Romance on the Ice (gxg)

4

Moving away from all the skaters and coaches, Sophia found an empty spot along the wall. She carefully set down her skate guards and rolled her shoulders, letting the music take over.

Extending her legs into a straddle stretch, Sophia closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, feeling her muscles slowly loosening up. She held the stretch for a moment, then moved into a lunge, pushing her hips forward to really feel the burn along her quads and hamstrings.

So focused was she on her routine, Sophia didn't notice someone else sitting down nearby until they were right beside her. Assuming it was one of her teammates, she kept her eyes closed and didn't look over, instead she moved into a deep hamstring stretch.

Her song changed to an old pop/rock favorite as she stretched her arm across her chest, rolling her shoulders in the opposite direction to loosen up her rotator cuffs. Out of the corner of her eye, she sensed the person next to her also stretching, but paid it no mind, zoning out to the infectious melody.

Just as the chorus kicked in, a very distinct, very familiar voice suddenly sang along in Sophia's ear. "Should've known better than to...."

Jolting upright in shock, Sophia's eyes flew open to find none other than Elena sitting right next to her, continuing to sing with an innocent smile.

"...let you go alone, it's not that easy..."

Sophia felt her cheeks flush as Elena reached over and plucked one of the airpods from Sophia's ear, popping it into her own. She gave Sophia a grin as the chorus played through the shared earbud.

"Fancy running into you here," Elena said lightly once the chorus ended. "Doing a bit of pre-skate stretching?"

"Uh...y-yeah," Sophia managed to get out, still caught off guard that Elena was sitting right next to her. "Just getting loosened up before my practice session."

"Well don't let me interrupt your routine," Elena replied, getting settled in next to Sophia. "I'll do some stretches as well. I still have an hour before my practice session."

Sophia blinked in surprise, not expecting the Russian to nonchalantly plop down beside her to stretch together. She had fully anticipated being just another face in the crowd to Elena at this competition - watching the elite skater's performances from afar, but never actually getting the chance to interact with her up close. To her shock, however, Elena was the one boldly initiating a one-on-one meeting, inserting herself into Sophia's personal warmup space without a second thought.

Focusing her gaze determinedly ahead, Sophia tried to regain her mental focus and continue her warmup like Elena wasn't even there. Extending her leg, she leaned forward into a deep stretch, gritting her teeth at the delicious burn along the backs of her thighs and calves.

From the corner of her eye, she caught Elena mirroring her stretch. Sophia suppressed a shiver, sternly reminding herself not to let Elena get inside her head right before she had to compete.

She closed her eyes and continued her stretches, trying to pretend that Elena wasn't next to her. Keeping her eyes closed. Sophia spoke up without making eye contact with the Russian skater. "What are you doing over here, Elena?"

She pushed a little deeper into her hamstring stretch, feeling the wonderful burn. "Won't your coach have something to say about you being seen with another country's team member right before the competition?"

"Ah, I am just coming to make new friend," Elena replied in lightly accented English. Though her tone was warm and friendly, Sophia could hear the confidence underlying her words.

Sophia's eyes opened at that unexpected response. Elena was sitting primly, hands folded in her lap, but her posture was self-assured rather than meek.

"We are not exactly rivals, yes?" Elena continued with an easy smile. "I am pair skater, you are singles. No reason we cannot be..." She paused, searching for the word. "Ah, how you say - associates while here."