“Yes. We’re looking for a few new coaches in the upcoming years as we anticipate some growth in our company. So I’d like to offer you a job coaching, and then training you for elite coaching.”

  Saylor was speechless. No matter how many times she tried to form words, she couldn’t. She just sat on Tia’s couch, her jaw dropped to the floor, with no clue what to say.

  “Like I said, I talked with your coaches and a couple of the rinks you’ve worked with in the past, and I think you’d be a good fit for Elite.”

  “You already checked my references?” The disbelief in her tone was evident. Saylor hadn’t thought she’d go back into figure skating of any kind after moving out here. She’d figured that part of her life had run its course and it was time for her to grow up and get a real job. Wasn’t that what Jameson and her parents had always told her?

  But to coach Olympians? Because that’s what Savannah was talking about. At least the possibility to do that in the future if she could prove herself. She’d at least be training the young kids who might be headed in that direction. And it was a job.

  Fuck.

  A job.

  Saylor bit her lip. She should jump at the opportunity no matter what, shouldn’t she? Because she’d been searching for a job for months and had gotten nowhere. With no experience in anything other than skating and coaching, it had been insanely hard to find anyone who was willing to hire her for anything.

  “I did.” Savannah chuckled lightly. “I hope you don’t mind, but I have contacts all over. It was easier to call them and talk with them than you might think.”

  “Oh, yeah, I get it.” Saylor rubbed her palms against her thighs, removing the sweat that had instantly appeared. “Do you pay during training?”

  “Yes, and we expect you to have your own private clients during that time as well. We’ll work with you to find some, and it’ll take a bit to build up your list, but we’ll get you there. We don’t leave you to hang out to dry.”

  “I’m sorry. This is all so unexpected.”

  “I know.” Savannah sounded sad for a minute, but then she switched back to her professional voice. “How about I send you an email with the information packet, you can look it over, and then we can schedule another phone call to hash out some more of the details. The packet is our new-hire packet, so you’ll be getting all the information that everyone else does when they accept.”

  “Okay.” Saylor’s eyebrows raised into her hairline. “But I’ll be honest, aside from the other week, I haven’t skated in months. I’m out of shape and out of practice.”

  Savannah clucked her tongue. “I’m not convinced of that. But we can try it out when we meet up again.”

  So they were meeting in person now? Saylor swallowed the lump in her throat. Savannah seemed pushy at best, and that wasn’t going to work well with Saylor’s temperament if she couldn’t find some way to make her voice heard through the noise.

  “Oh, and whenever you and your lovely fiancée set a date, you can let us know and we’ll give you as much time off as you want for the wedding and honeymoon.”

  Saylor’s stomach clenched hard. That little lie was now coming back to bite her in the ass hard. “That’s an amazing offer. You should know…” Saylor sucked in a sharp breath. She couldn’t let this lie continue. “…Tia and I aren’t engaged. In fact, that was our first official date that night, though we did really appreciate the pictures.”

  “Oh.” Savannah’s voice dropped off instantly. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “You two just seemed like you’d been together a while.”

  “No, no we haven’t.” Saylor nervously ran her hand through her hair before dropping it to her side and clenching and unclenching her fist. “But I’m glad to know that if we ever do end up engaged that taking time off for a wedding won’t be an issue.”

  “Right. It won’t.” Savannah sounded as if she was thrown off her game.

  Saylor hated that. She winced and glanced at the clock again. How had twenty minutes nearly passed already? Tia was bound to be worried for sure. Then again, maybe she wasn’t. Tia didn’t suffer from anxiety like Saylor did.

  “Let me know what other questions you have. This is my cell phone number, so feel free to text or call it if you want to talk more before making a decision. The email will have the compensation package listed in it, and that of course doesn’t include any private lessons you teach while working for us. That’ll be all yours, and we’ll help set you up with clients and rinks.”

  “This is a lot of information.” Saylor sighed heavily. “I’ll have to think about it, but my inclination is to agree. I’ve heard of Elite before, but I never thought—” Saylor stopped herself. Confident. She needed to act way more confident than she was. “I never thought the opportunity would present itself.”

  Much better than saying she didn’t think she was good enough to work for them.

  Saylor continued, “I’ll look over the material that you’ll be sending and get back to you in the next few days with questions and most likely a decision.”

  “Excellent.” Savannah sounded all kinds of pleased now. “I look forward to our call and meeting you again, properly this time.”

  “Yes. For sure.” Saylor swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn’t believe this was happening. “Talk to you soon.”

  When she settled her phone onto the coffee table, Saylor winced. She couldn’t have sounded more like an idiot on that call. Now that she was off the phone, everything she knew about Elite Skate was coming back to her brain. She’d be able to form functional sentences now if Savannah called back. Or rather, she probably wouldn’t be able to. But it would be her nerves talking, not because she was struck silent by them. She’d still sound like an idiot, of course.

  But a job!

  And not only a job that would pay the bills—hopefully. She hadn’t actually seen any numbers yet—but a job doing something she loved. Saylor blew out a breath, her lips curling upward into a big grin. Was she being serious right now? Was this actually happening?

