“Thanks, Coach.” The heat and butterflies are notably absent when Renner uses the title, which I’m thankful for. Except, their absencenowpoints a spotlight on theirpresencewhen the same word drifts from Vox’s mouth. “Are you coming out to celebrate the team’s performance tonight?” Renner asks.
I nod. “I’ll be there.”
Grey already informed us that the entire coaching staff is expected to be there tonight, so even if I wanted to get out of it, I can’t.
Renner unclips from his board, picks it up, and offers me a fist bump before going to watch the rest of the athletes complete the course.
Since Renner and Vox are the only two competing in the snowboard cross event, they’re the only ones from our team who have to do this particular time trial. The others are most likely scattered in the terrain park, going through similar ranking procedures for their events.
My eyes search the crowd in the tent one more time for those purple tips, but they search in vain. Vox is lost to the crowd, and my skin crawls as I’m confronted with the way everyone is clamoring for his attention.
Feeling unmoored, I begin to make my way to the terrain park to support our other athletes.
I stand at the edge of the roped-off area, far to the side, away from the crowd. I want to be able to speak knowledgeably about the athletes’ strengths today, which requires me to watch their events, but I’m not in the mood to be social—whether it be small talk with other spectators, or strategy with the coaches—so hiding in the shadow of the trees it is.
I’m clapping for Angel, who just pulled off the sickest Quad Cork 1880 that I’ve ever seen, when an arm brushes my shoulder.
“So, you can congratulate everyone else, but not me?” Vox asks, folding his arms across his chest as he stands next to me. “Seems unfair.”
Butterflies activated…along with goosebumps and a twitching cock.Great.
I work hard to keep the jealousy out of my voice when I answer, but I’m pretty sure I fail.
“By the time I made it down here, you were already being swallowed up by the press…and Grey.”
Turning to look at me, Vox cocks a half grin. “I was kind of hopingyou’dswallow me after that performance.”
The surprise on my face, and the moan I manage to only partly stop, cause his grin to widen further.
I step to the side, putting some much-needed distance between us.
“Congratulations, Montgomery. It was a helluva ride.”
He shrugs. “I might’ve had some good coaching.”
He gives me everything by saying it, even though we bothknow that race was all him. I wish I could take credit, but I’m starting to believe that even compared to me in my prime, Vox is the better boarder…which only makes me want him more.
I wish I could voice how proud of him I am and how much my admiration for his fearlessness is growing, even if it makes me so fucking scared for him.
But I can’t.
Because the way he’s looking at me right now is telling me I’m not doing such a great job of hiding howI’mlooking athim.
Swallowing hard, I turn to leave. “I’ll see you at the celebration tonight.”
My moodupon entering Meltdown is more sour than six-month-old milk left in the Arizona desert during the month of July.
The place is packed.
Apparently, word got out that the home team would be here tonight celebrating their four first-place time trial finishes across seven events—two of which belong to Vox.
The six team members are spread out across three tables and have been joined by an extreme number of friends, vacationers, and strangers, clearly hopeful to get an autograph or possibly more.
These athletes have worked hard over the last month, and the next two are only going to get harder. Now that we have an idea of where everyone is seated against the competition, we can sharpen our training plans, review the scores, see who lost points for what, and attack those areas.
So, it’s fine. Let them have their fun.
All but one, my idiotic brain chides.
