In that moment, whatever fear I have is replaced with Logan’s belief in me.
I can do this.
I can fucking do this.
Closing the distance between the two of us, I give Logan a quick, hot kiss.
Because there isn’t a chance in hell I’m not making it down that mountain today.
When I find Logan’s eyes, he’s beaming at me.
And for the first time in a long time, everything settles into place. Both of us are exactly where we need to be.
“There’s my girl.”
“I’ll see you at the bottom.”
“I’ll race ya.” Logan winks at me and heads back to the gondola with other members of my team.
Dusting off my skis, I push myself over to the starting gate and listen to my name ring out over the loudspeakers.
The starter goes through the normal process, but I zone it all out. I’ve done this hundreds of times. It’s what I do. It’s what I’mmeantto do.
Listening for the beeps, when the final one sounds, I’m out. My brain turns off and instinct takes over as I rush out of the starting gate.
The wind howls as I tuck down, bending through each turn.
The harder I push myself, the easier it gets. That heavy feeling in my chest gives way to excitement at each gate I pass.
Every turn, every swish through the snow, makes my smile grow.
I already know this is going to be one of the best runs of my life as I fly toward the finish line. As soon as I cross, I throw my arms up in the air.
I kick out of my skis and wait for the final time to come up. The crowd is electric as we all wait.
The red numbers pop up on the screen.
Second place. With one skier left behind me, I did it.
I fucking did it.
I qualified for the games.
“Yes!” Pure joy pulses through me as my team runs over to me. But I have eyes for only one of them as I take a running leap into his arms.
“Holy shit! You did it! I am so fucking proud of you, Audrey.”
Tears are flowing freely.
“I can’t believe you’re here.” I bury my face in his neck, breathing him in.
I don’t know how I ever lived without this man. I realize now I spent the years without him just trudging along and going through the motions.
Logan brought back that spark. The spark I needed to get past this setback and make it to my next Olympics.
“I love you, Audrey.” Cold pinks his cheeks. With his hat, he looks as cute as ever. “Maybe I can become the official team motivator when needed.”
“About that…”
