by Casey Diam
“Since when did you start eating this much? Ash used to have to feed you, literally. What, are you eating for two now? Wait, am I going to be an uncle?” I turned my smirk to Ash. “Something you not telling me, bro?”
Ash grabbed a pillow and flung it at me. I ducked.
“Babe, can you get dressed. I need coffee before I can deal with”—Averie’s eyes narrowed on me—“him.”
“Gabby deals with me just fine,” I retorted.
“Because she doesn’t know how annoying you are,” Averie quipped.
Gabby smiled. “Let’s walk ahead, they can catch up to us.”
I wanted to object but—screw it. “It’s raining. It’s better if we take my truck.”
“I have an umbrella, and it’s only like two blocks away,” Averie said, going over to her stuff that was sitting on the floor next to the couch.
Ash tugged her against his chest and kissed her temple. “Morning.”
“I don’t want to go,” she murmured to him. “Can you get me coffee and . . . something sweet?”
“Of course. Give me a minute.”
“I’m sorry, Gabby. I thought I could make it, but I—” She walked over and whispered something to Gabby.
As Averie crawled back under the covers on the sofa bed, Ash was in and out of the bathroom before Gabby could properly distract me. She stayed back with Averie, and as soon as the door closed behind us, I asked, “Why’s A. Mozey in a mood today?”
“You mean other than you provoking her?”
“Come on, dude. I was only joking, she knows I always fuck with her.”
“I know. She has cramps.”
“So, she isn’t pregnant then?”
“No, what? She’s on the pill, dude, and I’m always safe.”
Was Gabby on the pill?
“How do you know all this about her?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
He shrugged. “I don’t know, she has been my girlfriend for months, and we talk, but I also pay attention.” He looked at me as we neared my truck. “It’s called being in a relationship. You should try it.”
“I am,” I replied, opening my door before glancing at my brother’s look of shock, or was it horror?
He climbed into the passenger seat as I started the truck. “Are you serious? You’re starting a long-distance relationship, right now?”
“Yeah. Looks like it.”
He went silent for a moment.
“Nothing?” I asked curiously.
“Just . . . I don’t get you. You couldn’t handle being in a serious relationship when the girl lived in the same town, and now you’re jumping into one with someone who you won’t be able to really be with. Dude, you’re practically a sex addict. Have you thought about how it’s going to work? She’s training all year, and you’ll be doing the same here. Doesn’t she still go to New Zealand to board in the summer, you know, the only time you two would have any time at all together?”
“I’ve already thought of that.” I swallowed and shook my head. “I don’t know, man, it’s different with her, and honestly, I don’t want her to be with anyone else. Oh, by the way”—I glanced at him before pulling out into traffic—“she isn’t going back with you guys today. I booked her a plane ticket last night for tomorrow.”
“That’s cool. I’m glad you two are working this out, just be careful though.”
“What do you mean? She isn’t like those other girls, you know that.”
“That isn’t what I mean.” He sobered. “Sex. Condoms. Unless you’re trying to be a dad.”
Whoa.
“Are you seriously trying to give me the safe sex talk? I’m good,” I assured him. I’d only ever had unprotected sex with one girl, and that only happened because we got carried away. Plus, it was fucking Gabby. We’d started kissing, and before I knew what I was doing, I’d buried myself inside her. “Have you met Gabby? Like you said, she’s been traveling the world and competing for years. She has her dream, and I have mine. I’m not about to make that mistake, and she isn’t either.”
We’ll have to be more careful . . . from now on.
“Well, since my older brother duties are done here, I’ll be expecting more updates on football. How’s it been? You haven’t told me shit about the guys or practice.”
I swallowed.
“Shut up, you’re like two seconds older than me, and . . .” I spared him a glance. “I didn't think you’d want to hear that other stuff.”
Driving past a parallel parking space a few feet after passing the diner, I stopped and backed into it.
“Why would you think that? Of course I want to know.”
I gave him a somber look. “Training is tough. Coach said he’s going to give me the opportunity to train for a wide receiver spot that’s about to open up.”
“What? Dude, that’s sick, that’s the position you’ve always wanted,” Ash laughed, and I didn’t know why I’d been so worried about talking to him about this. “Still, isn’t that like throwing you into the deep end with the team? What do they think?”
I shrugged. “I mean they know I’m a great running back, so I’ll just have to work twice as hard to prove to them that I’d be a better wide receiver.”
“You’re so fucking lucky. Now I can’t even be mad about you leaving school early. If you hadn’t, you probably wouldn't have gotten this chance. They literally almost never do that in college, especially with your running back stats. Do you know why the coach changed his mind?”
“I think someone’s going to the draft. I don’t know. I didn’t ask, and I don’t care, dude. That’s all I remember from that day. I don’t know what happened after or before—oh yeah, training happened, and I almost died, again.”
Chapter 30
Gabby
The conditions for the qualifying event on Copper Mountain were far better than I’d expected. At least six inches of snow was expected throughout the day, and it wasn’t sunny, but visibility was good enough for us to perform without any issues, but something was off. I was.
