The only thing I "own" is Tara.

Once again I would like to thank all the people who read and review :)

Author's note:  I took a part of this from the movie "The Cutting Edge".  For those of you who have seen that movie, you will realize what part; for those of you who have never seen it....don't worry.

Chapter 19: Cinderella

Jack looked really good in practice today. I still don't know what my dad is going to decide, but Jack just made it a lot easier. Unfortunately, we will not know anything until at least tonight (at the earliest). So here I am waiting outside the locker room until the guys are decent. I have grown to like a lot of different things these last few months; this is not one of them. I hate doing my own laundry and for the last seven months I have been doing the laundry of an entire, smelly, hockey team.

"Can I come in yet? I need to get your jerseys so that I am not washing cloths until four in the morning!"

"Hold on!'

"One minute!"

"Give us a second!"

Finally Buzzy opens the door.

"Seriously, you guys take longer than girls."

"Hey, it is not all of us....your boyfriend over there has more hair than most of us combined!"

"But if you notice, my esteemed captain, my hair is still wet."

Jack heads over to where I am standing. My dad has already left the arena so I feel safe kissing him....which is accompanied by a chorus of heckling hockey players.

"Would you two get a room!"

"They already have one....OC's....they kicked Rizzo out."

Everyone, except Jack and I are laughing. My face could probably match the red of the American flag so I bury my head into Jack's chest.

"You guys are just jealous....I got the princess....what did you guys get?....And we didn't kick Rizzo out....he chose to find other arrangements."

"Whatever you say OC."

"So are you guys going out tonight?"

"Tara....are you trying to change the subject?"

"What if I am? It is still a valid question."

"I think we are just going to get dinner. Do you want us to wait for you....Cinderella?"

"No. You guys go. I'll catch up later."

As I begin to gather up the dirty laundry all of the guys begin to file out....all except Jack.

"Hey OC....you comin?"

"Nah....I gonna stay and help Tara."

Mac just rolls his eyes as he turns around and heads out the door.

"Thank god! I thought they were never going to leave."

"You could have gone with them."

"I have been with them all afternoon. I wanted to be with you."

"Good, because I kinda of had an idea."

"Oh really....am I gonna like it?"

"I was thinking we could go to the skater's pond. I heard my dad telling my mom about it. We could drink hot chocolate...skate a little....it could be like a real date.....

Jack looks unhappy.

"What?....You don't like it?....It was just an idea....we can meet up with the guys...."

"No, it's just....what if someone sees us....you know I don't care if your dad finds out....but you have been so insist ant that he not be told...."

"That is the beauty of it....even if we do get seen....I can just tell my dad I was trying to keep your sprits up....he wants me to do that."

"How did I get a girlfriend who is beautiful and smart?"

"You're just very lucky."

"Don't I know it."

We kiss.

"Well then let's hurry up and clean these cloths."

"Wow! How did I get a boyfriend who is handsome and helpful?"

"You smiled."

I look up from the pile of cloths with tears in my eyes. Jack never stops amazing me.

"Oh....I didn't mean to make you cry."

"I love you."

"I know....I love you too. Now dry your eyes and start the laundry or else we are never going to get to the pond!"

"Wow! You are like my evil stepmother."

"Except for the fact that I am your Prince Charming."

"Oh yeah I almost forgot."

"Maybe this will jog your memory."

Jack scoops me up into his arms and captures my mouth with his.

"So....?"

"Not bad."

"Not bad?"

He kisses me again....this time a little longer. For a second I feel light headed. As we pull our lips apart I rest my forehead on Jack's.

"Wow!"

"Now that is the answer I was looking for."

There is a few seconds of silence.

"But your right we have to get this laundry done. The quicker the better."

With Jack's help we got everything done in a little less than an hour and headed out for the pond.

"It is so beautiful out here."

"It could almost make you forget there is an Olympics going on."

"I know. For the first time in a long while I feel relaxed....Oh look there is the hot chocolate stand. Let's get some."

I grab Jack by the arm and drag him across the snow covered lawn.

"Hum. I love hot chocolate. One sip can warm my whole body."

I look over at Jack and again he seemed....worried....or scared. I can't really tell.

"Hey, what is the matter?"

"Is that your mom over there?"

Jack tilts his chin in the direction of a women sitting on a nearby bench.

"I don't know I can't really see her...."

Then I see my dad sit next to her. Jack and I both look at each other.

"What should we do?"

"We have three options....one....leave now....two....stay and try to avoid my parents....and three....go over and say hi."

"I don't want to leave yet."

"Neither do I."

"So that leaves us with options two and three. I will go along with what ever you want to do."

"Well we can try to avoid them, but his they see us we will have some explaining to do or we can go over and say hi now....this way it doesn't look like we are hiding anything."

"I agree....lets go over now."

Jack and I head over to where my parents are sitting. We make a very deliberate effort not to touch or stand too close together.

"Hi mom....hi dad."

Both of them turn around and look a little confused.

"Oh hi sweetie. What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to cheer Jack up and I had heard the two of you talking about this place."

Mom and dad seem to take this in and accept it. We exchange a few more pleasantries and then part.

"Well that went really well. I think they bought it."

"Yeah. Lets just hope it goes that well when we tell your parents we are dating."

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it....now can we go skating?"

Jack smiles and shakes his head. We put on our skates and head out to the pond. After a few laps I show Jack some of my old figure skating moves.

"Where did you learn to do that?"

"When I was little I wanted to skate....no....I wanted to play hockey....so badly. However, there weren't any girls hockey teams and none of the boy teams would take me...I cried for weeks about it. Finally my mom enrolled me in figure skating lessons. She figured this way I would still be on the ice. It was fun for a while but it didn't satisfy me the way hockey would have. That is why I have helped my dad out for so long. It allows me to be a part of the hockey world."

"I didn't realize you loved hockey so much."

"Very few people do."

We skate around a few more times. More and more people are leaving and eventually Jack and I are the only two left.

"So why did you start skating?"

"I'm from Massachusetts."

"No really...why?"

"You promise not to laugh?"

"Of course."

Jack stops short, causing the ice to spray. He bends down and grabs some of the ice chips. He holds it up to his nose.

"Here smell this."

I look at him a little confused but I smell it anyway.

"What do you smell?"

"Nothing?"

I am more confused than ever.

"This is one of the reasons I started skating."

"Because of the smell of nothing?"

"No, I love the smell of the ice."

"But it doesn't smell like anything."

"To me it smells like cold. It clears my head. When I am on the ice nothing else matters. It helped....It helps me get away from any problems I have. Does that make any sense?"

"Yeah. Skating is your escape. Everyone has one of those....everyone needs one. It can be an activity or a place....even a book or a song."

"So what is your escape?"

"You know that song by Aerosmith....'Dream On'?"

"Yeah....that is a great song."

"When I am really depressed....or even when I just need to think...I will go in to my room and just play that song over and over again. Somehow it always helps."

"So now I know not to disturb you when I hear you play that song."

"No. You can always disturb me and when I want to be alone I will tell you."

"Ok."

"Hey look at that."

I point over to an ice sculpture shaped like a castle.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

"It is really nice."

"Look there is a sign right in front of it."

"What does it say?"

"Cinderella's Castle: Fashioned after the castle seen in Disney's Classic Cinderella."

Jack and I both look at each other and laugh. If only the team knew!