A Shot at Gold

by Nicole Pyland

  “Well, that means that I can’t use it to get through this conversation, either.” She kissed Elodie’s forehead.

  “You need wine to get through a conversation with me?”

  Elodie ran comforting hands up and down her back as they sat on her sofa.

  “Not usually, but I’m worried about this one.”

  “Why?” Elodie’s blue eyes bore into Madison’s.

  “Because I think I want to go to Colorado Springs.”

  “Oh.” Elodie looked away from her. “That’s good. That’s where you should be. Robin is amazing, and the program sounds great.”

  “El, I know you got the offer to work there.” She rubbed Elodie’s shoulders.

  “It was her being nice more than anything.”

  “No, it wasn’t.”

  “Of course, it was. I’m obviously a terrible coach.”

  “Babe, you keep saying that, but you’re not terrible.” She cupped her cheeks. “You got me to focus and to have fun with something I’d long stop considering as fun. You improved my stance and my release and schooled me because you’re still the best in the world.” Madison kissed her lips sweetly. “I would have won the tournament this weekend.”

  “But you didn’t?”

  “Because I wanted to be with you more. I won the tournament you were there for, El, and I probably would have won the invitational had I not been so thrown by you ditching me.”

  “I am so sorry. I–”

  “It’s okay.” Madison kissed her again. “You’re not a terrible coach. You were just not meant to be mine because you were meant to be so much more.” She kissed the woman more deeply, letting Elodie run her hands up under her shirt. “Come with me,” she added, moving her lips to Elodie’s neck.

  “To Colorado?”

  “Yes, babe. Come with me. Take the job.”

  “I can’t, Maddie. I live here.” She pulled Madison’s face away from her neck to look into her eyes. “I have a law practice.”

  “Have someone buy it out; take care of Nancy and Matt. Keep this place or sell it, but come with me, El. I love you. I don’t want weekends; I want all of it. Neither of us has had that chance.” Madison rubbed her hands up and down Elodie’s chest. “I want all of you. I always have.”

  Elodie swallowed and said, “How would it work, though?”

  “We can get a place together,” Madison replied, pulling off her shirt. “Or not. I don’t know if that’s too soon. I just want to be with you. If you want your own place, that’s fine.” Elodie kissed her collarbone. “Oh, okay.”

  “You want to get a place with me?”

  “We can rent something nice until we know if we want to stay.” She paused when Elodie licked that collarbone. “You could keep this place. Rent it out if you want, but we might want to move back one day, so maybe…” Elodie unclasped her bra. “You should keep it.”

  “I was planning on expanding it.”

  “Yeah?”

  She cupped Madison’s breasts and said, “Building another bedroom, at least.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I want the wife and kids one day.” She met Madison’s eyes. “And because I’m a decade older than you, you should know that I’d want them soon.”

  Madison lifted Elodie’s shirt, tossed it, and said, “I can get with that.”

  “You could get with that? Is that slang I should know now that I’m dating a younger woman?”

  “No.” Madison leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll explain. It means that I love you. I want all of those things, and I want to go to Colorado with you so that we can start this part of our relationship off together.”

  “Thank you for the explanation.” She unbuttoned Madison’s jeans. “Now, I’d like to explain my thoughts on how hot it is when you straddle me like this, and how I’d like you to take off the rest of your clothes now.”

  “You made me wait for hours last night.” Madison rocked her hips into Elodie. “I think it’s time I make you wait now.”

  Elodie stared up at her, smiled softly, and said, “I want that.”

  “To wait?”

  “No, I want to coach.”

  Madison stopped her movements to ask, “You do?”

  “I missed it too much,” Elodie said, rubbing Madison’s sides. “I want to maybe try to coach someone I’m not in love with.” She let out a soft laugh.

  “You know you could easily get back into it again if you want to compete.”

