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Amber was mesmerized watching the flips Lisa did. She was getting huge air, landing perfectly and sweeping into the next trick without hesitation. She looked amazing, without flaw. And when she finished with a huge lift into a double cork lien--hey, she remembered some of the names--Amber held her breath when Lisa landed.
She'd executed it flawlessly and the crowd showed their appreciation with screams and applause.
Amber, Will and Blake and everyone were on their feet, yelling and clapping for her.
Now they just had to wait for her score.
When the score came up, the crowd erupted with applause. Lisa was in first place.
"Oh, my God," Amber said. "I'm so excited for her."
"That's a high score," Will said. "She fucking shredded that half-pipe."
"She did."
She'd scored so high she'd automatically qualified for the finals, which was amazing. The lower scoring competitors had to run again to qualify for the top twelve.
It was a grueling wait for the finals. Amber couldn't even imagine what it was like for Lisa to wait it out.
Blake had been unable to sit. He'd finally gotten up and moved down to where the crowds stood at the scoreboard.
"He's nervous for her," Will said.
"Yes, he is. It's sweet. You can tell he really wants her to do well."
"If I could be on the ice with you when you compete, I would be."
She leaned into him, then wrapped her arm around his. "That is so sweet. It would also be terribly distracting."
"Yeah, you'd probably crash into me while you were doing a jump."
"Which might affect my score a little."
"Or a lot."
She laughed. "Okay, so you could just sit somewhere and cheer me on instead."
He sighed. "If you insist." Then he winked at her.
She watched the end of the Swedish snowboarder's run, then turned back to Will. "Hey, if I could be on the ice with you during a hockey game, I would be. It causes me severe anxiety watching you play."
One corner of his mouth lifted. "We could sneak you out there, hand you a stick. No one would notice."
"Ha. Yeah, no one would notice the chick in the skating skirt."
"I didn't say we'd let you play in your sexy skating outfit."
She trailed her fingernail over his hand. "Oh, you think my skating outfit is sexy."
"Babe. You could be out on the ice wearing a hot dog costume and you'd still look sexy."
"I'm trying to picture myself doing a triple axel in a wiener costume."
He slanted a half grin at her. "Now I've got that picture in my head. Maybe not as sexy as I first thought."
She shoved into him. "You can't take it back now that you said it. You have to accept me as a hot dog."
With a sigh, he said, "I never thought the day would come that I'd be in a relationship with a wiener, but you are kind of irresistible."
She laughed. "That's very progressive of you, Will."
Banter completed, they watched both Americans fly through the half-pipe on their second runs. Chloe stunned with an amazing run, but it wasn't high enough to beat Lisa's score.
Oh, shit.
Amber looked over at Will, who grinned back at her.
"Lisa just won gold," Amber said.
"Hell, yeah."
Chloe's score put her in silver position and Patty had earned a bronze medal.
All in all, a stellar day at the half-pipe.
They got up and followed the crowd out of the stadium. Amber was elated for her friend. She turned to Will. "I'm going to hang out for the medal ceremony, and see if I can get anywhere near Lisa."
"Okay. The guys and I were going to go outside the village to grab a bite to eat. Do you want me to ask them to wait for you so you can go with me?"
She loved that he considered her. She shook her head. "Thank you, but that's unnecessary. You all go on and have fun."
"Okay." He drew her against him and kissed her. "I'll catch up with you later."
Now she was even more euphoric. Instead of just blowing her off, Will had thought about her before going to hang out with his friends and teammates. Her chest was filled with joy. She was sure the majority of that was for Lisa, but she couldn't help but feel that a tiny corner of it had to do with the way she felt about Will--or how she perceived he felt about her.
Since she was utterly clueless about relationships, she had no basis for comparison. But somehow what was happening between them felt right.
With a satisfied sigh, she went in search of Lisa. She had to congratulate her friend.
And commend her on her lucky underwear.
It was obvious that Amber was going to have to get herself a pair of lucky underwear.
TWENTY-FIVE
WILL TOOK A LOOK AT HIS PHONE. IT WAS ELEVEN thirty. Kind of late. He and the guys had ended up hitting a couple of clubs outside the village, just to burn off some steam before tomorrow night's game. They'd shot some pool and sat around and talked strategy.
Obviously he wasn't the only one on the team who was pent up and nervous about tomorrow's game.
Regular season games? He was chill. Even postseason didn't affect him much. He'd feel a heightened sense of anticipation, but otherwise, he could handle it.
But here they were playing for gold. It was an entirely different hockey game. They all felt that tension. Getting out tonight and letting go a little had helped. They'd met some locals, talked hockey and had a great time. It had been low-key and fun, exactly what they all needed.
Now he needed to go to bed, but he still felt that adrenaline pumping through his bloodstream. He wasn't ready to settle in yet. He knew Amber had an early practice tomorrow. So did he. He shouldn't bug her. He'd texted her a couple of times while he was out. She said she was in her room, reading a book and relaxing.
He really wanted to see her, even if it was just to say good night.
He didn't know when she'd started to matter so much to him, and tonight wasn't the night to start dissecting his feelings. The only thing that mattered was he wanted to be with her, now.
He pulled out his phone and sent the text message.
You still awake?
Hopefully, if she was asleep, she wouldn't get the message until tomorrow morning.
She answered right away. Yes. What are you doing?
He typed back: Back at the village. Hanging around outside.
She replied with: Come see me.
Happy she'd replied, he texted and told her he'd come right over. Since he'd already been on the way to her apartment building, it didn't take him long to get there. She was already downstairs, wearing her pajama bottoms and her coat.
Whenever he saw her, he felt that jolt, low in his belly. She wore her hair up, pieces of it brushing her cheek. He wanted to take that clip off and slide his hand into her hair, to feel the softness of it, to kiss her until she moaned against him.
His cock twitched as he walked through the door she'd opened for him.
Damn, he needed her. He hadn't realized how much until just now. And maybe that was just pregame stress and she was his outlet for it. He didn't have explanations for how Amber made him feel. Only that whenever he was around her, he felt a lot. And what he was feeling for her felt more than just physical.
She put her arm around him as they walked to the elevator. "How was your night? Did you have a good time?"
"Yeah. We ate, played some pool and hung out with some locals and talked hockey."
"That does sound fun."
When the elevator doors closed, he turned to her. "I missed you. I tend to miss you when I'm not with you."
She looked surprised. He'd been surprised as well. He hadn't intended to say that, but the words had just fallen out. He couldn't even blame alcohol since he hadn't had a drink tonight.
She tilted her head back and studied him, and there was a look in her eyes that told him her heart was there.
"Same," she said. "Like, really, Will. The
same."
The elevator doors opened and they made the short walk to her room.
"Is Lisa here?" he asked as she entered her key card.
Amber shook her head and opened the door, turning to face him. She walked backward into the room. "She's out celebrating. She and Blake went down to Vancouver to spend the night."
He shut and locked the door. "So we're alone."
She pulled off her coat, then dropped her pajama bottoms, leaving her in a skimpy tank top and her panties.
His dick took notice, coming to life in an instant.
"Yes, we're alone."
He dropped his coat and came toward her. "I had really intended to come say good night. Give you a kiss. Then leave."
She nodded, then sat on the sofa, propping her feet on the table and spreading her legs.
His cock went fully hard.
"That's probably a good idea. You have a big game tomorrow. You need your sleep."
He pulled off his shirt, toed out of his boots, then unzipped his pants and let them fall to the floor. "Yeah. I should go. After I get my kiss."
She slid her hand into her panties, and his balls quivered.
