Chapter 4

Taylor's POV

I admit...there's not a lot that gets me nervous anymore, certainly not when it comes to skiing and racing for that matter.  I've been so engrossed in the sport for so many years that it's almost like breathing now.  Although, being in the Olympics in a couple months certainly ups the ante.  So, if I can compete in national and world renowned competitions, why in the hell am I nervous to have dinner with Justin?

As I pull my Tahoe into the upscale, luxurious development that should be home to Justin for the next couple of months, I hear the familiar buzz of my cell phone on the center console.  Grabbing the contraption, I smile when I realize it's probably Justin, giving me the directions to his cabin.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey, Taylor, it's Justin."

"What's up?" I ask, stopping at a stop sign quick before continuing up the mountain.

"You ready to head out?" he asks, a slightly breathy tone to his voice.

"I'm already on my way and into the addition.  Just need to know where I'm going from here though."

He laughs lightly before continuing, "I'm the last one up on the right, number twenty-one."

"I know where that is...I'll be there in five," I tell him before rounding the last corner to start my ascent up the side of the mountain and towards the cabins.

"Sounds good, see you soon, Taylor."

The resounding click in my ear brings me back to the present and I take a deep breathe.  The slight butterflies in my stomach startle me, there's absolutely no reason to be nervous...especially not for something as simple as dinner.  I chalk it up to the fact that we hardly know each other, yeah a couple of chairlift rides has broken the awkwardness, but we're still basically strangers going out together. 

Before I can get too lost in my thoughts, I spot the final cabin up on the right, away from anyone else and the outside light on.  As I pull into the driveway, the front door opens, and Justin casually strolls outside clad in a pair of jeans and a winter jacket.  His curls are tucked away under a beanie, protecting his ears from the bitter cold wind.  Hitting the locks, I brace myself for my night out with a virtual stranger...a good-looking stranger at that though.

"Hey..." he says as he opens the door and slides into the passenger side.

"Hey to yourself," I answer before putting the car in reverse and backing out of his driveway.  Flipping the controls on the radio, I throw it on a channel, allowing the background music to fill the silence in my car.

"Thanks for coming out tonight, I was starting to go a little stir crazy inside."

Smiling at his need to qualify his reasoning behind dinner, I glance in his direction.  "Same here.   I've been holed up in my house for a couple weeks now since a lot of my teammates went to Vail for training."

"How come you didn't follow suit?" he asks casually and I can feel the butterflies start to ease away.

"Normally before races I try to spend time just me and my coach.  It helps bring my focus back in and it's easier to get that one-on-one attention to polish off any last minute trouble spots."

"You...have trouble on the hill?" he asks incredulously.  "You're the number one ranked woman's skier in the US.  I highly doubt you have trouble."

I blush slightly at his compliment and attention to my career.  "I absolutely still have trouble.  Yeah, I work hard at it but there's still times that I catch an edge or I'm racing from the back of my skis causing me to be behind in my turns, even missing a gate.  These things happen..." I tell him before turning away from his addition and into the town close-by.

"I'd love to see an actual race...I've never been to one," he says, his eyes glancing in the direction of the illuminated hill just above us.  The ski slopes are still alive and buzzing with fellow bums like ourselves.

"For as much time as you board, you've never gone to one?"

He laughs softly.  "I don't normally have the luxury of time off."

The burn of embarrassment slides up my neck, engulfing my cheeks in its wake.  Of course...he's a world-renowned superstar that is practically chased from the second he walks outside of his door until he steps back inside.  Clearly my head wasn't thinking on that one.

"Sorry...I kind of forgot that you're busy."

"Don't be.  It's nice to just be looked at as a boarder."

I laugh at his comment.  "Boarders are bums, ya know that right?" I joke. 

His eyes are wide at my bash against his sport.

"They spend more time trying to build jumps than actually enjoying the-"

Quickly, he cuts me off.  "Is that what you think of me?  Oh please, Taylor, skiers think they have the almighty right-of-way on the hill."

Snapping my head in his direction, I can't stop the smile on my face.  "Show me that you can keep up and not worry about hitting the jumps, and I'll take back my previous statement."

A playful smile crosses his lips.  "I can definitely keep up.  I'll take you boarding one day...you'll have a new found appreciation for the sport."

Just as he finishes that comment, I pull into the parking lot of a local pizzeria.  Nothing fancy, nothing too grungy either...just a quiet diner on the outskirts of town.  "We're here," I tell him, ending our playful banter.

Suddenly, Justin heads snaps towards the direction of the building and he smiles before reaching for the handle and getting outside.  As I walk towards the front of the car, he's waiting patiently for me, his eyes alit with amusement. 

"Pizza?" he asks.

"You have a problem with Pizza, Timberlake?" I joke before picking up the pace towards the entrance.

