Thin Ice

𝟑𝟕

JULES POV

It's been a week since New Year's and everything seems to be back to normal. Faye and Alex are still all lovey dovey, Kiara is still trying to convince Andy to join hockey, and Lukas and I are still bickering about the dumbest things.

"Everybody come circle around me so I can tell y'all who your partners are for this season," Coach Campbell begins. It's the spring skating season which means it's time for pair skating. As much as I love skating by myself, skating with someone else just feels so much more challenging but in a good way.

Last year I was paired with a guy who had been skating for just as long as I was, his name was Theo. Since Theo knew everything I knew and more, it made us such a great pair and I'm hoping Coach realized that last year and paired us together again.

"I want each and everyone of y'all to know that I took last year's scores and chemistry into consideration so I did not choose these pairs lightly nor randomly," she explains as she glances down to look at her notepad. "The pairs are.. Bella and James, Kiara and Mateo, Sophia and Anthony, Faye and Wyatt, and finally Liliana and Theo," she announces, leaving my name out.

"Um-," I begin to speak up but get cut off by her giving directions.

"Everyone move around and meet with your partners, get to know them better. I'll speak to each pair individually about their routine," she instructs, leaving me stranded.

I watch as everyone around me glides away, leaving me to be the single duckling left behind.

"Coach, where is my partner?" I quickly question, beginning to get stressed out. We've never had an uneven amount of guys and girls and I'm slightly irritated that Liliana got paired with Theo instead of me.

"He's not here right now," she states in such a calm tone that it makes me think that maybe I'm being dramatic.

"Well.. where is he?" I ask, eager to know what she's thinking. It's hard to know what Campbell's plans are. She's usually an open book and it's easy to guess her next move but right now, the book is closed and locked away on a shelf.

"Listen," she sighs. "As much as I wanted to pair you with Theo again since last year y'all won and had some of the best chemistry I've seen since I've started coaching, I also know how adaptable you can be to your environment and partners," she begins to explain, leaving me with many questions.

"So...?" I drag out, trying to see where this is going.

"So you're paired with my son, Rowan. He's been skating since he could walk and knows every trick in the book," she states proudly.

"That's great but where is he?" I question. I like the idea that I'm paired with my coach's son but the lack of his attendance scares me.

She stays silent for a moment, trying to think of what she's going to say before she comes right out and lays it down.

"Rowan is in college and his schedule is quite full since he's on his college's pair skating team which means he's going to be juggling two different routines," she mentions. My eyebrow raises as I'm trying to grasp what she's telling me. "Since his schedule is so full, you'll only be able to rehearse with him one time out of the week," she lets up. My face falls and she can already tell I have a million questions.

"Coach, how is this going to work? I kinda need a pair to pair skate and I'm not going to be able to learn it all by myself. There's lifts and there's-,"

"Yes Juliana, I know what tricks happen in pair skating. You two will have the whole month of the competition to have every day to put the routine together," she cuts me off. "I will teach it to each of you individually so you're not just waiting until April to learn it," she finishes, allowing me to catch a breath.

I can't believe Coach would choose me out of all people to do this to. I'm a very flexible person when it comes to working things out but this? This is stressing me out and the rehearsal process hasn't even started yet.

"I want you to know that I didn't do this in spite of you and that I chose you because I know how hard of a worker you are and I believe that you will be able to accomplish this," she adds as she takes my lack of words as silence.

"What if I don't like this idea?" I decide to ask, just to see what the outcome could be.

"Then you'd risk one of your friends having to give up their partner or you'd have to drop out of the competition," she explains in a tone that's much harsher than I think she intended it to come off.

"Then I'll do it," I finally accept. She gives me an approving nod before skating away towards the other groups to tell them about their routines.

I let out a sigh and glide my way off of the ice, there's no reason for me to wait around since I have no one to get to know.

I place myself down on the bench and pull my phone off of the railing where I left it last. I glance down and check the notification from an unfamiliar number.

Unknown: Hey, this is Rowan. My mom gave me your number so that we can get to know each other before we have to start rehearsing which will be Thursdays btw, sorry for having such a tight schedule.

I look down at the text and question whether or not to reply. My mind has another plan and quickly guides my fingers over to Instagram, typing his name into the search bar. His name pops up since my coach follows him and I click on his name letting out an audible gasp once I see his face.

This man is beautiful which leads me to believe that he should be modeling instead of figure skating. Rowan has a slim face with a sharp jawline. His eyes are soft but a piercing blue. His dark hair is cut clean but still messy enough to add character. He definitely looks like you'd find him on the cover of Calvin Klein.

I quickly decide that I will not leave this man waiting for a text back.

Me: Hi! Sorry about this whole thing, I know this is probably stressful for you but I'm looking forward to our partnership! :)

Why the fuck did I send such a formal text.

It's probably due to the fact that he looks like he'd have a secretary answering his texts instead of him personally typing them out.

Rowan: It's not too stressful on my part and besides, it gives me more ice time.

Me: I guess you're right

I put my phone down as I'm greeted by Campbell t-stopping in front of me.

"You're free to go home since your partner isn't here," she quickly states before gliding away towards another group.

I just thought I was about to grasp the fact that this is actually happening and come to terms with it but now, I'm mad about the whole situation again.

~

I wonder what Rowan is gonna be like..

Back to my normal posting schedule again !

Wed & Fri ! :)