A Shot at Gold

by Nicole Pyland

  “About that… You’re sleeping in my room tonight.”

  “No way.” Elodie opened the passenger door.

  “Why not? You said it yourself: he already knows we’re sleeping together.” Madison turned the car off, climbed out, and walked to the back to get their stuff.

  “Your parents know we’re sleeping together,” Elodie said and winced.

  Madison laughed, grabbed Elodie’s hips, and said, “I love you.”

  “Maddie, I’ve never met the parents before.”

  “Seriously, I just want to make out with you right now.” Madison kissed her quickly.

  “You’re joking,” Elodie said, laughing a little.

  “Babe, you need some levity. They’re just my parents.”

  “Your dad thinks–”

  “My dad wants what’s best for me. That’s why he was pissed about you missing the invitation and me losing this weekend.”

  “Then, he’s really not going to like me now that we’re dating.”

  “Actually, he might like you more.” She pressed her forehead to Elodie’s. “My parents thought we were together when we were here last time. I gave them all of the reasons why we couldn’t be, but they noticed one was missing. My mom called me out on it over the phone later.”

  “What was that?”

  “I never told them I didn’t want you. I never denied how I felt; how good it was, having you there for my birthday, and how much I loved holding your hand that day. My parents were worried I’d never find someone. They watched me go through everything with Wiley, and I gave them every reason to believe it would take a very long time for me to fall in love again.” Madison closed her eyes. “Then, I met you.”

  “That’s sweet and all, Maddie, but your parents know I’ve now seen you naked.”

  Madison laughed and said, “I didn’t tell them we’ve had sex, Elodie. For all they know, we’re still new, and we’re waiting for that part.”

  “Great. Let’s keep that lie going. We’re waiting for marriage.”

  “Marriage?”

  “Or long after marriage. Maybe we’re just the kind of couple that doesn’t do that. We–”

  Madison kissed her long and slow. Elodie wrapped her arms around her waist and let Madison push her back against the trunk of her car. Madison’s hands slid under her shirt and cupped her breasts. Elodie moaned because she now wanted more and knew she couldn’t have it. Then, Madison pulled away and smiled at her.

  “We will never be the couple that doesn’t do that, El.”

  “Maddie, it’s been a few days. It’s just a lot. I know he already doesn’t like me as a coach. How is the guy supposed to be okay with me being in love with his daughter?”

  “You make me happy, Elodie Booker.” She pulled on Elodie’s shirt. “That’s all he wants for me.”

  “Are you two ever coming inside?” Madison’s mother yelled from the porch. “Or are you going to keep hiding behind the car, thinking we can’t see you?”

  “Mom, we’re just getting our stuff,” Madison said loudly as she laughed.

  “How much stuff did you bring? You’ve been back there for a while.”

  Madison looked at her and said, “Just be yourself, okay?”

  “It’s only one night. It’s only one night,” Elodie repeated it silently to herself as they walked into the house.

  After Madison’s dad had called to find out what happened in the tournament, Madison had explained that she had told him they were together now and that Elodie wouldn’t be her coach. She’d also explained that because there was a major airport near her parents’ house, they could fly there first instead of going back to Elodie’s directly. Elodie wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea of basically taking a long layover to visit with Madison’s parents. She’d wanted to head straight home, share a nice meal together, and then fall into bed. Now, they were in Madison’s parents’ house, and she was staring at Madison’s mother, who was smiling at her conspiratorially. She absolutely knew that Elodie had seen her daughter naked.

  “So, how have you been?” Madison’s mother asked.

  “Great,” Elodie replied.

  Madison took Elodie’s hand and placed it in her lap, linking their fingers.

  “Mom, this is kind of awkward because I’ve never brought a girlfriend home before. I want to be respectful. This is your house and everything, but I was kind of hoping that it would be okay for El and I to sleep in my room tonight.”

  Elodie blushed instantly and squeezed Madison’s hand.

