(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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Juniper tugged at the strap of her swishy champagne-coloured minidress and glanced again toward the entrance. Carla had gone to Summer's ages ago to get ready with her. She'd expected them to be here by now.
The New Year's Eve party was shaping up to be as lovely as Holly had promised. The restaurant in the lodge at the peak, the fanciest at the resort, was bedecked with celestial-themed decorations, gold garlands in the phases of the moon and biodegradable star confetti scattered over the white-draped tables. Laughing crowds mingled and mouth-watering food scents wafted from the kitchen. Her dad and Carla's mom had indulged at the gourmet hot chocolate station. Holly was snuggled into Ava's side, smiling.
But Juniper's gold heels were already pinching her toes and if she had to play catch-up with one more childhood acquaintance she would need a glass of the bubbly the servers offered from dainty trays. A problem, because she wasn't supposed to have any of those since her therapist had suggested they try medication. She still wasn't convinced it was making any difference, but at least the relentless nausea that had plagued her for the first few days had passed.
She was seriously eyeing the hot chocolate station when Holly said, "Oh, there's Carla."
She whipped her head around, and there they were. Finally.
Carla led the way in a purple dress, her hair set in big curls that bounced on her shoulders. Jie, who was wearing a lovely dove-grey pantsuit, slipped an arm through Carla's elbow as she surveyed the room. And behind them-
"Holy fuck," Juniper said. Several people looked at her with raised eyebrows, but it barely even registered.
Because Summer swept in with the confidence of a fucking goddess, and she looked... God, Juniper didn't have words for how good she looked. Her long hair was parted in the middle, framing her gorgeous face in shining ebony waves. She wore deep, plum-coloured lipstick and glittered at her earlobes. And her dress.
Fuck, that dress. It was black, long and slinky, clinging to her curves with a subtle shimmer. Sleeves hugged to her wrists, but when she turned to speak to Carla, Juniper could see that the dress simply didn't have a back. She was smooth bare skin from her neck to just above the curve of her perfect ass. The sight made Juniper feel a little feral. Made her want that lipstick smeared all over her body.
She could have blamed the long week since she'd last touched Summer. And, yeah. That was part of it. Obviously, that was part of it. But it was simpler than that. Or more than that.
Juniper had met plenty of beautiful women, had been with more than a few of them. None of them had ever done to her what Summer did. None of them could turn her on just by the way they moved. None of them could catch her eye like that, flash one delicious dimple, and make her stomach flutter like she was a teenager with her first crush.
She had tried to give Summer space while she was gone. She'd thought maybe their constant proximity was making her lose it a little, intensifying feelings that shouldn't have existed in the first place. She had been wrong. Being apart had only made this ache settle deeper inside her.
