(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 first thing Summer wanted to do when she got the news was call Juniper.
It wasn't actually the first thing she did, though. She didn't think she could survive this nightmare again next year - the major surgery, the rehab, the months off her skis and out of competition. So when the doctor said congratulations, the first thing she did was keep her butt in the seat and ask every single question she could think of about how to avoid re-injury.
The moment she'd left the office, though, before she'd taken two steps down the bright white hallway, she pulled out her phone.
Juniper didn't pick up.
Summer listened to the ring until her heartbeat began to drown it out and the voicemail clicked in. "Call me!" she said.
She had thought that after her talk about celebration, Juniper would be excited to hear her news. But it was Juniper's rest day, too, and she obviously wasn't waiting around to hear how Summer's appointment went. She was probably at The Rockwall with Carla.
Of course, being friends didn't mean that Summer was suddenly more important to Juniper than her old friends or the rest of her life. And Summer hadn't had a chance, yet, to figure out what she wanted friends with benefits to mean. Her permanent chaperone made it awkward. A downside she hadn't considered when she asked her mom to stay on as her coach.
Probably she should have shut down the whole idea the second it came up, but she had been watching Juniper fight through her shoulder pain and thinking about offering a massage, mostly for an excuse to get her hands on those shoulders, when Juniper had said benefits. It was foolish, but the part of her that had never quite given up her crush thought this might be the perfect solution.
Because her attraction was a problem. She'd been thinking more about Juniper naked and wet in the change room than she had been about her recovery or her training. No matter how often she told herself that it was a bad idea, she couldn't ignore the way her body responded when Juniper gave her a hug or a smile that felt like a secret.
Even though they weren't dating, even though there were no feelings involved, she was distracted.
Maybe if they hooked up, she could get it out of her system. Her repressed libido would be satisfied. Once she found her focus again, she could end things and get back to what really mattered.
Besides, if she'd said no, her younger self would probably have found a way to build a time machine to come to the future and beat her up.
As they left the medical centre, her mother smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "We're going to have fun tomorrow."
Summer shook herself out of her thoughts. She had been waiting months to hear she could ski again. She should not be thinking about Juniper right now. "I wish I could get out there today."
