Chapter 11

He slips on his leather jacket, the one with l8r sk8rembroidered on the back—he couldn’t afford something this nice but Bobby’s his only sponsor, and below the skate shop’s logo reads, Anyone Else is a Poser.Good for business, Bobby tells him, but Dante’s not too sure about that, since his is one of the only shops in the city, and the only one to cater to all skaters, inline or ice or hockey, even boarders. Unconsciously he pats the inside pocket to make sure his money’s still there—it is—and when Josey starts to say something else, he cuts her off with a smile. “Thanks.”

She grins. “You going to hang around a bit?” she wants to know. “I skate in the third heat.”

With a shrug, Dante grabs onto the railing above the player box and hauls himself up into the stands. “I’ll be around,” he says, swinging first one leg, then the other over the railing. Leaning down, he snags his bag from the bench and shoulders it. Then he flashes Josey another smile. “Good luck.”