Learn to Fly (38 page)

“
What?”
Harrison asked, perplexed.

“
Are
you coming too?” Luke directed at Duke.

“
Nah,
you guys got this. I hate it up there, too many people.”

Luke inwardly
breathed a sigh of relief. While he respected Duke and his position
in Lenny’s life he couldn’t help but feel like Duke’s
presence would keep he and Lenny from getting any closer.

***

They packed their
bags that night and got ready to depart for the weekend in Aspen.
Duke would drive them all to the airport early the next morning.
Lenny was actually looking forward to the trip now, her conscience
clear and her mind focused. Shane and Cody may have held her back in
the beginning but she had chosen to stay there. Now she was back.

She stood in her
room looking out over the dark mountains being lit by the moon. She
stretched her tight muscles and closed her eyes. She started when
she heard someone in the doorway. It was Duke, again. He looked a
little more friendly than he had the night before in the garage.

“
You
always did have the best view up here.” He nodded out the
large, wall sized windows.

Lenny smiled,
walking over to her bed and sitting on the edge. She motioned with
her head for Duke to join her. She saw him consider it for a moment
before relenting and sitting down.

“
When
you coming back?” Duke asked softly.

“
We
have to leave for London right after Aspen.”

“
So,
you’re still gonna be the assistant?”

“
Yeah,
for now. It’s really fun.” Lenny’s voice got
wistful. “And they’re really good guys, I like being
there for them.”

“
You’ve
always been a good friend.” Duke looked down at his hands and
then back out the window.

“
I’ll
come home after that.” Lenny leaned her shoulder against his,
sensing his melancholy mood.

“
You
don’t have to promise anything right now. Things can still
change between now and then.” Duke pointed out.

Lenny let out a
heavy sigh, Duke was right. Anything could happen she supposed.

“
I’ll
call you.” She decided to promise instead.

Duke chuckled.
“Good. That’ll be nice.”

The silence became
comfortable, like it always did between them. She felt him take a
deep breath and he put an arm around her. She eased into his embrace
and closed her eyes.

“
For
singing till his heaven fills,

‘
T
is love of earth that he instills,

And ever winging
up and up,

Our valley is his
golden cup,

And he the wine
which overflows

To
lift us with him as he goes…
”

Duke's
deep voice reciting his favorite poem to her, the poem he had given
to her when she was still a child, along with all the heavy emotions
they had shared with one another over the past few days, it was
almost enough to make her heartbeat stop. He did love her. She had
no doubts.

“
Thank
you, Duke.” She whispered into his chest.

“
For
what?” Duke grunted.

“
For
never giving up on me.” Lenny said quietly.

***

Duke didn’t
know what to say, so he didn’t say anything. He was content to
hold her until she had fallen asleep. He picked up her resting body
and placed it carefully on the bed, pulling a blanket over her bare
arms. He stared down at her, wanting to be the one who could...just
wanting to be the one.

Duke walked down the
steps slowly and made his way to his room. He crawled into his own
bed in the dark and listened to the quiet of the house. He enjoyed
living alone but he would miss Lenny desperately.

Part of him hoped
that she and Luke would run off and get married in Europe and never
come home. All he ever wanted was for her to have an unending
adventure. He knew that Luke could offer all of that and so much
more. Besides, Luke was totally in love with her. She would be safe
with him.

***

Spinning around
quickly, Lenny shoved the last of her clothes in the dresser in her
suite. She knew she only had a few minutes before the band showed up
at her room and she really didn't want to be unpacking her underwear
in front of them. She slid the empty duffel into the closet just as
there was a knock on her door.

Her loud and rowdy
group entered the room with more fanfare than was necessary but it
still made her smile.

“
Check
out the view you have!” Sway whistled as he flopped himself
onto her bed.

“
See?
I told you.” Harrison said to Blake. “Her room is
always
better than ours.”

“
And
I
told
you
it’s because she’s better than us.” Blake replied.

“
And
I told both of you to knock it off.” Lenny reprimanded with a
smile.

The view was pretty
stunning. Buttermilk Mountain had been turned into a phenomenal
course for the Winter X games. Hundreds of people had worked
tirelessly on it for weeks now, constructing the perfect place for
one of the most exciting competitions in the world. Thousands of
pounds of snow had been moved and rearranged to create both ideal and
difficult terrain for the athletes.

Lenny and the guys
had been some of the first to arrive. She had a room to herself but
the guys split three rooms between them. She wasn’t sure how
that worked out and didn’t ask.

Luke had his hands
in his pockets and stood regarding her carefully. They still hadn't
had a moment alone together since their last very tense conversation.
She felt heat creep up her neck as his blue eyes flicked up and down
the length of her. She couldn't stand the wall that seemed to be
between them and she impulsively threw her arms around his neck.

His arms wrapped
around her immediately and he buried his face in her neck letting out
a small groan, “I missed you.”

