Blind Landing (Flipped #1) Page 19

  Finally, I’m at the end of the beam, facing the mat at the end where my feet will land after I dismount. And there he is again. Spencer. Standing on a spotter’s block at the end, his hands ready to catch me, to help me. Of course, he’s not really there. But for all he’s done for me, he might as well be.

  My heart soars as I launch into my dismount, my body aimed perfectly, my feet rebounding at just the right speed. My Arabian flips perfectly, the exact amount of rotation powering me to my feet.

  And then. My feet make contact. My chest comes up. I hang on with my toes, praying to Jesus, Mary and Joseph that I don’t move. And I don’t. A stuck landing.

  My arms shoot up, pumping as I jump up and down. The crowd is on its feet, the ovation so loud I can barely make out the score. But as I look up at the jumbotron, and it reads sixteen-point-two, I know I’ve done it.

  I’m the new Olympic All Around Champion.

  And there is only one person I want to celebrate with. I sprint for the stairs, hopping off the side of the platform and booking it for the man I love.

  Spencer catches me mid-leap, his clover green eyes dancing as tears shine in them.

  I don’t hesitate. “I love you.”

  A question clouds his face. “What?”

  “I said I love you!” I scream.

  Now he hears me. “I love you, too. So much, Nat.”

  In front of the whole arena, all of the TV cameras, I lower my face where he holds me above him. And I kiss him.

  I kiss him long and hard, only stopping so he can grab the medal from the presenter who comes near us and hangs it around my neck.

  I finally have my gold. But I also have my guy. Because without him, none of it matters.

  Spencer is my blind landing, the thing that I never saw coming. He rushed up at me like the floor does to feet. But once I took that jump, once I trusted myself to fall with him, everything worked out just like it was supposed to.

  Thirty-Six

  Spencer

  “You sure you don’t want to go party? You are the star of The Olympic Village these day.”

  Nat grins at me, the moonlight bouncing off her golden hair. “Well, now that you mention it, there are some pretty hot guys here … and I’m a hot ticket, so …”

  I pull her towards me, the whip of a dress she has on leaving nothing to the imagination. Her breasts press against my chest, and I can feel her nipples pebble even through the layer of my shirt. Our breathing hitches, the need to be entwined so strong that my cock begins to swell at the thought.

  “This is all mine. Don’t you forget that.” Taking both of her ass cheeks in my hands, I squeeze.

  “Well now that I’ve outed us to the world, I don’t think I’ll kick you to the curb quite yet. I need the publicity after all.” She dances out of my grasp, teasing me.

  Yeah, she outed us all right. That kiss she planted on my lips two seconds after she told me she loved me was being broadcast on every major news network, celebrity gossip site, Instagram page and gymnastics fan’s Twitter page. And it would continue to be published for months to come. Everyone wanted the story. Had I seduced her? When had we fallen in love? What would happen now?

  And my favorite question … what was our couple name?

  “What do you think about Spencetalia?” I ask as I plop my butt in the sand.

  The beach is empty, everyone either partying in The Village or trying to get into a party in The Village.

  “Huh?” Nat joins me, laying her head on my shoulder as the waves lap at the shore.

  “For our couple name. I want to get ahead of this thing, really market it well for ourselves.”

  She shoves me. “Shut the fuck up. You couldn’t care less what the media says and we both know it.”

  “Not where we’re concerned, no. Absolutely fucking not.”

  And I wasn’t, it was true. They could spread rumors or speculate, but I didn’t give a shit. Nat had stepped up, showed me that she was willing to give it all up for me. With that one kiss, she’d proven that she valued our relationship, me, over gymnastics. It might have taken her a bit longer to come to the conclusion I’d reached months ago, but that only meant I could tease her about making it up to me.

  “So what do I get for falling in love with you first?”

  “Again, shut the fuck up. You’re such a liar. How do I even know you fell in love with me first?! You never said anything.”

  I rub her shoulders. “Oh, baby, I wouldn’t have left if I didn’t love you. I was just giving you some time to catch up.”

  Nat turns my face to hers, kissing me softly before pulling away. “Well, it’s a good thing you didn’t give up on me.”

  “I never will,” I whisper against her lips. Pulling back, I smooth the hair out of her face. “How is Grace, by the way?”

  My girl snuggles into me as I wrap an arm around her. “She’s okay, getting better. She woke up a couple of hours ago, I saw her for about ten minutes. She pretty much corroborated the story we told the IOC, that Novak pressured her to lose weight. It’s going to take some time, but I think she’ll be okay.”

  Anger ripples through me yet again. “He’s going to get what’s always been coming to him. It might be horrible to say, but something had to happen for him to be prosecuted. I’m so sorry it was Grace, but I’m glad he won’t be able to hurt any gymnast ever again.”

