Kiss My Ice

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Kiss My Ice

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An instant sharp pain shot through every muscle inside of me as my body crashed onto the solid ice beneath me. I laid perfectly still; my muscles cried out in agony. It was time that I accepted defeat.

Six times I had attempted the jump. And six times I had eaten ice.

The jump played through my mind on repeat. What was it that I was doing wrong, why couldn't I manage to land even the messiest of a landing? For the past six months I had worked my butt off in a harness, preparing my body to do this jump on the ice. I felt ready. So why couldn't I do it? For the first time in a long time, I was stumped in my training.

"You look awful," Lucy, my best friend since grade school, called out. Even from across the ice it was impossible to miss the disappoint that rang in her voice. "How long have you been out here?"

With every inch of my body screaming in protest, I forced myself into a sit. I could see Lucy standing at the entrance to the ice. Her thin lips pierced into a straight line. Blue eyes hardened in disapproval. Her arms crossed tightly over her chest, hiding the lettering on her white hoodie.

I lifted myself off the ice. I quickly giving my legs and butt a quick pat down to remove the excess ice.

"Seriously Zo, how long have you been out here?" She repeated when I failed to respond.

A soft sigh left my mouth as I started in a slow skate. "Only like an hour...maybe two."

Lucy sucked in a large breath; a tell-tale sign that her mom mode was about to kick in, and I was about to be scolded.

We'd been best friends since the first day we met back in the third grade.  She was the mother hen of our friendship. Always the more mature one, and always ready to put me in my place if she thought I needed it. She'd call me on my crap and didn't care if I got offended or not.

I knew her better than anyone else, and she knew me. Which is why I knew that she hated it when I was in the process of learning new jumps. She insisted that I was going to overdo it and end up severely hurting myself.

"Only two?" Lucy's eyes dropped, giving me a once over before her piercing eyes landed back on mine. "You look like you've just been mauled by a bear. Wasn't your private practice with Wilson this morning enough? I mean come on. You have to be exhausted."

"I guess that I'm a little tired," I admitted, skirted to a stop in front of her. To say that I was only a little tired was the understatement of the century. And judging by the darkness in her now narrowed eyes, Lucy was well aware of my lie.

She sighed, ran a hand through her strawberry blonde curls. "I don't understand why you are putting such a big emphasis on having to learn this jump. You could just stick to your clean double and still win."

I violently shook my head in disagreement. I knew that learning this jump was a hefty task - the triple axel was known as the most difficult jump for a reason - but if I could pull it off, I would not only be a shoe in for the win, but it would give me a huge boost in the skating world. 

"I want this jump for regionals."

Lucy let another sigh slip, ran her hand through some strawberry curls. "Regionals are months away."

I grinned. "Then I have plenty of time to succeed."

I walked off the ice and placed myself on one of the benches, reached under to where I had stuffed my duffel bag. I pulled the water bottle I'd stashed in the outer pocket out. The cold water soothed my dry mouth. I'd never been so thankful for a temperature-controlled water bottle before.