Choosing Her by Natalie Debrabandere

Author:Natalie Debrabandere [Debrabandere, Natalie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2022-06-30T00:00:00+00:00

‘Oh, come on… This is fine.’

‘You know it’s wrong, Ren…’

Katie’s voice suddenly rang out: ‘You’re not going to be her coach forever.’ Followed by Emma’s, stronger than all the others: ‘Carpe Diem, Sis – tomorrow is promised to no one!’ Renée exhaled. You’re damn right, Em!

“I’m feeling good,” she said.

“Good.” Charlie smiled again. “Me too.”

A silence followed, during which they just held each other’s gaze. Renée felt no pressure this time, though. No frantic mental rush to find more words to fill in the gap. She did speak, after a while, but just because she wanted to.

“I was planning to go for a walk on the beach. Would you like to join me after you finish eating?”

Charlie pushed her plate aside without looking at it.

“I would love to, Renée,” she said. “Let’s go, now.”

∞

Nice coaches? Charlie cringed. Dammit, Captain! She was puzzled at her own self, confused by the situation. Renée had obviously tracked her down, invited herself to sit with her, and given her little choice but to open up. In that gentle and disarming way of hers, she got her to talk in a way that Charlie never thought she could with a stranger. She was smooth and skilled, but never manipulative. And definitely not a stranger. Renée had found her way under her skin, there was no denying it anymore. And now, what? Charlie did not interact with many women in her line of work. Encounters of the female kind in her private life tended to be short, unemotional, just the basic needs covered. Too basic? It might explain why her therapist just doing her job got her in such a state. Ready to roll over and hit the dirt, the second a beautiful woman is nice to you, uh? Pathetic, Winters.

​“Okay, Charlie?”

​“Yeah, good,” she replied.

Renée smiled at her on their way out, and Charlie felt her legs almost go out from under her, as if to confirm her previous thought. They took the lakeside path, and she made a conscious effort to get her emotions under control.

​“Have you tried Reiki with Tim yet?” Renée asked.

​“No, I haven’t.”

​“Not interested?”

​“I just feel deep-tissue work is more beneficial for me at this stage of my recovery.”

​“You could do both. I crashed my bike a few years back and ended up with constant pain in my hip, despite frequent physio sessions. I worried it’d turn into a lifelong thing, but as soon as I added Reiki sessions to my programme, the pain went away.”

​She really had an answer for everything... Still, with Renée’s special brand of softness, this came through as reassuring and grounding, instead of overbearing or irritating. Charlie gave her a nod of approval.

​“If you vouch for it, I’ll give it a try. What about that crash? Were you riding a motorbike?”

​“Mountain bike. I lost it on a tricky downhill only two miles from a race finish. Ten years ago, I ranked in the top twenty for competitive riders in the state of New York.”

​“Wow… That’s very cool.”

​“Thanks for sounding impressed,” Renée chuckled.

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