"Not at all, Jordan, not at all."

Justin's POV

As we walk into the quant, little pizzeria, my nose is immediately assaulted with the scent of peppers, and I smile a little more, knowing that this will be my first meal out since I arrived.  I really have no expectation of how the night will turn out, but I know that with Taylor around, it's bound to be interesting.  She keeps me on my toes, treating me as if I am just the same as any other friend.  There's no hidden agenda behind her words or motives...she's normal.  She gives me that sense of normalcy by just being herself and it's something that I haven't felt in years.

"Two please," I hear her tell the hostess; breaking me from my inner-thoughts and bringing me back to the present.

As we follow behind the woman, she places us in a corner booth, almost slightly secluded from the other patrons inside.  Dropping off a couple of waters, she leaves us to the menu before disappearing back to the front.

"So..." Taylor asks awkwardly, shuffling her fingers amongst each other in a nervous habit.

I smirk at her; it's endearing to have this kind of interaction with someone that puts me at ease with each smile.  "Are you nervous, Taylor?"

The shuffling of her fingers almost instantly stops and her eyes widen a bit.  "No, I'm not."

"Good," I tell her before picking up my menu.  "I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"No way...uncomfortable is you finding me twice on the hill today...especially on the racing side..." she says jokingly, a hint of a wickedness in her eyes.

"I already explained that, Taylor."  I divert my eyes to the menu in attempt to downplay her whole statement.  "It was a coincidence."

"Uh huh...right..."

I smile at her brush-off and go back to looking at the menu.  "So, what's good here?"

Switching the menu from her left to her right hand, she pops it open, scans it quickly before setting it back down.  "I'm a pretty plain girl when it comes to food..."

"You already know what you're getting?"

"Yeah, same thing I always get.  Just a woodfire pizza."

"What toppings?"

"Pepperoni," she answers quickly, smiling sheepishly.

"That's it?" I ask, setting my menu down too.

"I told you...I'm boring."

I laugh at her deprecation of her self.  "You're hardly boring.  How about we share one?  Pepperoni pizza sounds pretty good..."

Nodding her head at my suggestion, I gather our menus and set them to the side just as the waitress appears ready to take our order.  Quickly, Taylor spouts off the information and the waitress leaves us alone again, returning only to set some silverware and plates on the table.

"So, how long are you up here in Breckenridge for?" she asks, reaching for her glass of water and taking a sip.

"A while actually..." I answer, remembering the circumstances that brought me here in the first place.  Trying to push those thoughts from my head, I take a deep breath.  "I don't really have a set time frame in place.  Probably till the end of January or so."

"Wow, must be nice to have the whole winter to just kind of relax."

"I'm sure you enjoy the summer months relaxing too..." I tell her, a hint of teasing to my words.

"I suppose you're right.  Although, I only get a couple weeks off to have a kind of vacation.  When it's summer here, I'm spending hours in the gym, getting in shape for race season."

The amount of dedication and work ethic that Taylor throws into her career is extremely attractive.  There's something about a woman that is able to hold her own...and she does way more than that, after all she's favored to take gold in Vancouver.  She's spent years pouring everything into her sport and her success only exemplifies that.

"You ever wish you didn't choose this life?" I ask her.

"I could ask the same of you," she answers.  "But no, I definitely don't regret my decision.  It's all I've ever known."

Shifting in my seat, I smile at her.  "That's how performing is for me.  It's my life.  Yeah, it has its moments where I want to run away, kind of like right now, but it's still my passion."

"Why'd you run this time?" she asks and I feel my body tense at her question.  Obviously she picks up on my demeanor change.  "I'm sorry; it's none of my business," she quickly admonishes her previous question.

"No, it's ok.  You really haven't heard of my latest scandal that's ripping up the tabloids?"

"I can't say that I follow them...I've been a little busy," she says, a hint of playfulness in her voice and easing me back into the conversation.  She's merely asking like any other friend...she's not fishing for information to report.

"I'm sorry, that was rude of me.  You're preparing for the Olympic Games, and I'm wondering if you've caught the latest cover of US Weekly."

"Don't worry about it, Justin.  I shouldn't have asked anyways."

"It's fine, Taylor, really," I tell her, taking a deep breath before explaining my latest scandal.  "I'm up here after another relationship of mine went sour...and fast."

"I'm sorry," she apologizes, her eyes downcast at my admission.

"It's not your fault...you didn't cause the break-up."

Glancing back up, her eyes meet mine and she smiles timidly at me.  "No, but still...it sucks to go through a break-up as is... I couldn't imagine having to do it in front of the world."

I shrug my shoulders, trying to ease the pain of my latest heartache and the way I got worked over again by another girlfriend.  "It is what it is."