“
I
missed you back,” she whispered in his ear.

“
Um,
do you guys want to be alone?” Blake interrupted from behind
her.

Luke let her go and
smiled crookedly. Lenny rolled her eyes at Blake and readjusted her
hoodie as she turned around.

She walked to the
dresser and grabbed their VIP passes she had gotten from Patrick and
passed them out. “These will get you into all the events and
the VIP tent.” She stepped back and put her hands in her back
pockets as she further explained. “I have X Fest today and
tomorrow. Patrick stacked my schedule to appease as many sponsors as
possible. I have two interviews today, an hour in the autograph
booth and a demo. You guys can have free reign, just don’t
embarrass me.” She added with a grin, she knew they would be
amazing, she had no doubts. Not even about Sway.

Her phone made a
‘chirp’ noise and she picked it up off the dresser
glancing at the screen. It was Cody, wondering if she was here yet.
Lenny put the phone in her pocket without bothering to reply.

“
Hey,
when do we get to meet Shane?” Harrison asked from his corner.

“
In
a perfect world, never. But chances are he’s lurking around
here somewhere. He’s kind of a media whore.” Lenny
replied sourly.

“
We’re
famous, too,” Sway pointed out.

“
Not
as famous as he is in this place,” Lenny countered. “Why
do you want to meet him at all?”

“
No
reason.” Blake elbowed Harrison before he could reply.

Lenny rolled her
eyes, “Just don’t get into any trouble.” She moved
toward the door, “C’mon, let's go see who is here before
I have get to work.”

They hung out in the
VIP lounge for a couple hours, rubbing shoulders with sportscasters,
celebrities and the best athletes in the world. The band knew a lot
of the people there and it was sort of a mini reunion. They visited
with other artists who also happened to be fans of the X Games and
made fast friends of those they didn’t already know.

Nearly everyone was
surprised to see Lenny, she had been notably absent in the last two
years. She was hugged and high-fived and congratulated on returning
to the sport. She downplayed the accolades and didn’t really
explain the reason for her attendance.

Her first interview
only wanted her to talk about how exciting the Games were so far and
who she thought would do the best today. She smiled and answered
honestly, complimenting all the talent that she had witnessed so far.
Fans had started to gather around the media tent, her appearance
causing a stir.

When the interviewer
announced Lenny was heading to the autograph booth next, the crowd
moved in a wave that direction. Lenny always like this part, she
enjoyed talking to fans and taking pictures with them. Especially
the kids. She signed photos and passed them to fans, deflecting
questions about her return to the sport. Some people had her sign
their equipment or had even brought posters from home. She was more
than happy to accommodate them all, posing for pictures and giving
hugs.

Afterward, she
headed back to the VIP lounge to see her friends. All of them were
busy enjoying themselves and she felt good about that. Lenny had
been worried they might not fit it but realized that was a ridiculous
assumption. They fit in anywhere.

Luke approached her,
looking bothered. She frowned at his worried expression.

“
What’s
up?” She asked him, wondering when they would ever have a quiet
moment alone together again.

“
I
just talked to a guy from…I don’t know, some sports
thing. And he said that your next interview will have Shane there.”
He eyed her warily.

Lenny’s
stomach gurgled uncomfortably. She knew she would have to deal with
him eventually so this wasn’t that big of a surprise. She just
didn’t want to do it on national television. Typical Shane,
still trying to intimidate her into shutting up. She wouldn't be
surprised if he had arranged it like this, he loved attention.

“
I’m
glad you told me.” Lenny smirked. “That would’ve
been a shock.”

“
Maybe
you can get out of it. Fake food poisoning or something.” Luke
was trying to be helpful but Lenny knew this was something she needed
to do. She was angry with him for what he'd done. Her fire was back
and she was looking forward to giving Shane a good burn.

“
No.”
She shook her head at Luke's suggestion. “Thanks. But I think
I got this.”

She turned on her
heel and strode back to the media tents, prepared to give the
interview of a lifetime.

***

It was long ago and
far away, but for Lenny, the memory crept back to her most vividly.
She had been fourteen when she had first lain on eyes on the
smoldering hunk of athleticism that was Shane Brookings. He was four
years her senior, but had dominated the half-pipe circuit for the
better part of his short career. Tall, with wide, strong shoulders
and rippling muscles, he looked too large to be so agile on a
snowboard, yet he moved with a seductive fluidity. His strength
carrying him to record breaking heights and crossing boundaries of
flight. His square jaw and perfectly unshaven stubble gave him a
roguish appearance that made girls swoon.

Lenny made it her
purpose to show up on his radar. It took a few years, she was just a
kid to him in the beginning but after her trip to the back country of
Alaska she gained a little more media attention and Shane took
notice. They flirted off and on for a couple of years, creating
speculation in the sports world about them having super beautiful
athletic babies. And then one day it happened. Shane decided he had
to have her.