Life's A Beach
Chapter 18
A/N – Whew! Thanks to everyone for the feedback on the last chapter. I know I haven't been posting too often, but I really want to get this story finished before the actual 2018 Olympic Games. That's the goal, so I'll do my best to get the updates out more quickly. Thanks for staying with it.
The last time we saw them, everyone was in tears – happy tears, that is!
As always, Ms. Meyer owns everything associated with Twilight and just lets us play with her characters.
LAB
After all the emotion of the semi-final race, the actual final seemed anti-climactic. Edward faced off against Jacob Black for the American championship, already knowing that he'd made the Olympic team. He didn't want to disappoint anyone, but truly, there was nothing left in the tank. He'd given everything he had in the reskate. As the two skaters lined up at the start, Edward looked over to Jacob.
"Go for it, Jake. You're on fire today. Set a new record." Edward grinned. "I'll get to the finish line eventually."
Jacob laughed and bumped fists with his competitor and Olympic teammate. "I'll see you at the finish. Then we've got some serious training to do over the next few weeks. Since we're gonna take the gold and silver at the Olympics."
Edward grinned back at him. They took their positions and the race started. Edward skated better than he expected, but Jacob bested him. The crowd, thrilled with what they'd seen today, gave both skaters a standing ovation.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your 2018 Olympic skaters, Jacob Black and Edward Cullen." The applause was tremendous. Jacob and Edward embraced quickly and waved to the crowd. Someone handed them each an American flag and they took a victory lap holding them.
Coach came over, his smile a mile wide, and hugged Edward. "I've never been prouder of you. You skated like a true champion today. A champion and a sportsman, in the truest sense of the word. Now hang in there for a few minutes more. You've got some media interviews to do."
"James?" Edward huffed out, still a bit winded from the race. Now that the adrenaline was fading his hip was beginning to ache and while he was pretty sure there was no actual damage, he knew he'd have a hell of a bruise. The last thing he wanted was a confrontation with the man who tried so unfairly to end his Olympic dream – and possibly his skating career. Edward shuddered when he thought about how badly he might have been injured. He was never more grateful for the thick crash pads lining the rink.
"Under arrest" said Coach, with a grin. He knew he'd never have to coach James Tracker again, and he couldn't be happier. "As if he wasn't in enough trouble with the committee, James took a swing at one of the officials, nearly broke the guy's jaw. Security immediately took him out of here in handcuffs." He chuckled as he looked at Edward's stunned expression. "His father won't be able to save him this time."
"His father…" Edward turned quickly, scouring the area for his own father, and spotted Carlisle standing by the side of the track. "I've got to talk to my father."
Coach gave him a little push and Edward skated to his father, who immediately wrapped him in a huge hug. "Dad" Edward choked out, gulping away new tears. "If you hadn't protested, if you didn't know about that rule, about the difference in the rules for nationals…."
Carlisle felt a few tears fall from his own eyes. "You did the hard part, son, and you were – are – a true champion. Now you get a chance to live both our dreams." They heard the snaps of the cameras surrounding them, but neither moved to end their embrace. Finally, both wiping their eyes, they moved apart.
Reporters and TV sports analysts stood around them. A woman from ESPN put a microphone in front of him and asked the obvious question. "Edward, what's your reaction to the unbelievable events today? What's your response to what your semi-final opponent tried to do?"
Edward tried to be as diplomatic as possible. "It was an unfortunate situation, the way the crossover happened. I'm just grateful for the opportunity I had for a reskate, thanks to Coach Banner and my father, and of course the rules officials."
The reporter wasn't about to let it go that easy. She pushed a little closer. "But you were clearly interfered with. Would you say it was intentional?"
Edward had no intention of answering that question and looked to Coach for help. Coach stepped forward and did his best to change the direction of the questions but the reporter wasn't giving up. "Edward, what…." Just then, Edward caught sight of the one person he most needed to see.
"Excuse me" he said, all but shoving the reporter out of his path as Bella ran to him. He was already a foot taller than her, and with his skates, he was taller still. He picked her up and held her to him, then buried his head in her shoulder. Despite his best efforts, the tears started to flow again.
Bella just held on to him tightly, her own tears running down her cheeks. "I knew you could do it. I was so angry for you, but I never stopped believing in you." He pulled his head away from her shoulder and did what he'd wanted to do since the first race of the day. His tipped his head to hers and kissed her, pressing his lips against hers gently at first, then more firmly. The rest of the crowd faded into the background. They were both lost in the connection, both feeling complete, whole, and relieved.
