10. Savannah
TEN
SAVANNAH
“Wakey, wakey.” Max’s voice breaks through my sleep.
“What are you doing here?” I groan, pulling my blanket up over my head. He was definitely not in my bed when I went to sleep last night. I don’t let people sleep over. Ever. Sleep is important to me, and having someone next to me is just annoying.
“It’s ten a.m. Are you planning on sleeping away your one day off?” he asks.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing. Now, kindly, fuck off.”
“Nope, you have to get up. We have plans.”
I wrack my brain trying to think of what plans he’s referring to, but I’ve got nothing. “We do not have plans.”
“We do. I made them for you. We’re going hiking with Logan. Now, come on, get up. He’s in the living room waiting on your ass.”
I hate the way my heart starts beating a little faster at the mention of my coach’s name. I chalk it up to being rudely woken up in the middle of a REM cycle. “Why are we going hiking with him? Do we not have to see him enough during the week?”
“Because he’s new to town and doesn’t know anyone and I offered our time. Come on. I know you’re still mad about the ankle thing, but?—”
“The ankle thing? Need I remind you he broke my ankle and we had to withdraw from a really important competition?”
“Yes, I remember,” Max says. “But he said it was an accident, and it’s not good for you to hold onto this stuff for so long. It’ll mess up your skin or something.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. And you’re not the one who had to have surgery and go through months of physical therapy,” I tell him.
“I know , Sav. But I was right there with you. I know it wasn’t my injury, but I still lost my chance to go to the Olympics, too. And I’m willing to forgive him. He’s actually a nice guy if you get to know him.”
I roll over and look at Max. “Do you two, like, hang out?”
“Not regularly or anything, but we text, and I’ve taken him to a few restaurants.”
“What?” I gasp. I feel like my partner has been living a secret life behind my back.
“Did you think I was going to tell you that I was hanging out with your arch nemesis? Yeah, no. I like my balls right where they are, thank you.”
“Then why are you telling me now?” I ask, narrowing my eyes.
He puts his hand on my waist and pulls me closer to him. “Because I’ve vetted him. I wouldn’t be asking you to come with us if I really thought he was a bad guy.”
“Well, it sounds like you guys are BFFs already. Why do you need me there?”
“Because I like hanging out with you. And I know you’ll waste your entire day if I don’t drag you out of bed.”
“That’s not true. I had things to do today,” I tell him. It’s a lie that he sees right through.
“Like what?” When I don’t answer, he says, “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
“And we have to go hiking?” I whine. I understand that I’m an athlete and it’s literally my job to move my body, but I’m more of an indoor athlete. Being outside in the sun, with the bugs… yeah, not my thing.
“Well, I’d be more than happy to spend all day making you come, but I’m guessing you wouldn’t let me, and it might make it awkward for Logan to hear you moaning my name all day.”
I throw a pillow at his face, and we both laugh.
I know it’s completely inappropriate, but my mind instantly starts thinking about what it would be like if Max made me come while Logan watched.
I have a feeling it’d be really hot. Those piercing blue eyes zoned in on me while I completely came undone? Or if they both…
The thought alone embarrasses me. I can’t be thinking about that with my coach.
“Savannah… are you blushing?” Max asks. I don’t blush often, but when I do, Max always calls me out on it. I hate that he notices.
“No,” I say quickly, ripping the bedding off me. Guess I need to get ready to go fucking hiking.
“Yes, you are. Are you turned on by the thought of someone else hearing you get off?” Sometimes it’s really annoying that Max can read me like a book. Like, can’t a girl get a little privacy, especially when it comes to fantasies?
“Absolutely not.” I open a drawer and pull out a pair of shorts.
“Nah, I’m pretty sure I just figured out a new kink of yours. I’m sure if I called Logan in here right now, he’d be cool with it. LOGAN!”
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” I grab a stuffed bear from one of our competitions that’s sitting on my dresser and throw it at his head.
Max laughs like this is the funniest thing in the world, while I feel like I might die from embarrassment. A few seconds later, Logan Sokolov appears at my bedroom door, and I’m extremely aware of the fact that I’m currently not wearing any pants.
“Yeah? Everything ok?” Logan asks, looking from Max to me. His eyes drop from my face to my chest, where it is also very obvious I’m not wearing a bra, and then on to my thin cotton panties and finally my bare legs. I want to die.
“Everything is fine,” I say quickly before Max can say something stupid. “I just wasn’t prepared for a hiking expedition today. Some advance notice would’ve been nice.”
“Oh, sorry. I thought Max had already asked you,” Logan says, and I instantly feel bad. I have no doubt Max made it sound like he had already talked to me about this.
“He didn’t, but it’s fine. I just need a few minutes to get ready. So if you boys will leave…”
Logan doesn’t hesitate. He steps back and is about to turn away when Max says, “I can’t watch you change? It’s not like I’ve never seen your tits before.”
Logan freezes in the doorway, and I notice his hand that’s closest to the hallway clenches slightly into a fist.
“Max, get out of my room.”
He gets up from the bed and laughs as he follows Logan back to the living room. I quickly get dressed in my shorts and a tank top, then throw my hair in a ponytail and grab my shoes.
When I get to the living room, Logan and Max are chatting with Kelsey.
