CHAPTER 2

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As the pair waited for the event coordinator, Sue watched some little children warming up on the ice. She smiled, seeming to drift into memory of when SHE was their age. Jack tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to see a woman chatting with Jack.

"I'm sorry, you caught me daydreaming" Sue explained, reaching her hand out.

"Jamie Quigg, this is Sue Thomas, my partner" Jack introduced.

"Nice to meet you" they exchanged.

"How do we do this?" Jack asked. "Sue competed, I only played hockey"

"Jack, I was little more than their age" Sue protested as she pointed onto the ice.

"Well, at least you two can skate. That's the first thing" Jamie said. "Let's go into my office, and we can talk details"

As they enter the office, Jamie closed the door. "Can I get you something to drink? Hot chocolate is my specialty." Both agents declined.

"So, you can still skate?" Jamie asked. Sue and Jack shook their heads yes. "Good. I've had people who claimed they can skate, but end up on their butts once blades hit the ice because they forgot to mention, they haven't been on the ice in 20 years!"

"How is this going to work?" Jack asked.

"Well, first, and most importantly, the focus is on having fun, and raising money for the kids. This entire day is for the cancer research. We will pick the music for you. You will come up with the routine. Because we only have a couple weeks to get this together, the requirements are minimal." Jamie explained.

"Like what?" Jack asked cautiously.

"You will have to skate together for at least 2 full minutes of the routine. The routine will be 4-5 minutes long, depending on the songs. You will do 2 routines. One upbeat, one mellower. You can use props and whatever you want for a costume." Jamie explained.

"Will we be allowed to place some amps on the ice, face down?" Sue asked.

"Face down, on the ice?" Jamie asked.

"Since we don't have a lot of time for me to learn the music and routine, it would be helpful to be able to 'hear' the tempo, rhythm and down beat. It makes it easier to know when to jump and spin, and when not to." Sue explained.

"And, face down would be best?" she questioned, curiously.

"She's deaf." Jack stated.

"O… I… Didn't you compete when you were younger?" she asked and Sue confirmed with a shake of her head. "How long have you been deaf?" Jamie asked.

"Since about 18 months old." Sue answered. Deciding to save the coordinators sanity, Sue explained. "I've learned how to 'hear' music from the feel of it. If I can feel it in my feet, I can memorize the beat, and therefore dance to it."

"Amazing" she paused. "How do you know what I'm saying though?"

"I read lips. It makes it easier in the hearing world."

"Anyway. Is there anything else we need to know?" Jack asked.

"Here is the music we've chosen for you, including lyrics. We put the songs on a CD for you to practice with. You will meet the artists the day before the event. You can go over anything special you want from them. Like in your case, maybe more bass. I will look into the amp situation and get back to you." Jamie explained.

"Will we be allowed to practice here? Do we need to reserve practice time?" Sue asked.

"See, I never would have known to ask that…" Jack joked quietly.

"I would reserve what you want, it gets busy around here this time of year" Jamie suggested. "You're welcome to use this rink, or get another. Don't let your guard down though; the competition can be nasty and sneaky." They all chuckled. "There are some serious bragging rights up for grabs."

Sue and Jack laced up their skates and wandered onto the ice. It was a fresh layer, just laid down by the Zamboni. Sue pushed right out, flowing with ease across the glass floor. Her hair drifted lightly back as she swooshed to the far end of the rink. Jack leaned against the doorway, smiling at her. She looked so happy. The smile on her lips stretched across her face. Jack slowly pushed himself off the side boards. He was more tentative with his steps than she. He seemed to even wobble a bit. "And she wants me DANCE? HA!" Jack sarcastically thought to himself.

"Come on Jack, I thought you were some pro hockey player?" Sue teased.
"Hardly. Try kiddy league, pond hockey." Jack offered.

"You said you played in high school and college. And, if I remember right, you got a scholarship from hockey…" Sue hinted, trying to get him to at least laugh.

"Yeah, I guess it was something like that" He smiled, winking at her.

'He is SOOOO cute when he does that! Does he have ANY idea what he does to me?' Sue thought silently while Jack skated closer to her.

"Are you going to be able to do this Jack? Seriously." Sue asked.

"Yes. These aren't my skates, and they're hurting my feet." Jack retorted. They skated around the edge of the rink for a bit, getting used to the ice under their feet. Sue smiled at Jack, and wandered into the middle. With seemingly no effort, she began to spin, and let it out right into a jump with a twist. Jack hadn't realized he'd stopped and watched in awe. She was so at ease, so graceful, so beautiful on the ice. Well, if he'd let himself admit it, she was just plain beautiful.

She flirtatiously skated in Jacks direction, taking him by the hand. They skated hand in hand into the middle. Sue began to question his ability. Neither of them wanting to let go of the others hand.

"OK, let's see what you can do now." Sue suggested, but Jack didn't budge. "Jack?" She nudged his arm.

"Sorry. What do you want to know?" He asked.

