Higher (The University of Gatica #3) (12 page)

She jumped up and down and raced over to Coach Maves. “What height now? Six-one?” She bounced excitedly as she spoke.

Maves gestured to calm down. “Remember, this is a training meet. Why not go six-two? You can get that approach consistent and focus on your take-off. You seemed a bit close to the bar. As it goes higher you are going to need to move back. It’ll take more time to clear the higher heights. If it takes a couple of attempts, at least you are working on your timing at the higher heights.” Maves grinned. “Seems you have plenty of air time right now.” She high-fived Jani. “Keep it up. Literally.”

Jani smiled and jogged over to tell the officials what height she wanted. “Just keep moving up an inch at a time.”

They nodded in agreement and went to set the next height.

Jani sat down as she waited for them. She watched Aileen come blasting out of the blocks and cruise over the hurdles like they weren’t even there. She beat the other competitors by a full hurdle.

Aileen raced over and hugged Jani. “You’re doing great!”

“You aren’t doing so bad yourself,” Jani laughed.

“I love this!”

“Me, too.”

“Jani, the bar is set,” the official called out. “Six-two. First attempt, Jani.”

That meant she had ninety seconds to start her approach. She walked over to her starting tape and stared at the bar. It didn’t look any higher than her last jump at six foot. Which was weird. This height should scare her. It wasn’t much lower than her PB. She ran through her approach in her head and thought about knee drive, pushing her knee up, up, over the bar.

She should have visualized but was too excited with first time clearances so far. She knew the moment she took off she was too close. She hit the bar on her way up and knocked it off. She felt her body continue to travel up and knew had she been the right distance away, she would have cleared it.

She shook her head and got off the mat, walking immediately back to her take-off tape. She was ready to go before the officials had even set the bar back on the standards.

Focus, Jani, focus.
She inhaled a slow, deep breath and moved back half a shoe length from her tape. If she pushed for more speed and leaned with her curve, she could easily make it.
Easy Peasy.

She was running before the official even finished calling out her name.
One, two, three… four-five.
She counted in her head as she rounded the curve. Driving her knee, she pulled her head back behind her so her hips would pop up high. Just as her center curled over the bar, she brought her head up and let her lower legs snap over.

Perfect clearance. With room to spare.

She knew because of the roar of the crowd now gathering to watch. It had been a big jump. Even Coach Anderson had walked over beside Coach Maves.

Jani tightened her ponytail and walked calmly over to them. “Six-three now, right? Or six-three and a quarter? Did that look okay?” she asked, her face serious. It had to be near perfect. She wanted the next height… and the next.

Coach Maves remained ever calm. “Stay focussed, Jani. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Did the woman know how to read her thoughts? “We’re working on approach tonight. It felt good. It’s just not consistent.”

“It’ll come. Go up to six-three.”

The idea of tying her PB should be satisfying, but she was hungry for more.
And it’s only the first meet of the season!
“Okay.”  She walked over to the officials and requested the height.

Coach Anderson came over and mentioned that she would be tying the school record if she made it. He wanted the officials to be concise. “You’ve got this, Jani. Fantastic to see you back. I’ve missed this enthusiastic spirit of yours.”

She smiled and jumped up and down on her tippy-toes. “It is fun.” She turned and pumped her hands excitedly at Aileen. She mouthed,
Six-Three!

Aileen gave her a thumbs up.

When Coach Maves cleared her throat loudly, she turned her attention back to the bar. The rest of the meet had finished and were now watching only her.

She sat down to give her legs a moment’s rest. She lay on her back and mentally went through her approach and what she needed to do to get over the bar. When she felt ready, she strode purposefully to her marker and moved a quarter of a shoe length back.

When the official calmly called out her name, she nodded. Everything else disappeared. It was just her and the bar. She raised her hands over her head and the invisible crowd began clapping to her rhythm. She wanted this.

And she was going to take it.

