Chapter 8

 

Kelly

 

“So where is Canada taking you on this date?” Becca asked, zipping up her tracksuit. She had another game today, but I didn’t have the free skate until later that night which left my entire day free, aside from the grueling morning practice that still had my bones sore even after a massage and an ice bath.

I shrugged, checking myself out in the mirror one last time. I may have been fully clothed in a long white sweater, I purchased in one of the ski shops after practice, leggings, and riding boots, but I’d never felt more exposed. The shirt hugged what little curves I had, barely covering my behind. This was as tight as the clothing I was used to wearing on the ice, and that was with a million-people watching me. But no one looked at me or made my entire body feel as if it were weightless like Blake did.

“And you’re keeping your hair down?” Becca stood next to me in the full-length mirror, her fingers barely touching my hair that fell in loose waves down my shoulders and framed the slight dip in my sweater. I didn’t have much for cleavage, but what I did have was on full display. I planned to cover it up with a scarf, and then possibly take the scarf off. If the moment called for it.

I wasn’t a sex on the first date kind of a girl, but all the rumors about the Olympic village were true. I’d been sheltered from the crazy sex fests when I was a teen, but now it was like a full-blown orgy with condoms being handed out left and right. Even Becca had admitted to catching the looks of one or more of the guys on the Norwegian hockey team. I didn’t know if that meant she’d done anything with them and I didn’t exactly want to know those personal details of my sister’s sex life.

And with the hormones and all of the competitive energy, sex was at the forefront of my mind. Parts of it, even more so than getting another gold medal. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted another gold around my neck more than anything, but if I could have the gold and maybe an orgasm that wasn’t by a battery-operated boyfriend, I’d be okay with it. The thought of that made me blush. I didn’t pack the toy on the trip, but it sat in my apartment back in New York in my night stand. I came into womanhood while being away at a training camp, losing my virginity to a man that was almost ten years older than me and being the last time, I was ever touched.

I shook all of those way too hormonal thoughts out of my head. I was being silly. This was just hanging out with a man. Albeit, an incredibly sexy man. But nothing more. We would go out, probably for lunch or coffee; maybe there would be kissing then I’d go home and compete.

The worst that could happen would be that I’d end up in his bedroom. But maybe that wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

“How long has it been since you’ve had sex?” Becca blurted.

I gasped and whirled around. “Becca!”

“What? It’s just a question. And, you know, our coach gave us a bunch of condoms, so I could loan you some,” she said walking toward her hockey bag where she pulled out a handful of condoms in every color of the rainbow.

I wrinkled my nose. “Um. No thanks. I won’t be needing those.”

“Are you on the pill? You know the pill doesn’t protect you from diseases. What if Blake has some Canadian STD that they can’t treat it here? Something like moose warts on his dick. Then you’d miss your program tonight because we’d have to fly you back to the states or, hell, to Canada to have a doctor treat your junk,” Becca asked, her face completely serious.

“I don’t think that’s a thing. I don’t think countries each have their own STDs.”

“Well then he could have a regular STD, and you’re going to feel really shitty out on the ice with American genital warts.”

I put my hands up and sighed, closing my eyes slowly before I opened them. “It’s been a long time for me, okay?” I said changing the subject. I never told my sister about my old partner. I figured it wasn’t something you discussed with your sister. I also didn’t think one talked about Canadian STDS, but here we were.

“Like long as in a couple of weeks? Months?” Becca asked cautiously.

I sighed and opened my eyes. “Years,” I whispered.

“Years?” Becca’s eyes practically bugged out of her head.

I rolled my eyes and sat on the bed. “I shouldn’t have said anything and just let you keep talking about condoms and STDs.”

“Has it been years because of your training? Is that why you’re so angry all the time? Pent up sexual frustration?” Becca asked, slowly sitting down on the bed next to me.

I groaned. “You’re not going to call me Elsa now, too are you?”

Becca’s arm slowly slid around my shoulder. “Kel, I’m your sister. I might not be interested in knowing all of the details of your sex life, but I do care about you. And if you’re about to go out with a playboy snowboarder, you should probably be protected. Sexually or otherwise. I don’t know the gun laws in South Korea, but I’m sure I could talk to one of the girls to see what kind of piece we could get you.”

“It’s not about protecting my body. It’s about protecting my heart…” I sighed.

Becca leaned back. “Your heart? Don’t tell me that after a week you think you’re in love with this guy?”

