Learn to Fly (42 page)

Lenny met Cody’s
eye contact and felt a twinge of guilt for having betrayed her friend
earlier that day. Cody had betrayed her long ago, but Lenny had
always hoped she was just little better than that. Turns out, she
wasn’t. She couldn’t go back now, none of them could.
What Shane and Cody had done was irreversible, Lenny could never
trust them again. Maybe someday she’d work on the forgiveness
aspect of it, but not yet.

“
What
do you want Cody?” Lenny addressed her former friend.

“
You
said you were better than me earlier today.” Cody answered
with a smugness Lenny knew was completely genuine. “I want you
to prove it.”

“
Cody,
I’m not registered in any events. I haven’t qualified
for anything.” Lenny tried to speak slowly, like she was
explaining the facts to a small child. “I know you’re
pissed but you can’t just expect me to strap in and compete.”

“
Actually,”
Cody crossed her arms. “All events are done for the evening
and my good friend Grant, here, said we can run the course. Just you
and I.”

Lenny
looked at the course manager whose face was bright red. He nodded
and looked down sheepishly. Cody could manipulate anyone, Lenny
thought, her face twisting in disgust. She glanced up at Shane who
had positioned his large frame behind Cody like he was her muscle.
Lenny
looked around at the band who had taken up positions of support
around her.
This
is sad, it’s like the jocks against the band geeks all over
again.

“
Unless
all that stuff you said today was just a lie,” Cody baited her.
So that was her play, Lenny mused. If Lenny didn’t take the
challenge than everything Lenny had accused them of earlier that day
would look like a lie, tarnishing Lenny’s integrity with the
press and her fans forever.

Lenny sighed in
resignation. Whether or not she was ready for this, it was going to
happen.

“
You
don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
Luke was talking to her now. “You don’t have to prove
anything to anyone. We know the truth.”

“
Yeah,”
Harrison added. “We know that you’re better than this
hussy.”

Cody frowned at his
word. “Hussy? What, is this the 1800’s?” She
rolled her eyes. “Idiot.”

“
Hey!”
Blake snapped, “He may be an idiot, but he’s
our
idiot!”

This was quickly
turning into a television sitcom, Lenny noted. She needed to get a
handle on her guys. She turned her back to Cody and grouped them in
a huddle.

“
I
can do this,” she whispered with excitement. She was near
giddy with anticipation. “I can beat her.”

“
Lenny,
you haven’t competed in almost three years. I’m sorry,
but a couple of good runs down the hill at home aren’t the same
thing.” Sway patiently pointed out. Lenny appreciated his
concern, it was a side of Sway that he didn’t show often and it
was kind of sweet.

“
What
would Duke say if he were here?” Mike wanted to know.

Lenny considered
that for a minute before a wide smile spread across her face. “He’d
tell me to kick her ass.”

Luke winked at her
and nodded his approval. “Then, kick her ass.”

Lenny faced Cody
again. “I don’t have any of my equipment so I’ll
have to borrow someone’s.” Lenny was addressing the
crowd more than Cody. She took pleasure in the shocked look that
sprang to Cody and Shane’s faces. They obviously had expected
her to back out. How little they remembered of who she really was.

Fellow athletes
started to outfit her with everything she would need; a board,
goggles, gloves, boots. Lenny was touched by their words of
encouragement and anticipation for the upcoming race.

“
What,
exactly do you have to do to win?” Luke asked as she put on
her borrowed gear. She heard the anxiety that he was trying to hide
and it made her smile. Luke had never seen her compete before and
she was looking forward to showing off just a little bit.

“
The
course has variable terrain, with berms and gap jumps, turns, drops
and steep and flat sections. Basically, everything. Whoever gets to
the bottom first, wins,” she grinned at him.

“
You
sure you’re ready for this?” He raised an eyebrow at
her.

Lenny looked around
at the crowd, a familiar buzzing pressure in the back of her skull.
Their faces were full of wonder and excitement and she was feeling
it. While back country riding was indeed her forte, performing for
an audience was her guilty pleasure. She enjoyed knowing she was the
best and knowing she was going to completely dominate her opponent.
The fact that it was Cody and that Lenny had finally come to terms
with what she and Shane had done, made it that much more
exhilarating.

Normally, snowboard
cross was run in the daylight with four riders at a time on the
course. It was way past dark and spotlights had been turned on in
order to light the run. It would still be tricky, blind spots
everywhere. Lenny was even more confident in her ability to conquer.
She had a connection with the snow and her board that she’d
never been able to explain. It was as if she could feel the ground
change before it actually happened.

She had the
advantage.

“
I
got this.” She winked at Luke. “You’re about to
see something amazing.” She wasn’t trying to be cocky,
she was being honest.

***

Luke was incredibly
turned on by Lenny’s attitude. Sometimes girls put on a front
to look tough but there was nothing fake about what Lenny was
feeling. He’d seen her do things with ease that trained
professionals struggled to accomplish. He was proud that she was
willing to call herself his girl when she was as wild and untamed as
the mountains she came from.

