(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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Holly adjusted their mittens nervously as Eddie followed a family out of the Crystal Peaks Resort main lodge. She said something to the man beside her, and he laughed so loud Holly could hear it from here.
Eddie looked cute as hell in her gear: snow pants, boots, goggles resting on her helmet. Holly had watched her compete plenty of times on TV - recently, too, since she'd told them about her ankle and they'd gone back to re-watch her events at the last Olympics, stupefied that they could barely tell she'd been hurt - but they'd never seen her like this in person.
She might be retired, and there might be shaggy bangs poking out from under her helmet instead of her iconic long braid down her back, but she was still the legendary snowboarder who'd won a gold medal on a broken ankle.
That wasn't so intimidating anymore. Eddie was a legend, but she was also the chill woman who hadn't even been phased when they'd lied about dating her, who couldn't handle milk and liked fixing things and had amazing boobs that Holly absolutely thought about when they masturbated.
In hindsight, their biggest regret about hooking up with her was that they'd been interrupted before they'd made her come. And that they probably weren't going to get another chance at it.
Holly waved to catch her attention. Eddie hopped down the steps to slip her arms around their waist. Since they'd first hugged her goodbye, she never missed a chance to give them a squeeze.
"Hi, babe." Leaning in close so only Holly could hear, she said, "If we were dating for real, I'd kiss you so hard right now."
Eddie's brand of public affection had seemed like a necessity at first, the best way to sell their charade, and it had taken some getting used to. Now, Holly couldn't remember why they'd ever put up with Ava's insistence on discretion. They would have understood perfectly if Ava had been closeted, but she wasn't. She'd been out longer than Holly. She just thought PDA was tacky. But Holly was starting to love the idea of having a partner who was so into them that she wanted everyone to know how she felt.
Or maybe they just loved the illusion that Eddie felt that way. They couldn't stop looking at her mouth, her lips a little windburnt after her morning on the mountain.
They said, "You can kiss me on the cheek if you want."
"You're generous today," she teased, but she didn't hesitate to do exactly that. She touched her lips to their cheek, almost at the corner of their mouth, and Holly went very still. The kiss was softer than her voice.
"I need your skincare routine," she murmured. "This skin."
The feel of her lips tickling their face sent a shot of heat down their spine.
Their no-kissing rule seemed more ridiculous by the second. Holly could just turn their head half an inch-
"Okay, okay," said Eddie's friend with a laugh. "Can we get some introductions, or should I let you two catch up with me later?"
