Chapter 8: The Reflex

The accident happened on a Tuesday.

Not a serious accident.

But serious enough.

They were practicing a difficult lift sequence when Dominic's blade caught a rough section of ice.

Everything happened in less than a second.

The angle shifted.

The balance changed.

The lift started to fail.

Nadia felt it immediately.

Her body reacted before her mind could.

Instead of panicking, she stayed still.

She trusted him.

Dominic corrected the mistake instantly.

The lift recovered.

The landing was perfect.

Silence filled the rink.

"You okay?" Dominic asked.

"Yeah."

"You didn't try to correct."

"What?"

"Most people would panic."

Nadia shrugged.

"I knew you'd fix it."

The words escaped before she could stop them.

Dominic looked at her.

A long look.

"You trusted me," he said quietly.

"Well... yeah."

For some reason, neither knew what to say after that.

The moment lingered between them.

Eventually Irina broke the silence.

"Again."

"Seriously?" Nadia asked.

"Again," Irina repeated.

"She's unbelievable."

"That's why she's successful," Dominic said.

"I hate that you're right all the time."

"You mention that often."

Nadia smiled.

But later that night she kept thinking about the lift.

About how naturally she'd trusted him.

And how dangerous that realization felt.