Love wasn’t the right word, but there was something about him that had my body fluttering. Maybe it was just hormones, and a roll in his sheets would get rid of that. But I knew that wasn’t it. The way he looked so defeated when I talked about his parents. The way he smiled and made me genuinely smile. He was a good guy. A good guy that I wanted to be with not just at The Games, but after. If I could get over the feelings of my last relationship that made my heart freeze over.

Shaking my head slowly I looked up at Becca. “No…it’s just…”

I sighed. “Did I ever tell you about Joe?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Your old partner with the mustache?”

I nodded. “The one. My first partner. The one I was supposed to go to my first games with.”

“Was he..the…?” Becca’s words trailed.

I swallowed hard. “Yes. He was my first and my last.”

“Wasn’t he like old?”

Laughing, I shook my head. “As old as I am now. I was a teen, yeah. I guess the whole partner chemistry and forbidden older guy thing had me going.” I let out a deep breath before I continued. “I thought we had something; then I found one of his old social media profiles and photos of a girl. A fiancée.”

Becca’s eyes widened. “No shit? The guy was cheating?”

Nodding, I swallowed hard. “Yes. She was back home in Britain, waiting for him. Instead of confronting him, I told Coach Donahue that our skating partnership wasn’t going to work. Since I’d been with Coach for two years and was a lot younger than Joe with a long career ahead of me, he sent him off, and Logan started skating with me. The rest I guess is history.”

Becca shook her head. “I had no idea…I guess that explains a lot.”

I snorted. “Why I’m such a bitch?”

“I didn’t say that, but dude, it’s totally understandable. If I found out a guy I was sleeping with, had a fiancée; I’d be pissed and swear off men too.”

I laughed even though it wasn’t funny. “I figured maybe I wasn’t meant for relationships and was meant for gold medals. So, it was all I focused on. That is, until now.”

Becca put her hand on mine. “You deserve the gold and to find someone, even if it’s just to get over your ten-year slump.”

 

***

 

My parents had purchased Becca and me international plans for our cell phones before we left for The Games, but Blake only had Wi-Fi to message me whenever he was in his room, or wherever he was staying.

He sent me a message when he was leaving his place and said he would be at my dorm in about half an hour.

What dorm was he living in that it was taking him that long? Was he snowboarding over?

I pulled my coat tighter around me as the brisk air picked up outside of the dorm.

It had been exactly thirty minutes since Blake messaged me and I’d paced my room enough, staring at the array of rainbow condoms that Becca had left on the bed, before I picked up a few, shoving them in my purse and decided to step outside. I thought for a moment he’d be late, then a horn blared from halfway down the street, causing people on the sidewalks to turn and stare.

A black, narrow van pummeled down the street until it came to a screeching halt in front of my dorm.

I stared wide-eyed as the window rolled down and a smiling Blake stared at me. “Looking for someone?”

I shook my head. “You’re nuts. You know that?”

He shrugged, adjusting the blue beanie on his head. “I’ve been called worse.”

I went around the front of the car and got in the passenger side. I expected the van to smell like sweat and the locker room, but instead, I inhaled the scent of pine and chocolate.

“Do you have an air freshener in here to hide the boy smell?” I asked, buckling my seatbelt before Blake tore off down the street and I found myself reaching for the door handle, so I didn’t fly forward and hit the dashboard.

“No. Does it stink in here?” he asked, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.

“No, the opposite actually. I was expecting more of a…” I put my hands in the air, twirling them in the circle as I searched for the right words. “A boy smell I guess.”

“And what does a boy smell like?” He asked, raising an eyebrow with a ghost of a smile on his lips.

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks. I wanted to say ‘you’ as I thought about his woodsy scent, but instead, I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment before responding. “Sweat and ice?”

He laughed. “I didn’t even know ice had a smell.”

“It does.” I nodded to myself. “It’s that clean, fresh smell. The one that makes every bone in your body tingle. You take it all in, in one big breath and can’t help but feel alive.”

Just thinking of the smell of the ice took my mind to the arena. The cold rush that surrounded me as I spun in the air. The way I felt alive. Every time I stepped into an arena, I’d take in that scent, and I knew it was where I belonged.

I didn’t even realize how lost I was in my own thoughts until I turned to see Blake grinning.

“What? Are you making fun of me?” I asked, gently shoving his shoulder.

He shook his head, a silent laugh escaping his nose. “No, just the opposite actually. I was taking in what you said. The smell of ice. You’re right. That’s how it smells to me when I’m on top of the mountain. It’s the thing that makes me feel alive. I’ve just never heard anyone describe it that way.”

