Edge of Glory

by Rachel Spangler

  “And all the heartbreak I could’ve saved.”

  “I don’t know about heartbreaks, but it would’ve saved a great many hangovers in the early days.”

  “And by hangovers, you mean yours.”

  Holly tousled her hair. “Probably. I’ve got meetings in the morning, but I’ll see you in the gym around two o’clock?”

  Corey and Nate nodded.

  “Goodnight, all,” Paolo said, then held the door open for Holly.

  “You’re staying a couple buildings over, right?” Nate asked Nikki.

  “Yeah, it feels like a mile after a workout.”

  “I’ll walk with you,” he offered.

  “You don’t have to. I might not be old enough to drink, but if I’m going to be on the Olympic team, I should at least learn to find my way through a hotel.”

  “I know, but I’d feel safer if I went with you,” he said, then to soften the blow, added, “I used to do it with Corey and Holly all the time, right Core?”

  “Absolutely,” she said.

  They both rose and said their goodnights, but no sooner had the door closed behind them when Elise said, “Is she safer with him than without him?”

  Corey laughed. “Well, I didn’t want to mention that when he used to walk us back to our rooms, or more likely to our van, he also happened to be sleeping with Holly on a semi-regular basis.”

  “Oh Lord, I was only joking until you said that.”

  “No worries. She’s not his type. Maybe fifteen years ago, but we’ve all grown more discerning over the last decade. I think he’s moving into more of a big-brother role with her, which is funny on another level.”

  “It does seem like she’s grown on all of you,” Elise said.

  “All of us?” Corey asked. “What about you?”

  She lifted one shoulder noncommittally. “Maybe a little.”

  “And what about me? Am I growing on you, too?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?” Corey pushed. “I’d say we’ve made considerable progress from the first night when you didn’t even want me to sit at your cafeteria table.”

  “I suppose if you go all the way back to then, I do find you significantly less annoying now.”

  “Significantly less annoying? I’ll take it.”

  “Honestly.” Elise’s expression grew more serious, her brow furrowed slightly. “I like how good you all are with Tigger. I think you and I had different upbringings in our respective sports, and given the choice, I’d rather she emulate yours than mine.”

  “Yeah?” Corey asked, surprised at the rare opening into Elise’s personal life. “Why?”

  “Don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t change anything that made me successful, no matter what the cost.”

  “Obviously.”

  “But you managed to be successful while still making good friends and memories along the way.”

  “You didn’t make good memories?”

  “Maybe in different ways. I’ve seen some beautiful places and met some important people.”

  “But?” Corey tried to push gently, not wanting to overstep her bounds, but also wanting to know more about the enigmatic woman before her.

  “I have no tawdry tales to tell. No inside jokes. No one who shared the whole ride.” Elise smiled half-heartedly. “I guess none of that matters in the end.”

  “I’ve been hoping those things mattered most in the end.”

  “I didn’t mean to imply they were unimportant, but those things don’t win medals or set us atop podiums.”

  “Don’t they?” Corey smiled again as she kicked out her legs and folded her hands behind her head. “I always thought the sense of community, the feeling of knowing where I belonged, anchored me. It gave me the freedom and the backing to take the big risks.”

  “I’d think risk was part of your nature.”

  “Maybe, on the slopes, but with things like breaking away from the safety of the tours, or telling the sponsors to shove off, or hell, even trying to become number one again after I’ve breached the big three-oh.” Corey shuddered for effect, and to see Elise smile again. “I know I can do those things because I have my team and the memories of all the things we overcame to get where we are.”

  “You had an amazing rise,” Elise admitted.

  “From what I hear, you did, too.”

  “I had a fast rise. It’s different. I never had to work my way up in the ways you did. I had a clear path set before me in middle school. Established organizations, governing rules, coaches and trainers—I never had to make a decision on my own, not about my training or the company I kept. I merely had to do what they said faster and better and harder than anyone else.”