Two hard steps out of the back she adjusted her position knowing she was going fast. Her body fought gravity as she naturally leaned on her curve. She counted to five, making the last two numbers superfast together and driving her right knee hard toward the ceiling.

Her upper body cleared the bar and she fought to keep her glutes tight and her hips arched high. The bar brushed ever-so-slightly against her hamstrings. She snapped her head forward so her lower legs counter-acted. She landed on the pink pit mats with her shoulders and rolled into a backwards summersault.

The bar rippled slightly but had absolutely no intention of falling.

Her fist pumped into the air and she jumped up and down on the cushioned pit. A ‘wahoo’ erupted from her lips while everyone watching cheered. She’d just tied her school record during the first pre-meet of the season. What else was in the cards for the competitive season?

After the past three weeks, there could not have been a more climactic moment. She knew she was throwing every chance away at making the next height but she didn’t care. She had hit her zone, focussed and then did what she wanted.
Goal achieved.

Aileen raced over and hugged her. “That’s amazing!” She squeezed her tight and then quickly let go. “Sorry, you have more to do. I just am so crazy-happy.”

“Me too.” She laughed and turned to Maves to discuss the next height. She knew from the look in Maves’ eyes that she didn’t think Jani would make the next height. She also knew thinking like that was diminishing the chances of making it also. “Okay, Coach. How about one ninety-two?”

Maves hesitated a moment, apparently translating Jani’s metric math to imperial. She nodded. “Six-three and a half?”

“That’s kind of what I was thinking. It’s Canadian Olympic standard. If I even want a shot, I have to clear that, and then one ninety-five.”

Maves shook her head. “I’ll never understand your system. Why not just win and go?”

Jani smiled. “That would make things easy.”

“I forgot, you don’t like it if it’s not a challenge.”

Jani laughed and called the height over to the officials.

She had three solid attempts with her second attempt being the closest. She would make it before the end of January. She was positive it would happen.

After her third attempt and miss, she shook the officials’ hands and thanked them. She glanced up at the clock on the wall by the bleachers, wondering how long the event had actually taken. It had been nearly two hours. Her gaze travelled down to someone standing near the back of the bleachers.

A familiar stirring started low in her tummy.

Carter.

In the flesh.

What’s he doing here?
Self-consciously she checked if her pony was still in the center of the back of her head. She probably had wisps of hair flying everywhere.

He wore a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Even from this distance she could see the brightness of his blue eyes. Their eyes met and held.

Why had he come? To watch her jump? It didn’t make sense. They hadn’t talked in weeks.

Aileen came over and hugged her. “That was so exciting to watch.”

Jani laughed and slowly dragged her eyes away from Carter. “It was fun to do.”

“I think it’s going to be an unforgettable season.”

“I hope so.” Jani darted a glance at the clock. Carter had moved, but still stood off to the side waiting for her. “I just need to talk to someone before we head back to our place.”

Aileen looked behind her and turned back to Jani. “You sure?”

“Yup,” she whispered and swallowed the tickle in her throat. She switched her high jump spikes to her runners and put her warm up clothes back on. She walked toward Carter with no idea what to say.

“Hi,” he said and flashed her a lazy grin. “Pretty impressive out there.”

She glanced back at the high jump pit, now bare of the standards and pole. “I was kinda in the zone.”

“That you were. I enjoyed watching you.” His intent stare never left hers.

“Th-Thanks for coming.” It seemed like the polite thing to say. She couldn’t stop looking at his handsome face.

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Carter finally broke the silence. “How are you doing?”

Jani’s eyebrows pressed together. “I’m okay. How are you?”

Carter shrugged. “Swimming’s going great.”

“I saw your results from the other day. Congrats.” She was trying to keep the conversation light, but she could feel Carter was trying to say something more.

“You looked?”

“Of course.” She shouldn’t have answered so fast. She glanced around at the track that was now slowly clearing out. Aileen stood by the distance runners as she waited for Jani. “What’s going on, Carter? Why did you come?”