"Obviously, you can skate forward. Backwards? Do you think you could pick me up, WITHOUT dropping me on my head?" She asked. Jack looked at her reluctantly. He shrugged his shoulders, looking at the ice just lifting his eyes to meet hers. "Do you think you could learn some simple tricks?" She asked hopefully.

"I'll try… after all; it IS for a good cause." He winked, throwing her words back at her. She had a feeling she'd be eating more than just her words before this was over! Jack suddenly took off, skating pretty fast around the rink, passing her and leaping into the air. He actually landed it, although not very steadily. He spun and skated backwards for her. Sue face was full of shock, but a huge smile graced her features. As Jack came near her again, she tried to save face by telling him he'd have to work on that landing. He stretched out his hand, taking hers and pulling her gently forward. He slipped his arm behind her, holding her other hand in his. Jack leaned in, getting Sue's attention, "ready" was all he said when he took the hand he was holding, and spun her 3 times, and placed her in a dip, her hair ever so slightly grazing the top of the ice. Sue looked into his eyes. His dark chocolate brown eyes, she could let herself get lost in them. Usually she saw a kind, sweet soul. Right now, all she could see was a deviousness that rarely peeked its evil head. She suddenly realized they were still too close to the ice for her comfort and nodded for him to pull her up.

"Well, I see your reputation for being a good ice skater got sucked into some vast black hole somewhere. I'm impressed. MAYBE this will be easier than I thought?" She said smiling as they skated off the ice. The pair unlaced their skates and got their street shoes back on, talking.

"Ok, so, how did you learn to do that?" Sue asked.

"I didn't really, just did it. The spinning is like turning quickly after a puck, and the backwards I knew how to do. Spinning and dipping you just kind of happened." Jack offered.

"MMMM?" Sue looked at him as if she didn't believe him completely, arching her eyebrow at him to finish explaining.

"OK, I used to take my girlfriends skating on Saturday nights if I didn't have a game. It was the "thing" to do when I was 16. The girls would lose their balance a little, and my arm would swoop in behind them to keep them from falling, and it would stay there. I would spin them around… only once though… made it seem more romantic." He confessed.

"Did that work? Was that your signature move?" Sue teased.

Jack blushed a little, smiling. "Yeah, it worked." He smiled, blushing, knowing he'd been busted. "Worked on you, didn't it?" He retorted, trying save some dignity.

"Hmmm… yeah, I guess it did. Was that sort of the ice rink version of yawning to put your arm around a girls shoulder?" Sue teased again.

"Something like that" He answered. "Come on, wasn't there some young man, young pubescent boy vying for your affections that tried that move on you?" Jack joked, nudging her slightly.

Sue blushed, picking up the CD and lyrics sheets they'd been given, reading the titles out loud. "I Want A Cowboy- dance version" by Reba McEntire and "Just A Kiss" by Lady Antebellum. She arched her eyebrow at the last song title.

"Interesting" Jack said with a wink. He noticed she ignored his question, but didn't push… yet.

Sue chose to ignore the suggestive remark. Instead, she said she needed a place she could "listen" to the songs. "Maybe we can go back to my place, I can turn up the bass on the stereo and blast out my windows. At least no one is likely home at this hour" Sue said. Suddenly Jack's eyes lit up. He grabbed Sue's hand, making sure to entwine his fingers in hers and started out the door.

"Jack!" Sue yelled as he dragged her out the door and she struggled to stay on her feet and put her coat on. If he only knew what he does to me! And how much I don't want to let go of his hand… Sue thought. They got to his car and got in.

"Where are we going?" Sue asked, out of breath.

"Nowhere" Jack answered as he took the CD and put it in the player. He turned up the volume and bass and pressed play. Sue looked at him curiously. Instantly the speakers began to blast a bass heavy dance mix. Sue's face lit up. The music was so loud, and bass so heavy, it almost hurt Jack's ears. He reached into his back seat and pulled out a pair of ear plugs, putting them in.

"Perfect!" Sue exclaimed. "I like this, great to dance to. I'm already getting ideas" She said, almost giddy.

"I'm glad!" Jack shouted, knowing it didn't matter.

"They sat and 'listened' to both songs, Sue reading the words.

"You know, you're going to have to sing this to me so I can learn the words that go along with rhythm." Sue smirked.

Jack just shook his head. They decided to go, listening to the songs over and over on the way to his house. Sue reached over and turned down the music, pulling out one of his ear plugs. "Do you think we could use your place to practice the dance part? We don't have enough room in our living room." Sue innocently asked.

"Yeah, sure. I could move the couch and table to the walls, which should give us plenty of room. Umm… can you dance well enough to teach me? I can't dance." Jack confessed.

"I'll show you what I'm thinking. We'll have to put it on ice later." She shyly smiled in his direction.

"We should check in at the office, see if we're needed… or even missed." Jack said sarcastically. "We can get some dinner, and start practicing tonight?" he suggested. Sue shook her head and they headed out the door to the office.