"It'll get worse when you start traveling with the Surf Tour. Those are the ones that are out to get you, and for what, I have no idea. But having your little play thing with you really isn't a good idea. Someone will catch on, especially if you take her to surfing events with you."
"I'll deal with that if it happens. I'm just friends with the girl I swear, Martie. She's in her own hotel room and everything. During the last three days, she's been in the stands watching the events, while I've been up on the hill with the officials and our riders."
"Be careful, Rory. You don't need this kind of publicity right now. Eden Boards is taking off faster than we ever imagined it would and we really don't need it to go in that direction. It's bad enough Adler Troy is waving the rainbow flag all over creation. We've received some hate mail since we signed her."
"I know. It's not like I haven't thought about that, Martie, but it's her life and I respect her for living it the way she wants. I'll deal with the repercussions of having Austin around, if it comes to that."
"The fact that you're going to personally train her is enough of a problem without you dragging her halfway across the globe with you."
Rory rubbed her eyes with her free hand. Trust me, Martie, I know what I'm doing or at least I think I do. There was no way she was going to tell her best friend that she'd developed feelings for the young surfer. She'd just have to learn to control them. She finished her call and walked over to the door to Austin's room, knocking softly. Austin answered, wearing a small t-shirt that barely touched the top of her thin jogging pants, allowing the tanned skin of her stomach to play peek a boo when she moved. Her hair was pulled up off her neck with a clip. Rory's chest tightened and she was unsteady on her feet as her temperature rose drastically. Sweat began to bead up on her brow.
Austin looked quizzically at Rory who was still dressed in her heavy clothing and shoes.
"Hey."
"Were you sleeping?" Rory asked.
"No, I was just watching TV and talking to Lori on the phone. Did you go somewhere else?"
"No, why?"
"You've got to be uncomfortable and you look really hot."
Rory laughed. It hadn't occurred to her that she'd forgotten to change out of her heavy snow clothing. "Yeah, I guess I am getting a little warm. I just got off the phone with my office, so I haven't changed yet. I'm assuming you don't want to go to dinner since you've obviously gotten comfortable."
"I was hoping we could order room service or if you're going out to eat, then I'll just order it myself. I think I've had enough cold for the day. I need to thaw out."
"That's fine. I'll go change and we can eat together if you want, unless you want to be alone."
"No, of course not," Austin smiled.
"Order whatever you think sounds good. See you in a few minutes," she said, backing out of the room.
Rory was overheated and sweating profusely as she peeled out of her snow pants and turtleneck. She took a quick shower to rinse off the sweat and cool her core. She pulled on a t-shirt and sweatpants and towel dried her short hair. Austin was lying on the couch watching TV when she walked back into the room.
"I snuck into your room while you were in the shower," Austin said, nodding towards the two steaming cups of hot chocolate on the table.
Rory reached for one and walked over to the sliding glass doors for the balcony. "It's snowing again," she said.
"Yeah, I noticed. It's so beautiful here." Austin walked over, standing next to her. "Everything is so pristine and untouched."
"I think the moon looks bigger here. I guess it's because of the mountains and the snow, but it just looks closer to me. The stars seem brighter too," Rory said, sipping from the warm mug in her hand.
"Maybe you're just seeing things differently now," Austin murmured.
Rory shrugged. "I have a meeting in the morning and then I'll be back around ten to get you. Dress really warm."
"Cool, where are we going?"
"Just be ready to go at ten or you'll be pissed at yourself, trust me," Rory said as the waiter arrived with their dinner.
Chapter Ten
Rory awoke the next morning and dressed in the warmest clothes she had packed. After a quick cup of hot chocolate to warm her even further, she figured it was time to inform Austin of her plans for the day. The door opened as she reached out to knock, startling both women.
Rory shrieked and Austin nearly smacked her.
"Jesus, Rory!"
"Well I wasn't expecting you to open the bloody door before I knocked."
"You scared the shit out of me."
"I'm sorry. You scared me too."