  “Oh, I guess I hadn’t thought about that,” the woman said, crossing one leg over the other.

  “Thought about what?” Madison’s father said as he walked into the room, staring down at his phone.

  “Madison was asking if she and Elodie could share her room tonight.”

  “We don’t have to,” Elodie said a little too quickly. “The guest room is fine for me.”

  It was Madison’s turn to squeeze her hand. Then, she rested her head on Elodie’s shoulder. Madison’s father looked at both of them and then at Elodie. She could tell he was considering something. Her blush intensified. Yeah, he knew they’d had sex. He probably assumed they’d been having sex all along.

  “You’re a couple now. I assumed you’d stay in the same room. You didn’t the last time you were here?”

  “No, we weren’t together then. She slept in the guest room.”

  He chuckled as he sat down and said, “I just assumed she pretended to sleep there and snuck into your room at night.”

  Elodie shook her head rapidly back and forth. Madison looked over at her, laughed, and put her head back on her shoulder.

  “Excuse her. She’s never met girlfriend’s parents before and also thinks you hate her because you know we’re having sex,” Madison said.

  “Maddie!” Elodie said it loudly.

  Madison’s parents both laughed.

  “Elodie, we have three kids. We know how this works,” Madison’s mother said. “And we’ve been hoping Madison would find someone for a while now. I knew there was something about you two when you were here last time.”

  “I was just her coach then,” Elodie replied.

  “I’m not sure you’ve ever just been her coach,” her mother said.

  “Now that you’re together, you’ve decided to step down?” her father asked.

  “Yes, I can’t coach her if we’re together. I distracted her this weekend. It was my fault.”

  “Excuse me. I’m an adult,” Madison said, lifting her head up. “I made my own decisions. I chose to be with you over winning some tournament, and I’d do it again, El.”

  “Well, that’s a change,” her father said.

  “It’s been archery, archery, archery since she first picked up a bow,” her mother added.

  “It still is. I don’t plan on making a habit out of losing, but I’ve been trying to get this one to finally admit that we should be together for a while now.” She poked Elodie in the stomach. “I’ll gladly sacrifice one victory for that.”

  “Elodie, can I talk to you?” Madison’s father asked.

  “Sure,” Elodie replied quickly.

  “Dad, don’t make this awkward.”

  “I won’t. We’ll be right back,” he said.

  Elodie wasn’t aware they’d be leaving, but she stood up, letting go of Madison’s hand, and followed the man into his office.

  “Have a seat,” he said, referring to the small sofa against the wall. “I got the wire transfer.”

  “Oh,” she replied. “Good. I–”

  “I’m not taking the money back, Elodie,” he said, sitting down beside her and giving her a kind smile.

  “I can’t take your money now. I failed as a coach. And now, Madison and I are together. It’s not right.”

  “I paid you to coach my daughter, which you did; albeit with mixed results.” The man tipped his head from side to side. “I agree that to continue to pay you would be inappropriate, since you’re no long
er coaching Maddie, but I can’t take the money back, Elodie. It’s yours.”

  Elodie sighed and said, “I think I’ve been in love with Madison for a lot longer than I even knew. She’s an amazing, determined, funny, and beautiful woman. I kept pushing her away, and she kept coming back because she sees something in me. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but she sees it. And I resisted this for a while, but it was always there. Is it right to get paid for a job I don’t think I ever really did?”

  “You did, though. Maddie wanted to go to that academy because you were going to be there. She wanted to be coached by the best, and she thinks that’s you. She was lost for a while, my daughter. She lost someone very important to her way too young, and she’s been clinging to archery because it was the one thing she and Wiley used to do before she got sick. She loves it. I know that’s true, but there’s also this piece of her that’s been hanging on to it because of that loss.” He nodded a little. “She only went to college that first year because we forced her. She had a scholarship. Wiley wasn’t doing well, and Madison wouldn’t leave her. Wiley actually asked us to make sure Madison didn’t watch her waste away.” He lowered his head. “It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but it was what we had to do. Maddie needed to try to have a normal life.”