  “Compete?” She laughed louder and kissed between Madison’s breasts. “No way. There’s this big-time up-and-comer. Maybe you’ve heard of her, but she’s remarkable, and I’m kind of into her. I wouldn’t want to compete against her, ever. Besides, I had my turn. It’s her turn now.”

  “Is it here?” Madison asked.

  “Is what here?”

  “Your gold medal.”

  “It’s in a box in my closet. Why?”

  “Will you wear it for me?” Madison rolled her hips again. “And only that?”

  Elodie nodded and said, “Yes.”

  “Right now?”

  “Yes,” she repeated in a hushed tone.

  “And then, will you call Robin with me and accept the job?”

  “Yes,” Elodie said again, placing her face between Madison’s breasts. “I love you, baby.” She kissed the spot.

  Madison loved hearing those words from the woman who had so completely captured her heart.

  “I love you, too.”

  EPILOGUE

  Elodie was still shocked at just how good the woman was. She’d been watching Madison for the past six years, and she was still surprised when she took no time at all to beat the competition. Madison was up two sets to zero. She had just hit two tens in the third set to her opponent’s nine and eight. Elodie knew she’d win now. Madison lined up her shot and let go. Her release was perfect. After she lowered her bow, Madison smiled. The crowd applauded, as did Elodie. Madison was moving on to the semi-finals. Her wife was one step closer to winning an Olympic medal.

  “How was the view from the stands, Booker?” Madison wiggled her eyebrows at her.

  “Pretty hot.”

  “Please. I’m already starting to show.”

  Madison placed a hand over her stomach and looked into the mirror in Elodie’s hotel bathroom.

  “No, you’re not. You’re barely three months along.” She wrapped her hands around Madison’s waist from behind. “And you’re still crazy sexy to me. I love how hot you look every damn time you drop that bow and stare at the target like you know you just nailed it.”

  Elodie kissed her neck and placed a comforting hand on Madison’s stomach.

  “I can’t believe I’m finally here; we’re finally here,” Madison said, resting her head against her wife’s shoulder.

  “Pregnant or at the Olympics?” Elodie asked, looking at Madison through the mirror.

  “Both.” She chuckled. “We’ve been trying for over three years.”

  “It takes a while, sometimes.” She kissed Madison’s shoulder. Then, she moved her hands up to cup Madison’s bare breasts. “We’ve got time until you have to get back to the village.” She kissed her wife again.

  “You know I shouldn’t.” Madison didn’t move to stop her, though.

  “You’re not competing tomorrow,” Elodie played with her nipples. “And you know these have gotten even more sensitive, so it’s not like it’s going to take you long.”

  “Romantic, babe,” she said sarcastically.

  “Oh, you want romance?” Elodie spun Madison around in her arms.

  “Maybe a little,” Madison said, leaning in. “I earned it, didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, you have,” Elodie replied, meaning it.

  As she kissed her wife, she thought back to that first year together. They’d just moved to Colorado, choosing to get six-month leases on two separate apartments in the same complex. That didn’t last long. They signed a year lease together soon after. It was Elodie who proposed. Sh
e thought she was being cute by taking Madison back to the old house they only visited to renovate when they had time. She’d poured them both a glass of wine. She’d placed Madison’s legs in her lap and ran her hands up and down them. She’d slid her hands up a little higher, liked she’d dreamed of doing that first time, and she made Madison come while they both were pretending to watch a movie. Then, Elodie had taken the ring she’d been hiding for months and placed it on Madison’s finger. Madison had screamed in a very different way than only a moment earlier, and they’d made love with her wearing that ring on her finger.

  Madison had lost out on her first chance to make the Olympic team. She made it to the final round of the trials. She had impressed everyone with her near-perfect score in the preceding round, but the arrows just weren’t with her that day. She’d hit the line on two of her shots while her competitor had scored three tens in the final set. She’d been devastated. Elodie had held her while she cried. It had been one of the worst days of Elodie’s life, watching the love of her life in that much pain.