“I wanted to watch you jump.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “Look. I miss hanging out with you. I… We… we had something good. I realize that now.” He stopped talking when some athletes walked past. “Can we go somewhere and chat? Just the two of us.”

She knew if she went with him they would end up in bed together. The image in her head wasn’t unpleasant. It was tempting.
Maybe just one time.
She shifted her weight. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I already have plans.” She couldn’t believe she had told him no. It took her nearly a month to get her shit together, she was scared one night with him might pull her back.

Carter looked lost when she said no. “Jani, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I miss you. I miss hanging out. Can we give it a shot again? I’ll be good. No lies, no crap, no… you know.”

No, pot.
That’s what he meant. She hesitated. They did have fun together, the fault wasn’t his alone. She had let things slip. She was terrified she would fall back into that lazy habit and risk her grades or scholarship again. She didn’t think Coach Anderson would be so understanding the second time.

“I like how you make me feel.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his flawless bicep rounding perfectly. “I think I need you in my life.”

Talk about killer one-liners. She wanted so badly to be together with him. Except now was not the time. Maybe later. Somehow she knew that right now they would never work.

“Give me another shot, Jani.”

She ached to reach out and touch his face but folded her hands together to stop herself. “I can’t. Not right now.”

He stared at her, his eyes full of confusion. He probably didn’t get turned down very often.

“It’s not you. It’s me. I need to focus on school and track. Those are two things I want real badly.”

“More than anything else?”

She nodded, afraid to speak.

“So you and I… not going to happen?”

“Not right now.”

“What if I show you I’ll be better? Just let you see I’m trying.”

“Carter, you are an amazing person. We are just at different spots. It’s not good for either of us.”

“I beg to differ. But I respect your decision and I’m not going to try to argue with you to change your mind. However, you come see me in three months. You wait and see. I’ll win NCAAs and you’ll see. I’ll be someone you can’t be without.”

She couldn’t imagine not being with him. However, she had survived the last three weeks and hadn’t died from a broken heart. “Maybe.”

He smiled as if her maybe represented more. “I’ll settle for that for now.” He winked at her. “We’re athletes. There’s a good chance we’ll bump into each other on campus, or at a party. Are we still allowed to say hello or have a conversation? Like if I bump into you at a party, you’re not going to take off running?”

“I wouldn’t run. I might jump over something, but I won’t run away.”

He laughed and pulled her into a tight hug. “Take good care of yourself, Jani.”

She wrapped her arms around him, careful not to stay there too long, less she fall in love with him again.

How do you say goodbye to someone you couldn’t imagine being without?
You don’t.
Jani stepped back and gave him one last lingering look. She didn’t say anything, she just walked away. She headed for Aileen and didn’t glance back until she reached her roommate.

Carter wasn’t there anymore.

“Everything okay?” Aileen asked.

Jani shrugged. She wished only goodness for Carter. “It’ll work out. It just… sucks.”
It’s bittersweet
.

Aileen put her arm around Jani’s shoulders and pulled her toward an exit far from where Carter would have left from. “Let’s get back to our place and change. We’ll go out and eat, drink and be merry. Then we’ll go dancing till we forget about boys.”

Jani smiled. Thank goodness for roommates. She didn’t have Carter, but she was working toward something higher. She might miss out on something now but maybe they would find each other again someday. Maybe he would change. Maybe she would. Time would only tell.

The End

STRONGER

Coming July 2015

US:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00X5W550U

UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00X5W550U

Description:

When multi-eventer Chrissy is injured, she has to sit out a season of track in order to regain her strength. Focussing on getting stronger, she begins working out in the weight room and meets injured hockey star, Ryan Phillips.

Will both of them recover physically and will their attraction to each other help fix the confidence mentally broken down inside of them?

* This is NOT erotica* It is a new adult & college sport romance.