(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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Eddie had fallen asleep with Holly snuggled right up against her, neither of them even pretending it was just for warmth, but she woke up alone. The room was so cold she could see her breath in the first blush of morning light. Holly was gone.
She knew right away: she'd fucked up.
She'd come on too strong. She'd been selfish. Holly was too kind to tell her so, but they'd realized they didn't want her after all and now-
A faint creak. The distinctive sound of those floorboards in the kitchen she hadn't quite got around to yet.
She took a steadying breath. Rolled over to stretch her arm into the empty side of the bed.
Warmth lingered there. Under the window, Holly's pack was still on the floor next to hers, a dark shape in the gloom.
Relief. Then a profound sense of foolishness as the details of last night came back to her. How they'd touched her like she was a gift. The earnestness with which they'd asked to make this official.
Holly was all in, too, whether they were ready to name how they felt or not.
She crumpled her hand in the flannel sheets still warm with their body.
Besides, even if they regretted her, what would they have done? Skied down the mountain alone in the middle of the night?
But a part of her, the small, dark part where Danica's poison festered, refused to believe Holly was still here until she'd pulled a sweater over her pyjamas and hurried downstairs.
They were in the warm kitchen, and she put a palm to the doorframe, feeling weak in the knees. Last night, in their skin, they'd been radiant. This morning they were goddamn adorable in their oversized sleep shirt and moose-print pants, gold curls poking out under their rumpled toque.
They'd lit a fire in the kitchen stove. One pot bubbled over the heat, and they had a second steaming in their hand. Their brow furrowed with concentration as they added water at a measured pace to the grounds in the lodge's pour-over coffee pot.
The routine of it made Eddie's breath come easier.
Here they were. Making breakfast. How she hadn't heard them and woken up sooner was a wonder.
When they spotted her, their smile bloomed swift and bright. "Morning," they said, a little shy, and her heart thrummed.
She crossed the room to slip her arms around their waist from behind and squeeze them too tight. The comfort of their lean body against her sucked away the last of the fear.
"Morning, love," she murmured, pressing her lips to their jaw.
They hummed and relaxed back into her hug. "Oatmeal's almost ready."
"Dope."
"I figured you'd want to get out on the mountain as soon as possible."