  She wanted nothing more than to run downstairs and tell Tia, but she couldn’t do that. Interrupting class would be awful. Instead, Saylor sent Tia a text message telling her that she was upstairs and would talk to her when classes were done for the night. Because there was no way she could go to class now and focus on anything.

  She was too ramped up.

  As if on cue, a text message came in from Savannah asking for her email address. Within twenty minutes, Saylor had the email pulled up and was reading through every line of the information that Savannah had sent by squinting at the small screen on her phone.

  This was a dream.

  Absolute dream come true.

  She’d be working weird hours while she was in her own classes and teaching at the same time, but the example schedules didn’t seem unreasonable. This was entirely possible. She could actually do this. She could still be in figure skating even if she wasn’t competing anymore. No one had ever thought that was a possibility. Her parents had told her for years to focus on schoolwork so she could get a real job when she’d ruined her body, and well, here she was. Ready to be a professional coach, with an actual salary.

  Saylor sent off a reply to Savannah asking to meet with her in person. She would prepare for that meeting like it was her SAT exam. And she would nail it, even if she did basically already have an offer on the table. She needed to prove that she could be professional too.

  She set up for dinner, pulling out some of the food Tia had in the fridge and starting cooking. It wasn’t much longer before Tia stepped through the doorway, her skin glowing with a sheen of sweat and her hair loose around her shoulders and down her back.

  “Hey?” Tia asked, curiously. “I didn’t anticipate you’d cook me dinner when I gave you the key.”

  “I umm… needed to keep my hands busy.” Saylor bit her lip, looking Tia over and trying to resist the urge to jump her in her own excitement. She had to tell Tia what happened first.

  “I can think of much better ways to do that. The bottom of that list includes showing up for class.”

  Saylor snorted. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll remember that next time.”

  Tia smiled fully as she dropped her keys on the counter and moved closer to Saylor, wrapping her arms around Saylor’s back and pulling her in for a kiss. “You better have a really good excuse for missing class today.”

  “I promise you, it’s a good excuse, and it involves way more than just cooking dinner.”

  Saylor moved in and pressed their mouths together. She pulled away and then rethought that move and slid back in. She wanted to deepen the kiss. They hadn’t seen each other in two days, and she needed that comfort with Tia, the familiarity and ease that always came with her. Saylor slid her tongue along Tia’s lip, asking for more, and Tia permitted.

  The kiss was slow, long, deep, and everything Saylor wanted it to be. When she finally ended it with a smile on her lips, Saylor turned back to the stove. “Do you remember the weird lady at the ice rink? The one who took pictures of us?”

  “The one who assumed we were engaged?” Tia snagged a piece of sautéed carrot and slid it between her lips.

  “Yeah, that one.”

  “She was an odd duck.”

  “I think her purpose for taking pictures was twofold.”

  “Oh, don’t tell me she’s a creep.”

  “No, she’s not. At least… no, she’s not,” Saylor corrected. She turned the heat off on the stove and started to plate up food for them both to sit down and eat. “She called me right when I was coming in for class.”

  “Called you?” Tia looked skeptical. “I thought you said she wasn’t creepy.”

  “She works for Elite Skate.” At Tia’s blank stare, Saylor explained. “It’s a company that trains coaches for figure skating. They were originally based in Chicago, but they have a branch in Seattle and in Texas.”

  “They train coaches?”

  “Yeah.” Saylor sat at the table and waited for Tia to join her. “She offered me a job.”

  “A job coaching?”

  “Yes, while they train me to be an Elite coach, someone who coaches people who compete professionally.”

  “Like you used to do?” Tia stabbed another carrot with her fork.

  “Yeah, like I used to, and beyond what I used to do.”

  Tia’s fork dropped. Saylor jerked with a start and looked up into Tia’s wide eyes. “That’s amazing.”

  “Really?”

  “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “Because I’d be traveling a lot.” That’s what had bothered her. And it wasn’t until this moment that Saylor had been able to put into words exactly what about the entire situation was irking her. “I’d have to go all over the world for competitions, and I wouldn’t be here as much.”

  “I also travel for competitions, Saylor.” Tia rolled her eyes. “Not all over the world, but I do travel for them.”

  Saylor sucked in a sharp breath. It was clear that she was going to have to make it obvious for Tia to understand what the issue was. “Yeah, but I’d be putting us in the same situation I just left.”

  Tia narrowed her eyes, looking at Saylor directly. “We’re not you and Jameson.”

  “I know that.” And she did, but it was still ridiculously hard not to compare some days to the only serious relationship that Saylor had known. “But I also want to make sure that it doesn’t become that.”

  “Then we’ll work to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” Tia reached for Saylor’s hand and squeezed. “You need to do this.”

  “I really do.”

  Tia laughed lightly. “I guess that means no reprise competition for you and me, then.”

  “Oh, you never know. I might find time for that.” Saylor lifted Tia’s hand and kissed her knuckles. “Dancing with you is sexy as hell.”

  Tia let out a light moan, as if she was thinking of the same thing Saylor was. Not the dance so much as the night after the dance. The very long night when Saylor had to convince herself to stop touching and inciting pleasure.

  “Keep that up and this dinner is going to get cold.”

