Learn to Fly (39 page)

Looking back, Lenny
realized there were several warning signs. Shane was always way into
his own body, constantly working out and taking offers to pose half
naked for whatever magazine wanted him. He would flirt shamelessly
with every pretty girl who walked by, Lenny wrote it off to him
having an outgoing personality. Just a few weeks into them dating
and Shane started to get weirdly controlling about who Lenny could
and could not talk to. She got an offer from Sports Illustrated to
be in their swimsuit issue and Shane had pitched a fit. She turned it
down to appease him but then Cody had swooped in and taken the gig.
Lenny should have caught on right away. But she’d never been
in a relationship so she really had nothing to compare it to.

Lenny knew it was
unusual by the world’s standards to be a twenty-three year old
virgin, but she’d been busy having a life and never really
thought about having sex. It was there, in the back of her mind, she
just assumed that when it was time she would know. Completely
confident in every decision she’d made in her life thus far, it
was normal for her.

So when Shane had
started to pressure her into having sex the night before her biggest
run in her career, Lenny balked at the idea.

“
No,
I’m not ready for that step. And besides, I don’t want a
big distraction in my head for tomorrow.”

They were sitting
in her room, a small dorm-sized bedroom with two sets of bunks. She
and Cody were roommates with two other girls who had recently left
because they had won their medals and wanted to go home. Shane had
started to make more frequent visits to her room to make-out.

“
C’mon,
it’ll make you do even better tomorrow.” He whispered in
her ear as his hand traveled from her knee up her thigh.

Lenny shoved his
hand away and stood up. She was not liking this side of Shane at all.

“
There’s
no way for you to know that.” She frowned. “I don’t
want to, it’s not a discussion.”

Shane put on his
best puppy-dog face, trying again.

“
Please,
baby, you’re just so hot I can hardly keep my hands off you.”
He stood up and pulled her close against his body. “I want
you so bad and I love you so much.” He started kissing her
neck.

Lenny shoved him
away from her. “Knock it off. I’m serious, Shane.”
She crossed her arms and her frown deepened. “This isn’t
happening.”

Shane's face
shifted to affronted and he put his hands on his hips, scowling at
Lenny. She stood firm, not sure what to expect.

“
What
the hell, Lenny? What’s your problem?” He barked, all
sweetness leaving him.

Lenny narrowed
her eyes.“I’m pretty sure I’m not the one with the
problem.” She grabbed her jacket and slipped it on.

“
Where
are you going?” He demanded, grabbing a hold of her arm.

She twisted free
as she yanked open the door. “To get some fresh air, I suggest
you do the same.”

She left in a
huff, slamming the door behind her. Lenny stalked though the
Village, calming down quickly. She ran into a few Olympians she had
just met that week and they invited her to join them for their
evening activities. She relaxed in the fun atmosphere watching other
events and competitors. She was feeling in a much better mood when
she went back to her room to get rested before her own run the next
day.

She opened the
door and stopped in her tracks. Her voice stuck in her chest as her
eyes that never missed anything viewed the heart wrenching scene
before her.

Cody's toned and
tanned body was only in a bra and panties and she was hastily
yanking a shirt over her head. Shane was in his boxers and pulling
his jeans up. Their faces were flushed and they were still breathing
heavy. They must have just…finished… Lenny felt her
stomach turn as her brain tried to wrap around this blatant betrayal.

She finally found
her voice. It sounded strange and angry in her own ears. She
wondered what it sounded like to them.

“
You
have
got
to be kidding me.” She stood still in the doorway, not wanting
to enter the room and have to feel the remnants of their recent
passions.

“
What
did you expect?” Cody glared at her, running her fingers
through her caramel colored tresses to smooth out the tousle they'd
just been through. “You’re such an effing tease. I’m
just glad I could be there to fill in. Didn’t come in second
this time.” She said smugly.

Lenny’s
eyes widened at her friends words. “You’re not seriously
suggesting that this is okay?”

“
Calm
down, Lenny. Don’t make a big deal out of this.” Shane
talked to her like she was child as he pulled his shirt over his
head.

“
Don’t
make a big deal? Are you serious?” Her voice was starting to
get louder and people walking by in the hallway were taking notice.
A small crowd started to gather a few feet away, listening in.

“
I
needed a release, I gave you first dibs, and you declined. I found it
somewhere else. You shouldn’t be mad about this. This is what
you wanted, isn't it?” Shane taunted.

“
You’re
an asshole!” Was all Lenny could get out. She was losing her
resolve and starting to crumble. She couldn’t believe what
they had just done but what was even harder to swallow is that they
were defending themselves.

“
I
told Shane that you guys would probably never have sex.” Cody
said haughtily. “That you have a hard time showing love. That
you’re broken.” She let her words dig in. “But
don’t worry
friend
,
I'm always happy to help out.”

Lenny was going
to be sick. She could feel the bile rising in her esophagus and
swallowed hard to push it down. It didn’t work; she ran to the
bathroom a short distance down the hall. She locked the door behind
her and wretched into the toilet. Then she sat down on the floor and
cried.

