(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...
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The party at the Rockwall was exactly the distraction Summer needed. Nothing could be as good as getting back on her skis, of course, but with her sport off-limits at least she could challenge herself in other ways.
And bouldering was an excellent challenge. After only the warm-up it became obvious that Juniper was the stronger climber. Summer had fought all night to keep up with her, pushing her trembling fingers to hold on until she reached the top of every route that Juniper picked. It was perversely motivating to perform under the eye of someone who was waiting for her to fail.
In short, Summer was having fun.
The longer they climbed, the less it felt like Juniper wanted her to fail, and the more their wordless competition reminded her of her first year on the national team. She caught sight of the intensity in Juniper's sea-blue eyes, so focused on her next move that the world didn't seem to exist beyond her body and the wall, and she saw her again as she had first met her, three years ago. Back when Summer still thought that Juniper might welcome a rival, that their rivalry might drive them both to better, stronger, faster versions of themselves.
Juniper had been defending her World Cup title that year, the favourite for gold at the Olympics, the first Canadian alpine skier in decades to achieve such success. But for Summer, the thing she had admired most was the intense focus with which Juniper approached every obstacle, even in training. She made it seem so simple: give everything you have to the mountain and win at all costs.
She hadn't seen that Juniper since the Olympics. Or maybe that Juniper had never existed. Maybe, like her friendly facade, it had all been fake.
But when Juniper fell on the most challenging route, she got back up and tried again, and Summer knew that famous tenacity wasn't all a front.
Just as Juniper completed the route on her second try, her friend Carla swooped in. Summer was relieved. Her arms ached. The pads of her fingers felt raw. She was more than happy to say, "You two go ahead."
She didn't let it bother her that Juniper was clearly glad to see her step away.
On her own, she climbed a few easy routes to cool down. She'd pushed muscles tonight that she rarely used, and she relished the satisfying ache as she moved through a series of stretches. Testing her knee, she still found no pain. A relief. She would have hated to have to admit Juniper was right that climbing on it was a risk.
Cooled and stretched, she grabbed her water bottle and lingered near the wall where Carla and Juniper were still trying to show each other up. Their little showdown was no less intense than Summer and Juniper's had been, but it also seemed to be a lot more fun. More smiles. More laughter. Routes so difficult that Summer wouldn't want to attempt them.
She would have, though. If Juniper had wanted her to.
Summer watched as Juniper fought her way up another route, her arms visibly trembling with the strain. She might have been staring. She might have thought it was cute how all the little baby curls had escaped Juniper's braids to form a golden halo around her face. She absolutely thought those pigtail braids were cute. And all those amber freckles so thick along her arms and shoulders, like when a pinecone spills its seeds into the fresh white snow.
