Contract Marriage

Chapter 1

Isaac

I place my skate guards in their usual spot before I step onto the ice. Breathing the cold air from the rink, I take my first glide on the ice. I adjust my sleeves and pull them lower to my wrists.

Moving on the ice has always been easier to me than moving on land. I feel like I belong here in the rink. When I was younger, it seemed like the only place where I could finally be free. I loved going here and spending time just skating until my legs turned to jelly.

But when I started competing, I figured quickly that I don’t have the freedom on ice I thought I had. It took off some of my excitement, I guess.

I still love skating, don’t get me wrong. But at the same time, it can get kind of suffocating when the thing that was supposed to be just a hobby turned into your entire career.

The day my mom brought me to my first ever ice rink changed my life. She and I might not have realized it then. I wonder what she would think of me competing in a field we once only thought to be just for fun.

Shaking my head to clear thoughts of my mom, I speed up my glides.

I do a few rounds around the rink, trying to stretch out some kinks before I go over my usual routine. My partner and coach are still not here but then again, I came to the rink earlier than usual. I love early mornings in the rink before the other skaters come in.

That’s why I make it a point to come here earlier to enjoy the silence and psych myself for practice.

The Four Continents is more or less only a month away so instead of thinking of the holidays, I spend my days and many nights thinking about perfecting our programs to get that gold. Or even just a step on that podium.

It’s a miracle we even qualified for it. A year earlier and I’m sure we’d just be stuck. But this season we did, though not with some hiccups. We barely reached the TES, with Vanessa losing her balance twice and fucking up her spins.

I know I should also be to blame for it. Essentially, even though we’ve been skating together for almost four years, I still couldn’t match Vanessa’s speed.

After my fourth round around the rink, I see Vlad, our coach, come in. I wave to him but he either doesn’t see me, which is impossible since there are only two other skaters, or he’s got bad news because he doesn’t return it.

Frowning, I skate over to him and step out of the rink. I put on my skate guards and walk to him. Vlad is sitting on one of the chairs. I sit beside him.

Vlad has only been our coach for the past year and yet under him, Vanessa and I have improved so much.

“We have a problem,” he huffs out, crossing his arms. He ruffles his gray hair and turns to me, his blue eyes serious.

I place my hands on my knees and brace myself for the bad news.

“The other sponsor dropped,” he says in a low voice tinged with his heavy Russian accent. “You and Vanessa only have a sponsorship left.”

I squeeze my eyes shut and look away to the young skaters in the rink.

“You know what that means do you, moy mal'chik ?” Vlad taps me to look at him and I can see the worry and frustration I’m feeling on his face. “If you don’t stand on that podium at Four Continents, you might not be able to compete any further.”

Sure, figure skating looks magical and we make it look easy. What people don’t realize is how expensive it is to compete especially for bigger championships. There are expenses for flying to places, the costumes, the choreographers, and the coach.

I purse my lips. My hands shake and I know it’s not from the cold. With our record, we can’t afford to lose this season if we want to secure our place for the Olympics. I also can’t afford to wait another four years for the next chance.

We barely had a spot for the teams to compete in South Korea next year and I’ll be damned if we would have no choice but to drop it.

“I have an idea,” Vlad suddenly says. “But I’m not sure if you’ll like it.”

I bite the inside of my cheek and wait for him to continue.

“How about you reach out to your brother, yes?” he asks. “I’m sure he’ll help you.”

I grit my teeth to keep myself from yelling or doing anything violent. If there’s one person I’ll never ask for help, it’s Samuel. I’ve never really gotten along with him even when I lived with him under the same roof.

Suffice to say, hell would freeze over before I’d ask him for help. I tell Vlad as much.

He nods grimly at my statement and doesn’t push further. “I understand but we’ll have to work extra hard to win Four Continents or this will be the last for the season. And we both know you couldn’t afford, and the situation is dire for Vanessa.”

I know what he means. At least I went to the Olympics. Vanessa hasn’t. And that’s what we’ve been aiming to do for as long as we paired together.

“We’ll find other sponsors,” I say firmly, hoping that’s actually true. “We don’t need his help.”

Suddenly, the rink door opens and closes, distracting my attention from Vlad. It’s my partner, Vanessa.

My breath catches when I catch a glimpse of her face. There’s no denying that Vanessa is pretty with her caramel skin that I’ve seen glow under the rink lights, dimpled smile, and expressive brown eyes.

Those eyes have always distracted me during practices. I turn away from them when the pull gets too strong which in turn frustrates Vlad. He’s always yelling at us for not working on our chemistry.

I tell him it’s not that. But the reason for it would only upset her. I know she doesn’t look anything like Kirsten, my old partner and girlfriend, but every time I look at Vanessa, she always reminds me of Kirsten.

I know I shouldn’t compare them but I can’t help it. Sometimes, I’d be in the middle of practice with her and I’d just catch myself comparing them.

She walks to us with a bright smile and abruptly I look away. It’s not fair for me to continue comparing her to Kirsten. She’s my partner now and I should only think of her as such.

“Hi, sorry I’m late,” she says, dumping her suitcase and grabbing her skates. She starts putting them on and I’m briefly distracted by her shapely legs.

Blinking rapidly, I clear my throat and turn away again.

Vlad waves off her apology. “It’s fine, zaychik. Get on the ice, both of you. We’re working on your lifts today.”