  “And now?”

  “Now I have to do what they say I can’t.”

  Corey’s chest ached at the little break in Elise’s normally steady voice. “I bet that’s sort of terrifying.”

  She nodded solemnly. “I’m a rule follower, and it always served me well. I trusted in the system, and the system rewarded me. Or maybe I trusted in the system because the system rewarded me. I spent my whole life as the front-runner. I’ve never been the person other people bet against.”

  “But now that the system isn’t stacked in your favor, you have to relearn your ways of moving through the world.”

  “I always believed I had everything necessary to be a champion, physically and mentally. I only needed to wield those attributes accordingly to see results.”

  “Believed? As in, you aren’t sure anymore?”

  “The injury shook my confidence in my body. I’ve experienced more pain than I knew possible, and even as I start to think I’m fully rehabbed, I can sense those weaknesses below the surface in ways I never did before. I’m hyperaware of every twitch and twinge.”

  Corey sat forward, resting her elbows on the table and searching Elise’s eyes. “Are you having pain in the knee again?”

  “No,” she said emphatically, “which in some ways makes it worse. Pain in my knee would make sense. I could convince myself it was productive pain, part of the journey, but the knee’s holding up better than anyone predicted. It’s only everything else that hurts.”

  Corey chuckled nervously. “I know the feeling.”

  “My ankles swell, my thighs ache, tendons tighten, my lower back seizes, I’m aware of my hamstrings every minute of every day, and I keep asking myself if this is normal recovery, or age, or if I’ve lost what it takes to win?”

  “Elise,” she said seriously, “you haven’t lost your drive to win.”

  “Not my drive, but what if . . .” She shook her head. “God, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I think I’m more tired than I realized. We’ve been working on top of the mountain the last few days, and I must have a touch of mental fatigue.”

  Corey sighed. “It’s only us here. We have a no bullshitting rule, remember?”

  Elise pushed up from the table with a little wince and began to collect their glasses from the table. “I’m not bullshitting. I’m honestly exhausted.”

  “I believe you, but you started to say something else.”

  “Did I?” She put some physical distance between them under the guise of carrying things to the sink, but Corey rose and shook off the stiffness in her own limbs to follow her.

  “You said, “what if . . .”

  Elise made a little hum and turned on the water.

  Corey placed a hand lightly on the strong curve of her hip and pressed gently until Elise turned to face her. ‘“What if’ what?”

  “What if I don’t have what it takes to come from behind?”

  Corey watched a multitude of emotions swirl in the icy depth of her eyes.

  “I’ve never had to do this before,” Elise said softly. “I never had to mount a comeback. I barely had to struggle the first time around. I’ve always won, or at least been right on the edge. What if I’m not resilient enough to fight my way up from the back of the pack?”

  “Oh, Elis
e,” Corey pulled her close, cradling the back of her head and letting her gorgeous blond hair sift through her fingers.

  “I’m facing younger competition, healthier competition, stronger competition.”

  “But they’re facing one of the greatest champions women’s skiing has ever seen. Trust me, they’re much more scared of you than you are of them.”

  She scoffed. “No one’s scared of me anymore. We’re all back at ground zero together. Only this is a normal process for them. They all know what it’s like to struggle and fight and jockey for spots in the middle. They know they have that kind of fight in them. I’ve only ever breathed rarified air.”

  “And that’s your advantage. You know how the air at the top tastes, how it smells, how it feels against your skin. They can only imagine the things you’ve experienced,” Corey said. She couldn’t tell yet if the idea hit home for Elise, but she felt a renewed passion stirring in her own chest. Suddenly she wasn’t just talking to the champion in her arms, but to the one living inside herself. “We might not be where we want right now, but we’ve been there before. We’re not kids fumbling through the woods at night with a flashlight and no map. We know what our bodies feel like at their peak. We’ve got something none of the others have yet.”