  “You do have a microwave,” Saylor murmured.

  Tia’s lips parted in surprise, but then she shook her head. “Sustenance first. Then I need a quick shower. Then you’re mine. All night.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You’re going to need the energy, so eat up.” Tia pointed at Saylor’s still untouched plate. “Because I’m going to ravish you.”

  Laughing, Saylor shook her head. Whatever had she done to find someone like Tia? She was so glad she’d taken the risk that first night, taken the chance that perhaps she could trust her instincts. Perhaps she could find love.

  epilogue

  About a year later…

  The lights were dim in the club. This wasn’t like any club Tia had brought Saylor to before. This one was meant for ballroom dancing, not modern hip-hop or improv, and definitely not for grinding orgasms either. Tia’s heart was in her throat. She wasn’t prepared for this. The dance was nothing, that wasn’t what she was worried about. It was what was going to happen by the time the music faded.

  “I’ve got everything you need,” Jericho said quietly, winking in Tia’s direction.

  “Thanks,” Tia answered, not giving any more information than what was already said. She didn’t need Saylor catching on.

  “I hope this video goes viral. Do you know what it could do for the school if it did?”

  “Make my life a living hell.” Tia gave her a fake grin before she laughed. “Seriously, it would be a good thing, but that’s not the point of tonight, is it?”

  “No. No, it’s not.” Jericho winked again.

  Jesus. If she kept that up, then Saylor was definitely going to know something was going on. Tia couldn’t have that happening. She needed this to go as planned because Saylor’s anxiety would shoot through the roof if it didn’t. It might already be awful with everything that was going on.

  “You’re going to record it, right?”

  “All of it, for sentimental purposes and for viral purposes and for improvement purposes.”

  “Always the smart-ass.” Tia chuckled as she walked toward Saylor who was finishing up her stretches. “Are you ready for the dry run?”

  “I don’t think anything is ever dry between us.”

  Tia snorted a laugh. “This is why I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Saylor smiled and leaned in for a kiss. “But yes, I’m ready.”

  “We’re next.”

  They waited together as the song ended and the couple that was dancing ahead of them finished and bowed. They had already been waiting there for an hour, and with each passing minute, Tia got more and more nervous. It was ridiculous. She shouldn’t be. But she’d never done this before.

  Taking a sharp breath, Tia took Saylor’s hand and led her out onto the dance floor. A year together, and Tia had never been more sure about a relationship before. Jericho nodded to her from the corner, phone in front of her face as the music picked up. Tia made eye contact with Saylor and nodded sharply.

  Tia was sure.

  Saylor was sure.

  They were in this together.

  Saylor’s lips curled upward, that beautiful smile Tia hadn’t been able to get out of her mind since the first time she saw it. She wanted to make Saylor smile every time they were together, and in between. She’d turned into an all-out romantic since they’d met.

  The music started, and Tia didn’t have any more time. She steadied her breathing and held her hands in the perfect position. She and Saylor had practiced this dance for the last six months, preparing it for a competition next week, but Tia had told Saylor she wanted to test it out first. Smiling at Saylor, Tia spun her in the first circle.

  The music dipped low, and Tia dropped her hand down Saylor’s back in a saucy move, resting her fingers right on the top curve of Saylor’s ass. Saylor swayed gently like she was supposed to, and then curled her body around Tia’s, her leg locked around Tia’s hip before Tia cupped her thigh and held her firmly, walking backward.

  Tia glanced toward Jericho who gave her a huge thumbs-up and a grin. Tia’s heart hammered hard. They still had two minutes of song to get through, and she wasn’t sure she could make it to the end. They hadn’t planned on this exact scenario. Everything had been discussed and decided already, but Tia wanted to make it special, have some date in mind to commemorate.

  Looking intensely into Saylor’s eyes, Tia led the dance. She walked toward Saylor, pushing her back before spinning her around and catching her. She was so distracted that it was hard to concentrate, and when her foot hit Saylor’s unexpectedly, she nearly tripped and fell down.

  Saylor, however, caught her. Her brows pulled together in confusion and worry. Tia couldn’t have that, so she pressed onward. She pulled Saylor tight to her chest, their breasts pushing against each other through the outfits. With a full breath, Tia turned them in a tight circle. On cue, Saylor pushed her away, completely breaking contact.

  They had eight beats before they would be back together again, and those eight beats were going to feel like a lifetime. But it did mark the halfway point in the song. Tia risked a glance toward Jericho, just behind Saylor, who grinned like an idiot at Tia and waved.

  It was a good thing they were dancing, because Saylor would definitely know something was up if she saw that. Tia nearly missed the next cue, but Saylor was walking back to her, her hips moving saucily as the tempo picked up pace. This was where they switched. Saylor would lead the rest of the song until eighteen seconds before the end when they both took one half of the responsibility.

  When they’d discussed the routine, they’d thought it was fitting. Neither one of them led their lives. They worked together to pave their own path as a couple, something they’d spent the last year building together. Tia grabbed hold of Saylor’s hands and relaxed into her new position. It was odd to switch halfway through, after years of always doing one or the other, but with Saylor in her arms it was perfect.