Page 80 of My Last Dance

“First, we need positive attitudes during practice.” Patrick gave me a pointed look, making me roll my eyes.

“Second, I want you two spending as much time together as possible. We need to build chemistry, and fast. That means working together, living together—”

“What?” I snapped.

Patrick’s face creased. “Yeah, you and I lived together that one year in Canton and that’s when we really excelled. We need you two to become a team.”

“We arenotliving together.” My whole body went into panic mode.

Kappy gave me a mock-sympathetic look. “Sounds like we are. Your place or mine, babygirl?” he said in a sexy voice.

“Patrick!” I whimpered out, my eyes bulging. “You can’t dothis to me!”

“Okay, what else?” Kappy asked with a chuckle.

“There’s only one more rule.” Patrick glanced down at his clipboard.

“Okay, what is it?”

This time, Patrick’s pointed gaze narrowed on Kappy. “Keep your pants on. No sleeping together.”

“Why are you only looking at me?” Kappy complained.

I snorted. “That willnotbe a problem.”

Patrick continued staring at Kappy.

“Okay, fine, jeez.” Kappy lifted both hands.

Patrick blew out a sigh and fixed a smile on his face. “All right, let’s take the ice.”

Kappy took a while to unbox and lace up his brand new figure skates. When he finally stood to walk toward the ice, I had to stifle a laugh. He looked like a dog wearing booties for the first time, picking up his feet awkwardly like he suddenly forgot how to walk.

“They should feel mostly the same on the ice besides the toepick,” I told him.

He frowned. “They’re just stiff. I’m not used to having the tongue of my skate actually tied up like this.” He hissed. “It kinda hurts. Maybe I should loosen them?”

“Nope, that’s a good way to break an ankle,” Patrick interjected, coming up behind us. “You’ll get used to them. You should put some skate guards on and wear them around the house to break them in faster.”

“You mean apartment,” he corrected, then wagged his eyebrows at me. “Piper’sapartment.”

“Why mine?”

His eyebrows raised. “You wanna come to my place?”

“No.”

“There ya have it.” He grinned before dipping his chin and flinging his hair back, making me grind my teeth.

“We arenotliving together. This isn’t even going to work, this is just a trial, and you’re gonna call it quits after a half hour. You can’t even—”

“Piper,” Patrick snapped in a sharp tone. “What did I say about having a positive attitude? Now get on the ice and warm up. I’ll be back in a second. I need to have a quick word with Hans. When I come back, I’ll work with Kappy first, then we’ll come together for some partner stroking exercises.”

My face went slack. Patrick actuallyreprimandedme. Before I could argue back, he cut me off with a stern nod to the ice.

My brain was so confused that I just listened.

I’m not sure if it was more shocking to hear Patrick take charge or to hear that he had an actual plan for today. He was taking this seriously…

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