Chapter 21: After

The scoreboard took forever.

At least that's how it felt.

Nadia and Dominic stood together near the boards while officials finalized the results.

Neither spoke much.

Neither needed to.

The free dance had been the best performance of their partnership.

Whatever happened next, they both knew that.

"You keep checking the screen," Nadia said.

"So do you."

"That's different."

"How?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Dominic laughed softly.

Before either could say anything else, the final scores appeared.

Third place.

Then second.

Then a pause.

A long pause.

The kind that made Nadia's heart pound against her ribs.

"First place," the announcer said.

"Hartley and Vasquez."

For a second, Nadia genuinely thought she'd heard wrong.

"What?"

"We won," Dominic said quietly.

"No, seriously."

"We won."

"We actually won?"

"Apparently."

Nadia laughed.

Then immediately threw her arms around him.

The hug happened before she could stop herself.

Before she could think.

For one surprised second, Dominic froze.

Then his arms wrapped around her too.

The arena disappeared.

The noise disappeared.

Everything disappeared except that moment.

Eventually they pulled apart.

"Sorry," Nadia said.

"Don't be."

"I got excited."

"I noticed."

"You're making fun of me."

"A little."

"Good. That means you're happy."

Dominic looked at her.

Really looked at her.

"Yeah," he said.

"I am."

The medal ceremony passed in a blur.

Photographs.

Interviews.

Congratulations.

By the time everything ended, it was almost night.

They escaped to a small diner a few blocks from the arena.

Quiet.

Warm.

Normal.

Exactly what they needed.

For several minutes they sat in comfortable silence.

Then Nadia spoke.

"So... now what?"

Dominic smiled.

"Now comes the difficult part."

"More difficult than winning a Grand Prix Invitational?"

"Much more difficult."

"That's concerning."

"Probably."

The smile faded.

The atmosphere shifted.

Something important was coming.

Both of them knew it.

"Nadia," Dominic said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you remember week nine?"

"The eight-week promise?"

"Exactly."

"I remember."

"The competition is over."

Her heart immediately started racing.

"It is."

"Which means I don't have any excuses left."

Silence.

The good kind.

The terrifying kind.

"Dominic..."

"I like you."

The words arrived simply.

Honestly.

Without drama.

"More than I should."

"That's a terrible confession."

"I know."

"Good."

"I've had weeks to prepare and somehow that's still the best version."

Nadia laughed.

Then she smiled.

"Lucky for you," she said quietly,

"I've had weeks to prepare too."

For the first time all evening, Dominic looked nervous.

"And?"

"And I like you too."

"That's it?"

"What were you expecting?"

"Something dramatic."

"Sorry. You're stuck with honesty."

Neither looked away.

Neither wanted to.

After months of waiting, months of pretending, months of unfinished conversations...

The truth finally felt easy.