(rivals to lovers, small town, sports) [WATTYS 2024 SHORTLIST] (Season 3 coming soon) After a devastating Olympic loss puts her career in a downward spiral, an aging skier returns to her laid-back mountain hometown to rediscover her love of her spor...
Content note: This book contains sexual content and discussion/depictions of mental illness and thoughts of self-harm.
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Since Juniper had just thrown her entire life away, she at least deserved a fancy coffee after her morning workout. But the minute she walked into Bootlegger's Brew the barista gave her the weirdest look, and it only got worse when she placed her order. If she didn't already regret every choice she had ever made, she certainly did now.
This girl was too young to be an ex-fling and her accent too Australian to be someone Juniper had grown up with. She was also quite sure that she didn't have anything on her face; she would have sweated any breakfast crumbs right off at the squat rack before she even hit the shower.
That left option three to explain that furrow in the barista's brow: she followed alpine skiing. Considering her spot behind the bar gave her a perfect view out the window to the main gondola at Crystal Peaks Mountain Resort, this didn't seem so unlikely as it would in pretty much any other circumstance.
The barista poised a marker over the paper cup. "Can I get a name?"
The coffee shop was empty except for the two of them. Either this was a very well-trained barista, or the girl recognized Juniper and hoped that hearing her name would help place her.
Summer Li probably would have felt flattered. It just made Juniper tired.
She pushed her ribbed grey toque higher on her forehead and said, "June."
Nose crinkling in puzzlement, the barista dutifully wrote Joon on the cup.
Juniper looked up at the wall-mounted TV to avoid further eye contact, but she barely registered the news program on the screen. She should have been used to being recognized at Crystal Peaks. After all, she had grown up in the valley and learned to ski on these slopes. She was a hometown hero. She was pretty sure there was a framed photo of her in her spandex hanging on a wall somewhere in the main lodge.
But a real hometown hero would be in Austria right now, listening to Two Steps From Hell to get in the right headspace for the first race of the alpine ski season. She wouldn't be back here in said hometown, alone, with ski hill baristas looking sideways at her while they poured her coffee.
"Joon!"
Juniper stepped up the counter. The barista slid her decaf flat white across but didn't let go of it.
"I have to ask," the girl said. "Do I know you? You look so familiar."
She just smiled and grabbed the paper cup. "I don't think so."
The barista frowned as she turned away. Juniper had planned to sit by the window and contemplate her life choices until it was time to meet her sibling, but now that would put her at risk of the barista figuring out who she was. Instead, she made a beeline for the door.