  “Enough about him.” She stands, the light shining through her dress, giving me the shadows and curves of her body. “Do you want your gift now?”

  My dick twitches. “Well, that depends. What is my gift?”

  A flutter of material and her dress is up and over her head, leaving her standing before me in nothing but a lilac thong. My balls draw up tight, my cock straining to be inside of her.

  “Let’s see if the ocean in Rio is any warmer than the ocean in New Jersey.” A devilish smile creases her beautiful face.

  And then she’s running down the beach, kicking up sand as her perky ass jiggles. I can’t get my clothes off fast enough. Can’t sprint to where she’s diving under the waves quick enough.

  I finally catch her, hoisting her body up onto mine until she’s straddling me, her heels digging into my ass.

  “I love you, Coach.” She skates her teeth across my bottom lip.

  “I love you, Champ,” I say before I lower her down onto my swollen cock.

  Then there is nothing but me, her and the sea.

  Epilogue

  Natalia

  Three Months Later

  “I believe in a thing called love, just listen to the rhythm of my heart!” Rourke rocks out, clapping with his hands over his head as the girls at the end of his runway jam out on fake air guitars.

  I laugh, unable to keep the chuckle from popping out as I flick the mouthpiece on my Camelbak water bottle. I stick the rubber in my mouth, sucking on it until water replenishes my dry throat.

  “Sometimes I think he’s a little crazy. I fucking love it.” My boyfriend sneaks up behind me, grasping my near-naked hips in his very talented hands.

  Twirling, I glare at him. “Spencer, we’ve had this talk! You’re the owner now, you can’t curse around the athletes.”

  He kisses my cheek, his face the picture of innocence. “I’m sorry, I’ve offended the reigning Olympic champion. Tell me what my punishment is, I’ll gladly get on my knees to make it up to you.”

  An impish grin graces his sexy lips, and I can’t help the wetness that pools low in my core. “Stop distracting me. I am in the middle of my practice.”

  “I can show you a great workout. It’s just in my office, it’ll only take a few minutes. Ten tops.” The teasing glint in those green eyes almost has me saying yes.

  But no. I need to focus. I may have four years until the next Olympics, but I’ll need every second of it if I plan to stay on top.

  “No rest for the wicked, I get it. But I’ll show you that workout tonight. At home.” Spence swaggers off, going to check on Rourke and his gymnasts.<
br />
  That’s right, he’ll get me at home tonight. Our home. After I got back from Rio and the majority of the hype over my win and the team win died down, I’d come back to Ocean City. Spence and I are now renting a two-bedroom condo about ten minutes from his gym, perfect for the commute and a good amount of space. A spare room so that soon, my family will be able to come visit us for a trip. We’ve been living together for about a month, and so far, there have been no major issues. Well, besides the fact that Spence is a closet neat freak. Leave a dish out in his kitchen and you’ll hear about where the dishwasher is or how there is a sponge in the sink. It’s a surprise for sure, but it’s actually annoyingly cute, so I don’t mind it.

  In addition to moving in with him, I also agreed to train at Garden State Gymnastics. With two requests that is. I make any and all decisions about my routines … and Spencer is my coach at any and all competitions. We decided together that I’d try for another Olympics. It was what I wanted all along, but I needed my man on board with me. We didn’t make big decisions anymore without first consulting the other. Apparently, that’s how love worked, or so Spencer had told me one night as he shoved his face in my tits.

  One perk of dating the reigning Olympic champion, and signing her to your gym, was that other gymnasts followed. Specifically, former Filipek’s gymnasts. Anna, James and Julia have joined GSG, and Jared and Duke also train here now, too. Quinn is back in Alabama, although we talk weekly. Dozens of other gymnasts who used to train with Novak have also come to train with Spencer, rounding out his gym at a healthy three hundred athletes training here per week.

  And talk about a natural born coach and owner. Spencer is the picture of professionalism with the parents, and the most supportive and encouraging coach I’ve ever seen. I always knew he’d be able to do this if he just believed it … and he finally does. Although our relationship tends to skew in the comedic or flirty direction, I’ve had some sappy moments over the past three months where I’ve broke down and told him how proud I am.

  I’ve been in touch with Grace, who is in a rehabilitation center dealing with the fallout of her eating disorder. She seems to be in better spirits every time I talk to her. I hope one day she can return to gymnastics in a healthy way, but right now I think she and her parents are just taking everything one step at a time.

  As for Novak, no decision has come down from the IOC yet about what his punishment will be. I hope they ban him, for the sake of all gymnasts everywhere. But even if they don’t, there is no snowball’s chance in hell he can come back from this. No parent in their right mind would ever let that psychopath train their child.