  “What?” Elise asked, as if she at least wanted to believe her.

  “We’ve got experience. We’ll know the right path when we see it. And since we’ve already seen both sides of the mountain, we’re both going to fight like hell to get back to the summit.”

  Elise smiled, and Corey became acutely aware of her hands on Elise’s hips. “That was a very good pep talk. Did anyone ever mention you’re a lot smarter than you like to project?”

  Corey slid her hand up Elise’s side and over her shoulder until she cupped her cheek in her hand. “Did anyone ever tell you, you’re a lot softer than you like people to see?”

  Elise tried to shake her head, but instead Corey guided her mouth down to her own.

  Elise parted her lips, either in surprise or under the guise of protest, but instead of pulling away, she caught hold of the belt loop on Corey’s jeans and pulled her closer until their whole bodies pressed together. Corey ran her thumb along the smooth skin of Elise’s cheek as their mouths yielded more fully to one another. She tasted fresh and crisp like an icy stream on a hot day. Neither of them hurried. The softness of this collision offered a direct contrast to the friction of all their others, but lacked nothing in the way of passion. This high carried the pulse of endorphins without the urgency of a fight, all of the pleasure with none of the pressure, as they seemed to both already have the prize in hand.

  They broke apart slowly, and Elise blinked open her eyes, like blue skies burning through a morning haze. “Is there anything you’re not good at?”

  A rush of warmth filled Corey’s chest. “If there is, I hope you never find out.”

  “Me too, actually,” Elise laughed.

  “You’re not freaking out?”

  “I probably should be,” Elise said. “Could I have a rain check?”

  “Absolutely. Best not to rush into things like moral crises or regrets.”

  “Moral crisis probably on the way,” Elise admitted. “Regrets still seem a long away off.”

  “Would another kiss speed its arrival or slow its progress?”

  “Let’s find out.” Elise pulled her in this time, dipping her head and taking her mouth with a confidence Corey hadn’t experienced the first time. Tongues mingled in a delicious give-and-take. Corey moved her hands up to tangle in the silky strands of hair along Elise’s elegant neck, while Elise’s took a firm hold of her waist. They played, fingers and palms over smooth skin and hard muscles. Their mouths worked them to dizzying heights until something buzzed against Corey’s side.

  “It’s bedtime,” Elise murmured.

  “Uh, that seems a little forward of you.” Corey smiled against her lips. “But okay.”

  Elise gave her a little shove, breaking the contact between them, but by no more than a foot. She held up her Fitbit, which was flashing some sort of alarm. “No, it’s my bedtime.”

  “You set a bedtime alarm?” Corey asked. “Did Tigger’s mom make your schedule, too?”

  Elise did her best impression of indignant, but Corey could still see the hints of color in her complexion from their kiss. “I often get caught up in research or video sessions and lose track of time. Sleep is every bit as important to recovery as ice or stretching.”

  “And you were worried about not having what it takes.”

  Elise rolled her eyes, but Corey slipped an arm around her waist, taking a few seconds to marvel at how right the easy contact felt. “Don’t worry, champ. I’m not some stage five clinger here to wreck your workout schedule.”

  “No?” Elise asked, uncertainty in her voice.

  “Not tonight anyway,” Corey amended, noticing another uptick in her heart rate. “Let’s call this our second bout of cardio for the day.”

  Elise kissed her again quickly before stepping back once more. “Cardio sounds both fitting and appropriate for two athletes in training.”

  Corey smiled. “Let no one ever say we skimped on any area of our conditioning.”

  “Sounds like we’ve got another weapon in the pursuit of fun,” Elise said with a smile.

  “Indeed.” Corey headed for the door, her muscles feeling decidedly lighter and looser than they had in a long time. Maybe there was something to this new workout regimen. “I’ll see you when I see you?”

  Elise touched her fingers to her lips in a way that made Corey suspect she was also seeing the benefits of their shared cardio program. “Probably sooner rather than later.”

