Page 27 of Side By Side
But Chandler was tired of taking a back seat to her own life. She hadn’t had a relationship ever. Hell, she’d only ever had sex a few times, and none of those times had been all that memorable. She’d played the part of a straight girl figure skater, had her hair pinned back, a smile on her face, and that look of gratitude for the opportunity in her eyes at all times, and what had that done for her? She hated being on the ice alone. She had no partner. Her sister was a bitch. Her parents couldn’t even be bothered to come see her skate. And she’d just bombed out of a regional competition that she should’ve won.
Chandler headed to the concession stand and stood in line, waiting for her chance to talk to Belle again, but by the time she realized Belle wasn’t there, she was already standing in front of the counter.
“Uh… Belle?”
“Sorry?” the girl asked.
“Belle.”
“You’re ordering Belle? I don’t think she comes with the combo,” the girl joked and laughed.
“Is she here?”
“She’s in the back.”
“Can I talk to her, please?”
“I guess. I have to call for her.”
“Okay. I’ll wait.”
CHAPTER 9
“Uh… Belle?”
“Yeah, Steph?” she asked and turned in her chair.
“There’s someone asking for you out there. I had to leave the stand with the new guy.”
“Who is it?” Belle’s father asked.
“I think it’s that skater from the other night; the one who came in after close.”
“Chandler?” she asked.
“Chandler? As in Chandler Wolfe?” her father asked.
“Thanks, Steph. I’ll be out in a minute. You can head back.” She turned to her dad, who was sitting behind his desk. “And, yes. You’re the one who booked her ice time. You didn’t know she’d be here?”
“I got a call from someone to book time. That was probably over a week ago. I didn’t catch the name.”
“I should’ve guessed that since there wasn’t a name in the computer. You have got to learn how to use that thing. It’s not even that hard.”
“That’s what I have you for,” he suggested. “But she’s here?”
“She is, yeah.” Belle sighed and leaned forward in her chair. “I really don’t want to talk to her.”
“I imagine not, given what happened back then. Have you talked to her at all since she got here?”
“A little, yeah. She had the ice, and I was on it. Then, she showed up at the bar after the game the other night. We skated for, like, a minute.”
“You skated with her?”
“We raced for a second. Then, I told her I had to go.”
“What does she want with you now?”
“Well, she asked me to partner with her.”