Chasing dreams year thre.., p.37
Chasing Dreams, Year Three, page 37
A helpless smile came to Cadence’s face. She wasn’t one for easy tears, but a well of strong emotion visibly tugged at her. “I’ll do my best.”
They broke apart, giving her a few last pats and claps on the back. Once away from them, Cadence let out a deep sigh and paced back toward the starting point.
Daniel followed at her side. “We do have another. But it’s the same company and the same type. You sure you want it?”
“Change nothing,” Cadence insisted. “We’ve trusted the brand this far, right? That’s the pole I’ve trained with. It’s the one that going to get me over.”
“With that sort of loyalty, we could get you a sponsorship deal with them.” He chuckled. “I know what you’re saying. It feels right. And yeah, we’ve based our plans off it.”
“Just don’t jinx it by talking about the odds of two failures from the same production run.” Cadence smirked, teasing him as he was the more superstitious one.
“Oh, I won’t.” He shook his head, grabbed the new pole off the rack and held it for her.
She began the ritual of applying the chalk and checking the tape she needed for it to sit securely in her hands. She was doing it more deliberately, and it was taking her longer.
Daniel didn’t push. He simply gave her the time as she worked through the nerves that the near miss had to have generated and saw her rebuilding her confidence.
When he sensed the time was right, he finally said, “Nothing’s changed. The wind’s the same. Pole’s the same. Crowd might even be quieter for you. You’re the same. The gold is yours. This is you against you, and you’ve never lost when it came down to that. You’ve never let yourself down.”
She took another huge breath, then met his eyes. Her iron will was back in place. “And I won’t this time, either.”
Dropping his voice far too low for the microphones to pick up, or for any of the other athletes and coaches to hear, he whispered, “Love you.”
“Love you, too.” Her smile shone for a brief moment, then morphed back into her disciplined game face. She turned and took her spot at the starting line once more.
Daniel shifted to the same place he had been before. It wasn’t the safest spot. He’d been one of the closest during the breakage and was lucky he hadn’t taken a piece of shrapnel. But it was a deliberate choice, putting himself back into the ‘danger zone,’ as if declaring he didn’t believe there was any danger. It would only serve to echo… even if only subconsciously… into Cadence’s mind that he had faith.
Her focus was solely on the challenge in front of her. Seeming to sense what was going on, the events around were all stalled as the athletes turned to watch. Daniel had never heard it so silent in a stadium before.
Cadence started her second run.
On the third step, she reached a bit too far and wavered. But her fourth and fifth recovered and returned her to the right pace. Her jaw clenched. Her fingers went pale as they clenched hard onto the pole and then eased back into the dynamic grip that would play over it like a musical instrument to draw out maximum benefit.
She dipped the leading point into the box and threw herself into its spring without a trace of hesitation. He could tell she didn’t care if it would fail on her again. She was trusting it completely.
Snarling with the effort, Cadence threw her legs up and over her head. At the same time, she twisted her hips and arranged herself for the crest.
A crest that went over the bar. Her arms whipped away as she tried to keep them clear. She over-rotated by a few degrees, which nearly cost her a bad landing… but she was over. The crossbar didn’t so much as rattle.
The whole stadium blew up. 50,000 people yelled out in celebration. Daniel could picture the millions who were watching, including an entire, small Caribbean nation, standing up and cheering as their newest hero made good.
Cadence sprang to her feet and then jumped up as high as her legs could manage from the unsteady bag. She charged to the edge and threw herself into Daniel’s arms. He swung her around as she laughed in hysterical delight and cried, “I did it! I did it! I did it!”
He had no words. He could only hold her and radiate his love toward her as she celebrated.
In mere moments, MK and Irène joined in. Carla and the other Portesaran athletes also rushed over, making a knot of national support with the four lovers at the center.
Chapter 27
“Please be careful as you deplane,” the Air Korea attendant said. With a poised smile on her face, she was the perfect example of cheerful yet professional that was necessary in her profession.
Daniel gave her a polite nod, knowing it had to be a trial to deal with the 500 people flowing off the huge international flight and into the Denver airport. He wasn’t going to make her day, but at least he could make sure it wasn’t any worse by being a pain.
He strode down the ramp and found his three charges loitering about. They had gotten separated in the crowd, and he was glad that none of them had decided to go any farther. “Hey, you three.” He pointed in the opposite direction from where the women had been drifting, using the signs to guide them toward international transfers. “We’re headed that way. Toward customs.”
“Why? Aren’t we going to Nouveau Marseilles? I checked the gate,” Cadence said. “It’s this way, and we don’t have to fuss over customs.”
“If that’s what you all want to do, then that’s what we’ll do. But I happen to have a surprise for you if you’re willing to play along.” He held up his phone and showed them a chartering contract. “This is a booking for a private plane. It’s waiting for us to board.”
