by Tasha Black
Becca tore her eyes away just as Christopher began to steer her in the opposite direction.
But it was too late.
"Becca!" Samir called in a strangled voice.
"No," Christopher said quietly. "Enough is enough."
"I just need to talk to her for five minutes."
"She's not blind – there's nothing you need to say to my sister that she can't see for herself. Don't ever speak to her again. Don't ever speak to me again."
A hush fell over the crowd.
Becca stole a look at Samir. He looked devastated. Pretty ridiculous considering he was literally holding hands with another woman.
Sindhu's beautiful face was filled with concern. Suddenly, Becca had the urge to grab Everybody's Sweetheart by the hair and claw her eyes out.
Christopher was right.
It was over.
"I want to go back to the room," she said.
"Agreed."
They turned and walked in silence.
The snow-capped mountains were beautiful and the sky shimmered with stars.
Becca wished she could lose herself in them.
Chapter 24
Becca woke at dawn.
She felt like she hadn't slept at all. Her dreams were filled with blue-eyed beasts and black haired girls.
Christopher was already in the shower. Next he'd be stretching. She only had a few minutes.
"Christopher, I'm heading out to get you some ice, okay?"
"Hang on, we'll go together!"
"Nah, I need some fresh air! See you in a minute. Big day!"
She slipped out before he could argue.
The walk to Samir's building seemed long. She tried to climb the steps as quietly as possible. As she walked to his door she tried not to even breathe.
She deposited the box at his door and slipped away, wondering what he would think when he read her note.
Samir,
I'm doing this for me – not to help you.
Becca
If he wore the gear, she would have the satisfaction of knowing that two pieces she had worked on were likely to be worn in the finals – the one she'd sewn from the designer's pattern for Christopher, and the one she had designed herself for Samir.
And, if she was being honest with herself, no matter what she said, she did care about what happened to Samir.
But hopefully in time she would learn to correct that.
Chapter 25
Christopher was riding high. He sat on the bench, clenching his sister's hand and trying not to pant while he waited for his score. The TV cameras caught every detail.
Don't look upset if the score isn't what you think it's going to be.
But he had landed a quadruple axel without a wobble to end his free skate after a flawless short program, so it had to be good, right?
He looked over at his twin. Suddenly her face went slack.
Christopher's heart dropped to his stomach. The score must be terrible.
The world seemed to be in slow motion as he turned back to see the score.
His total was 211.5 points. He was going to win the gold.
It had to be a dream.
He looked to Becca again.
Her face glowed with happiness.
There were lightning flashes of cameras everywhere but for once Christopher didn't let himself worry about smiling or looking handsome. Instead he grabbed his sister in his arms and gave her a bear hug as both their eyes brimmed with tears.
Chapter 26
When the reporters were finished grilling Christopher, when they had finished a tearful phone call with their mother, when the skates were cleaned and the costumes hung away, there was nothing left to do but celebrate.
"What do you want to do?" Becca asked.
"EAT."
"Sounds good to me," Becca laughed. "Where should we go?"
Suddenly, Christopher got a look on his face. Oh no.
"No, no, no, you listen to me. This is our night. The only man I care about right now is you. I don't care how many women that stupid snowboarder has out with him. I'm happy tonight, Christopher McCall!"
He rewarded her with a huge smile and an arm around the shoulders.
"Then let's go to that lounge with the ice cream bar!"
They grabbed a corner table for a little privacy, but didn't have much luck.
After a huge plate of sweet potato fries, but before their steaks came, their meal was interrupted for the fifth time.
"Hey, man, congratulations!"
Becca whipped around, that was a familiar voice.
It was Taylor. He looked cautious but eager to see them. Becca knew Samir's piggish behavior wasn't his fault. And her joy at her brother's win made her benevolent.
"Hi, Taylor. This is my brother, Christopher. Christopher, Taylor is on the American snowboarding team."
Christopher got a look on his face like he'd just stepped in dog poop.
Taylor gamely turned his gaze to Becca.
"Your gear is amazing, Becca. It looks so rad! I can't believe you made it yourself."
"Oh, wow, he wore it."
"Yeah, he's been shredding in it all day. He said it wears even better than it looks! Everyone thinks it's hella cool!"
Christopher glared at Becca and she smiled back sweetly.
"I'm glad he's enjoying it."
"Hey, um, I called my parents and they said they would pay for gear for me. If...if you're interested in selling more than the one set?"
"You want me to design gear just for you?"
"Well, I was thinking of the same as what you made for Samir. But if you had a different idea, that would be cool too."
"Wow, Taylor, I'm flattered. Right now I want to focus on my brother. But let's talk about it later."
"Okay, give me your phone."
Taylor pushed a few buttons.
"There. I've got your number now. I'll text you!"
"Okay, fine."
"Congrats again, man! That was epic!"
"Thank you." Christopher smiled politely.
Taylor took off through the crowd.
