On his way to realizing his Olympic dream, Tom Alan Baranowski finds himself in the midst of a dilemma. His traditional Japanese coach is insisting upon an arranged marriage between his biological daughter Erika and adopted son Tom Alan, who are partners on the ice. Tom Alan loves Erika, and his coach literally saved his life, rescuing him from an abusive home. How can he say no?<br><br>Somewhat resigned to his “not so bad” fate, everything changes when Tom Alan meets British ice dancer Milo Fisher. The spark between them is almost hot enough to melt the ice beneath their blades, and the two fall into an affair.<br><br>What about Erika? What about loyalty? What about gold? For Tom Alan, the impossible throw quadruple jump is suddenly the least difficult thing in his life.

Quadruple Flip

Tom Alan mumbled, too. “Sorry…um, Boo…ger.” He put his hands in his pockets—not because they were cold but because he was painfully shy with new people, particularly cute men.


“Well, it was just a joke now, wasn’t it?” Milo said—or asked—Tom Alan wasn’t sure.


“And it is why we are here,” Mischen stated. “So some of you, Milo, can rub off on him.”


Unlike Milo, Tom Alan was dressed as if ready for an arctic expedition. Heather-gray sweats—with a noticeable bulge just below the waist he caught Milo noticing—a long-sleeved green T-shirt under a short-sleeved burgundy T-shirt, with another short-sleeved white T-shirt beneath both. He even wore a ski hat—orange-black-and-gray striped. Despite all those layers, it felt as if unshy, homosexual Milo Fisher had stripped the quad-throwing dude down to nada in his mind. His appraisal showed in his up-and-down squint, and his approval—he licked his lips—made Tom Alan slouch some more.


Chapter 7