“A private plane?” Irène brightened. For a woman like her who was rarely still, the 12-hour flight they had just endured approached torture. Anything fun and different was a breath of fresh air for her. “But not all the way home? If we’re going through customs, then we’re staying in the US?”
“Not going far at all. Heading for a place called Thermopolis in Wyoming.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of that!” MK perked up. “Aren’t there a set of hot springs there?”
“Supposedly some of the best in the country. I’ve never been there, myself, but I’ve got it on good authority that we’ll enjoy it.”
“Whose authority?” Cadence asked, then waved that off. “Never mind. I know who.”
“Evelyn wasn’t going to miss out on sending her congratulations in the best way she knows how.” Daniel let out a soft laugh. “So, are we going to take her up on the offer?”
“Oh hell, yeah.” MK bustled toward him and grabbed his hand. “Private plane, a luxury hotel and super-hot water spilling off a mountain? Hallelujah, take me to the promised land!”
Cadence smirked at her friend’s antics, swaying in her wake. “Better believe I’m in. Sounds like the perfect way to finish this trip off.”
Irène clapped and followed them. “Always up for another adventure!”
* * *
Daniel tapped the key card against the lock of their assigned suite. “Let’s see what our benefactress has provided for us, shall we?” He leaned into the wood and pushed it aside for the others to enter.
He was instantly struck by the opulence of the place. Evelyn had found for them a true five-star experience in Bordeaux to celebrate their last achievements. This place was on the same level. It was a different sort of richness, though. In France, it had all been about marble and being royally attended to.
This was like a wood lodge taken to another level. Burnished oak and thick draperies would deaden any sound. While the aim was to make it seem like a mountain retreat, he didn’t mistake the exquisite quality of the carvings and artwork.
Neither did his companions.
Cadence didn’t stray far, pacing over to a central table where there was a small feast laid out. “Not a bad start.”
Irène darted to one of the doors. “The bed is plenty big for all of us. Super-king-sized. Even MK won’t be able to kick me!”
“Don’t count on it,” her lover chuckled. “I need my space.” MK did a slow circuit of her own, checking the side rooms and finding every convenience imaginable hidden behind the rustic overlayers. “Honestly, though, is there anything that could make this place better?”
“You should take in the view!” came a sultry voice from the balcony.
Daniel’s eyebrows rose as his smile emerged. She’s already here. Now that’s the best surprise yet.
Cadence dropped the Danish she’d been about to chomp into, a bright smile flowing on her lips as she crossed to the double doors leading out onto the patio. She met MK there, and they opened the twin doors to reveal what lay beyond.
The night sky carried the faint glow of a sun well set, but not yet vanished. The ambient light was enough to see a beautiful forest scape with a scant view of the lake near the hotel. Barriers between the lodges offered total privacy.
Nestled in the center of the balcony was a massive hot tub. It wasn’t fed from the natural hot springs, but it had been constructed to create an impressive illusion of being carved from the rocks.
Within the bubbling waters of the tub, Evelyn was immersed up to her shoulders. She was leaned back, obviously enjoying the jets playing over her skin. “I can’t tell you how glad I am that you decided to accept my invitation. A weekend here alone would have been relaxing, but nowhere near as fun.”
“Who am I to argue with a lady?” Daniel stepped to a small table with four glasses of champagne on it, already feeling a familiar desire spreading outward from his core.
“I’ve learned not to miss out on your ideas,” Cadence said with a warm glow on her face. “And it just so happens I think we’ve earned the chance to see what you have in mind.”
“Perhaps you two have the right idea,” MK murmured, her eyes locked onto Evelyn, who had become so important to her over the last few months.
Irène added her cute little whimper of anticipation.
The sound evoked a sly, sexy curl of Evelyn’s lips. “Now, before any of you ask…” She trailed off with a teasing lilt to her voice. She rose from the water with a slinky sway, then braced her hands and slid her round behind on the back lip of the tub, perching herself neatly. With precise, refined sensuality, she folded one of her legs over the other, drawing attention to the limbs all of them had spent many hours worshipping. “… yes, I do come included with the room. Anything your hearts’ desire, I’m here to fulfill those wishes.”
She was sheathed in a wide-fishnet body stocking of black threads that were plastered wetly to her figure. They didn't truly cover anything. It brought to Daniel’s mind the image of a net being cast into the lake and drawing in the finest treasure imaginable.
Very much aware of how completely they were watching her every movement, Evelyn reached to her side and plucked up a champagne bottle. Her fingers closed on the cork and popped it out with a push of her thumb. The cork sailed over the patio, rattling against the wall, and a brief fountain of the golden foam within gushed out.
Evelyn’s lips shifted into a lush smile. “So… how do you think we should celebrate?”
“A few ideas occurred to me immediately,” Daniel said with a deep chuckle. “And as it happens, I’m very much in the mood to share them.”
The story will conclude in…
Chasing Dreams,
Year Four
Shawn Keys, Chasing Dreams, Year Three
