now. It doesn’t. It just feels like waiting.
I don’t bother scanning the rink again. I’ve already checked more times than I’m able to admit. My body is always half-oriented towards the entrance, like she might materialize at any second, even when I’m not activelylooking for her. And if I’m not looking close enough, I’ll miss her and I won’t be ready for when she walks in.
“That’s not what I was asking and you know it.”
“I’ve been busy,” I reply, and the tone that comes out makes me sound petulant. Like a child who doesn’t want to clean up after themselves. “You’ve been with me all week.”
“You know…” she says, turning her body in my direction. I keep my eyes on the ice, even though I can feel myself drifting towards the doors again.
Sandra doesn’t follow my gaze and instead chooses to keep her eyes on me.
“That’s impressive,” she says. “I haven’t seen this level of deflection since before you retired. It really is impressive,amiga.”
I let out a breath through my nose. “We’ve talked.”
“Mhm.”
“We have,” I insist, even though I can hear how weak it sounds. “She’s been busy scouting for her program.”
“So you’ve talked about skating,” she replies immediately.
I don’t answer.
“Ceci,” she says, softer now, but somehow worse. “What are you doing?”
“Working,” I shoot back a little too quickly. “Rodrigo needs to be ready for the competition, and I?—”
“Don’t,” she cuts in. “Don’t do that thing where you hide behind him like I haven’t known you for more than two decades now.”