"Are you going to tell me where we're headed?"
"Actually, that's why I was coming over. We're going snowboarding. That is unless…"
Austin couldn't believe her ears. "No way!"
"Is that okay with you?"
"I could kiss you, Rory Eden. Yes! Yes, it's okay with me," Austin gleamed.
"Calm down." Rory laughed. "Come on. Let's get going before they rent out our equipment."
~ ~ ~
It was a few degrees below zero outside. Rory pulled her ski cap down and tucked her ears up under it. Eden, you can do this you chicken shit! It'll be fine; it's a snowboard on top of snow-covered solid ground. Get your head out of your ass before you make a fool of yourself in front of her…"Okay okay, leave me alone. I can do this. I'll just close my eyes and hold my breath. That's just great, stupid, you'll run into a tree and kill yourself. Here they come—it's too late to talk yourself out of it now. God, just let me get through this. Please!" Piece of cake. If I could surf fifteen foot Pipeline waves with no fear, I sure as shit better be able to ride a dinky little board down a mountain. Bloody hell! Rory paced in the snow next to her board.
Austin had stopped off for one last bathroom break while Rory secured lessons with the private instructor and went in search of the additional equipment that Rory's company had sent for their sponsored riders to make sure it was available for their use for the day. Austin examined all of the gear as she walked up. Rory stood off to the side, still invisibly fighting with her conscience.
"Are you okay?" Austin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. Fine. You?" Rory buzzed around like she was on speed.
Austin laughed.
Their tall, dark-haired private instructor walked up before Austin could reply. She had a thick Italian accent, but she spoke perfect English. "Let's get you girls ready to tackle this mountain. Shall we?"
"That's a lot of stuff," Austin said.
"Yes, but when you fall you'll be glad you had this stuff on. Oh and trust me, you will fall."
"That's just great to know." Rory stepped into the conversation. "Hi, I'm Rory Eden, and this is Austin Tinsley. Mathias highly recommended you to me."
"Ah, Mathias. He's a good guy," she said, smiling. "I'm Nikkola Franchino."
"Yes, he's been very helpful so far. It's nice to meet you, Miss Franchino," Rory said, shaking her hand.
"Welcome to Stockholm and please call me Nikki. It's very nice to finally meet you. I am a huge fan of yours and I actually ride one of your boards, as well as use your boots and bindings. You make great equipment. I see that you've brought your own equipment with you. It's much better than the rental stuff," she whispered with a smile. "So, how often do you snowboard, Ms. Eden?" she asked.
Austin stood back with her eyebrows furled together, watching the dark-haired woman flirt carelessly with Rory. "I used to go every year," Austin replied, glaring at the woman.
"Please, call me Rory, and I hate to say it, but I've never learned to snowboard. One of my sponsored riders keeps promising to take me out on the snow, but she's busy winning gold medals." Rory smiled. "I actually haven't ridden one of my surfboards either. I spend too much time in an office these days." Rory smiled again.
"Great, I'm glad I can be the first person to teach you to snowboard. Believe me, if you can carve snow like you rip waves, you'll pick th
is up pretty easily. Are there any questions before we get started?"
Rory and Austin looked at each other and then back at Nikki, shaking their heads. Austin's blood was boiling. She couldn't believe the boldness of the woman flirting with Rory and the way Rory was eating it up made her sick in her stomach.
"Okay, here is your board and your boots. Make sure your pant legs are on the outside and then close your boots up tightly. They're a little funny to walk in at first, but you'll get used to it," Nikki said, watching Rory get her gear on. "Put your helmet on over your ski cap and snap the buckles together under your chin and put your goggles on your helmet so that you can slide them down over your eyes easily."
"I had forgotten how much crap you have to wear. I definitely prefer surfing. At least I can wear a bathing suit or a wet suit and be fine. I feel like I weigh over two-hundred pounds with all of this shit on."
