Last Shot at Redemption

“So. Is it nerve wracking?” Shaun asked as he sat down next to Leanna. During the walk, Shaun had learned very little about the new girl. They had simply talked about everything that meant nothing to each other.

“A little. I’m young at 21. And I have no experience in any competition this big. It’s overwhelming, is what it is,” She said, looking over the menu their hostess had placed in front of her.

“I bet. But I’m sure you have nothing to worry about. If anything, it’ll be great experience for you,” He told her.

“You can say that, but I’ll never honestly take it. To fail at the Olympics, which could be a once in a lifetime thing, would be so damn depressing. I want to take something home. I’ve worked too hard to settle for anything less than that,” She told him.

“Damn,” Scotty said, “Focused girls are hot.” Torah reached over and slugged him while Louie laughed and Shaun and Leanna blushed at being caught deep into their own conversation, excluding everonye around them.

“Uh, yeah. So…,” Shaun stuttered awkwardly. Leanna laughed softly at the boy beside her that was acting more than a little flustered. Which was appropriate since he had been making her nervous the entire time. She wasn’t sure if it was because he was so damn charming or because he was fucking Shaun White. She had a feeling it was a bit of both. But for now, she would ignore them.

“Stop stuttering like a fool, White. Are you trying to make a fool of yourself in front of the cute Australian?” Torah said, making Anna giggle and giving Shaun another chance to blush.

“Not on purpose,” He muttered as the waitress showed up to save him from any future embarrassment. They all ordered before Scotty took over the conversation. He kept Leanna giggle, much to Shaun’s displeasure. He had done a shit job of entertaining Leanna while Scotty didn’t even have to try, as usual. Scotty was constantly known as a womanizer. But he rarely made moves on someone else’s girl. Not that Anna had become Shaun’s girl or anything. But he could at least hope that she would, as pathetic as it sounded. He sounded like a stalker, he realized. He hadn’t even known her for 24 hours yet and he was planning a future with her. He knew nothing about her family or her friends or anything about her other than that she was as focused as he was and she was a little bit younger than him.

“Well, I think I’m gonna turn in for the night. Tomorrow is a long day,” Torah said as the group started out of the restaurant. Scotty and Louie muttered their agreement when they both got a look from Torah.

“I’m gonna walk around the villa for a little while,” Anna said. She knew that if she went back to the house she would just get restless and lay in bed for a long while staring out the window or at the ceiling.

“I’ll go with you, Anna. Gotta make sure she doesn’t get attacked by some Russian hockey player,” Shaun said, sharing a smile with Leanna, who was secretly thrilled that he had decided to come with her. While Scotty was somewhat charming, Shaun was much more intriguing to her.

“Alright. Catch you guys later,” Scotty said and the three left Shaun and Anna to themselves.

“Thanks for coming with me,” She said as she slid her black gloves back on as they walked through the quiet streets of the athlete’s village.

“It’s my pleasure,” He said and stuck his hands into his pockets, sending her a brilliant smile.

“I can’t even believe I’m here. It’s crazy,” She said, looking up towards the sky.

“Every single time I come I get butterflies. You would think that I would be used to it, but I’m not at all. The Olympics are a huge deal,” He said honestly.

“It is. I wish my family were already here. I can’t wait to show them everything,” She said. Paulie and Jamie would be here tomorrow, but she wouldn’t get to see them until after the ceremonies.

“Which of your family is coming?” He asked, taking the opening to learn something about her.

“My younger sister, Pauline. But she goes by Paulie because she hates her full name. And my best friend, Jamie,” She said, smiling as she thought about the reunion and then the introductions she would get to make. Her sister would die when she met Shaun.

“Not your parents?” He asked.

“My dad passed away when I was 16. My mom…she and I don’t get along so well,” She said quietly.

“Shit, sorry. I didn’t mean…” He fumbled, making Leanna laugh.

“It’s alright. It sucks but I’ve dealt with it for a long time so,” She said with a shrug.

“I am trying so hard to not make an ass out of myself around you. And I fail every damn time. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this flustered around a girl,” He said she smiled.

“It’s only fair that you’re all weird because I am too around you. And I don’t do that around boys. I’m in a sport dominated by men, you would think I knew how to handle every last one of them. But not you,” She admitted, figuring that she might as well be upfront about it since he was.

“Well then. Do you think I could maybe get your number? We could get drinks or something one night,” He suggested, his confidence returning to him.

“I guess that would be okay,” She said and rattled off the digits to him for her Blackberry.

“Alright. Do you want to head back or keep going? Tomorrow is going to be a long day for all of us,” He said as they stopped under an awning for some random restaurant. The snow had just started to fall slowly, making the whole scene remind Leanna of a snow globe.

“Probably should. Will you have some free time to see my tomorrow or are you busy all day?” She asked him, kicking at the snow on the ground.

“I might. And even if I don’t, I’ll sneak out of the thirty interviews to get lunch,” He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

“Sounds good. Thirty? I have like, three, I think,” Anna told him. He sighed.

“Man. Back in the good old days. Three interviews would be awesome,” He said with a laugh.

“I hope one day that I get to have thirty interviews prior to a competition,” She said, making him laugh.

“It’s a hassle. Which reminds me, this place is going to be crawling with reporters tomorrow,” He said, thinking immediately to protect the girl from the vicious tabloids and paparazzi.

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll go to lunch. There’s plenty of other people for them to bother,” She said, moving closer to the redheaded superstar.

“Alright. But if they start to bug us, we’re leaving. If it wasn’t tomorrow, I’d say we should get out of the village. But there’s so much going on it’d be impossible,” He said with a sigh.

“Don’t worry about it. We have two weeks to do stuff together and escape. We’ll figure it out eventually,” She said, her typical laid back, no real regrets or plans attitude coming out.

“Hope you’re right. But here we are, my lady. You should get some sleep. First-timers tend to get warn out and overwhelmed,” He said with a smile before pulling her into a hug. She kissed his cheek as she released him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” She said and he nodded as she opened the door and escaped inside. Shaun smiled and headed the few steps it took to get to his own house. Surprisingly enough, his friends were asleep. He carefully made it to his bed and lay down before sending a simple text to the first girl that had been able to hold his thoughts completely for a long time.