  “I can’t imagine,” Elodie said.

  “When Wiley left us, Maddie left us too for a while. She threw herself into archery. She only went to classes because it was required for a student-athlete on scholarship, but she didn’t care about school or a career beyond archery. She had one goal, and that was to make the Olympic team and win a medal. For the longest time, her mother and I thought it was important to support her in that goal. We have, and we still will because it’s what she wants, but we’ve also wished for her to find something else to make her happy. If you ask her mother, she’ll tell you she was hoping for someone else, but I knew that would come in time. I just wanted to see my little girl excited about something else for once.” He paused. “And that’s you, Elodie. I can see how excited she is around you.”

  “I love her,” Elodie replied, hoping that was enough. “I know on paper, we don’t look like we make sense, but we do.”

  “The paper isn’t real. Life is real. If you love her, and she loves you, that’s good enough for me. You need to take care of each other, too.”

  “We do. I mean, we will.” She blushed a little. “She’s been taking care of me since we met. Just showing up at my door and demanding I coach her pulled me out of the funk I’d been in for years. She’s been pushing me to be better ever since.”

  “That’s my girl,” he replied proudly. “So, what’s next for you if you’re not coaching anymore?”

  “I don’t know yet. Madison and I have to talk.”

  “Ah, I see.” He patted his legs. “Well, I know my wife is cooking something amazing for dinner. We should get back out there.”

  “You really don’t have a problem with me being with Maddie?” Elodie asked. “The age difference, the terrible job I did coaching her, the whole me-being-a-woman thing; none of that bothers you?”

  “What would bother me is my daughter being unhappy. She doesn’t seem unhappy to me at all right now.”

  CHAPTER 29

  “This is weird,” Elodie said.

  “What is?” Madison asked, sliding in next to her.

  “We’re in your bed.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “Maddie, we’re in your bed in your parents’ house.”

  “Elodie, this isn’t my childhood bedroom,” Madison said. Then, she looked down at Elodie. “This isn’t where Wiles and I were–”

  “Oh, no. I know that, babe.” She cupped Madison’s cheek. “Your parents are down the hall.”

  “Yes, and they’ve been asleep for about two hours now, at least. They go to bed super early.” Madison moved until she was on top of her girlfriend. “And they are at least two rooms away with a sleep machine turned on because my dad cannot sleep in silence.” She leaned down and kissed Elodie’s lips.

  “We can’t…”

  Elodie said the words, but her hands were saying something else entirely. They slid under Madison’s shirt and rested on her upper back.

  “We just started.”

  “Baby, I want to, but your parents…”

  “Are asleep. We aren’t.”

  Madison slid her hand between Elodie’s thighs and into her underwear. Elodie gasped. Madison moved her fingers into her folds and found wetness there.

  “We have to be quiet,” Elodie replied.

  “Why? According to you, they know we’re having sex already.”

  “Maddie,” Elodie said, but then she moaned when Madison entered her. “Oh, wow.”

  “I love you, El. I missed you today. I’m sorry we had to stop here. I just can’t wait until we get home to do this again.”

  Elodie lifted Madison’s shirt up over her breasts, and before Madison knew it, she was sucking on her nipple. Madison let out a gasp of her own and slid her fingers deeper inside her girlfriend. Her thumb pressed into Elodie’s clit. Madison’s hips started to move on their own. Elodie slid her hand into Madison’s underwear and cupped her sex. She didn’t move to stroke her clit. She just kept her hand there, allowing Madison to rock against it as she sucked on her nipple the way she already knew Madison loved.

  “There,” Elodie said, dropping her breast before she grabbed Madison’s other one with her hand, pulled it to her lips, and toyed with it with her tongue.

  “Oh, I agree. Yes,” Madison said, rocking harder and faster against Elodie’s hand.