  It gave her even more respect for Madison’s strength. If Elodie had a hard time watching her cry after not making an Olympic team, how had Madison watched the girl she loved die from cancer? Madison wasn’t sure what she wanted to do after that, so they’d returned to the house. They planned their wedding. Madison took some time off to try to figure out if she wanted to go through the whole thing again. They got married in the park they went to with Nancy and her husband and kids for the picnic and a movie. Nancy had now taken over the practice, passing the bar shortly after Elodie had left for Colorado. Matt worked as an associate and took the old guest room as his office.

  Elodie and Madison expanded the house, making a room that would be just right for a baby one day. Madison decided to go to work at the academy, helping Marshall to recruit promising archers, while they tried to get pregnant. It was then that she found her way back to the sport. Elodie would bring her coffee every morning before she went to work, helping Nancy and Matt with the extra cases at the practice when she could. Madison would fire arrows at a paper target in their backyard. Elodie would get turned on. They’d go inside and have sex against the closest surface they could find. Then, Madison would go back to work.

  “Bed?” Elodie asked, giving her wife a gentle shove toward the full bed in the hotel she had booked, knowing she wouldn’t have much time to spend with her wife in bed since she’d have to stay in the village.

  “Yes, please,” Madison replied.

  Madison had taken a short shower, which meant she was already naked. Elodie stripped off her own shirt and bra. Madison took care of her jeans and panties. No matter how many times they did this dance, Elodie loved watching Madison strip off her clothes. Madison kissed Elodie’s stomach, her hip bones, and then the inside of her thighs. Elodie moved to sit on the end of the bed and waited for Madison to straddle her hips. Elodie placed a hand over her stomach again, wishing she could fast-forward and meet the baby inside already. Madison had been right. They’d been trying for over three years. When they had finally gotten the news from the doctor, they couldn’t believe it.

  “Are you worried?” Madison asked.

  “About the baby?”

  “Yeah.” Madison ran her hands through Elodie’s hair. “Do you think the stress of competing is bad for him or her?”

  “The doctor said you’d be fine. We’re lucky you’re an archer and not a swimmer.” She looked up at Madison and winked. “You know what I think?”

  “What?” Madison smiled down at her.

  “I think that you’re going to win the gold medal and that our little one will be a gold medalist, too. You know, by proxy.”

  “Three gold medalists in one family?”

  “We can get him or her a tiny bow and some plastic arrows,” Elodie said, kissing Madison’s neck. “We just need a target.”

  “I’m pretty sure my boobs are going to be a target for a while,” Madison joked.

  “They’re definitely my target.”

  Elodie licked a nipple before she pulled it into her mouth. Madison held on tight as Elodie brought her to her first orgasm. She didn’t always start with Madison’s breasts, but she did most of the time. She still marveled at how Madison could get off like that. Elodie never stopped there, though. With Madison straddling her, Elodie reached between her legs and stroked her clit until Madison’s hips rolled into her. She slid inside her and watched as Madison moved up and down on her fingers. Elodie slid out of her, brought her own fingers to her lips, and sucked on them as Madison watched. Then, she moved them back inside her wife. She kissed and kissed Madison as the woman came undone. Madison pushed Elodie down on the bed and moved to kneel on the floor right after. Elodie felt Madison spreading her legs and settling between them.

  “Don’t get me wrong.” She licked her. “I’m really looking forward to meeting this little one finally.” Madison licked her again. “But I am going to miss being able to do this whenever and wherever we wanted.” She sucked Elodie’s clit into her mouth.

  “Well, he or she will be confined to a crib for a while, so we at least have until they learn how to walk and–” Elodie stopped as she pressed her hand to Madison’s head. “Oh, I missed that.”

  “You have, huh?”

  “I don’t like when you’re away at the Olympics,” Elodie said, closing her eyes when Madison stuck her tongue inside her. “I miss you too much.”

  “You could always come with me next time,” Madison said. “And I don’t mean as my wife.”