Rory shook her head, laughing at Austin. I guess I can't say anything. How would my riders feel if they found out I complained the entire time? Forget about wearing all of this shit, I'll be doing good to make it to the bottom of the mountain.
"Now before you strap onto the boards there are a few basic moves I want to show you. Before anything, you need to learn how to stop. Basically, you turn so that you're facing forward rather than the side and lean back so that the edge of the backside of the board catches the snow. This will slow you to a stop." Nikki strapped on her board and began showing them each move as she explained it.
"Whatever you do, don't lean forward or you'll plant head first into the snow and barrel roll. The second thing is how to turn and maneuver around obstacles that might be in your way. This is called carving and basically it's similar to the way you carve on a surfboard, except your weight is almost evenly distributed on a snowboard instead of on your back foot like on a surfboard. You lean in or out with your body so that you're carving the snow with the front side or backside edge of the board. A small trick that you can do is called a tail-wheelie. This is where you put your weight on the back foot and the front of the board comes up. Once you get the hang of this, you can rotate one-hundred and eighty degrees and ride fakie. This similar to the way you would do it on a surfboard, which is basically with your other foot out front. After you learn that trick, we'll go up on the lift and go down one of the trails. Are you guys ready?"
"Hell yeah!" Austin jumped up. It had been a couple of years since she'd been on a snowboard, but everything had started coming back to her. She looked over at Rory who was standing stiffly with her eyes bugging out of her head.
"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Rory said, swallowing the lump in her throat. You can do this. Relax.
Nikki showed Rory how to attach her boots to the bindings and snap them in place as Austin moved around on her board, getting used to the feeling again.
When everyone was ready, Austin led the way down the little bunny hill with Rory behind her. Nikki rode close to Rory, allowing her to mimic the instructor's movements.
Snowboarding had come back to Austin pretty rapidly. She was carving back and forth until she leaned too far and fell backwards. She stood up laughing, brushed the snow off, and kept going down the small hill. She leaned back on her left foot, riding a few tail-wheelies and midways down the hill she tried to rotate and ride fakie, wiping out twice before finally completing the trick.
Rory was surprised at herself and amazed to see how similar snowboarding was to surfing. She carved back and forth down the hill, doing tail-wheelies and riding fakie with no problem. She fell a few times, but after the initial shock of the first fall and realizing she was okay, she'd gotten back up and kept going.
"It looks like you have it down. Let's take the lift up and see how you do on a trail," Nikki said.
Rory and Austin followed her over to the ski lift. As the chair came around, all three women squished in with Rory in the middle. The bone-chilling wind was like nothing Rory had ever experienced. She huddled into her jacket like a turtle in a shell as the chair moved further and further up the mountain.
They finally arrived at their destination, hoping off and riding their boards out of the way.
"This trail over here to the left is sort of a beginner and intermediate trail, so you won't have any obstacles to go around like trees or rocks. You two go in front of me and remember to watch your lines and to look back before turning. Sometimes skiers come by and they will crash into you. I'll go behind you both," Nikki exclaimed, pulling her goggles over her eyes.
Austin went first, followed by Rory. They carved back and forth down the mountain doing the simple tricks here and there. Both women's exceptional balance and surfing skills showed as they maneuvered down the mountain. As she became more comfortable with the board, Rory began ducking down, carving fast to the right and dragging her left hand in the snow as she turned quickly back to the left. Then, she spun around to ride fakie and do the same trick over again with the opposite hand in the snow.
Nikki watched the former surf champion as she rode back and forth with the agility of an athlete.
At the base of the mountain, Austin was stoked and ready to go again and Rory was shocked to see how she'd immediately taken to the board. She hadn't surfed in over four years, yet her balance and skills had easily come back to her.
"Shall we go again, ladies?" Nikki asked.
~ ~ ~
Austin and Rory spent the rest of the day riding different courses and learning new tricks. When the sun finally went down, they headed over to the lodge to sit by the fire in the lobby and warm up.
"Rory, I had no idea you could ride a snowboard like that. You impressed me today." Austin smiled.