It had always
been hard for Lenny to make friends. With three older brothers she
had gotten along with guys better. Girls tended to not like her. It
didn’t bother her too much, she had always had Cody. But
now…Tears ran down her face, uncontrolled. She had never felt
so alone in her life. Her family wasn’t allowed in the Village
and Duke was on an expedition and couldn’t be reached. She had
no one.

Their words had
done more than stung. Lenny had always feared in the back of her
mind that maybe romantic love wasn’t something in her future.
What if Cody was right? What if she was broken?

That
week had been the worst of Lenny’s whole life. She crashed the
next day, allowing Cody to take gold and propel her into
superstardom. The recovery from the accident had been slow. Shane
and Cody kept coming around, trying to see if she remembered what
they had done. Apparently they weren’t feeling as secure in
their lusty decisions after the fact. Lenny’s confidence was
sapped. She couldn’t even rely on her own body to take her
where she wanted to go. She decided to focus on recovery, hoping
Cody and Shane would tire of the daily torture and leave her alone.

As she made
progress, Shane used her accident as another way to be in the
spotlight. He was constantly giving interviews about her well-being
and their future together. It didn’t take too many weeks of
that before Lenny understood why he was in a relationship with her in
the first place. It looked good. It made him look even more
attractive, he was using her to stay visible. No appeal remained for
her to return to snowboarding.

Two years flew by.
Shane moved to Wyoming, he wanted to move into the Lodge but his
condition was that Duke move out. Lenny declined that idea. She was
getting so tired of him. Getting sick of all the fake ‘I love
yous’ and empty gestures. She could feel herself growing
colder and more distant with everyone around her. Her atmosphere was
suffocating her and she started to fear she would die if she didn’t
leave.

Snowboarding was
more than a sport for Lenny. It had been an extension of herself.
It offered a freedom that other sports lacked. Her brothers said
that it was her rebellious nature finding a home. It made her feel
limitless and challenged. She hated the rules and propriety of
growing up in an upper class family. Snowboarding gave her an
outlet, a way to express love, rage, passion and grief. The mountain
had been her canvas, the board her brush. Losing her confidence in
that had been devastating. She was afraid that she would never feel
at peace with herself again.

Not anymore. She
was back, and her nonconformity had been stifled for too long. She
had some catching up to do.

Lenny smirked to
herself as she entered the media tent, instantly drawing attention to
herself. She smiled politely at the staff, shaking hands and
exchanging greetings. A little gal came over and fitted her with a
mic and showed her which chair to sit in.

“
Wow,
you’re even pretty up close.” The girl giggled
nervously, Lenny just smiled, remembering how graciously the guys
dealt with the attention they received wherever they went and aimed
to appear as comfortable as they always did.

She sat in the chair
she was directed to and Brad, the interviewer, engaged her in small
talk while they waited for Shane. She and Brad had been on good
terms since she had started to gain attention in her early teens. He
was apprised of all her success and failures and knew her family
relatively well, too. That was the thing about sportscasters, they
stuck around the industry for a long time and made friends. It gave
them better interviews.

“
There’s
been quite a bit of pressure on me to ask you some hard questions
ever since it was announced you were going to be here.” Brad
said, testing Lenny’s reaction.

“
You
can ask me anything you want, Brad.” Lenny replied with a
sincere smile, hoping he'd get the hint.

Brad’s
eyebrows went up at the open door invitation. Normally, a celebrity
such as Lenny would have limits or guidelines set up at the beginning
of the interview. He smiled with intrigue at her unflinching
response.

Lenny’s
attention was drawn to the flurry of activity coming towards her.
Shane Brookings entered the tent and flashed everyone his dazzling
smile. The mic girl got so flustered she forgot her job and blushed
a deep maroon. Lenny hadn’t seen Shane since the day before
she'd had her interview with Carl. He looked good. Not great, but
good.

He approached Lenny
and Brad and coolly took his seat. He had kept his dark hair trimmed
short and had grown a nice goatee that showed off his angular jaw.
He was tall, well over six feet, his large, muscular frame engulfing
the chair he sat in. His eyes were pools of amber that glinted in
the sunlight that peeked through the seams of the tent.

“
I
wasn’t sure you’d show.” He raised an eyebrow at
Lenny, obviously surprised to see her.

Lenny didn’t
reply, she just smiled politely and faced Brad.

“
So
let’s begin,” Brad got the ball rolling, turning to speak
into the camera. “Today at the Winter X-Games we have
snowboarding’s elite, the sweethearts of the sport. Lenny
Evans, eight time X-Games gold medalist, once the darling of big
mountain riding and Shane Brookings, reigning World Champion in the
Half Pipe and current Olympic gold medalist. Also, snowboarding’s
most eligible bachelor. The world thought you two were going to get
married and ride off into the sunset on Burton’s newest design
but that hasn’t happened. How long since you’ve seen each
other?”

“
She
left me about six months ago.” Shane answered quickly, not
looking in Lenny’s direction.

“
That’s
true, I did.” Lenny nodded, keeping her face flat.

“
Have
you left the sport entirely?” Brad directed at Lenny.

“
I
thought I had, but I may be making a comeback.” She smiled
coyly.

She noticed Shane
tense up next to her. So did Brad.