  “I can’t believe I’m back in a fucking gym.” The loud thump of a bag dropping onto the tile of the lobby catches my attention.

  The black-haired raven teeters on her four-inch stilettos, the big round sunglasses hiding any expression she might have.

  “Look what the cat dragged in …” I stalk up to her.

  “Give me a hug, bitch, I know you’re happy to see me.”

  I grab Peyton, pulling my friend in for a much needed hug. “You smell amazing.”

  “Try getting out of a gym for once, the scent of chalk will slowly evaporate from your skin.” She lifts the huge glasses from her eyes and plants them on her head. “This place isn’t half bad, the man child has done well. I can’t believe I’m fucking going on this tour, by the way.”

  When Grace had to drop out of the post-Olympic tour, a twenty-city arena spectacle featuring the USA’s best gymnasts, someone had to take her place. Being the gold medalist that I was, I pulled some strings. I missed Peyton, and I knew she missed the sport. She was experienced, had been on the tour four years ago, and was friends with a majority of the gymnasts going.

  “If I can’t take my boyfriend, you bet your ass I’m bringing my best friend.”

  Being the owner of a new gym, Spencer could not up and leave with me for three months. While I was going to miss him like crazy, he was going to fly out to some of the tour dates for a night or two. We’d make it work, that’s just the way things were now.

  “No one told me she was coming on the tour, man …” I hear Jared pull Spence aside, his tone just a little too audible.

  “Nice to see you too, Jared. Did you miss me?” Peyton taunts him, and I can already tell the next three months are going to get interesting.

  Jared turns the color of a cherry, his eyes bulging with anger, before storming off without a word.

  Yeah, things are going to get very interesting.

  Peyton walks off to hug Julia, and Spence walks back over.

  “So, that’s not going to end well …” He pulls me into an embrace.

  I love that we no longer have to hide from anyone.

  “Yeah, whatever. She’s a firecracker and he’s more straight-laced than a Marine. How did they ever … you know?”

  Spence chuckles. “No idea, baby. No idea.”

  I squeeze his waist, his naked abs jumping beneath my caress. Yeah, even though he’s the owner, he still hasn’t gotten used to wearing shirts.

  “You know you’re going to have to come save me every now and then from that madness. I’m going to miss you so much.”

  Spence bends low, nipping at my earlobe. “Don’t worry, baby. There are foam pits all over the country I still need to test out with you. I would never miss that chance.”

  His promise heats my blood. I’m glad we also didn’t miss our chance.

  The sun hits the wall behind the front desk in exactly the right spot, a glimmer of gold blinds me. Hanging right above the computer and check in counter is my gold medal from Rio in a case.

  I’d made Spence hang it there as a symbol of what we’d achieved together. And all of the success to come.

  Acknowledgments

  I want to thank each and every person from the bottom of my heart who took the time to read this book.

  Since I became an author last July and finally took the leap to publish my novels, I have been wanting to write a romance series about gymnastics. It never seemed like the right time, and like Natalia, I was overcome with fear. Fear that I wouldn’t do my passion, gymnastics, justice. Fear that the words wouldn’t come out right.

  This was a total passion project for me, because like Natalia and Spencer, I spent more of my childhood in a gym than I did with friends, family, or at home. My life was the gym, my friends and family were my coaches and fellow gymnasts. I tore holes in my hands, fractured bones and pulled muscles. I know what it is like to feel the gripping fear of throwing a new skill, and later, the disappointment of leaving a sport that has defined you for so long that you don’t know what to do next.

  I want to thank my Mom; from the beginning of this story she has been a sounding board and a hand holder. And thanks for being my taxi to and from practices and meets for sixteen years … I think I owe you.

  I had my Peyton and my Julia. Competing together, being on a team, it makes you closer than friends. So thank you for all of your support over the years.

  And lastly, thank you to the coaches who never believed in me, who found joy in the fear of children. You taught me such valuable lessons on what kind of person I didn’t want to become, and how to ignore those who would tear me down.

  About the Author

  Author of romance novels such as Red Card and the Captive Heart Duet, Carrie Aarons writes sexy, swoony and sarcastic characters who won't get out of her head until she puts them down on a page.

  Carrie has wanted to be an author since the first time she opened a book. She loves spinning tales that include dapper men, women with attitude, and the occasional hunky athlete.

  When she isn't in what her husband calls a "writing coma", Carrie is freeing up her jam-packed DVR, starting her latest DIY project, or planning her next travel adventure. She lives in New Jersey with her husband, who is more than happy to watch sports while his wife plots love stories.

  For more information:

  @authorcarriea

>   Author Carrie Aarons

  www.carrieaarons.com

  authorcaarons@gmail.com

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