Taking the Ice (Ice Series Book 3) (3 page)

Oh, gimme a break.
She’d barely spoken to Josh for three years and now she was pulling the mother card?

“The bus is leaving in a minute,” Josh called over his shoulder. “I’ll text you.”

During the ride to the hotel I popped in my earbuds and blasted the hardest rock songs on my phone. My goal was to flush the bad practice from my head, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how easily my technique had abandoned me.

Once we reached our room, I piddled between the closet and my suitcase for a few minutes before Josh came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders.

“First practice jitters.” He massaged my neck. “That’s all it was.”

I hung the blouse I was holding and shut the closet door. “When Mark and I competed in our first nationals here, I had a horrible first practice then, too. Also at the Skating Club of Boston.”

“And you went on to skate great in the competition. You won a medal.”

“I wish we had another practice today. I want to get back out there and prove I can skate the way I know how.”

“The best thing to do is let go of what happened today and start new tomorrow. Don’t think about trying to prove anything.”

I nodded and looked at our Daruma on the nightstand, reminding myself to stay positive, but I couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling I had. Josh must have seen the worry on my face.

“I know what you need to clear your mind,” he said.

He took his iPod from his bag and plugged it into the speakers we’d brought with us. With a few taps, Beyoncé’s sultry voice poured into the room.

“Let it all out.” He smiled.

I hesitated, not quite feeling it yet, and Josh shook his head.

“Don’t make me do Beyoncé’s part,” he said, proceeding to lip sync and gyrate his hips Queen B style.

I burst into laughter. “That is so wrong.”

“Then you better take the lead.” He tapped the iPod. “I’ll start the song over.”

He turned up the volume, and I felt the bass in my chest. I started off with a subdued performance, but as the song grew in power so did my energy. I tore the rubber band from my ponytail and whipped my hair over my shoulders as I danced my way closer to Josh. The intense way he watched me gave me an added thrill. I leaned into him and rubbed my hands over his T-shirt while silently belting out how drunk in love I was with him.

When Jay-Z began his rap solo, Josh took over, not missing a beat, and I clenched his shirt in my fists. He had to be the least gangsta person on the planet, but he totally pulled off the rap and looked damn sexy doing it.

The song returned to me, and I threw my head back and gave my best lip-synched wail. Josh put his arms around me and crushed our hips together, and we swayed as one for the rest of the song. After the last note, I stood on my toes and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“You were right,” I said as I slipped out of his arms. “That was exactly what I needed.”

“Where you going?” Josh reached out to me.

I smiled at him and fiddled with the thermostat. “It’s kinda hot in here now.”

“You want to cool down?”

Before I could turn around, Josh had dropped ice down the back of my tank top. I gasped at the cold burn on my spine and pulled on my shirt to let the cubes fall to the carpet. Josh laughed, and I sized him up.

“You look a little overheated, too.” I grabbed a handful of ice from the bucket and tugged on the front of Josh’s pants.

“Don’t even—“ He seized my wrist, but I wriggled free and held the ice behind my back.

“You gonna give it up?” He grinned and held out his palm.

I narrowed my eyes with determination. “Make me.”

He lunged for me, and I shrieked and fell onto the bed. I kept my hands pinned under my back as Josh spread his on the blanket and hovered over me.

“Are you ready to surrender?” he asked.

I shook my head.

He bent his elbows, lowering his long, lean body achingly close to mine. His mouth stayed just out of reach.

“I know all your weak spots,” he said, his eyes trailing over me.

My body hummed with anticipation. He angled closer and teased my jaw with feather-light kisses, and I knew exactly where he was headed. He hadn’t shaved before practice, and the scrape of his stubble excited my skin. It reminded me of the kisses he gave me in the morning just after waking up.

His lips found my earlobe, and he caught it softly between his teeth. I arched toward him and swallowed the whimper in my throat.

That’s one spot.

While his mouth caressed my neck, his hand pushed up my shirt, exposing my stomach. He snaked his fingers over my abs and down to my navel, swirling in a gentle circle. My skin prickled with delight, and the rest of me burned with need. The ice had completely melted in my palm.