“Sav, that smoothie is for you,” Max says, nodding to the smoothie sitting on the counter.
“Thanks.” At least he brought food to make up for the rude wake-up call this morning.
“You ready?”
I sigh. “Yep. Let’s get this over with.”
Everyone stands from the couch, and Kelsey gets to me first. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
“Sure?” I look at her suspiciously as she pulls me into her bedroom and shuts the door.
“Um, that man is your coach?” she whispers, pointing to the door. “The one you hate?”
“Yes,” I say and take a sip of my smoothie without offering any explanation.
“The same coach you shared a “look” with that one time?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes.”
“Oooo, this is so good. I didn’t realize he looked like that . Not to mention, he seems like a really nice guy.”
“You talked to him for like five minutes. You can’t possibly know if he’s nice in that amount of time.” Why does everyone think Logan is the nicest guy in the world? He literally crushed my dreams and my ankle in one fell swoop.
“I like to think I’m a good judge of character.”
“Well, you keep thinking that.”
“I will,” she says smugly. “I can’t believe you’re surrounded by hot men all day, every day.”
I laugh. “It’s not my fault you gave up skating.”
“Yeah, I’m regretting that decision right about now.”
“Did you actually have to talk to me, or did you just bring me in here to drool over my new coach?”
She shrugs. “No, just wanted to drool.”
“Ok, well, wipe your mouth. I gotta go freaking hiking.”
She laughs. “Yeah, have fun with that. It’s gonna be hot today.”
“Great.”
I open her bedroom door. Both men stop talking when they see me and smile in my direction. Having both of their attention on me feels overwhelming.
I need to get out of here. Immediately.
“What are you two standing around for? Let’s go,” I say. They say bye to Kelsey and follow me out. This is going to be a long day.
Thankfully, Max picked an easy hike. It is technically our rest day after all, and we don’t want to kill our legs.
Max and Logan talk most of the walk. Well, Max talks and Logan listens.
I swear, Max could talk to anyone about anything.
I admire that about him, actually. I’ve always struggled with making friends.
Skating has been my life for so long. I eat, sleep, and breathe it.
I know it’s probably not healthy, but it is what it is.
Max, on the other hand, knows a lot about a lot of other things, so he’s great with small talk.
I hate it. I would rather sit in silence than have to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger. Max knows this about me, which is why he always jumps in.
I walk behind the two of them. Not because I’m slower or because I like the view of both of their backsides (can’t blame a girl for sneaking a peek, though) or anything like that. I would just rather be by myself.
I’ve been so stressed lately with our first competition of the season around the corner.
I want everything to go perfectly, which I know isn’t realistic, but I want it nonetheless.
There’s still one lift that Max and I are struggling to get just right.
I’ve heard some rumors about our biggest competitors this season and how they’re looking better than ever.
That adds even more pressure. Most days, I feel like I’m on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but I try my best to keep it together.
We reach the top, and Max finally stops talking. The three of us stand in a line and look out at the valley.
I take a deep breath in and let my shoulders relax.
“You’re awfully quiet today,” Logan says in a low voice next to me. “Everything ok?”
“Besides being rudely pulled out of my bed before I was ready? Everything is fine.”
“I really thought he’d already talked to you.”
I shrug one shoulder. “It’s fine. That’s just how Max is. I don’t blame you.”
“That’s a first,” he says with a laugh.
I gasp and pretend I’m offended. “I only blame you for one very major event in my life.”
“That’s fair,” he says. “That was actually my fault.”
“Maybe one day I’ll forgive you. Today is not that day, though.”
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help move the forgiveness process along.”
“There’s a pretty big backlog, actually. Might be a while.”
He chuckles and puts his hands in his pockets. His cheeks are flushed, and I swear I see a hint of a dimple. It’s cute.
“But really, are you ok?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m ok. Just a lot on my mind.”
“Are you worried about the competition?” he asks. I look around for Max as I nod, embarrassed that I’m so nervous for this one competition when I’ve been competing for the majority of my life. I finally find Max, and of course, he’s in the process of climbing a boulder.
“I wouldn’t have you doing this if I didn’t think you were ready. It’ll be good to get the season started and get early feedback from the judges so we can tighten and improve.”
I know this. Of course I do, but it doesn’t make it any less stressful.
“I know. I think I’m putting too much pressure on myself.”
“That happens. Trust me, I’ve been there. But you’ve got this, Savannah. You are beautiful on and off the ice. When you smile—” He stops himself like he’s said too much.
I blink up at him and raise an eyebrow. “You think I’m beautiful?”
He looks into my eyes, and for a moment, it feels like we’re the only two people in the world. “I think you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
My heart stops.
What did he just say?
I’ve been called beautiful a lot in my life, but hearing it from Logan Sokolov feels different.
I don’t know what to do with the intensity of his declaration, so I lean into my sarcastic humor to get out of this. “It’s too bad I hate you.”
He smiles. Goddamn. Why is he so attractive? “That is too bad.”
There’s no denying it at this point: I’m attracted to my coach.
My crush is growing, and I hate it. I don’t get crushes.
I don’t have any mental capacity left for that, so this is all very annoying and inconvenient.
It’s even worse when we finally decide to move on from this spot and his hand grazes against mine.
Who knew a hand graze could electrify my entire body?