A piercing noise quieted the reporters, skaters, coaches, and fans. Edward spun around, Bella still pressed against his chest, only to see Emmett with his pink cast, somehow managing to get his fingers in his mouth to let out another loud wolf whistle. "Yeah, Edward!" Everyone in the crowd around them clapped loudly. Bella blushed, making Edward laugh as he set her back on her feet. Happy to see that everyone made it down to the ice, he hugged his mother, then Alice, Rosalie, and both Jasper and Emmett.
An hour later, after posing for pictures with Jacob, and answering a few more less volatile questions from the reporters, Edward was finally able to head home. "I've got a room reserved and food waiting at the hotel" said Esme, reaching up to tenderly brush the hair from her son's forehead. "You must be starving."
"The heck with him. I'm starving" said Emmett. "Good job, Mama C." Esme laughed, and Rosalie slapped Emmett on the side of his head.
"I meant Edward, but of course you are all welcome." Esme squeezed her son's hand. "We've got some celebrating to do." They went outside and piled into the waiting cars, leaving Bella to wait while Edward changed.
A few minutes later, Jacob and Edward exited the locker room. Edward took Bella's hand. "I'll see you in the next couple of days, Jake."
"Sure, sure" said Jake. "Get some rest and ice that hip."
"Congratulations, Jake" said Bella, reaching out to shake his hand. Jacob pulled her in for a quick hug, smirking at Edward as he did.
"You're a lucky man, Cullen" said Jake as he released her. "I wish I had someone like that cheering for me."
"I know exactly how lucky I am" said Edward and kissed the top of Bella's hair as he wrapped his arm around her. "Believe me, I do."
LAB
As much as he had wanted to celebrate last night, the truth was that he spent most of the night lying on his side with an ice pack on his hip while Bella slept curled up next to him. That gave him all night to think about what he wanted to do…what he needed to do next. He had five weeks until he would leave for the Olympic games. The plan began to form in his mind. Unable to wait till morning, he snuck into the bathroom at 5 AM and called his parents to set things in to motion. After some profuse apologies on his part for waking them up, his mom and dad – especially his mom – were on board with his plan. Carlisle promised to take care of it right away. Edward tried to go back to bed, but just lay there for three more hours, scheming and dreaming. He played gently with Bella's hair and murmured gentle words of love in her ear. When she finally woke, they held each other and shared at least a million kisses. Then he called his coach at a much more reasonable hour while Bella was drying her hair. Edward only had to beg a little to get coach onboard with his plans as well.
Bella and Edward joined everyone in the room Esme had reserved for their meals. Edward kissed his mother, looked at his father questioningly, and got the response he needed. He stretched out in a chair as everyone made their way to the buffet to get breakfast. Now he was ready to share his plans. He tapped a few buttons on his phone to forward the message his father sent him, and watched as everyone's phones buzzed, beeped, and played music. As he planned, they all grabbed their phones to look at his message.
Jasper figured it out first. "Edward, are these…why are you sending us plane tickets?" They all looked at him, their faces a mixture of excitement, confusion, and hope.
"Oh yeah" yelled Emmett. "We're going to the Olympic Games! Korea, here we come!" Alice squealed, and Bella and Rosalie hugged.
"There's actually two sets of tickets" said Edward, enjoying everyone's reaction. "The first set is to Korea for the Games, and that's courtesy of my mom and dad."
They all turned to see a grinning Carlisle, his armed wrapped around Esme. "You're Edward's cheering section. Of course we want you there."
"But Mr. C…" started Rosalie.
He cut her off. "No discussion. It's the least we can do." Carlisle frowned, bowed his head and then looked at Esme. He reached over and grabbed Edward's hand. "You all were there for Edward when I wasn't. And for that I will be forever in your debt. This is nothing but a thank you. To all of you."
Jasper was still staring at his phone. He scrolled down a bit, read the rest of the message, and raised his head, a wide grin on his face. "The second ticket. We're going home?"
Edward grinned back at him. "We are. My hip hurts like a bitch and I can't think of anything that would make it feel better than sitting in the warm sand on the beach."
Emmett and Rosalie yelped with glee while Alice jumped up and did a little dance on the table. Bella threw her arms around Edward and reached up to give him a smacking kiss on the cheek. What she really wanted to do wasn't suitable in front of his parents. Edward, however, had no such reservations. He spun her around, only wincing a bit, and then bent her backwards and kissed her long and hard. When he stood her up again, everyone, including his parents, clapped and whistled. Bella felt the warmth flood her cheeks. What she didn't expect was that Edward's cheeks would be just as red. He grinned sheepishly, then whispered in her ear. "Besides, I have something I want to do, and it can only be done on the beach. You'll see."