Chapter 3
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�And so this is Christmas I hope you have fun The near and the dear ones The old and the young A very merry Christmas And a happy New Year Let's hope it's a good one Without any fear� �Achoo!� The dust in the attic had effectively ended my caroling so I returned to my task. Dominic had said that he�d stuck a couple of boxes of Christmas ornaments up here when he moved in. He�d neglected to say how many other boxes he�d put in at the same time. I dug through box after box, finding everything from vegetable seeds to Halloween costumes. I was getting fairly bored by the time I reached the stack of boxes in the far back corner. There was a small window overhead so the area wasn�t quite as dark at the rest of the room. I lifted the lid of the nearest box and was finally rewarded for my efforts by the glitter of tinsel. I lugged the heavy box over to the trap door. �Dominic,� I called. It didn�t take him long to appear and I passed him my find. �I still have to get the other box.� �Good girl. I�ll go put some of this stuff up.� I headed back to the corner and pulled open another lid. �Books,� I muttered to myself and was about to turn away when a stray ray of winter sunlight set the covers to sparkling. �Not books, diaries.� On the front of each a year had been written in glitter glue. I dug through the first layer, wondering how far back they went. My hand paused over 2003. �It probably explains why he broke up the partnership. . .� I murmured. It was a question that had plagued me since I met Dominic. He seemed so nice and he obviously cared about my mother. Was finding the answer to my question worth doing something so obviously underhanded as reading his diary? Would it be better to ask him first? What if he then said no? Of their own accord my fingers flipped to a page near the middle. *diary* March 23rd, 2003 I lay on the ice, the chill doing nothing to cool the excitement, the exultation, and the sheer satisfaction of having laid down the best performance possible at our final World Championships. I had done my job to the best of my ability and the rest was up to the judges. I finally pulled myself to my feet, and looked over to where Ally was standing. Her cheeks were flushed and a smile of pure and absolute joy stretched from ear to ear. I will never forget the way she looked in that moment. For the first time in a long time she looked truly happy. The hours after that successful performance have blurred in my memory. I remember the indescribable emotions that came over me when I realized that we�d won, though the joy was dimmed by a surge of jealousy that Ally hugged Andrei before me. I recollect the pride I felt when I heard the national anthem of my beloved country played over the loudspeakers. I remember the tears of joy in the eyes of my mother as I slipped the ribbon of my gold medal over her head. The event I remember most clearly happened that night. I had seen my mother off to bed before slipping down to the hotel bar. Andrei was already there, sipping on a scotch and waiting impatiently for Allison. I slipped into the seat next to him. �Thank you Andrei. I know we could never have done it without you.� He looked up at me clearly surprised, �You�re welcome.� He replied shortly. If he said anything else after that I missed it. My attention had been caught and drawn by a vision descending the stairs. Tight brown pants and a fitted beige jacket hugged the woman�s shapely curves. I allowed my gaze to continue up, knowing whose face I would see. I had danced with her for so many years that I would know her body anywhere. Her blond tresses were lose and slightly wavy. Her barely there make-up, such a contrast to the amount she�d been wearing for the competition, made Allison�s face glow radiantly. It took me ages to get a hold on myself and jerk my eyes away. �I�m engaged. I�m engaged,� I thought to myself gulping down my drink. Ally seated herself gracefully and together, as a team, we spoke to all the well-wishers, the fans who had supported us through everything. I like to think that we both had too much to drink, but the truth is that we were both well within the driving limit by the time we finished signing all the autographs and posing for numerous pictures. Together we managed to escape to the elevator. The ride passed in comfortable silence. The ping of the elevator announced our arrival at the sixth floor. Hand in hand (no I do NOT know when that happened!) I walked Ally down the empty hallway to her door. �Do you want to come in?� She inquired softly. It was considered rude to be overly exultant in public and I felt a powerful urge to pick Ally up and spin her around. The second the door swung shut I gave in, lifting and twirling my surprised partner. �We did it Allison,� I whispered, �We finally did it!� I set her down again and was about to release her when I noticed how close we were. It wasn�t a choreographed close either. There was a tangible difference between the two. Holding Allison tightly at the end of a program had never produced the icy tingling I felt up and down my spine. I don�t know who initiated it but one or both of us leant in and my lips brushed gently over hers. Her lips were as soft as I�d always imagined they would be and tasted slightly of her favourite orange lip-gloss. Allison�s arms slid smoothly around my neck as she deepened the kiss. Before I even realized what had happened my tongue (traitorous) was eagerly exploring this new world. It was more amazing than I could have imagined (not that I�d ever sat around imagining anything, because I hadn�t). Electricity sprang from the connection and seeped through my body. At that point a series of thoughts entered my mind going something like, �Kissing Maija isn�t as good as. . . Maija! Crap!� I jerked out of the embrace and was instantly gutted by the hurt and confused look on my partner�s face. I was about to explain, to gently remind her that I was engaged, when Andrei walked in. He didn�t even appear notice me as he grabbed Allison and pulled her to him. �Well, I should leave you two alone,� I muttered, already moving towards the door, �Good night.� I sent a last, apologetic glance at Ally before walking hastily down the corridor. I made it to my room and then collapsed on my bed. What had I done? *enddiary* I sat in shock, still staring at the page. It sounded like mom had enjoyed the kiss. It sounded like she really loved her partner. Why had she gone back to Andrei? I resolved then and there to solve the mysteries surrounding Allison Monroe and Dominic Riefen once and for all.
