Page 105 of My Last Dance

I started at the bottom of the results, going over each name.

We didn’t get last.

My heart pounded.

Not sixth either.

My lungs practically froze.

Not third.

“Oh my God.” My hands went to my head. “Oh my God!”

Turning on my skate guard, I bolted down the hallway to our locker room and threw the door open. “We did it! We got second!” I blurted out, not even caring who else was in the room.

Kappy’s mouth gaped open.

Patrick’s face lit up as he threw his hands in the air. “Yes!” He practically hauled Kappy to his feet and pulled both of us into a group hug. “I knew you two crazy kids could pull it off!”

I jumped up and down in our little group hug, feeling giddy like a little kid going to Disney World.

Kappy stared at me with a funny look on his face that I couldn’t quite decipher.

“I’ll see you guys at the podium!” Patrick said, grasping both of our shoulders before bolting for the door. “I need to go brag!”

“I can’t believe this! This is amazing! We did it!” A bubble of happiness was erupting inside of me, making Kappy blur slightly in front of me. But he didn’t look excited, he looked more…amused.“Why aren’t you ecstatic?”

His hands went to his hips. “Is thismyPiper?” He arched an eyebrow. “Piper the Viper? Happy for second place?”

“Yes, you idiot.” I swatted his chest. “I’m…I’m really proud of us.” My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. I needed to buy a results sheet. I needed to frame it.

His head dipped to get a clear view of my eyes. His eyebrows tugged together. “Are you crying?”

“No,” I quickly denied.

“I think you are,” he whispered, staring at me intently.

“I’m not,” I choked out.

“Okay, you’re not.” He grinned and gently smoothed his thumbs under my eyes before pulling me in for a hug. “First one down, three more to go.” He took my hand in his and squeezed it three times while guiding us out to the podium for our medals and picture.

21. SORRY, PATTY BOY

Our Regionals results gave us a newfound confidence on the ice that carried us through the next few weeks.

Kappy tapped out of practice early one Friday, saying his legs needed a break.

Patrick laughed. “All good. I think we’re ready for Sectionals.” His eyes went to his clipboard. “Which brings us to the next order of business.”

I lifted myself up on the boards to sit and grabbed my water bottle.

“We need to put something together for the Gala,” Patrick said.

My eyebrows flew up. “You think we’ll make it to Nationals?”

“Gala?” Kappy stretched his quads. “Is there gonna be food?”

I choked on my sip of water.

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