  “What do–” Elodie stopped again.

  Madison sucked hard and fast. She slid her fingers inside. Elodie moved into them. Madison curled and found that spot she always seemed to be able to find, and made Elodie lose her damn mind as she came all over her fingers.

  “El, you shot a perfect round just three weeks ago,” Madison said before Elodie had come down from her orgasm entirely.

  “What?” she asked, trying to get her breathing back to normal.

  “Babe, you will always be a natural. You’re outside with me every day. You could be here with me in four years.”

  Elodie sat up and looked down at her.

  “Are you suggesting I compete against you?”

  “I’m suggesting you compete with me.” Madison kissed her thigh.

  “That’s not how it works, babe. Three women make the team. Only one can win the medal.”

  Madison stood up in front of her before she nodded for Elodie to slide back. Then, she slid in next to her and placed a hand on Elodie’s stomach. “There’s always silver and bronze. Plus, there’s the team event. We’re out of it already this time, but if it’s you and me, there’s no way we won’t bring home the gold.” She kissed Elodie’s lips.

  “We’re about to have a kid, Maddie.”

  “I know. I’ve been throwing up on and off for the past three months.” She smiled at the woman.

  “I gave it up.” Elodie ran a hand through Madison’s hair, which was shorter now.

  “I plan to win a gold medal,” Madison said, climbing on top of her. “Then, I plan to go home, have this baby, and spend the next year or so with you and him or her just enjoying this, babe; enjoying watching you and I be mothers. After that, I’m picking up the bow and getting back into it. I want to experience this more than once if I’m lucky. Walking in the opening ceremony is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done, and I want to do it again if I can.” Madison kissed Elodie’s nose. “Imagine how much more amazing it would be if I was walking in them with my wife, holding her hand, and waving the flag in the other.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Elodie said.

  “Then, I’ll think about letting you come again before I have to get back to the village,” Madison teased.

  “Hey, Maddie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you like crazy.”

  “I know.” Madison tilted her head. “I love you like crazy.”

  ◆◆◆

&nbs
p; It was the medal round. Madison had never been this nervous. Well, she’d been pretty nervous on her wedding day. She had walked down the aisle second, so Elodie had been standing up at the front of the small crowd in the park waiting for her. That morning was the last time Madison spoke to Wiley. She’d asked her to look out for them. She’d asked Wiley to understand why she’d promise herself to Elodie. She had said goodbye that day. It had given her the strength to walk down that aisle toward the woman she’d known she was meant for; to begin their new life as a married couple.

  Today, she had the chance to move into the final round. Once there, she would be guaranteed a medal of either silver or gold. And Madison had been working since the age of sixteen to get this far and to make it all the way to the end. Yet, as she stared down the target, preparing to take her next shot, she could only think about the baby growing inside her belly and her wife watching from the stands. She let loose the arrow, dropped her bow, and smiled when she saw the arrow in the outer ten ring. She was up one set to none now. Two more sets, and she was in the finals.

  Her competitor from France was a good one. She’d have to nail every shot to make it through. When her competitor shot a nine, she shot a ten. When she shot a seven, Madison shot a nine. When her competitor fired a ten, Madison did the same. Two sets up now, she still couldn’t relax. She pulled to her right too much for her first two shots, scoring a seven and an eight, but her French competition pulled the same way and shot an eight and nine. Madison focused fully on her release and nailed a ten on the final shot. She stood back, waiting as the competition lined up, fired, and hit the seven. Madison was moving on to the finals. She was bringing home an Olympic medal.

  Madison passed her bow to her coach, Robin, and rushed to the spot where she and her wife had agreed to meet when the match was over. She saw her stepping down from the bleachers and heading that way. When she got there, Madison hugged her so hard, she never wanted to let go.

  “You did it, baby,” Elodie said. “You’re going to win a medal.”

  “I want the gold one.” Madison kissed her lips. “I want us to have a matching set.”