  They came together only a few minutes later; Madison crashing down against Elodie’s body. Elodie flipped them over, wasting no time. She reached down and tugged at Madison’s underwear, pleased that her girlfriend hadn’t bothered to put on shorts to sleep in. Once they were pulled away, Madison watched as Elodie stripped off her own clothing. Madison removed her own shirt and waited. Elodie pressed her body into Madison’s.

  “You feel so good.” She ran her hands over Elodie’s back.

  “Your dad thinks I make you happy,” Elodie said, staring down at her.

  “You did not just bring up my father right after we got naked, El.” Madison covered her eyes with her hand.

  “Do I?” Elodie asked seriously.

  Madison removed her hand, stared at her curiously, and said, “Not right now. You just brought up my father during sex.”

  “I’m serious, Madison,” Elodie said, kissing the tip of her nose.

  “El, of course, you make me happy.” She placed her hands on the sides of Elodie’s neck. “I love you. You drive me nuts most of the time.” She smiled at her reassuringly. “You make me laugh. You push me to be better and save me when I’m being stupidly klutzy.” She chuckled. “I kind of think you might be the one for me.”

  “Kind of?” Elodie asked with a sly smile.

  “Well, I am only twenty-three. You know how fickle people are at that age,” Madison teased.

  “Oh, you’re going to pay for that,” Elodie said, laughing at her.

  “Yeah? How?”

  “I’m going to make you wait for it,” Elodie replied, kissing her neck. “Now that I’m no longer your coach, I can keep you up all night long.”

  “Is that a promise?” Madison asked, loving how good it felt to have Elodie’s lips on her skin.

  “Definitely.”

  ◆◆◆

  “Are you okay, honey?” Madison’s mom asked.

  “Yeah. Why?” She yawned.

  “You look like you didn’t get any sleep.”

  Elodie cleared her throat and took a sip of her coffee.

  “I’m okay. It must be all the travel,” Madison lied, hoping the coffee cup she’d just picked up would cover up her blushing cheeks.

  “Okay. Are we ready to go to the airport?” her dad asked when he walked into the kitchen.

  “Yes. All ready.” Madison smiled up at him.

&nb
sp; She walked with her father out to the car with their bags while Elodie hugged her mother goodbye.

  “Honey, I like her,” he said.

  “You do?” Madison asked as she watched him put the luggage into their rental.

  “You didn’t have to rent a car. We would have picked you up and dropped you off at the airport.”

  “It was just for the one day; not a big deal. Dad, you like her? Really?”

  “She’s really worried about me not liking her, isn’t she?” He laughed.

  “She is.”

  “That’s good.” He closed the trunk. “That means you mean a lot to her.”

  “I think I do.”

  “Oh, you know you do.” He winked at her. “She’s here, isn’t she? She came for your birthday after you’d fired her as your coach. She worked to make it up to you. Now, she’s here officially meeting your parents as your girlfriend. That means a lot.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Have you decided what you’re going to do next?”

  “With Elodie? I don’t know. I guess we’ll date for a while and–”

  “With archery, honey,” he said. “You need a new coach. You don’t want to lose momentum.”

  “Oh, I don’t know.”

  “You need to figure it out soon.”

  “I know, but I don’t want to leave her, Dad.” She looked back at Elodie, who was accepting a bag of cookies from her mother.

  “Talk to her. Put all the cards on the table. Tell her what you want. Let her do the same. It’ll all work out.” He reached for Madison and gave her one of those amazing dad hugs that always seemed to make things better.

  ◆◆◆

  “Wine?” Madison asked.

  “I got rid of it all,” Elodie replied.

  “What? Why? I thought you were just going to take it easy.”

  “After that long drive home alone when I’d treated you like crap, I thought about drinking a whole bottle to try to deal with the pain I’d caused and the pain I was feeling.”

  “Did you?”

  “No, I poured it and all the rest of the bottles I had down the sink. I haven’t bought anything new.”

  Madison climbed into Elodie’s lap, straddling her hips, and looked down at her.