The Teammate

32 - The First Woman to Almost Land It

February 2024 – Chur Slope Style Competition, Switzerland

"You're going to go for it aren't you?" Dimitri asked as Arabella made it to the top of the run. She smiled, a smile that Dimitri knew only meant one thing; she was going for it. "You're crazy."

"You love my crazy." She responded, giving him a light shove on the shoulder. He laughed, rubbing his shoulder and shaking his head.

"You'd be the first woman to land one in competition."

"What can I say, there's someone in the audience I want to show off for." She gave him a wink, glancing down the run as if she could see Lando at the bottom of the run.

"He'd love you if you were a plumber."

"Oh, I don't know about that." She made a face and Dimitri laughed. "Seriously though, with the extra snow, the conditions, do you think I can do it?" Dimitri thought about it for a moment, stepping up to the start to look down as if he could see the snow on the landing. See how much the extra snow had affected the jump in the past twenty-four hours.

"With the volunteers sliding the landing, it's bound to get rough, but I also know they'll be packing stuff down in between if it gets too rough."

"That's not an answer." Dimitri looked back at her, the corner of his lips twitching. "Is today the day?"

"I think it is." He moved back towards her, grabbing her hands in his. "Todays the day we make history kiddo." She laughed, giving him a shove.

"Will you stop calling me that, you're not that much older than me."

"Alright, alright, fine, just do me proud okay? We have a bet to win." Arabella's smiled grew.

"Yes we do." She held her fist out and Dimitri gave her a first pump.

 Seb, Vlad, Benny and Jesse all watched from the bottom of the run. Lando was with them, and honestly there was no where else in the word he'd rather be. Well, maybe one place, but now that the snow had stopped falling so heavily and the volunteers were able to get ahead of it, the competition was ready to go forward.

Her first two jumps had been solid, clean, giving her almost perfect scores. The only thing that could bring them up was if she upped her difficulty. There had been rumors that she had a new trick in her arsenal, and more than one person had seen her land it in training. If she was successful, and he wasn't even a hundred percent sure that she was going to throw it, she would be the first woman in history to land it in competition.

As of that morning she still wasn't sure. She had curled up next to her, asking him what he thought she should do. If she should go big or if she should just go home. He, of course, had answered by sliding himself between her and showing her just how amazing home felt. It may have been selfish, but he was hoping she didn't try it.

Praying she didn't.

He had watched her do it on a trampoline, and then into a massive air pillow in training, he had even watched her land it in training. But for some reason today it didn't feel like the day. It felt off. Too cold, or too warm. The conditions not perfect.

Except that wasn't what he told her just before she had gone up for her third run. She had wrapped her arms around him and kissed him, tasting of sweat and snow. "Today's the day isn't it?" He wanted to say no, a part of his brain begged him too, but her smile was too big, her eyes too hopeful. And then there was the sliver in the back of her gaze, the one that needed the last little piece of encouragement, and she needed it form him.