He impulsively
grabbed her face with his mittened hands and kissed her lips
passionately. A loud roar broke out from the observers and Luke
realized that their relationship had just gone public. He had been
so careful to protect it, not wanting Lenny to get caught in the
tabloid’s cross hairs. But it was out now. Camera’s
flashed and the TV crews scrambled to get a better angle. He pulled
away from Lenny and tried to downplay what had just happened.

Lenny smiled at him,
her crooked half-smile that said everything would be fine. She
turned and waved to the crowd and cameras, blowing them kisses.

The girl he had met
months before, the one with the carefully guarded heart and a past
full of painful secrets had all but disappeared. Lenny had been a
mystery wrapped inside a riddle and somewhere along the way, Luke had
cracked the code. He knew that to share his life of crazy travel and
hard work he would have to find a partner who was strong and could
adapt to changing situations. She stood before him now, a bundle of
outerwear and a smile that lit the sky.

He walked with her
to the chute, his nerves melting away. They were replaced with a
shiver, not from the cold, but from the clarity his heart had just
experienced. Lenny had to be in his life for the remainder of it.

Luke kissed her one
last time before heading to the finish line. He promised to be there
when she came in first. Sway and Blake went with him while Mike and
Harrison stayed at the top to send her off.

***

“
Aren’t
you afraid you’re gonna choke?” Cody sneered at Lenny,
“You know, like last time?” Her grey eyes were flat and
cold, and Lenny found it sad that eyes identical to Duke's could be
so foreign.

“
I’m
sorry it has to come down to this Cody,” Lenny responded
coolly, “but I’m gonna crush you.” Lenny lowered
her goggles and covered her face with her mask, sealing out the cold.

“
Yeah,
you’re not a nice person.” Harrison added his own dig.
He wasn’t very good at trash talking. It was really best if he
stuck to lead guitar, Lenny thought.

“
Whatever.”
Cody mumbled and lowered her goggles.

The pressure in the
back of Lenny’s head had grown to a full scale roar in her
ears. It drowned out the crowd and Mike and Harrison’s final
words of encouragement.

She had an uncanny
ability to separate herself from the rest of the world when she
focused really hard. She could create a mental barrier, where only
she and the task at hand existed. That’s where the pressure,
the buzzing, came from. She relaxed her mind and enclosed herself in
the moment. This was it. She completely blocked out everything around
her and took a deep, steadying breath. She felt a smile spread
across her face underneath her mask and waited.

***

The start signal
rang through the air and the two riders took off. Mike and Harrison
strained their necks with the other screaming audience members,
trying to get a good view. The girls dipped and disappeared and then
reappeared, twisting and flying down the slope.

“
Holy
crap.” Harrison muttered under his breath and Mike laughed out
loud.

***

Lenny could feel the
perfect snow bend under her board and she almost laughed at how easy
the course was. She could feel the curve beneath her and anticipated
the jump ahead. She knew she had reached quite a height as her board
made contact with the snow again. She saw Cody in her peripheral
vision as she tried to cut across Lenny’s path. Lenny just
slid to the side and shot past her.

***

Luke couldn’t
see a lot from his vantage point at the bottom but he could hear the
rise and fall of the audience’s reaction to what was happening.
He caught a glimpse of Lenny, flying high and he was reminded of
her nickname 'Bird.' She seemed lighter than air. It was as if
coming back to earth was a challenge and she belonged among the
stars.

***

Lenny’s
speed was increasing. She crouched lower, gaining more momentum,
knowing it was dangerous and knowing she could handle it. Cody
wasn’t even close. Lenny hadn’t seen her in a few turns.
The pressure in Lenny’s head compressed and exploded in a
brilliant star burst in her mind's eye as she took the last jump.
I
love my life.
She had enough height and speed so she threw in a corked
seven-twenty.
You
know, for fun.

The crowd erupted,
finally registering in her awareness. She landed easily and had to
quickly slow herself as she crossed the finish so as not to hit the
barriers.

Luke was with her in
seconds, hugging her and yelling along with the crowd. Lenny removed
her goggles and face mask and kissed him.

Thirty seconds after
Lenny had landed, Cody finally crossed the finish line.

Lenny unhooked the
bindings on her boots and walked over to Cody.

“
Good
race.” Lenny stuck out her hand, she hoped this would end
Cody’s ridiculous vendetta.

Cody unhooked her
bindings and picked up her board.

“
C'mon, Cody,
we used to be friends.” Lenny tried to reach out to her,
wondering if there was even anything salvageable left in their
relationship.

“
We haven't
been friends in a long time.” Cody clipped angrily. “It
should've been
me
that Duke coached, he was
my
uncle.
It should have been
me
with
all the sponsorships and the popularity. You never would have even
tried
snowboarding if
I wouldn't have invited you. And this is how you repay me? Some
friend you are.”

“
Cody,
this whole thing was your idea. I have no idea how you can continue
blaming me for your shortcomings. It isn't my fault.”

“
Stay
away from me.” Cody spun around and stalked away.

“
Geez,
sore loser.” Luke said from beside her. Lenny shrugged. She
couldn’t change Cody. She had met her challenge and had beaten
her at her own game. What more did Cody want?