Eventually, they each had a cool hour at the Olympic Village to shower and get ready for the evening medal ceremony, and Mara left her side for the first time.
Once Kirby was under the spray, she started shaking, all the adrenaline leaving her. She laughed and tried to breathe through the ridiculous come down. Racing well was such a high, but she was ready for her heartbeat to calm, for her body to settle.
She needed normalcy, so she took extra minutes in the shower, doing some of the special stuff she didn’t always have time for.
She imagined an interviewer asking,Kirby, what’s the first thing you did after winning a gold medal.
Oh, you know, I took an everything shower—shaved my legs, exfoliated, moisturized my knees and elbows.
She got out of the shower and had finished dressing in her medal ceremony outfit when there was a knock at their door. She heard Jordan answer it.
Kirby peeked out of the bathroom to see who it was, but before she even got eyes on Mara, she knew it would be her.
Mara was making small talk with Jordan, even though Mara sucked at small talk. Her hair was wet, she didn’t have makeup on, and she was clearly not fully ready for the medal ceremony, but she’d searched Kirby out anyway.
“Want me to braid your hair?” Kirby asked Mara, pulling up the first excuse she could think of. “For the medal ceremony?”
“Oh, uh, sure.” Mara said.
“Come here.”
Mara squeezed into the bathroom with Kirby, and Kirby neatly shut the door.
Then she pinned Mara to it.
“I don’t actually want my hair braided for the medal ceremony,” Mara said because she was annoying.
“Shut up.”
“No.”
Kirby tried to kiss her because she felt like she’d vibrate apart if she didn’t.
But Mara dodged her. “Wait, KB.”
“Fuck.” Kirby rested their foreheads together, just like after the race. “Okay.”
She had severely misjudged this. And that was the first time Mara had called her KB where it had sounded fond and maybe a little sad instead of mean, and Kirby had no idea what that meant.
“You need to know that I really freaking like you,” Mara whispered.
“But?”
“Not because you won me a gold medal.”
Kirby laughed. “Wewon.” She pulled back and caressed Mara’s cheek.
Mara’s emotions were right there on the surface, so clear in her bright green eyes. Affection, maybe more than affection. Happiness. Joy.
“I don’t know what comes next,” Mara said. “But I like you so much. I’m so sorry for saying all that stuff about?—”
“Hush.”
Mara smiled sweetly, and Kirby was in pieces.
Mara lifted her hand and rubbed a thumb over Kirby’s chin, then along her jaw, then up and over Kirby’s eyebrow, and for the first time since they’d won, Kirby felt like crying.
“You’re beautiful, Kirby,” Mara said matter-of-factly as if she’d just noticed.