"You gave him that gear?"
"Look what happened! Did you hear that? Taylor wanted gear too – he would pay for my gear." Becca was really excited. Even if she only sold one set to Taylor, it was exciting to feel like a real designer.
Chapter 27
The next morning, Christopher woke Becca early.
"I just want to sleep," she groaned.
"Nope, up and and 'em, party girl! Let's get you in the shower. You never know what might happen today!"
"Ugh. You win one little gold medal and now you're bossing me around."
He laughed and Becca let herself be coaxed out of her bed by the prospect of a hot shower.
Once again, her mother had been right.
After dinner she and Christopher had indulged in seemingly endless orders of ice cream and rum & Cokes. A terrible idea, in retrospect – though at the time they were convinced it was de rigueur.
After the water had washed away a little bit of her headache, she began to think of Samir. She had promised herself that she wouldn't ruin the rest of the games mooning over him. But it was impossible not to wonder what he was doing, or whether she might run into him again today.
She wrenched her mind away for about the hundredth time, and got out of the shower. Christopher had laid out her toiletries on the counter. She smiled and towel dried her hair.
It was nice to see her brother cater to her for once. Though it was also weird.
When she came out, she saw that he had also laid out clothes for her. Instead of the jeans and t-shirts she'd been wearing all week, he had chosen the flame colored dress she'd brought along for the closing ceremonies.
She turned to him with a questioning look.
"Don't ask, Becca, just get dressed."
"But I was going to wear this--"
"And now you're going to wear it today. Just trust me, will you?"
Becca sh
rugged and began to dress.
What on earth could Christopher be planning?
Maybe he wanted to go out to a fancy breakfast to celebrate his win.
"Let's go see what's for breakfast," Christopher said when she was dressed.
She shrugged and they headed down to the lobby.
Right before they turned the corner, Christopher spun and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Please don't be mad at me, but I knew if I warned you you'd freak out and bail. Just be yourself and try not to say 'um'!"
Before she could react, he pulled her around the corner.
A reporter stood by the nearest sofa. She was accompanied by a cameraman and guys with lights and booms.
"Hi Rebecca, I'm Mia Morton, with LPS Sports Network. Thank you for agreeing to talk with us today!"
Of course Becca knew who Mia was – she was covering a lot of the Games. Mia was tall and glamorous – the skaters all thought she looked like Michelle Obama. Mia extended her hand to Becca with a delighted smile on her face.
Even in her nicest dress, Becca felt totally frumpy. She blushed and tried to smile back as she shook Mia's hand.
"Just Becca."
A young woman in black pinned a mic to Becca's dress.
"Sorry about that, Becca. Please come sit down and we'll get started. Larry are we ready for Becca McCall?"
"Yep."
"All right then, let's go!"
"In 3, 2..."
"I'm here at the IW Games village with designer Becca McCall. Becca how are you feeling today?"
Becca took a deep breath and prayed not to make a fool of herself.
"I'm on top of the world today, Mia, my brother won a gold medal yesterday!"
"It must be a great feeling for your whole family. But we're here today to talk about your accomplishment. Half-pipe favorite Samir Andrews went gaga for your original gear. Larry, we'll break here to show a clip of Andrews with the gear."
"Yep. Back to it in 3, 2..."
"Of course the other snowboarders are now clamoring for custom pieces," Mia continued.
Becca flashed a glance at Christopher, who held up her cell phone. It was alerting her to 23 new text messages.
"Do you think you'll need to hire help before the X Games?"
"I, uh, hadn't thought that far ahead, Mia."
"I see. Andrews tells us that the gear doesn't just look cool, it is built for maximum movement without sacrificing warmth. He said he's never worn anything like it. Can you tell us how you came up with your signature style?"
"I've been helping to build and alter my brother's costumes for years. I learned a lot about building for movement from Ellen Silver, his designer, just by working on her pieces."
"But you made Samir look like a yeti!"
Becca laughed.
"The figure skaters often wear costumes that make them look like swans or other animals Why shouldn't the snowboarders be just as playful? Samir is so tall and muscular – the yeti just seemed like a natural choice."
"I hope this doesn't upset you, but we saw a lot of you with Samir in the first part of this week. Now we've seen Samir spending a lot of time with Sindhu Patel. Any comment about that?"
Becca swallowed past the lump in her throat.
"As you know, I needed to spend time with Samir to design his gear. But he's definitely a free agent."
"With Kandor as his sponsor, I'm not surprised to hear that!"
Becca smiled and shrugged.
"What are your plans when you get back to California?"
"Taylor Jensen has commissioned a custom design. I'm excited to get to work on that."
"An auspicious beginning to a career I think we're going to be following closely. There you have it – snowboard couture with the very talented Becca McCall."
The lights went off and the girl in black was removing Becca's mic.
"Thanks, Becca, that was great!" Mia said.
"Um, you're welcome. Thank you."
