Kiss & Cry, Where Passion Awaits Page 9

  “Definitely their programs.”

  “You have my approval. Did you run it by Universal yet? I’m going to try to fly out to see you this week. I’ll keep you posted if I can have my secretary free up some time for me.”

  “That’s great, I have another idea but it wait until you get here, Bradley.” Dhalia smiled to herself. “I’ll run it by Universal when we get off the phone. If I have a problem and it’s not approved I’ll call you back. If I get the green light I’ll start work on it immediately and you won’t hear from me. I’d love the visit by the way.”

  “Ciao for now.”

  “Bye, Bradley.”

  She hung up and called Universal. She discussed her idea over the telephone and they were immediately on board. They thought it would increase the tension of the show immediately, all the while drawing in viewers. Dhalia texted Ryan:

  Dhalia: Can we talk?

  Ryan: Sure, text or in person?

  Dhalia: In person would be better.

  Ryan: Come to my room.

  Dhalia didn’t bother texting back. She went directly to Ryan's room and knocked on his door. He opened it immediately. He took a step back and let her in. Dhalia followed Michael’s advice and started right in on discussing work. That was, after all, why they were here.

  She was dying to ask if he got lucky with Sandy last night. Did he like her? Did she like him? It took everything she had to hold back her questions. She knew it wasn’t any of her business.

  “I spoke with Universal and Bradley about an idea I had, and it’s been approved. We will give the athletes forty-eight hour access to the arena and then begin the commercials with a skate-off. We will collectively decide who the four worst skaters are, and then we send the bottom two home pronto. The other two will be saved but they must go on to compete as a pairs team.”

  A sudden idea to increase their time together and win Ryan back came to her as she was telling him the plan. “So, the camp will be left with a total of eight skaters, three males, three females, and one pairs team that we will coach together. Other than Michael, who’s going to be busy coaching the individual skaters, who better to coach a pairs team but a top pairs team?”

  Ryan sat on his bed and said, “You and me coach? We can hardly be in the same room together. Do you really think we can work with each other that closely again?”

  She explained meekly, “I didn’t come up with the coaching idea until I came into your room.”

  “My skates aren’t here,” he informed her.

  She grew excited, because it sounded like he was actually considering the proposal. “We’ll send for them! Mine aren’t here either.”

  Dhalia felt like she had to hide her jealousy so she added, “You can run it by Sandy if you’d like.”

  “Why, why would I want to do that? She has no say in how I run my life, she’s a friend.”

  Dhalia shrugged. “Well, I saw the two of you together last night and I guess I just assumed.”

  “Don’t assume anything,” he ordered. “Let me take care of my business and you take care of yours. My answer is yes.”

  “Great!” She was hardly able to contain her excitement. “So can you help me round up all the coaches for a meeting to discuss the skate-off? We’ll need a second meeting to inform the skaters of this new challenge.”

  “No,” Ryan disagreed. “Let’s just do it in one meeting. Round up everyone and break the news to them at the same time. I’ll do the talking.”

  “That would be great,” Dhalia responded. “We need to televise it. I’ll make the necessary arrangements. We’ll use the boardroom. We’ll sit with the judges at the table and have the skaters stand before it. Pictures of the athletes can be taken from the lounge and posted in the boardroom.”

  Ryan looked at her wistfully. “I love seeing you happy.”

  “Back at you, big guy,” she said playfully.

  “Let's go around and tell everyone about the meeting.” He moved toward the door. He grabbed his shirt, and he turned to her in surprise.

  “I have to talk to Universal Television first! They have to film the reactions of the competitors and coaches receiving the news,” Dhalia reminded him.

  He smiled at her. “Okay, I’ll wait.” An awkward moment passed between them. She didn’t really want to break it. “I guess I’ll get back to work.” Her eyes were screaming stop me, stop me, but she headed for the door to avoid being too obvious. She could feel Ryan behind her close, really close. The heat of his body spiked her temperature.

  She imagined his arm wrapping around her waist as he was behind her. She could picture herself reaching for the door and Ryan rubbing up against her in the heat of the moment. “Text me when everything is arranged," he startled her back to reality. "I’ll help you round up everyone for taping.” He opened the door for her.

  “Sure,” Dhalia said as she walked past him. She knew if she didn’t leave soon she would do something she would regret.

  Justin was Dhalia’s go-to man in Alberta. He worked for Universal Television. They discussed the plan and he said, "Great. I'll need a few hours to prep the boardroom."

  She texted Ryan.

  Dhalia: It’s all set up. Do you want to come to my room?

  Ryan: We have to stop meeting like this! Be there in a few minutes.

  Dhalia: I have to take a shower and dress though.

  Ryan: Still coming.

  Dhalia: I’ll leave something in the door so you can come in and wait.

  Dhalia left the phone on her bed, grabbed her clothes and jumped in the shower. She made a mental note that she had to arrange for their skates to be flown in. Her Harlick skating boot with her pattern 99 blade cost over fifteen hundred dollars, so she couldn’t just pick up a new pair while in Alberta. It takes a good month or two to break in new skates. It was much easier for Ryan and her to have them shipped rather than buy new pairs that they would have to break in. They would be demonstrating their pair moves. She was so excited at the thought of skating with Ryan again. She just didn’t know how Bradley was going to take it. He must have assumed they would be the ones coaching the pair, wouldn’t he?

