Page 126 of Crashing into Love

“I’ve been thinking about it, yes. I could sell it. Gia will probably be done with school next year at this rate. She’ll have to figure out where she’s going to go to college, and I’ll have to go with her, so I was going to wait until then to make any big decision about the lodge. I like the mountains, and I don’t want to get too far away from them, but most of my family has already moved away, and I don’t mind living somewhere else as long as there’s snow and the possibility of getting to a mountain quickly, if it’s for Gia’s school or another important reason.”

“Okay. We’ll wait to see what Gia needs, and I’ll get an application for this place now so we can get moving on it and maybe buy her a bed soon so you two can come back together next time.”

It should’ve scared Selma, and, in the past, it certainly would have, but when Drew spoke so confidently, like this was it for her – Selma and Gia were her future – Selma wasn’t scared at all.

Later that night, she made them dinner while Drew talked to Gia on her phone, and when it was time to say goodnight, they said it together.

“Love you,” Gia replied to Drew. “You too, Mom.”

Selma took in Drew’s face and watched as the woman looked almost surprised and happy at the same time. Once they hung up, Selma snuggled into Drew’s side.

“Dinner will be done soon,” she told her.

“What do you think about getting her a full bed?”

Selma kissed Drew’s neck and replied, “A twin bed is fine.”

“But she’s going to grow.”

“Not in that house,” Selma noted. “We’re going to get a place together before then, right? Wherever that may be. So, why buy a bigger bed we’ll just have to ship or sell, when you can get a smaller one?”

Drew didn’t say anything, so Selma looked up at her.

“Babe?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Drew said, smiling warmly at her. “We’ll save the bigger bed for our place.”

“Our place,” Selma repeated, thinking about finally moving out of the lodge and into a house that she shared with the woman she loved and her daughter. “Sounds perfect.”

EPILOGUE

The wind on Drew’s face was still one of her favorite parts, and she couldn’t wait to feel it this time. She was representing Team USA in her final Olympic Games, and the story about her comeback and her girlfriend had been running practically non-stop, according to her parents, who had caught it on their hotel room TV more than once themselves. Everyone wanted to know more about how Drew and Selma had gotten together and had made it work when they were competing against one another in these Olympics. They’d already done the feature story thing, and they would do their before-and-after-the-race interviews, but they’d decided to keep those all about snowboarding, warning the reporters that they wouldn’t be talking about their relationship again until they were done racing.

They’d been in separate heats for their first prelim race. Selma had won hers first. Then, Drew had won hers next, going up against Andy, who had come in second and had moved on to the next round along with Drew. In the next heat, Drew had faced off against boarders from Sweden, Italy, Poland, Australia, and Switzerland. Selma had Andy in her heat, another Canadian, two Germans, and an Austrian. There were two more heats after that one, and the top three racers would each make a semifinal heat.

There were a lot more female boarders in these Games than there had been in the past, and while that meant more people for Drew to compete with, she was also happy to see the expansion of the sport she loved so much. Her heat was first this time, and she’d managed to get out ahead early and never relinquished the lead. She stayed down at the bottom of the course and waited for Selma there with her parents, Selma’s parents, and Gia, who stood in front of Drew so that she could see.

“Come on, baby,” Drew said mostly to herself, but she knew everyone else could hear, too.

Selma was in second place for most of the race, and Drew felt good about her chances of moving on, but she knew Selma would want to win this to build confidence going into the semi. Drew watched the screen when Selma took a big risk on a turn and almost skidded out, but she held on and took the lead. They all cheered and watched as Selma claimed her victory.

The next day, it was time for their semifinals, and since Andy had come in second in her heat, she’d moved on along with them and was in Drew’s semi-heat. Selma was in the second heat of the day, and Drew was convinced that had nothing to do with how the straws were drawn, so to speak, but had everything to do with the fact that they wanted to ensure Drew and Selma were in the final together.

“Let’s go, Oakes,” Andy said. “Team USA all the way, baby!”

“Does Daisy like you calling me baby?”

“My wife doesn’t have a jealous bone in her body. She also knows you’re obsessed with Selma, so there’s that. But let’s kick some ass right now, okay?”

“Not a problem,” Drew replied confidently before they took their starting positions.

The two of them were the final remaining Team USA competitors in the running for a medal, and in this semi-heat, they would be up against a German, a Norwegian, an Austrian, and the other Canadian still in the mix. Leading up to these Olympics, Drew had managed to get up to the third-ranked boarder in the world. Andy was fourth now, and Drew’s own girlfriend was number two. The German to Drew’s left, though, was number one, and Drew was planning on knocking that crown off her head today if she could.

She ran through her rituals and took off at the start. She knew this course like the back of her hand, in both fast and slow snow, so she knew what to do. Taking that second turn that had given her some trouble in the second heat a little looser this time, she watched the Norwegian and the Canadian tangle up and fall. The Austrian, the German, and Andy were all on Drew’s heels, though, so she needed to find a way to get some space. She used the next turn, taking it tighter than she’d planned, but it saved her a millisecond or so, which mattered in snowboard cross. By the time of the last jump, Drew had enough space to land safely and secure her spot in the final. She turned to see Andy right behind the German, which meant that Andy was moving on to the final as well. They embraced before they hurried over to their families to hug them, too.

“It’s Mom’s turn now,” Gia said.

“Yeah, it is. Let’s yell for her so that she knows we’re down here.”

---