  With that she closed the door behind her and gave a little hop. She landed lightly on the well-worn carpet of the hallway and fought the urge to dance her way back to her room.

  Chapter 10

  “They’re in the gate,” Paolo called, and Elise stepped into the tech tent to see the screen more clearly. “Corey’s in the red bib. Tigger’s in the blue.”

  “Who are the other two on the outside?” she asked.

  “Two Canadians, a rookie and the silver medalist from Sochi,” one of the techs explained.

  The TV didn’t have any sound, but she could tell the racers had been given some sort of cue because they got low like coiled springs. Then the metal gates holding their boards back fell, and they all shot down a steep bank. Corey and Tigger held firm over a small lip and into a first turn while both the Canadians fell in behind them.

  “Switch to the rollers,” the tech said, and someone pushed a button, sending their view to a different camera in time to see all the racers fly into a section of the course consisting of one large bump followed by six smaller ones. Both Corey and Tigger used the air they got from the first jump to launch themselves over the first two of the smaller ones, but the young Canadian didn’t make the leap and wiped out, leaving the field at three as they fell into another steep drop.

  All three of them went into a low stance with Corey and Tigger neck and neck. The view switched again to show back-to-back banked turns. Elise’s shoulders tightened as she watched Corey and Tigger edge in on each other as they both battled for the inside. Corey won this time if you could call it a win with Tigger right on top of her. Their boards knocked each other and their elbows flew up in defense of body blows.

  “Can they do that?” Elise asked.

  “Sure,” the tech said. “No sucker punching, though.”

  “Good to know you draw the line somewhere,” Elise mumbled, as they traded places into the second turn with Tigger to the inside and Corey pressing down from the back above her. She didn’t know how they managed not to get pushed off course—probably through the g-forces generated by their speed and body mass. They rocketed out of the turn and the bottom immediately dropped out below. Both Corey and Tigger held their position, racing forward with perfect form as if they hadn’t dropped off a solid ten-foot cliff, but
the remaining Canadian actually used the leverage to land almost on top of them. Forced to give way or get squashed, Corey and Tigger split, and the dynamic of the race changed.

  They went three wide into the next jump. The steady incline slowed them down only a fraction before they all took flight once more. The huge air caused each racer to rise out of their tuck, and for a moment Corey windmilled her arms once around before righting her line and landing with a soft cloud of power behind her. The minuscule lapse had cost her, though, as she came up a couple of feet short of where Tigger and the Canadian hit the course.

  “Oh, she messed up,” Elise said to no one in particular.

  “Did she?” the tech asked.

  Before Elise could answer, Corey ducked low and inside as they headed for the next turn, a tight hairpin that quickly doubled back on itself. The other two racers had already landed too high on the track to dip into the middle and had to ride an upper line around. Corey slid past underneath them both and came out the other side with a slight lead.

  “She slowed down on purpose,” Elise said, her chest expanding with pride and admiration.

  “Here they come.” Paolo stepped out of the tent and looked up mountain.

  Elise followed, her gaze easily picking up the mass of bodies and the trail of snow as they hit another steep jump. They all three rose and fell in quick succession, but Corey maintained her half-board lead into the last high-sided s-turn. Once again they were all on top of one another. First Corey was on the bottom, then in the middle of the sandwich as they wrestled and bumped and knocked into one another.

  “God, she’s taking a beating,” she whispered.

  “Aren’t you glad skiers race one at a time?” Paolo asked.

  She hadn’t even thought about herself in such a position. She hadn’t processed far enough to wonder how Corey managed to walk after such a bruising workout, much less lift weights.

  They came out of the turn and tucked into the final slope with Corey in the lead and Tigger still right on top of her. From the downhill angle, it actually looked as though their boards might overlap. The Canadian swung wide, obviously trying to pick up speed by removing herself from the friction. The move, however, pulled her away from the most direct line to the bottom.