Golden

Chapter 9

April 2017
Vail, Colorado

Yesterday, I had finally been cleared for all athletic movement. My trainer in Vail had put together my full plan now that I had no restrictions. The next few months would be filled with weight lifting, running, and skiing. I had warned him that one week in July, I would need plans for the road, but that I would have access to a trainer I would be working with. Nate’s season had ended yesterday and he drove up to my place in Vail last night in anticipation of today.

I had been waiting for nearly 6 months to ski again. And today, it was finally going to happen. Of course, I wouldn’t be doing any racing or full speed skiing today. Today, I would be like everyone else on Vail Mountain: skiing down groomed blue runs at moderate speeds in the spring slush. After downing a quick protein shake, Nate and I hopped in my range rover and headed to the base of the mountain. After a 15-minute drive, I hopped out of my car and unloaded my ski gear and waited for Nate to follow me to the lodge. Inside, we met up with Jackson who would be documenting some runs for social media. I quickly threw on my jacket and put the monstrosity of a knee brace I was given on over my leggings. I buckled up my boots and replaced my hat with my helmet and goggles. I dropped my stuff off with the boys and headed out. After snapping my boots into my bindings I was on my way up the mountain on the ski lift.

Going down the slopes, even if it wasn’t racing, always gave me a rush that I had yet to find anywhere else. My mind shut off when I was on the mountain, and the feel of the wind as I flew down the mountain was unlike anything else I had ever experienced. As I skied down the run, passing people left and right, I felt at home again. As I slowed down at the base of the mountain, I saw Nate, standing in the snow just outside of the lodge by the ski racks. His smile was just as big as mine. I came to a stop right in front of him, spraying him with some slushy snow. He let out a dorky laugh before questioning “so that was you taking it easy huh?”

I just replied with a grin and a quick kiss on his lips before heading back to the lift for another run. By 12, I had made 6 trips down the mountain and my knee was aching. I decided to call it quits. I stopped by the lodge to meet Nate who was scrolling through his phone. He handed me my shoes and hat, so quickly switched them out with my boots and helmet. I loaded up my gear in the back of the car and said goodbye to Jackson, who promised to send me all any pictures and videos for final approval.

I handed my keys over to Nate, who opened my door for me before heading to the driver’s side and driving us back to my Vail property. The ride back was mostly dimmed hip hop playing in the car until Nate broke the ice.

“So how bad is your knee hurting right now?”

I studied him for a second deciding how much he could read me. “It doesn’t feel good, but it’s not too bad.”

He snorted and rolled his eyes. The moment we got back to my place, he led me to the couch and brought the Iceman to me. As I hooked up the machine, Nate warmed up one of the meals my chef had prepared for this week.

With a mouth full of asparagus, Nate asked something that I couldn’t quite make out.
Between giggles, I finally admitted, “I didn’t get any of what you just said.”

A blush broke out on his cheeks and he grabbed a drink of water before finally responding. “ I’m trying to figure out when to head back to Canada before I head to Europe for the IIHF Championships. I’m kinda nervous that we won’t see each other until July once I leave. It’s going to be hard to be apart that long.”

I knew that was true. “What if we set aside time each day to facetime? We can schedule it based on what time zones we are both in. And we will both be busy enough that July will be here before we know it.”

My phone buzzed with a text from Jackson. It was a picture of me kissing Nate after my first run down the mountain. Another text followed: Obviously, we won’t use this one for marketing purposes but I thought you and Nate might want it.

I turned my screen towards Nate to show him the messages. We both glanced at it for a moment before he spoke up. “Would you be okay with me posting that picture on Instagram?”

I thought about what the aftermath would be like and then realized I didn’t care who knew we were dating. I was more worried about what people would say to Nate about me than I was about being questioned about him.

Nate was starting to look a little nervous, so I finally answered his question. “If you are good with it, I am too.”

I airdropped the picture and we both watched as he uploaded it to Instagram and captioned it “my girl is back on the grind preparing for Pyeong Chang” before tagging me in it and posting.

The both of us spent a few hours cuddled up on the couch with Suits playing in the background on the tv. When we finished a few episodes, we both looked at Nate’s phone and scrolled through the comments. Some were jealous fangirls commenting but quite a few of his teammates had commented about us making it official on social media and congratulating me on my return.

Come 7 pm, Nate was pulling out of my driveway and heading back to Denver for locker cleanout and media availability the next morning. Somehow, knowing that I wouldn’t see Nate until July made July seem much farther than 3 months away.
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Here's to hoping Nate has another great game tomorrow night!