  Dhalia stepped out of the shower and towel dried her hair. It didn’t take long since she had it restyled it so short. She got dressed in the bathroom and then opened the door before she started putting on her makeup. Ryan was lying on her bed.

  “Make yourself at home.” Her comment dripped of sarcasm.

  His eyes penetrated her as she focused on her face in the mirror. She could see his reflection, and feel his gaze on her, so she knew he was watching her every move. “You’re staring at me!” she said with a familiar discomfort.

  “I’m not used to your hair yet.” He smiled. “Can I touch it?”

  “You’re silly!” she admonished.

  His eyes glowed at her with a playfulness she hadn’t seen in a long time. He got off her bed and came over to her in the bathroom. His fingers combed gently through her hair. She closed her eyes and let herself get lost in the feeling. She opened her eyes to find Ryan's were closed. He did the same motion with his fingers in her hair again, but this time his hand went into a fist securing her hair between his fingers.

  “I miss showing you, what you do to me,” he gasped.

  “I miss feeling what you do to me,” she flirted.

  She was unable to move her head at this point and her need for him was making her wet with desire. Resisting all temptation she touched his cheeks compassionately and said, “We should round up the gang.”

  “Just a minute,” he paused. “I want to give you something Bradley can’t.”

  “What’s that?” She didn’t know where he was going with this.

  His arm brought her hips to his, and his other hand guided her head to his. He kissed her ever so tenderly on the lips. He made it clear to her that he was rock hard with desire, yet his lips spoke volumes as they were unmistakably soft and passionate.

  “Look into my eyes and tell me you don’t want m
e anymore, then I’ll leave you alone forever, Dhalia.”

  “I can’t do that,” she admitted breathlessly. He kissed her again. His tongue explored her mouth as if the first time they kissed.

  “I’m still in love with you,” he confessed.

  She wanted him to take her immediately with reckless abandon on her bed, but she remembered the cameras. She was hoping it wasn’t too late and prayed that this footage wouldn’t end up on Bradley’s desk. They were playing with fire and they both knew it. Neither of them wanted to get burned.

  They separated and started gathering the people in the boardroom. Sandy took a seat next to Ryan. Dhalia tried to ignore it. Dhalia sat on Ryan’s other side and Michael took the chair next to her. The coaches were shooting looks of curiosity at Ryan and her wondering what the meeting was about. Justin lined up the skaters with the men in the back row and the ladies in front.

  They had the skaters come dressed in matching outfits with their skates on. Guards protected their blades. The clothing was made for the camp. The cameras started rolling when Ryan stood to speak. Ryan introduced the panel and explained the show to the viewers at home.

  “By invitation only, we have chosen the top five female and five male Canadian Figure Skating competitors and invited them to a televised training camp." Ryan introduced the athletes one by one, and they stepped forward when their name was called. Ryan said how they placed last year. "There will be twenty-four hour access to an Olympic sized skating arena and gym facilities. The athletes are aware that they can, and will, be filmed at any time. The top male and female athlete who does the best at the end of the year will become a hundred thousand dollars richer.

  “What our athletes and even our coaches don’t know is that we are going to give forty-eight hours to practice before we have a skate-off. The skaters will perform last year’s long program before the panel, and the lowest scoring male and female will be sent home immediately. The next two skaters with the lowest scores will be allowed to stay but must compete in all competitions as pair skaters. Ms. Kennedy and I will personally coach them.”

  The camera panned the skaters' reactions and they were just completely shocked. When the filming was done they dismissed the skaters and the coaches talked among themselves.

  Jay started the conversation. “That was a wicked twist.”

  Michael commented, “A wicked one but a good one. Is there anyone we should be voting off, and should we be coaching?”

  Ryan answered, “We will be fair and discuss after the programs who should stay. No coaching during the next forty-eight hours. You are simply expected to watch and share your input for final decisions.”

  Sandy added, “Sounds like fun to me.”

  “Totally,” Dhalia agreed. “I want to go to the rink and watch these kids practice. Does anyone want to come?”

  Not a single coach declined. They walked as a group to the arena that was approximately half a mile from the Village. It was a quiet night with a full moon and the distant sounds of cars in the background.

  The coaches reached the arena before the skaters did. The skaters had to take off their boots to walk to the arena and put them back on when they got there. Nobody wanted to go home and the tension was palpable. That’s what they wanted. The show was going to be great, and this was just the first of several ideas Dhalia had to attract viewers!

  The First Freeskate

  All the skaters stepped on the ice at around the same time. Some were stretching on the ice by lifting their legs up onto the boards. Others were doing lunges on the ice to stretch their calves and shins. Then they began stroking, also known as cross cutting, gliding forward bringing one leg over the other. They did a typical pattern on the ice that was somewhat universal. After circling the rink a couple of times they proceeded to go backwards, skating very fast, stretching their legs in the air, on sharp edges. It was theatrical to watch.

