Page 14 of Crashing into Love

“Okay,” she said.

“So, you’re pissed at me because of that?” Drew asked her. “Because I said something about someone you really only know through social media?”

“No, I’m not pissed at you at all.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, well, your body language says different.”

Selma looked down, dropped her arms to her side, and said, “That’s just how I stand.”

“Around me, apparently.”

“Around a lot of people. You’re not special. I think you have built up this idea of who you are or something, and–”

“Hey, I was just hanging out with my friends. You eavesdropped, and now, you’re calling me a not-special dick.”

“I didn’t call you a dick,” Selma argued.

“You were about to. And I’m not. I wasn’t telling that story to you.”

“I know,” she said.

“Okay. So, maybe just pretend you didn’t hear it or something and leave me alone. I’ll stay out of your way, and you stay out of mine until I go. I came here to relieve stress, not give myself more, Selma.”

Selma nodded and sat down in the chair across from Drew.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Is it that I’m a dick?”

Selma laughed a little and said, “No, it’s not.”

“Okay. Well, if you’re about to call me an asshole, that would be a dick move.”

“I’m not. Just…” She sighed. “Drew, you’re the reason I picked up a snowboard.”

“What?”

“You’ve probably guessed that you’re older than me?”

“Yes. No clue by how much.”

“I’m twenty-seven.”

“Thirty-six,” Drew shared as well.

“Yeah, I know. I know that because I watched a video of you boarding one day. Before that, I’d been mostly skiing and only doing some boarding. I don’t think I was going anywhere with it. Not exactly a prodigy or anything. And I liked it enough, but I don’t know that I would’ve gone anywhere with it. I honestly don’t know what I’d be doing now if I wasn’t boarding, but that’s another story altogether. My point is that I watched that video, and it was so clear to me that I was supposed to pick up a snowboard. I worried I was too old to start, but I got a coach, and he told me it was like I’d always been boarding. It felt that way to me, too, and after… Well, after some family stuff here, I went pro and never looked back. I only did that because of you. So, you need to understand that when I was in the same heat with you at the Olympics, it mattered to me more than any of the other competitions and events I’d seen you at or been on with you. I’d seen you in interviews, talking about how much it mattered to you to get there, and it mattered to me, too. I… I have people here whom I wanted to make proud by winning an Olympic medal of any color. And I didn’t think I had a real chance, but I never expected to crash out in the prelims. I definitely didn’t expect to take you down with me. I’ve lived with that guilt ever since. I’m not sure it’ll ever go away because, even if you win gold in the next Games, you could’ve won another medal, and I prevented you from doing that. So, I’m sorry, okay?”

“You said that then,” Drew stated.

“I know. But there’s still something here.” Selma pointed back and forth between them. “We’re clearly still not okay with each other.”

“Because you keep judging me for stuff you have no business judging me for.”

“They say it doesn’t always go well when you meet your idol…” she muttered to herself.

“Well, fuck you very much, Selma.” Drew stood up. “I can’t help it that you saw a video of me one day and decided to get on a board. Hell, maybe you should’ve stayed on skis. You could’ve still ended up working here, and I might have a medal around my neck right now, working on a second one.”

“That’s harsh,” Selma replied.

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