Edge of Glory Page 17
Elise pressed up on her tiptoes trying to see who had the lead, but they flew past in such a blur she couldn’t be sure until they hit the finish line a hundred yards below them. “Who won?” she shouted excitedly. “Who won?”
“Corey,” the tech said confidently.
“How could you tell?”
“I watch a lot of these, but also they wear sensors on their ankles to track them, and I can already see she had the best time down. In a competition we’d use the video camera at the finish line to check, but we don’t have to in a practice heat.”
Elise repeated the only thing that mattered as the rest of the info blurred together: “Corey won.”
Paolo laughed. “You seem more excited about the fact than she does.”
Elise glanced down the slope. Corey was doubled over, breathing hard.
“Is she okay?” she asked, already moving toward her.
“I’m sure she’s fine. I’m going to head up and talk to Nate.”
“Go on. I want to talk to Corey.”
She didn’t defend herself against the accusation in his raised eyebrow. She’d deal with his suspicions later. She’d probably dodged them long enough anyway, but her concern now focused solely on Corey.
The two of them had seen each other several times in the week since their kiss or, more accurately, the first of many kisses, but they’d both been studiously casual, never letting on that anything had changed in front of the others. They worked out. They played cards. Occasionally their whole group would share a meal. No one else noticed anything had changed, and honestly nothing had changed, outside of the fact that the minute they were alone together they couldn’t keep their mouths apart.
Corey was by far the best kisser Elise had ever paired with. Skilled and attentive without any pressure or pushing for more. She never rushed or overreached, even in the moments Elise would’ve let her, or might have even begged her to. She made every minute almost magical in the way she owned it. The times when they were kissing offered Elise only a glimpse of what true abandon might be like.
Maybe those hints of true abandon took hold now as she jogged along the blue snow fence to the finish line where all the racers were taking off their boards.
Tigger noticed her first. “What are you doing here, Elise?”
At the mention of her name, Corey smiled one of her broad smiles, the kind so warm it melted the ice in Elise’s chest. “I had a meeting with my tech team at the base lodge and finished earlier than expected.”
“So you came over to watch us?” Nikki filled in. “That’s cool!”
“Yeah, well.” Elise didn’t want to give too much away. “It was Paolo’s idea.”
Corey rose slowly and tucked her board under her arm. “Paolo’s idea?”
“All his,” Elise confirmed.
“Did he have to drag you kicking and screaming?”
“I didn’t exactly kick.” She tried to hide her own smile. “I may have felt a mild curiosity.”
“And?” Corey asked, standing on the other side of the fence now. “Did we satisfy you?”
She bit her tongue for a moment, trying to keep herself from spiraling into Corey’s whirlpool of innuendo, but the mischief in her hazel eyes was either entrancing or addicting. “I’m not a woman who’s easy to satisfy.”
“Corey only beat me by like a half a board,” Nikki said in her usual obliviousness.
“If that,” Corey admitted. “You almost had me.”
“Next time,” Tigger warned playfully.
“Don’t get cocky, kid,” Corey warned. “Next time I might put you in the fence.”
“Yeah?” Nikki’s eyes lit up as if she considered the threat a thrilling prospect. “Let’s go then.”
“Go where?” Corey and Elise both asked.
“Back up,” Tigger said, as it were the only logical answer. “I want to go again.”
Corey grimaced quickly before plastering her smile back on, but Elise caught the unguarded response. “I’m done for the day.”
“What?” Tigger asked. “That was so much fun. Aren’t you amped up?”
“Totally,” Corey said, “but I’ve got a schedule to keep.”
“What’s more important than a do-over on that heat?”
“She promised to hit the weight room with me.”
“Oh,” Nikki’s shoulders fell. “Are you sure you don’t have time for one more? I mean, you guys aren’t dressed for weights.”
“Be careful,” Corey warned. “Elise doesn’t like it when you make fun of her Spanx.”
“They’re not Spanx,” Elise said, glancing down. “It’s a racing suit and if either of you were wearing one, you might have blown the Canadian clear off the mountain.”
Both of them wrinkled their nose in matching distaste.
“Anywho,” Corey said with a thinly veiled weariness. “You’ll have to wait for another day to get your butt kicked again, kiddo. Silly outfits or not, we have to bolt.”
“Okay,” Nikki relented. “Should I go with you guys?”
“No,” they both said in unison; then Corey laughed. “Go beat someone else. I want to hear tales of glory when I see you tomorrow morning. The more reps the better, the more competitors the better.”
“Got it.” Nikki gave her a salute and grabbed her board. “And we’re all going out to dinner on Saturday?”
“Absolutely,” Elise said. “One last hurrah.”
“Sweet.” With that Nikki hurried off to catch the lift back up.
“You earned the break out there. I couldn’t believe how much you guys were on top of each other.”
“We’re not always so rough, but that was a contentious heat. The Canadians have obviously picked the kid and me as the ones to beat.”
“And the kid wants nothing more than to beat her teen idol,” Elise added. “You’ve got a big target on your back.”