  Diane did a stunning spiral sequence, gliding on one foot while the other was high in the air behind her. It was a position one would commonly see on figurine sets one can buy in a store. Her leg extension and flexibility was the best of all the girls on the ice. She would turn and follow it with a backward spiral on the same foot done with an inside edge, one foot in the air, never touching the ice. It looked even more graceful in real life compared to how it appeared on television. It was impressive.

  Dhalia moved her eyes from Diane to see Liam do a Russian Split in the middle of the ice. From a backward position his toe picked into the ice, which leveraged his body into the air, his legs went into a split position and his hands touched the top of his boots and then he landed in a forwards position. Liam must have travelled four to five feet across the ice before landing.

  Not far from where Liam landed Sheena was doing a Denise Biellmann spin. The spinning was on one foot while the other one was raised directly above her head. Both arms were also raised above her head, and her hands were holding the bottom of her blade in the air. From afar, her body position looked like that of a leaf. The spin demanded great flexibility and balance to perform. The person who created the spin later in her career developed back problems, as one could only imagine.

  After fifteen minutes of warm-up, it got fierce on the ice. The men and women tackled their jumps. Double axels were being landed everywhere with ease. Then they were doing Triple sow cows, Triple Toe loops, Triple Loops, Triple Flips, Triple Lutzes, and finally Triple Axels. The strong jumpers worked on their quads after landing a couple of each. The entries into these jumps were fast, and whether the takeoff was forward or backward, all the skaters were aware of where each other always was. No one could afford an accident.

  The axel was the most recognizable jump as it started off from a forward position. Most of the jumps were higher than the boards and covering great distances of the rink. Routinely jumps were honed at the ends of the ice. This was smart for two reasons. If the skater wanted to spin, s/he could do so safely in the center of the ice. The second was that these triple and quadruple jumps needed speed to execute. One needed to skate the length of the ice to get up to the speed necessary to land the jump.

  As the session continued Dhalia noticed more falls. She left the coaches and went down to the skaters for a second. She summoned them and they huddled in a semicircle around her while she spoke. “Some of you are starting to look tired. If you are, it’s wise to call it a night and start again tomorrow. Skating when you’re fatigued just leads to injury. We don’t want any of you walking back to the Village alone either. You guys did a great job out there on the ice. We will see all of you tomorrow.” As an afterthought, she looked over at Rick and asked, “How’s the ice for your jumps? Is it soft enough?” She asked him because he was, by far, the most talented jumper.

  “It’s perfect,” he answered. "Thanks for asking.”

  She took her cell out and texted the Zamboni guy.

  Dhalia: Please flood within the hour.

  She got an answer immediately.

  Zamboni guy: Sure thing, Ms. Kennedy.

  She went back to where the coaches were sitting and told them what she advised. Dhalia asked Michael if he would walk her back to her room so she didn’t have to go alone in the dark. Ryan jumped from his seat. “I’ll take her.” Sandy looked displeased. Dhalia smiled at him, flattered over Ryan’s reaction to wanting to be with her. He took her hand and led her back to the Village. The walk was quiet and peaceful. She wished it didn’t have to end so quickly.

  Dhalia unlocked her door and turned to look at him. He surprised her by pinning her shoulders against the door. They were the only two people already back from the arena. He rubbed against her, revealing his desire. She wanted to scream "take me" but she exercised self-control. Ryan dropped his head to hers and slowly ran his tongue across her lips tantalizing her, kissing her seductively before releasing her shoulders and walking away. She was left ungratified and full of need. It took a really long time for her to fall asleep that night.

  The Skate-off
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br />   The next two days were spent in the arena watching the athletes. Some preferred to skate in the early morning while others didn’t step out on to the ice until after lunch. The coaches stood rink side studying their skaters, offering no instruction. The invigorating feeling of competition was in the air, and it was evident the skaters weren’t as friendly with each other since the announcement.

  Ryan would time how long each skater was on the ice and once they were warmed up he would play the skaters' long program for them. The other skaters would stay out of the way of the person whose program was playing.

  Practices continued around the clock until it was time for the skate-off. The skaters were given a time to meet at the arena. They picked numbers out of a hat to determine in what order they would skate. Skating last and second to last were the most desirable positions. Judges always reserved their higher marks for the end so if someone skated really well they could still give top marks.

  Universal camera operators were all set up and ready to start filming. The ice was flooded and ready for the first fifteen minute warm-up. Each woman would do her four minute program. The Zamboni would do a second flood for the men and the same thing would happen all over.

  Everyone was punctual arriving at the arena. The women were busy getting on their skates and practicing landing positions and small jumps in the hallways of the arena in attempts to get warmed up quicker. They wore their colorful competition dresses full of rhinestones and glitter. Their makeup was applied dramatically so it would stand out from a distance. Most of the female skaters used smoky hues on their eyes and painted their lips either pink or red depending on the color of their competition dress. They didn’t interact with each other, for they were in competition mode.

  The male skaters sat at the edge of the ice watching the females compete. Their behavior to one another didn’t change much compared to the women’s. The women appeared more catty when competitions approached. The men wouldn’t get ready until the Zamboni started to flood the ice for them. None of the men in this competition wore makeup.