I freed my hands and pulled Josh’s head to my mouth, slicking his hair with my wet fingers. His tongue dove between my lips, and he groaned as I wrapped one leg around him, pressing our bodies together.

Above the music came a loud rap on the door. I looked in its direction, but Josh nipped on my other earlobe, bringing me back to my happy place.

“Ignore it,” he murmured.

The knocking only grew longer and louder, and I couldn’t shut it out.

“It might be Em or Sergei,” I said, untangling myself from Josh.

He flopped onto his back with a heavy sigh, and I pulled my shirt down and went to answer the door. When I came face to face with Mrs. Tucker, I gave myself a mental kick for not listening to Josh.

“Are you having a party in here?” She marched past me into the room and turned off the iPod. “I don’t think you have anything to celebrate after that practice.”

I stiffened and balled my hands at my sides. She had
no
right to comment on our skating… on
anything
in our lives. Not after the way she’d treated us for three years.

“I said I’d text you,” Josh said.

“I didn’t want to wait.”

Shocking.
Bethany Tucker was the world’s expert on being selfish.

“What’s so urgent?” Josh asked.

“I’d like to take Courtney shopping for a dress for the Olympic team dinner. There are some excellent boutiques on Newbury Street.”

I bit my lip to contain my laughter. I couldn’t imagine anything more excruciating than shopping with Josh’s mom. In what universe would I want to try on clothes for her and listen to her criticize my appearance?

“Thank you, but I already have a dress,” I said. “In case I need it.”

“You’d better need it.” She shot me a razor-sharp glare, and a cold chill blanketed me.

“Was that all you wanted?” Josh took a step toward the door.

Mrs. Tucker didn’t take his hint. “You can’t wear a dress you bought at the Cape Cod mall to an event this important. The photos taken there will be seen around the world.”

My face flamed with anger. She was never going to stop belittling me.
Never.

“It doesn’t matter where I got the dress. All that matters is I love it.”

I matched her icy stare, and she lifted her pointy chin to peer down at me.

“Well… then I guess I’ll see you both at dinner tonight. Kristin is going to join us. There are some new opportunities I want her to explore for you.”

“I have plans with my mom,” I said.

“Can’t you change them?”

“No, I can’t. We’ve been so busy that I haven’t seen her much lately. We want to have a quiet dinner before the competition starts.”

She not-so-discreetly huffed. “I’ll have the concierge make the reservation for three then.”

Josh gave me a pained look, and I suspected I’d have to make this up to him in a big way. After his mom finally left, he spread his arms wide.

“Every man for himself?” he said.

“You should’ve made up something to get out of it.”

“You could’ve told her we had plans together.”

“I’m sorry. I was just so happy to have an excuse that it came out before I could think.”

He pointed his finger to my breastbone. “You owe me.”

“I know.” I framed his face with my hands. “You are the best boyfriend and partner ever for taking one for the team.”

He pulled me close. “So, how are you planning to make it up to your amazing boyfriend and partner?”

“Hmm…” I spotted the ice bucket and picked up a few cubes. “How about I let you use this any way you’d like?”

I smiled, and he lifted his eyebrows and broke into a devilish grin. Scooping me up with one arm, he carried both me and the bucket to the bed. When we’d melted every last piece, I rolled onto Josh’s damp chest and laughed as I almost slid off.

“I’ve been around ice my whole life, and I can say this with absolute certainty. It has
never
felt that good.”

Chapter Three

T
HE TAXI CRAWLED THROUGH RUSH HOUR
traffic on Beacon Street, so I typed a quick text to Mom that I would be a few minutes late for dinner. A few minutes turned into twenty by the time I reached Panificio on Charles Street. I paid the driver and stepped carefully between the mounds of snow piled along the curb.

Inside the cozy bistro, Mom sat at a table near the windows. She gave me a warm smile that matched the feel of the room. I took off my coat, and Mom stood to greet me with a hug.

“Sorry I’m late,” I said.