“Maybe you and I aren’t so different after all,” I whispered, more to myself than anything as I sat my hand down on the console between us.

He glanced down then put his hand on mine, interlacing our fingers. “Nope. Maybe we’re not.”

 

***

 

I thought we would just end up somewhere in the village, at a nice restaurant, or even downtown Pyeongchang, but instead, Blake drove out toward the mountains where I could see skiers in their bright coats sliding down the slopes.

“Um, where are we going exactly?” I asked, looking around at the scenery.

“What a drive through the mountains isn’t enough for you?” he asked with a smile.

“Oh, um, well it is a lovely drive,” I mused, looking out the window, but couldn’t help but be acutely aware that his hand was still on mine, sending an electric current throughout my body.

He laughed, a deep laugh that came from deep in his throat. “I’m joking, Kelly. We’re almost there.”

I looked around the mountain landscape expecting to see a lodge, or maybe we’d even come to a village, but instead, I only saw one little sign with some Korean lettering pointing to a pathway that didn’t even look like the van would fit on it.

“Better hold on. It’s kind of bumpy,” Blake said with a laugh, dropping the gear on the shifter and turning toward the path.

The car vibrated underneath me, slowly making its way up the curvy path that followed the mountain. A little bumpy was an understatement as the car scooted up the mountain. Instead of just a little vibration, it was an all-out rollercoaster ride with me holding onto the dashboard with my free hand, wondering if the van had airbags.

“Is this safe?” I asked, my words shaky.

That made Blake laugh even harder. “Don’t worry. I do this all the time.”

“Somehow that’s not much of a comfort.”

He squeezed my hand but kept his eyes on the road ahead. “Don’t worry, babe. I got you.”

I would have objected or said something snarky, but when he smiled and held onto my hand, all I could focus on was the butterflies in my stomach.

This was my third Olympics, and another athlete had never approached me unless they wanted my autograph, let alone to want to hang out with me, and especially not go on a date. This was more than what I felt with Joe and what I ever imagined we had. That, I attributed to being a horny teen girl who was away from her parents for the first time and had an older guy touching her. This was something else entirely. This was not only lustful feelings but something else. Something more that had me connected to the dreadlocked snowboarder.

“And we’re here,” Blake said, pulling the car into a circle.

I was so enthralled in my own thoughts that I didn’t look to see if we were in some mountain town.

When I looked around, I didn’t notice much until I found the view in the side mirror and gasped at the beautiful sight.

It was as if we could see for miles with nothing but snow-covered hills and electric blue sky, striped with fluffy white clouds. On the snow-covered bases, rows of trees covered in white dotted the landscape as if they were just the sprinkles on top of the beautiful sundae.

“Wow. This is something,” I said breathlessly.

“And the view is only the beginning,” Blake said with a grin, getting out of the van and opening the back door.

I raised an eyebrow and quickly followed him to the tailgate where he stood with two snowboards.

“You aren’t serious, are you?” I asked.

“What? You said you wanted to learn to board, so who better to teach you than me?” He put down both boards and grabbed some boots out of the back as well.

“I thought you were just kidding about that hobby thing,” I muttered.

It wasn’t exactly disappointment that rang through my head, but curiosity. I expected dinner, drinks, and then back to his cabin. The fact that he wanted to spend time and teach me something made my heart beat even faster.

He laughed and sat on the tailgate, securing his boots. “Nope. I’m just hoping I got your right size. The board is one of mine, but I had to borrow the boots from Lorelei Lysacek, she’s a slalom girl.

Something in me boiled thinking about the fact that he was talking to another girl. I didn’t want this to be another situation like with Joe. I already had enough to worry about with his former fling with Alexis. I couldn’t worry about yet another girl. The worry must have shown on my face because he laughed, patting the seat next to him. “Don’t worry. I’m not Lorelei’s type, but your sister might be.”

I let out a deep breath that I didn’t know I was holding in and took the seat next to him. “Oh. And my sister’s not into other girls if that’s what you were insinuating.”

He laughed again. “Well, I didn’t think she was. But now I don’t know how I feel about the jelly Kelly. It’s kind of cute,” he said.

“Jelly Kelly?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Jealous. You gave me the same look when I mentioned Lorelei as when you saw that picture of me with Alexis. It’s this little crinkle in your forehead,” he said, pointing between my eyebrows.

I swatted his hand away. “I am not jealous.”

I tried to sound confident, but my voice wavered.

