(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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Snow had been gathering in the high alpine meadows and on the ski slopes for a few weeks now. In town they'd had flurries that kissed the ground before they melted. But Holly's curse hadn't gone away yet, because they woke up on their birthday to a foot of snow in their yard.
The snow wasn't the problem. Their party plans were. They'd wanted outdoors. They'd wanted a friendly soccer game and a bonfire in the park. Those things could happen in the snow, but it wasn't ideal. Not this early in the season, when everyone was still acclimating to the cold and would rather stay inside by a fireplace.
"Should I reschedule to next week?" they asked, their phone pressed to their ear as they stared out the kitchen window at the expanse of sparkling white.
"I'm looking at the forecast," Carla said on the other end of the line. "There's more snow coming. Why don't you just host at yours? I know you wanted to do something different this year, but we all love a house party."
They should've had a backup plan. With the stress of World Cup organizing on top of the looming ski season at work, though, party planning hadn't been top priority. And like Carla said, no one ever complained about a house party.
Only, when they crossed to the living room doorway to assess the necessary cleaning, they spotted the blanket draped over the couch and realized the huge, obvious problem.
House parties usually ended with friends crashed on every available soft surface. Normally, that was great. Better than anyone driving home drunk, and fun in the morning to relive the best moments of the night before.
Normally, though, they didn't have a fake partner they had supposedly been sleeping with for almost two months. A fake partner who couldn't sleep in the guest room without raising a lot of questions.
"I'll let you know what I decide," Holly said, then hung up and called Eddie.
It took her so long to answer that it was a surprise when she did. It was even more surprising when she said, "Hi, babe."
Holly didn't know how to reply to this breach of protocol. Eddie had been so careful about the boundaries since that night at the Axe and Yeti. She didn't touch them when the two of them were alone, and she certainly didn't call them babe.
Then they heard other voices in the background, and they sighed with relief. "Sorry. Are you busy?"
"Just at the rink. I've always got a minute for you."
Right. She'd been roped into the Saturday morning outdoor rink crew. Last week Holly's dad had mentioned the temperatures were finally cold enough overnight to make ice.
"I'll be quick. We've got a bit of a problem," Holly said. "With my party, I mean."
They briefly explained the situation. "Obviously we can't share my bed," they finished. "But I don't know how we'll get around the fact that everyone will expect you to sleep in my room."
