“You know my last downhillpracticerun was faster than Coach Fuller’s best competition time, right?” I ask.
“What’s your point, Vox?” Grey asks, a little snippier with me than usual.
“Training with him isn’t going to make me a better boarder.” I’m starting to whine, but also, my point is valid.
Grey’s eyes dart around like he’s trying to make sure we aren’t overheard.
“Look, Connor asked that you work with someone else today.”
My head jerks back like Grey slapped me. “What? Why?”
“Best guess? He thinks I’m pissed about you wanting to ride Vertigo again, and he’s trying to show his loyalty to me. Either that, or you’re wearing him thin.” Grey purses his lips in that disapproving parent way. “I honestly thought you two would get along better than this.”
“We get along fine,” I snap, keeping the rest of the thought to myself.We’d get along better if we could do it naked.
“Just ride with Fuller today, will ya?” Grey asks in an exasperated tone. “Maybe teach your teammates something while you’re at it?” Before he walks away, his demeanor changes. Hisfeatures soften, his tone lightens, and his shoulders relax. “You still coming to Jenn’s birthday dinner? She misses you.”
Jennifer is Grey’s daughter. I’ve shared her birthday dinner with them every year since meeting Grey. Without fail, the whole family welcomes me with open arms and stuffs me full of Grey’s wife’s amazing cooking.
“Yeah, I’ll be there.”
Even when Grey annoys me professionally, our personal relationship remains strong, which is why I’m glad Connor dropped the contract stuff and the idea that Grey is taking advantage of me.
I board over to the small group waiting for me and feel eyes on me the entire time Coach Fuller is running through the plan. But I refuse to turn around.
Connor wants a break from me? He wants to suck up to Grey by putting distance between us?Fine.I’ll give him distance.
I take off toward the lift with Trent and Tasha. I haven’t spent much time talking to Trent, but he’s an easygoing guy. Tasha’s a bit chaotic off a board, but after our first run, I forget all about that, because on the slope, she’s fire.
The three of us, along with Fuller, are skiing on a closed slope with a gnarly drop-in, damn near close to the summit. Before tipping over the edge, Fuller looks at us and says, “Speed on this mountain is about more than just going fast.”
I’m already tuning him out because the fuck does he know aboutmymountain? I could board this slope in my sleep.
“We’ll do a mock race, so everyone needs to stay in their lane to avoid collisions.”
I can no longer stay quiet. My bad mood pours from me like a demon being exorcized.
Fucking Connor.
“Yeeaahh,that won’t work, Fuller.”
He cuts his eyes at me, the problem child.
“And why’s that, Vox?”
“Because a quarter of the way down, there’s a giant boulder that will cause Trent to have to come intomylane. Halfway down, there’s a dip before the ledge, and unless you want one of us catapulted thirty feet into the air, we’ll all have to squeeze to the left to avoid it,” I explain. “Then there’s the column of the chairlift to avoid, and the trail narrows at the end, acting like a funnel. Only two people at a time can pass through it safely.”
Trent looks at Coach Fuller. “I don’t mean to be a dick, but why’d you choose this run if it has all that shit?”
Fuller’s face reddens, and it’s not from the cold.
Ignoring Trent completely, Coach Fuller keeps his eyes on me. “So, what do you propose since you seem to have this mountain memorized?” he asks.
“We race without lanes. Whoever gets to the obstacles will either have to slow down and get in line, or speed up and get in front of me…but good luck with that.”
“That’s dangerous given the pitch of this slope,” he replies.
“Of course it is. That’s why it’s fun,” I reply.