She grinned. “Maybe.”
“Be honest,” Elise prodded. “You love it.”
“I do. I had the time of my life on the last run. Mixing it up has always been one of my favorite things about the sport. I get bored on the wide-open plains. I love being in the thick of it all, then pulling ahead.”
“And you did. You impressed me. I thought you guys were all slackers, but I can’t imagine the core strength you need to execute turns that steep while someone presses their body weight on you.”
“Feels like a fighter pilot banking a steep maneuver under enemy fire.”
“And you’re top gun,” Elise finished. The image fit. It more than fit. It turned her on.
“I felt like a million bucks when I came across the line first. Like I still had it, you know?”
“And you do.”
“I did. I was every bit as good as I’ve ever been for one run, but I left it all out there.” Corey’s voice sounded drained to the point of collapse. “I’m spent.”
“You should be. You gave everything you had. You’re a champion. We don’t leave anything in the tank.”
“The kid has more runs in her.” Corey sounded haunted. “Endless amounts of runs. It burned every ounce of my energy to beat her, and she’s barely breathing hard. How long before she learns to channel her reserves?”
Elise didn’t offer some weak platitudes or cheap advice. She didn’t have the answers for sure, and she suspected if she did, neither one would like to hear them. She understood how Corey felt to give her best and still feel it wasn’t enough, like it might not be enough when it really mattered. She had no happy words to soothe those fears. She wasn’t nearly as adept at pep talks as Corey. Still, Elise couldn’t live with the thought of leaving her to the doubts Corey often rescued her from.
“Hey.” She wrapped her knuckles on Corey’s helmet. “Come on. We’ve got a weight room date.”
“We do not,” Corey said. “You lied to get the kid out of our hair.”
“What? We can’t be spontaneous? I thought your type was always banging on about living in the moment.”
“What if we forgo the weights and focus on some cardio?”
“Cardio, huh?” Corey lifted her goggles atop her helmet, revealing the little indent across the bridge of her nose, and Elise’s core temp rose.
“Maybe. I mean I’d have to go change out of my racing suit.”
Corey eyes grew even wider. “Well, in that case, I should probably come along. I wouldn’t want you to feel lonely.”
“You’re such a giver.” Elise laughed, relieved to see some of Corey’s usual humor returning.
Sure, that was it. She was merely hoping to help Corey feel a little better. Isn’t that what friends did? Friends who also made out, and may or may not be moving toward something involving less clothing? Friends did those things, right? Because friendship was all she had to offer. Friendship actually constituted a pretty big step for her. Friendship took time and energy and emotions, none of which she had in spades. Anything beyond friendship ran into a dangerous area, one that could prove distracting or draining. God, why hadn’t she thought this through before? Corey was also so mellow she’d followed her lead and chosen not to overanalyze, but what if Corey led her right off track?
“You ready?” Corey asked.
“I’m not sure,” she answered, before realizing Corey had heard none of her inner conflict and only meant to ask if she wanted to head back to the lodge. “I’m sorry. I mean, yes. I’m ready to go work out. On work. For our jobs.”
“And cardio.” Corey’s smile sent Elise’s heart rate up another few notches.
“Yes.” She sighed, partly out of exasperation and partly out of dreaminess. “Probably a good bit of cardio, too.”
• • •
“Cuddle duds?” Corey asked, torn between laughter and disappointment. “All this time I’ve spent dreaming of peeling that tight little racing number off you only to find cuddle duds underneath? Whatever happened to ‘skin to win’?”
Elise threw back her head and laughed so hard her blond hair shook out in waves along her back. “You’re never going to recover, are you?”
“I’m mortally wounded.”
“And you still managed a healthy dose of cardio.”
“Yeah, well. Let no one accuse me of skimping there, but back to this ‘skin to win’ concept. Are you now telling me you’ve never wanted to win badly enough to test the theory?”
“I never said ‘never,’” Elise replied coyly as she dropped her bag inside her hotel suite door.
“You have raced commando?”
Elise smiled. “Can I get you a drink before the others arrive?”
“I’d rather have an answer to my question.”
“How do I know you won’t sell the story to a tabloid?”
Corey froze. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Elise turned, the smile fading from her face. “Just a joke.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” Elise said, “though I get the sense you didn’t find it humorous.”
“The tabloids aren’t funny. They hurt people.”
“And by people you mean you?”
“Or you, or other competitors.” Corey tried to sound casual.
“Yes, but do you have personal experience?”
“A time or two. I thought maybe you knew.”
“I didn’t.”
“I thought maybe you didn’t trust me because of things you’d heard, or read.”
“What? Ms. I-Turn-Down-Extravagant-Contracts-Because-Water might sell a story to make a buck?”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t mean to paint myself as a Girl Scout,” Corey said, not wanting to go into any more detail but feeling the weight of obligation to let Elise know what she was getting into. Not that she knew what they’d gotten into, but the kissing obviously wasn’t a one-time thing. She didn’t want Elise to look back on their time together and think of herself as one in a long line of one-night stands. The distinction mattered. “When I was younger, I didn’t care about anyone’s opinion of me, not my competitors, not the press, not even the women I spent time with. Some of those women ended up in grainy photos on websites or magazine covers after the Vancouver Olympics. Don’t google it.”
