He Switched Partners. I Switched Countries. novel · Chapter 11 of 24

Chapter 11: The Berth

The skate-off was held in a Burnaby arena with four thousand seats, and tonight every one of them was full.

The judges sat at a long table at the edge of the ice with their scoring sheets and their thermoses.

The other Canadian pair had skated first, and they had skated well.

They had a triple twist, a clean throw, and a score that made the crowd murmur.

We needed a 142 to beat them.

Without the throw, we couldn't get there.

I stood at the boards in my dark blue dress with Theo's gloves in my hand, because I had taken them from his bag that morning and had not given them back.

He was breathing slowly beside me.

I could see his throat move.

"You don't have to," I said.

"I know."

"I'd rather lose clean than have you do it for me."

"I'm not doing it for you." He looked at the ice. "It's been three hundred days since I threw anyone. It's my own throw, Lena. I'd like it back."

"All right."

"Count me in."

I tapped the back of his left hand twice, as a joke.

He looked down, and for the first time since I had known him, he laughed.

They called our names, and we skated out.

For three minutes we were the best pair in the arena.

I knew it in my bones.

The lifts came up clean and slow, and he held each one an extra beat to make the crowd gasp.

The side-by-side jumps were together.

Then came the place in the music where the throw was, and I felt his hands change on my waist.

"Theo," I said, very quietly, against his shoulder.

"I have you."

"I know you do."

He drew me in, set his feet, and I felt the whole of him gather and swing.

I flew.

The ice came up under me, and I landed it on one foot, with my arm out, and held the edge until my knee stopped shaking.

The whole arena rose to its feet.

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