“Don’t worry, Alexis may be my country’s ice queen, but I think you skate better than her. Just don’t tell any other Canadians,” he said with a wink then nudged my elbow. “Now get those boots on. Your first lesson is about to begin.”

With that he put on his own boots and hopped on his board, effortless as if he’d done it a million times before and could probably do it in his sleep.

“Okay, but if I got hurt, my coach will probably kill you, and he’s from Texas and a hog farmer. He once told me that they’ll eat anything, including teeth,” I said, sliding off my riding boots and into the furry boarding boots, trying to put thoughts of Alexis and Lorelei out of my head.

“I love it when you talk dirty to me,” he said with a laugh.

“Okay. The boots are on. What now,” I said, dangling my legs off the tailgate and trying not to think too much about what he said about talking dirty, even though it definitely had me thinking how much of a dirty talker he would be in the bedroom.

“Okay, Imma help you down, and we’re going to strap in your front foot first,” he said, taking my hand and helping me hop out of the van.

I put my right foot up, and he held it before securing it in the binding along with the ankle strap. “Okay does this feel snug but not enough that it’s going to hurt you?” he asked.

I wiggled my toes. The shoes were about a size too big but at least they weren’t squashing my feet. “I think I’m good.”

“Okay, now you’re going to put your other foot in the other binding and stand straight, with your knees bent and your arms at your side,” Blake instructed.

I put my foot in the other binding and then stood up, slightly bending my knees and looking at him. “Done.”

“Don’ t get too cocky, it’s now time to see if you can move,” Blake smirked. “Now you’re going to lean on your front foot to move forward, and if you want to slow down, you lean on the back foot.”

“Easy,” I said and sucked in a breath, leaning forward slightly, ready to coast down the hill.

But instead of the board moving, my body was the only thing that moved, face first into the snow with my legs and board in the air.

“Ack!” I yelled, spitting out a mouthful of powder.

Blake laughed like a hyena and offered me his hand. “Not bad for a first try, but you’ve got to make sure to stay straight, only bend those knees slightly.”

“I think there’s a step you’re not teaching me just so you can watch me fall on my face,” I muttered as he helped me to a standing position and I dusted off my coat.

“I’ll hold your hand, and we can glide together. How’s that sound?” he asked, raising his eyebrows and standing next to me before he held out his hand.

I let out a deep breath, letting it waft in the air as a cloud of white smoke. “Okay,” I said and put my hand in his.

“Ready?”

“Ready.” I nodded, putting my free hand to the side and bending my knees.

“And…Go!”

Blake started gliding forward, and instead of me following him, only my arm went forward before my face followed, right back into the snow.

I looked up, spitting out the snow and saw Blake had turned around and leaned over before putting his hand out. “I think maybe you moved a fraction of an inch that time.”

I took his hand, but instead of letting him help me up, I yanked his hand forward, and he lost his footing, crashing down next to me.

I laughed, rolling over to a sitting position.

“That wasn’t cool. I was trying to help you out,” he said, sitting up and wiping snow off his face.

“Aw, I’m sorry,” I said, giving him a sweet smile.

His look of disdain turned into a small grin. “It’s okay…you can make it up to me…”

He leaned forward, his hand on my cheek. I thought he was going in for a kiss, but then I felt the shivering cold snow trail down my neck and back as he used his free hand to shove a snowball down my coat.

I screamed, shaking the snow out as he pulled back, laughing.

“Oh, you’re going to get it, Blake!” I grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it at him, landing on his face.

He spat out the snow and wiped his gloved hands over his mouth before a large grin spread across his face. “Oh, it’s on.”

Unsnapping his boots, he then gathered a handful of snow, pawing it into a ball.

“You wouldn’t want to hurt this sweet face now, would you?” I asked, batting my eyelashes.

He smirked, tossing the snowball from one hand to the other. “That depends. How fast do you think you can run with your board still on?

I looked down at my boots then back up to Blake’s smirking face before I quickly made work of the bindings, which were nothing like the laces on skates and I fumbled, trying to get them loose.

By the time I got the bindings undone, Blake’s toes were right at the edge of the board. I looked up, meeting his eyes. “I’ll give you a ten-second head start,” he murmured.

I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped my lips as I slowly crawled forward until I was able to scramble to my feet. I looked behind me to see that Blake was already coming toward me in a slow march.

“You might be fast on a board, but I bet I can out run you,” I said with a giggle, picking up a handful of snow and throwing it over my shoulder.

He ducked, the snow landing on his arm before he started moving faster, jogging toward me.