“So, I shouldn’t google you ever, should I?”
“No.” Corey shook her head. “I mean you can, but I’m a different person now. I learned some things the hard way. I want you to know I respect you, and I’d never hurt you that way. I never set out to hurt anyone, but I didn’t understand then what I do now.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’m glad.” She laughed nervously. “But I need you to know that no matter what happens with us, and I have no plans, no need to label, but wherever we go from here, whatever life or the tours or the media throws our way, I won’t betray you, or us, or anything we share. I promise.”
Elise cupped Corey’s face in her hand. “I trust you. You’re one of the people I trust most in this business. You wouldn’t be in my room if I didn’t.” She kissed her gently on the mouth, and the tension faded from Corey’s shoulders.
“I find it sexy you let me into your room.”
“I find it surprising but not unpleasant.”
“You sure are good at the sweet-talking.”
Elise rolled her eyes and tried to give her a little shove, but Corey caught her wrists and pulled her close once more. “I also find it sexy when you get feisty.”
Elise started to protest, but Corey captured her mouth once more. This time they deepened the kiss with a hint of competitiveness. Corey liked the little edge that came from both of them jockeying for top position, but she wanted more than a tongue wrestling match this time. Slipping her arm around Elise’s back, she walked her across the room to the faux leather loveseat. She refused to loosen her grip on Elise’s waist until she landed on her lap.
Elise tried to scoot off of her. “I’m going to squash you like a little snowboard bug.”
Corey laughed. “I might be shorter, but I’m strong enough to withstand your powerful thighs.”
“Powerful thighs?” Elise rolled her eyes. “They’re enormous.”
“They’re muscular and firm, and I may have fanaticized a time or ten about being trapped between them.”
“You have an active imagination.”
She smiled. “I really do. You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve dreamed about doing with you.”
“Why has it taken you so long to get around to mentioning them to me?”
“Honestly, for the first few months I held back out of sheer terror of your temper.”
“I’m not that bad.”
“I think Paolo mentioned something once about not poking the bear,” Corey reminded her, then rushed ahead. “But even when I realized you weren’t as scary as you wanted everyone to believe, I also figured you must be putting on that show to protect yourself. I’m not the only one who’s gun-shy about these sorts of things. You’ve been burned, too, huh?”
Elise nodded. “From what it sounds like, not in the same way, but yes. You may have noticed I come across as a little standoffish at times.”
Corey snorted. “A little?”
“Do you mind? I’m baring my soul here.”
“Sorry, proceed.”
“I haven’t had a lot of relationships. Or maybe even real friendships.” Elise’s brow creased in consternation. “You can blame my family or my schooling or my competitiveness, but the reason hardly matters when the result is the same. People are drawn to my success. Or I guess I should say they were drawn to my success.”
“Even your exes?”
“I don’t really have exes.”
“Are you saying you’re a virgin, or is this another one of your ‘skin to win’ style redirects?”
“Neither. Both.” She kissed her again, but only for a second before saying. “Somewhere in the
middle.”
“I think I’ve forgotten the question,” Corey admitted. She wanted to focus, but Elise’s fantastic ass grinding into her made all the blood leave her brain for destinations southward.
“I’ve never had a serious relationship,” Elise explained.
“Oh well, I haven’t had anything overly serious either.”
“But I’ve never had a true one-night stand, either.”
“Well.” Corey drew out the word. “We were right on par until that point.”
“I went to school with some driven women.”
“This was some high-end, ivy-prep boarding school, wasn’t it?”
“Absolutely.”
“Do I even want to know what kind of family money you have?”
“Probably not.” Elise sounded mildly embarrassed. “But the point is, expectations were high, all around. We found ways to make do.”
“Oh my God,” Corey said, her smile stretching so far her cheeks ached. “Is there a secret ring of discreet, high-powered, boarding school hook-up buddies?”
“Don’t make everything sound scandalous. I have friends who understand the pressure of my life. When our paths cross, we connect. When they don’t, we don’t.”
Corey’s face burned at the thought of someone else connecting with Elise the way she was now. She didn’t want anyone else to feel her relax as the tension of a race or workout melted from her tight muscles. She didn’t want anyone else to feel her flex or contract under their fingers. She hated the idea of another woman brushing their lips against hers, or tasting remnants of salt on her skin. She had no right to say so, though. Instead, she said, “I understand the pressure of your life.”
Elise’s expression softened. “You do.”
“So, maybe when our schedules connect this season, we could, too.”
She nodded slowly. “I’d like that, probably more than I should, but I’ve been afraid to check and see if our schedules connect at all.”
“Holly mentioned they don’t much,” Corey admitted. “But they might sometimes, not that we even have to look ahead.”