Dad handed me my bottle of water.
“What’s going on? You’ve landed this jump at least fifty times this week, including on the practice runs you’ve done here for the past two days.”
Except I’d gotten so lightheaded after the those runs yesterday that I’d fallen asleep on the drive back home.
“I just get a little dizzy every time I go for that booter at the end. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Nibbling on my lip, I looked back at the massive jump that I’d yet to land. Lightheadedness was only a part of what was throwing me off. The other part was the dull, throbbing headache I’d had almost all day.
Uncapping my water, I took a few sips.
“You need to land it to get on the podium.”
Bronze or silver wouldn’t secure a spot on the team for me, I needed to be better. I needed to be the best. And after all the sacrifices my parents had made for me, I needed to make them proud, show them that all that they did hadn’t been for nothing.
“I know,” I agreed, but how did it come down to me not being able to place better?
These past few days at the Copper US Grand Prix had been the worst I’d boarded in my entire life, and my entire life was spent waiting on this specific moment. The moment to demolish the events leading up to the Olympics. The moment to get chosen. To stand out.
I’m a competitor. This makes no sense. Why am I choking?
“Hey, you got it. This is your final run. One more chance to make it count. How’s your head?”
“It’s better.” I lied because I had to go for it as he said, one last run.
“Gabby! You’re up,” someone called from the snowmobile that had stopped on the path to take me back to the top.
I climbed on the back of the snowmobile with my board, and the motor roared to life, filling my ears as it took off uphill. I spent the next three minutes going through a few alternative tricks with my coach, and then it was time for me to dro
p, so I unplugged, reminding myself of my love for this sport, the way it made me feel. Free, happy, invincible.
You can do this.
My board turned downhill, and I flew, using the momentum to carry me up on the first rail for a fifty-fifty board slide even though I felt a hundred pounds heavier. I spun off the edge in a frontside three-sixty, landing like a feather on the ground before I slid down and hopped onto the next rail with a horizontal board slide, and then down to the bowl-shaped piece, riding up inside it and doing a switch-back out.
I jumped on a downtube, dropping off with a one-eighty spin, which put me down harder than I’d intended, but with the extra speed I had, I hit the mini-jump with a three-sixty board grab before riding in fast and fearless to the massive booter at the end.
I soared off the lip in a series of ten-eighty spins, and as soon as I touched the ground, the breeze stopped blowing, and I stopped breathing as the tiniest fraction of my toe edge caught in the snow. That was all it took for me to fly forward and my head and body to slam into the packed snow, momentum carrying me down the packed surface in brutal rolls until I was almost at the bottom of the incline.
I lay flat and stared at the sky, not ready to move a muscle, too terrified I’d broken something and too ashamed of blowing such a pivotal moment.
Not even a peep left the crowd.
Utter silence.
“Uncharacteristic of Gabby Taylor, folks, but she’s been having a tough day out here,” the announcer commentated after a few seconds. “Gabby, the medics are heading over to you now.”
“The important thing is that you didn’t get injured,” Dad said on the way home. “And you have Switzerland’s competition in a week to come back from that. You just gotta keep pushing forward, it happens.”
“Really? When was the last time I screwed up just about every landing on a course? You don’t have to baby me, I sucked today.” I sighed and stared out the passenger side window.
I didn't mean to sound like I had an attitude about it, but I was so tired and disappointed in myself that I just wanted to forget today happened, even though I knew Dad was right. An injury would mean recovery time and potentially losing some of my current sponsorships. And that was something I couldn’t afford.
They handled paying for almost everything when it came to my travels and training. I even have a sponsorship from a huge outdoor gear company who sends me winter clothes and snowboarding equipment to demo, but when it came to my college classes and digging my parents out of their financial situation from way back when I just started, I needed that money. We needed that money.
The fall was bad and probably looked like my snowboard had tried to kill me, but I could head back out there and shred this second if I weren’t so damn tired. At least my headache had waned.
When we got to the driveway, I left my board strapped to the top of the vehicle and headed straight inside, pulling off my boots as soon as I was in the garage.
“Gabby! Roy told me,” Mom said when I walked into the living room. “What happened out there?”
“Nothing really, I just don’t feel good.”
Concerned blue eyes swept over me.
“Not like that, Mom. I’m fine. I’m just tired.”
She gave me a hug and kissed my temple. “I just made spaghetti. Why don’t you go wash up, and I’ll dish some out for you.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I set my phone down before stripping out of my snowboard pants and long-sleeve thermal. After closing the bathroom door behind me, I pulled off my thermal pants before reaching for the hem of my sports bra to remove it, but then I flinched. My hands covered my sore boobs before attempting to remove my bra once more, and it was misery.
Was my period coming?
Why are they so sore?
I touched them and squeezed a bit, trying to dissect the issue. They felt and looked swollen, no wonder they were so tender.
“Hey, how’d you do? You kicked ass, didn’t you?” Averie asked when she answered the call. “I tried to watch the live broadcast, but it got busy at Darlene’s, and I haven’t gotten a break yet.”