"I guess it comes naturally. I had a great time," Rory replied, smiling back.
"You both looked good out there on the mountain today. I wish the other slope had been groomed. I'd like to see what you can do on the lift-off," Nikki teased, talking about the large jump on the other course that had been closed due to the Olympic Games.
"Oh no! I don't think I want to go flying through the air," Rory said, shaking her head.
Nikki reached over, placing her hand on Rory's knee.
"There's no need to get nervous." Nikki winked.
Austin wanted to killer her when she saw Nikki put her hand on Rory. She envisioned herself literally strangling the exotic woman, making her choke on her own accent.
Nikki wasn't sure what was going on between Austin and Rory, but she could see the possessive look Austin was giving her. So, you think she's yours, do you? We'll see about that.
"I'm heading over to the local tavern for a drink. Rory, would you like to join me? I'm sure some of the locals would like to meet you."
"Uh…I probably shouldn't. I have some work to catch up on. Maybe another time." Nonchalant, no-strings sex is probably not what I need right now. At least not with you.
"Suit yourself. Here's my cell number if you change your mind." She kissed Rory on the cheek and handed her a business card. "Goodnight, Miss Tinsley." Nikki grinned at her as she walked by.
Rory and Austin stepped into the elevator. Austin pressed the number for their floor, smacking the panel when the number didn't light up.
"Easy, mate. What's gotten your feathers all ruffled?" Rory asked, reaching around her and pressing the button for their floor.
"You tell me?!" Austin growled.
Rory stared at her as the elevator ascended, wondering what she was talking about. She'd never seen Austin angry and she wasn't even sure this was anger. Austin looked more like she was ready to bolt as soon as doors opened. "I'm not sure what's bothering you, but…are you ready to go home? Is that what it is?"
Austin wanted to smack her upside her cute head. "Seriously?" she huffed, shaking her head, then crossing and uncrossing her arms. Finally, she turned to face Rory head on. "What does she have that I don’t, besides big boobs and a ridiculous accent?"
"What? Who?" Rory asked, confused.
"Nikki or Nikola or whatever the
fuck her name was," Austin spat as the doors opened. "Never mind, I'm going to bed," she said as she walked away.
"Wait." Rory bolted out of the elevator, stopping at Austin's door. "I'm not sure what's going on here, but we need to talk about this."
"There's nothing to talk about, Rory." Austin put her keycard in the door, pushing the handle as it unlocked. "Nothing at all," she whispered as she went inside, closing the heavy door behind her.
"Shit!" Rory growled to the empty hallway.
This had been the last thing Rory had expected. Knowing she'd developed feelings for Austin was one thing. She could easily hide the growing attraction, but the fact that Austin was possibly feeling the same way was not good. Not good at all. She couldn't handle being that close to Austin, separated by a thin wall, and not talking to each other. She walked back to the elevator, pushing the button for the lobby. She felt the business card Nikki had given her when she slipped her hands into her pockets. It would be so easy to spend the night using her to forget about the blond upstairs, but nothing in the world would permanently remove Austin from her mind or her heart and that scared Rory. It scared her more than the idea of surfing again.
"You want to know what she has that you don't, Austin? Nothing. She has nothing and you have everything," she whispered as the elevator stopped.
Rory thought about calling Martie as she sat down at the bar, ordering a whiskey on the rocks, but thought better of it. If Martie knew about her feelings for Austin, she'd flip out. Hell, she barely knew about the feelings herself. How the hell would she explain them to anyone else? She'd only ever loved one other person in her life and Martie had turned out to be more like a sister and a best friend than a girlfriend. She'd spent most of her life chasing pipe dreams and double over-head waves. Those two things had left very little room for anything else and Martie had always filled the companionship void. Austin had somehow found the tiny crack in Rory's perfectly molded life and squeezed herself through it, into the little space that made Rory's pulse race and her heart skip a beat.
Crashing Waves Page 12