“I should’ve met you at the hotel restaurant instead of making you fight traffic.”

“No, this is perfect. I needed to get away from all the nationals hype for a little while. It gets to be a bit much sometimes, you know? Everyone looking at you, watching who you’re talking to, what you’re wearing…”

“It’s one big show,” Mom said.

“And this year is the biggest of all.”

The waitress took our drink orders, and I looked around the dimly-lit room. A candle glowed on each table, but the only other diners were two guys sitting close to the bakery counter. The restaurant was one of my favorite places on Beacon Hill to have dinner with Josh because of its romantic atmosphere.

“Do you remember the first time we came here?” I asked.

“How could I forget? The night after you and Mark won your first national medal.”

“I ate a whole pizza.” I held my stomach. “And remember how Em and Sergei stayed to have coffee after we left? I wanted to spy on them so bad. I was sure they were going to finally get together that night.”

“Took them a little while to get there.”

“Not as long as it took me and Josh.” I laughed.

The waitress interrupted us, and after we each ordered a pasta dish and handed over our menus, Mom smiled at me over her glass of wine.

“You and Josh are going to have a great story to tell your kids.”

“By the time we have kids, we might be too old to remember our story.”

She set down her glass and leaned slightly toward me. “You have plenty of time before you need to worry about being old.”

“I know, but… I have been thinking a lot about school and my career and marriage and family and… I’m not sure I still want to be a child psychologist. I’m already eight years behind starting college, and I don’t think I want to spend that many years in school.”

“A PhD is a long road, but it can lead to a very rewarding career.”

“So could a teaching degree.”

“Teaching?” Mom gave me a surprised look.

I’d been talking about studying child psychology for so long that I wasn’t shocked by Mom’s reaction. But after I’d postponed college another four years to skate with Josh, I’d taken a hard look at my life plan and realized my priorities had changed. I wanted to establish my career before starting a family, and I didn’t want to wait until my mid-thirties to do that.

“Early childhood education,” I said. “I love working with kids, especially younger ones, so I think this could be a great alternative.”

“Have you researched the education major at BC?”

I nodded and sipped my water. “I can get a master’s in five years.”

Mom sat back and studied me a few moments. “You know your dad and I just want you to find the right path — the one that leads you to doing something you love. If you think this is something you can be passionate about, then we’ll be behind you one hundred percent.”

“I’ve talked to one of the professors and one of the students in the program, and it sounds like it’ll be a great fit for me.”

“Then you and Josh will both be teachers.” Mom smiled. “I’d say you could send him some business, but preschoolers are a little young to learn how to play the piano. Unless they’re musical prodigies.”

I laughed. “He’s super excited to look for studio space in Boston. Some of his students on the Cape love him so much that their parents said they’ll drive them all the way up here for lessons.”

“That’s great he doesn’t have to start from scratch in getting students.”

“He knows it’s going to take time to build up his business, but he’ll also be doing choreography on the side, and I’ll get a part-time job somewhere. We’ve been saving a lot too, and this summer we’re going to pick up extra shifts at the restaurant since we won’t be training anymore.”

“You’ll be just fine.” Mom patted my hand. “Lots of young married couples are still in school or just starting their careers, and with your skating backgrounds neither of you are strangers to hard work and good time management.”

“Young married couple,” I repeated as I looked down at the table and fiddled with my silverware. “I hope we’ll be one of those.”

“Why wouldn’t you be?”

I shifted my gaze out the window at the people hurrying down the sidewalk, bundled in their coats. “Josh hasn’t mentioned marriage in a long time. I kinda thought we’d be engaged by now.”

“Maybe he’s waiting to propose at the Olympics.”

“Well, that’s a little risky,” I said and immediately tapped my temples emphatically. “Positive thoughts. I’m supposed to think only positive thoughts.”

Mom grasped both my hands and held them warmly in hers. “It sounds like you’re thinking about too many things. Just concentrate on doing your best this week.”

“This morning was far from my best. But tomorrow… tomorrow I’m going to kill it in practice.”

“Dad and I are taking early lunches so we can be there to cheer you on.”