"Dammit, Mia, I told you her relationship with Samir was off-limits." Christopher said.
"Sorry, McCall, the public wants to know."
"Your exclusive with me is off."
Mia shrugged.
"This wasn't really tit for tat. Becca is legit news. You just gave me the scoop."
Christopher scowled and Becca smiled.
"Do people really want to know about me?"
"Are you kidding? That gear is fantastic. And it doesn't hurt that you look like the chick from Brave. Hot girl, hot gear – what's not to love?"
Christopher snickered as Becca blushed.
"Well, we're off to catch the half-pipe, right Larry?"
"Yep."
"Will I see you there?" she asked with a significant look at Becca.
Becca shrugged.
Mia grabbed her by the shoulder and whispered in her ear.
"My advice is: go with your head up, this is your moment too."
Chapter 28
Samir took a deep breath and searched the crowd. He knew Becca wouldn't be coming, but a guy was allowed to dream, right?
For about the thousandth time he cursed himself for letting his agent push him to yield to Kandor.
He needed the sponsorship – desperately since they had emptied his dad's retirement account and even borrowed money against the house to fund his training.
But he had hurt Becca terribly, and she hadn't even given him the chance to explain his plan.
He pulled down his goggles and looked down the half pipe. It was nearly time for his run.
The beast was near, tugging at his sleeves, and nosing the air. It sensed the moon and wanted to know why it wasn't being given its due.
Soon, brother, Samir told it. But he wasn't sure it would listen.
At the signal, he shot down the pipe with all the concentration he had.
The beast yelped in fright and for a moment Samir was worried that it was going to push through.
Instead, it hid behind layers of Samir.
With a dizzying sense of relief at having tamed the yeti, Samir set his mind to the task of taming the half pipe.
He crested one side and swung up the other, gaining momentum.
At the next pass, he threw himself up and spun 1, 2, 3 times before landing without a hitch.
Back up the side again he regained momentum, and on the next pass he flipped twice before landing.
One more swing for momentum and he tucked his body in and flipped while rotating, holding the board in the back.
For a moment, nothing else existed in the world.
At the last instant, he let go of the board and landed seamlessly.
He pulled up and his board chattered across the snow as he threw his arms in the air and yelled with delight!
The beast shuddered inside him. But Samir could feel his curiosity. Ponderously, the beast sifted Samir's feelings.
One more time, then we'll take off and you can do what you need to do. He told it kindly, but firmly.
The beast was too busy snuffling through his mind to reply.
As the other boarders took their second runs. Samir noticed a commotion in the stands.
A flicker of marigold caught his eye and his heart leapt. It was Becca!
She looked smiling and confident as she replied to the people talking to her. But Samir noticed how she clung to her brother's arm. Becca wasn't used to the spotlight. He was glad she was in it. She deserved recognition for her own talent.
Before Samir knew it, it was time for his second, and final run. He shook out his limbs and pulled down his goggles.
The signal came and he launched himself down the half pipe.
Without warning, the beast took over.
The snow rushed up toward them as they slid up the first curve of the pipe. The beast compressed himself and sprung out of the curve with his muscular frame, rising high above the stands, then swooped back to slide up the other side.
He spun in the air, 1, 2, 3, 4 times, then brought his feet under h
imself to land on a dime.
The crowd roared.
The beast roared back in reply, as he flung himself up the pipe again. Another trek up and his momentum was rolling. Effortlessly he flung himself upward again. Grabbing the board, he flipped three times and managed to get his feet underneath him to slide up the pipe again.
Again, a deafening howl of approval exploded from the crowd.
Samir let himself relax a little as the beast compressed and extended his body to build momentum for the final trick.
The beast squeezed himself into a ball, and simultaneously flipped and rotated his large frame three times, before letting go of the board an instant before landing without a wobble.
His shaggy frame shivered with joy.
From deep in the pile of human seats, the beast caught a familiar scent.
Becca.
Easy, brother Samir warned. I need to come back now, okay?
Sadly, the beast shrugged off his mantle of ownership over the body.
Instantly Samir felt the lumpy snow at the bottom of the half pipe under his board.
Flushbulbs were going off like crazy.
Had they seen? Did they suspect? Or had the gear provided adequate camouflage?
Samir knew it wasn't just a question of what the people in the stands had seen. There were video cameras everywhere. This run would be scrutinized endlessly because of the extra elements to his tricks. If even one angle showed something it shouldn't...
But before he could worry, he had to brace himself.
"THAT. WAS. EPIC." Taylor announced, launching himself at Samir.
"Thanks, man."
"No really, man, wow. You were an animal out there!"
"Uh, thanks, buddy. You were pretty hot out there yourself today."
Taylor smiled a shy smile.
They looked back at the board.
"There it is, Samir."
The score flashed onto the board.
Samir had won the gold.
Chapter 29
Becca grabbed Christopher by the wrist.
"Let's get out of here."
He obeyed immediately.