I squealed, trying to run, but the snow started to quake beneath me, and it was like moving through wet cement. I looked over my shoulder just in time to see Blake pouncing on me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

I giggled as he pulled me to the ground and we fumbled until we landed with him on his back in the cold snow and me lying on top of him.

“Who’s the winner now?” I yelled, holding up a snowball.

He laughed, the sound vibrating in his stomach and straight to my core that was so close to his belly button and another very hard part.

Before I could drop the snowball on him, he’d tossed a ball of snow up, hitting me in the face.

I screamed. “Oh, you’re going to get it for that one.”

Leaning over, I grabbed a pile of snow and smashed it into his dreadlocks as he thrashed his head from side to side. Then he took both of my wrists, holding them above his head.

“Now what are you going to do?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

I sucked in a deep breath, staring into those endless blue eyes. As if he knew what I was thinking, he leaned in, pressing his lips to mine.

Our first kiss was just a peck. A very explosive one. But this was different. This one caused a deep growl to emit from low in Blake’s throat before he fisted my hair and I opened my mouth to his. He nipped at my bottom lip before licking it then his tongue met mine slowly in a delicious torture of kisses and lip nibbles.

I’d never been kissed like that. A kiss that lit my whole body on fire and gave me a rush more than skating ever could.

I moaned without even thinking what I was doing, which caused him to pull me closer to him, his lips trailing from my mouth down to my neck, pushing aside the thick fabric of my coat.

I pushed my core into his groin, grasping onto his coat sleeves as he continued to bite, suck, and kiss down my neck. The thin material of my leggings did nothing to hide the friction of his jeans against me, and I bit down on my bottom lip, already on the brink of orgasm from just some making out and grinding my body against his. I should have been embarrassed that I was dry humping this man in the snow, but he felt so damn good against me, and it had been so long. And he wasn’t stopping me. At least not at that moment.

Blake slowly kissed up my neck and jawline then leaned back with a small smile on his face. “As much as I’d like to continue this, I’m getting snow in my ass.”

“Oh, uh, right, sorry,” I muttered and stopped moving, a flush crossing my cheeks. Maybe I should have calmed myself down before humping the man. Slowly I sat up before climbing off of him, hoping there wasn’t a giant wet spot on the front of my leggings.

He stood up and took my hand. “This gives us a perfect opportunity to warm up.”

I raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant by that, then he pulled me toward the van and opened the back door. I watched as he folded down the back seats and then took a few blankets and laid them on the flat surface.

“Um, what are you doing?” I asked, wondering if this was his idea of a date that included a snowball fight and sex in the back of his van. Not that I would have obliged at that point, but maybe preferred a bed if we were going to get that far.

He laughed and sat down on one of the blankets, patting the spot next to him before he grabbed a book bag with his other hand. “It’s lunchtime.”

“Lunch?” I asked, taking the spot next to him.

He scooted all the way back, so he was leaning against the seat and ushered me next to him so I slowly crawled back until I was sitting down and leaning against the seat. “Yeah, I talked to Logan today about what I should do for this date, and he suggested some fancy Korean restaurant and maybe a foreign film or something, and none of that sounded good to me.”

“Oh. Well, I guess a snowball fight is better than reading subtitles,” I muttered, not sure of what else to say.

He grabbed another blanket, putting out over our laps. Then he pulled two thermoses out of the bright orange backpack next to him. “I didn’t agree with either of those, but he did tell me you really like this lemon thyme soup with pine nuts and peppermint hot cocoa.”

He opened one of the thermoses and poured the soup into a metal cup. He handed me the filled cup, and I inhaled the scent of pine and lemon. I couldn’t remember the last time I had that soup, probably before Olympic training. Before I had a sponsor that sent me a week's worth of prepared meals that were sitting in the fridge in my dorm currently. As much as I liked chicken and sweet potatoes, a year of those could wear on a person.

“Where on earth did you find this?” I asked before taking a sip and letting the warm liquid fill my mouth.

“It was a pain in the ass, and I had to call around to a few places, but eventually I talked to a luger who owed me a favor and brought his chef with him who had no problem whipping this up.” Blake took another cup out of the backpack and poured himself some of the soup. “I also brought Baileys for the cocoa in case you hated all of this and we just needed to get drunk.”

I laughed. “I don’t think I could hate anything you did, especially when you put so much effort into it.”

He smiled, his blue eyes shining as he looked at me over his cup. “A lot of effort doesn’t always guarantee the best results.”

I took my free hand and put it on his. “Well in this case it did.”