Just as Taylor begins to say something, the waitress brings the pizza out, setting it on the table on a spinner.  After ensuring that we have everything we need, she turns on her heels and disappears towards the front again. 

Unhurriedly, Taylor reaches for the pizza server, dishing out a piece and placing it on her plate.  I follow suit, and enjoy the easy nature to our dinner.  There's this calm that has blanketed us in the restaurant, letting us sit back with one another on an even playing field.  There's no baggage from my career or hers, we're merely two friends having a good time together.  It's been so long, I've forgotten what it feels like, and now that I've reclaimed it, I'm not willing to let it get away so easy.

Downing a piece of pizza quickly, I turn my head up towards Taylor, wiping away any excess pizza from my face onto the napkin.  "You weren't kidding...this is really good."

"The best," she says, cutting another slice and putting it on her plate.

"So...with the prelims coming up, is it going to be crazy at the hill?"

Nodding her head, there's a hint of a frown on her lips.  "Yeah, definitely.  The press will be there, hundreds of skiers from all over the US, tons of sponsors."

 A groan escapes my lips at the thought of my sanctuary being threatened.

"I would suggest enjoying the next couple of days in the privacy of your cabin, if you want to continue your solitude up here."

I realize that she's probably right.  The last thing I need to do is to go walking around, completely unprotected and without any kind of back-up if things were to get out regarding my whereabouts.  "You're probably right."

"Although," she begins, a gleam in her blue eyes, "this would give you an opportunity to catch a national race, if you're interested.  But I wouldn't want you risking anything just for the prelims."

"They're not important?" I question.

"Oh they are," she clarifies.  "Very important...but the World Cup decides the final rankings going into the Olympics.  That's the most important race..."

Suddenly, the waitress returns, asking if there's anything else we need.  We politely decline and she slips the bill on the table, leaving us to finish our meal.  Before Taylor can get her hands on it, I slide the bill my way and she instantly gives me a disapproving glance. 

"Don't worry about it, I was the one who asked you out tonight," I answer her gaze before throwing some cash in the billfold and sliding it to be picked back up. 

"Well thank you for dinner, Justin," she says honestly.

"You're welcome, Taylor.  We'll have to do it again."

She smiles softly up at me when the words slip out of my mouth, and in that moment, the haze of the dim-light in the restaurant and her normally soft, curly hair lying straight against her face, I realize that I absolutely would like to take her out again. 

"You ready to go?" she asks, breaking me from the trance and pulling me back to the moment.

"If you are," I nod towards the little bit of pizza remaining on her plate.

"I'm stuffed and it's getting late.  I should probably head out and get some rest."

As I stand up from the booth, I outstretch my hand, reveling in the feeling of her much smaller one sliding into my grip as I help her out of the booth.  The two of us continue back out of the restaurant, my head slightly downcast as to not draw any unwanted attention before sliding into her Tahoe once again.

The drive back towards my cabin passes in comfortable silence, a feeling of saturation settling into the car.  I smile to no one in particular as I replay the events leading up to tonight.  I never had any intentions of my vacation starting out with the likes of an Olympic skier, or that in such a short amount of time; she would be someone that I call a friend.  But Taylor's natural, easy-going personality has a pull that sucks me in, and I haven't felt that way about someone in a long time.  Every relationship, especially romantic ones for that matter, has taken an extreme amount of work on my end.  No one has been able to fit into my lifestyle or even understand the demands that I place on myself to succeed.  But with Taylor, she puts that same amount of pressure on herself everyday that she races.  She has a goal in mind and she's running towards it, headfirst.  That level of dedication to her craft is attractive-not to mention her physical beauty as well.  It's a safe bet to say that there's a bit of a connection, at least on my end to this woman sitting beside me.

Suddenly, the familiar yellow glow of my outdoor light comes into view as I realize we're already back to the cabin.  Carefully, she pulls into the driveway before slipping her car into park.

"Thanks again for dinner, Justin, I had a good time."

I smile broadly at her.  "It was nothing.  I had a good time too.  Since the prelims are soon, I assume you're going to recede back into yourself to get ready?"

She laughs at the way I so casually addressed her focus time.  "Yeah, pretty much."

I nod my head, realizing it'll be a couple of days before she resurfaces again and the press quiets down from the hill.  "Well, if I don't see you before then.  Good luck, Taylor," I tell her, slowly leaning over to give her a hug. 

Softly, her arms wrap around my torso, bringing me a little closer to her.  Her soft hair immediately tangles into my face and I can't stop the intake of breath.  "You'll do great," I tell her as I pull away, planting a soft kiss on her cheek.

Sliding out of the car, I pause at the door and smile at the expression on her face.  "Drive safe," I tell her before shutting the door finally and turning to walk into my cabin, a satisfied smile on my face.