Judging from the noise in the background, I could only imagine the crowd.
“I sucked anyway. Really bad. It was a disaster, so yeah, please don’t watch it.”
“Oh no. Ugh, Gabby. Do you want me to come over after work?”
“Yes. Because there’s something else,” I said with a sigh.
“What?”
“Uh, well, it’s probably nothing, but my boobs are sore, I’m tired, I’ve been tired, and my head hurts.” I drew in a deep breath. “I think it’s time for a pregnancy test.”
“Fuck. I mean—just relax. Don’t freak out . . . yet. Do you think you could be after the morning after pill? Although it’s been a few weeks. Maybe, it’s just hormones. That happens to me sometimes too before I get my—oh! Hi, Sam!” she said before whispering, “I gotta go. I’ll come right over. Don’t do it without me. Don’t even breathe without me,” she joked, causing me to chuckle at her vague impression of Ryker.
“He doesn’t say that!”
I knew I should call him, but I couldn’t. Not while I was on the verge of freaking out.
The text I’d sent him on the way home seemed to have been enough because he hadn’t contacted me since.
Averie and I looked at each other as the two lines of pink formed on the pregnancy test. She covered her mouth, her eyes dropping to my stomach even though I was in a hoodie. Speechless, I stared at the plastic device that was telling me my life was about to change, and not in the way I’d been planning for since I was eight years old.
Averie let out an audible breath. “So, uh—”
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
We jumped, pressing a hand over our chests as we stared at the bathroom door.
Shit.
“Gabby, I need to get in there!” Hunter yelled.
“It’s Averie, sorry, give me a minute,” Averie said, and I let out a breath.
Living in a house with the one bathroom I had to share with my two brothers could be frustrating at times.
Thank you, I mouthed.
“Oh, sorry, Averie, I didn’t know you were here, no rush,” Hunter apologized.
We waited about thirty seconds before checking to make sure the coast was clear, and then we hurried into my room with the hidden evidence in a plastic bag from the grocery store.
“Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit,” I muttered as I paced around my bed for what could have been minutes before my steps halted. My hands gripped my head and my fingers rubbed at my temples, assuaging the impending headache.
“It’s going to be fine,” Avery soothed.
“No. No, it isn’t. I’ve been working my whole life for this.” I pointed at my wall with the bulletin board that had pinned articles and images of me since I was six. Gold and silver medals hung from the hooks beside it. “I can’t, can’t snowboard if I’m pregnant. And Ryker—” I shook my head as tears welled in my eyes. My chest tightened as I thought about how hard he’d been working since he left. “I can’t, Averie. This can’t happen.”
Chapter 31
Ryker
“Damn, feels like I haven’t been here in a whole year instead of just over a month.”
“When did you become so sentimental?” Brody asked as he drove down Main Street by the shop fronts in town that I used to jog by with Ash. “And why didn't you get an earlier flight? You could’ve gone to see Gabby compete. Now that she’s your boo and all.” His mouth slanted into a smug grin.
“Why do you and Ash find this so funny? Dude, I’ve had girlfriends before. Anyway, I don’t have a trust fund,” I quipped. “The earlier flight was twice as much.”
“You dated, but it was never serious like you dating a girl you’ve been to fake tea parties with.”
“Shut up.”
He chuckled. “I’m not making fun of you. I’m surprised that’s all, but if you had to pick someone”—he shook his
head and blew out a whistle—“you definitely picked a solid ten. You know how many guys talk about her?”
“I don’t know. Please tell me so I can properly mark my territory before I leave here.”
He laughed. “Ah, this is fucking great.”
“I’m serious.”
“I know,” he said, laughter still in his voice.
My plan had been to drive up to see Gabby until I compared gas price, travel time, and the excruciating long journey by car or train to the cost of a plane fare. Traveling by air won out. I may have missed Gabby’s competition, but it also meant I would get to spend more time with her. And since she was leaving for her overseas snowboarding events in a few days, I needed some Gabby time.
My dick strained against the fabric of my jogger sweatpants in agreement.
Fuck, I couldn’t wait to see her, and the best part was that she had no idea I was here. We might have seen each other less than two weeks ago, but for me, it’d been too long. And after the day she’d had at her event, I was almost physically aching to be there for her.
The direct message she’d sent me on Snapchat didn’t pop up on my phone until after I’d landed in Aspen a half hour ago, and it was almost five thirty here. I wanted to respond, but I didn’t know what to say. When Alpen Springs High had lost football games, that shit affected me in a different type of way, and Gabby was the same kind of competitor.
She might be the chillest person, but that was because she was used to being on top, which was expected because she worked her ass off every day not only for the love of the sport but also for the recognition. One of the things I liked the best about her. The personal battle being fought that not many people knew about, and that was trying to erase the line drawn between male and female competitors as well as giving the middle finger to the people who used to bully her. So, I had no idea what had happened out there today, but that was not my Gabby at all, which was why I had no freaking idea what to say to her to make her feel better.
