~ America's Sweetheart ~ by Catherine Burke America's Sweetheart Author's Note: This is my first story posted on The Athenaeum. If all goes well there will be more to follow. Category: Orig. Uber Alt. Rating: R / NC-17 Summary: Retired Olympian Gwen Lerner lands in Detroit and comes face to face with her former girlfriend. Still questioning the reason they separated, Gwen wants answers and to get a friendship back. Keegan Garry left the Olympic team under a cloud of mystery and intrigue. Since then she has struggle to get her life back on track. Just when she thinks she's done that, Gwen shows up and derails. Can two women who once loved each other find way to heal their broken hearts and love again? Comments/Disclaimer(s): This is an original story. The story and characters belong to me. They are not to be used or reproduced without my express written permission. This is my first time posting to the website. An early version of this story was posted but the current is much better :! This story depicts a love/sexual relationship between two consenting adult women. If you are under 18 years of age or if this type of story is illegal in the state or country in which you live, please do not read it. Special Thanks: To J Brownell for ideas suggestions and getting me to actually post this. Also to Kerrie who was able to beta and get this story back to me a very short time. Living half way around the world does have its advantages. Time differences worked well for us. This work has progressed over the years and is very close to my heart. The two characters helped me through a tough time in my life. I am posting in parts but will have the entire story finished soon. As I continue to work on it, I really need to have some feed back. You can reach me at [email protected] Prologue Miami, Florida "What do you mean she's gone?" Gwen Lerner huffed as she paced the airport gate. Her anger buried in her words. She didn't want to confront the coaching staff in public. Her question meant to challenge them about the absence of Keegan Garry, her girlfriend and teammate. Her hands shoved deep into the pockets of her team jacket, Gwen's fingers brushed over the box. Feeling the soft velvet texture against her finger tips, the ring was secure in her possession. Silently she wished she'd done things differently last night. Something was wrong with Keegan. Gwen didn't press even though she knew her girlfriend was holding back. Rising before the sun, she went to look for Keegan. Instead she found an empty room. Gwen panicked and began to search the property asking the staff about Keegan's whereabouts. The front desk attendant answered her question. A woman matching Keegan's description left in a cab just after five. Standing in the middle of the airport waiting to board the flight to Greece, Gwen checked her watch. Why would Keegan leave? Why didn't she tell her last night? The feeling of abandonment overwhelmed her. She thought she had pushed her issues with her mother out of her life. Instead, she stood in disbelief that her girlfriend would leave her. Gwen turned hardened brown eyes to stare at Coach Brian Curtis. She waited for an answer or explanation. "Keegan went to Michigan." Michigan? Gwen's brain began to spin and her knees slightly gave way. San Jose was their home. Some one needed to tell her what was going on. "Is she coming back?" Gwen demanded. Coach Curtis stared at the tall blonde pacing in front of him. The team was heading to the Olympics. He didn't need his star suffering an emotional break down and he promised Keegan. No matter the outcome, he would honor that promise. Deep down, he hoped Keegan spoke to Gwen, but from the stiff posture and clamped jaw, Gwen didn't have any idea. "I don't know and I hope so." Curtis turned away from the piercing brown eyes throwing daggers his way. He heard Gwen unclip her phone from her hip and place a call. Watching her out of the corner of his eye, he saw her close her eyes and groan as she whispered into the phone. Gwen hung up the phone and set her hands on her hips. She stared at Curtis waiting for the head coach to give her more information. A fine gleam of sweat formed on his brow. The team avoided her as soon as they learned Keegan's absence. Since this morning, she had left over ten messages for her girlfriend. "She wouldn't just leave Curtis." When Gwen set her mind on something, she would not give up until she had what she was after. "Gwen…" His voice rose for a moment. She was wearing on his patience. "You need to talk to Keegan. I can't help you. Now, get some of that funky tea you drink and leave me alone." Dismissed...Curtis dismissed her. Playing for the man for over eight years, he had never treated her this way. She needed to talk to Keegan and find out what the hell was going on. Gwen pulled out her phone scrolling through the numbers she pressed the number for Keegan's parents in Michigan. When the answering machine picked up, she lifted her brown eyes to the popcorn ceiling. "Bill, Sarah, it's Gwen. Kee's gone and I can't reach her. Please have her call me. I really need to speak with her." Gwen closed her phone and fought back the tears she could feel forming. She would not cry. Just like when her mother dumped her at her great aunt's house, she refused to let anyone see her break into tears. Chapter 1 The carpet between the bar and the master bedroom was beginning to show a traffic pattern. Gwen Lerner walked across the plush olive fibers. She stopped at the wall of windows overlooking the ocean. Her soft brown eyes watched as angry waves of mucky water slapped against the hard packed beach and jagged rocks on the shoreline. The view of Half Moon Bay from Bobby's home was breath taking. February turned the Pacific Ocean angry. Gone were the blue skies and soft rolling waves of summer. Winter started to rear its ugly head. Gwen leaned her forehead against the cold pane of glass, trying to ease the pounding in her head. The full glass of scotch was held in her shaking hand. She took a sip of the stiff drink in hopes of fighting off the sadness surrounding her heart. She just couldn't get warm. Since she arrived, she a chill sank deep in her bones like the fridge temperatures of the Rockies during December or the Great Lakes in March. She felt as if she was attending a funeral, yet no one had died. Inside, she was dying. Bobby was leaving and moving cross country. He was leaving her. Closing her eyes, she wished the nightmare would just end. Rolling the small glass across her forehead, the condensation wetting her skin, she inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly. She knew she needed to put her game face on. People were counting on her. She would make his transition as seamless as possible. Putting on the camera ready smile, she continued her way to Bobby's bedroom. Pushing a loose strain of long blonde hair behind her ear, the sound of thrashing hangers pulled her attention to the far corner of the bedroom. Standing in the middle of the walk in closet was Bob Finch, professional hockey player for the San Jose Ice Breakers. He was packing. He had been traded to the Detroit Motors late last night. He was leaving tonight. She mentally added his name to the list of people she loved who had left her. Molly and Christopher, her great aunt and uncle and closest family she had, passed away within six months of each other. Her father, Jeff Lerner, she never met, but heard his short relationship with Connie was over within three months. Bobby was the latest person in her life to leave her. Being traded to Detroit wasn't his idea and from the sound of banging drawers and hangers, he was upset about it. Connie, her mother, had left her a countless number of times with relatives while she chased man and money. Connie seemed to have mellowed with age. Her divorce, from husband number five, had left her in a nice financial position and after her plastic surgery she began to claim Gwen was her sister. Connie could no longer surprise or shock Gwen any more. As of late, she hadn't posed a new business venture for Gwen to invest in. Gwen constantly questioned her mother's motives. Then there was Keegan, her girlfriend who left her without a word just before the Olympics. After three years, of what Gwen thought was a perfect and loving relationship, Keegan left, cleaned her belongings out of their home and moved to Michigan. It still hurt Gwen to look at photos of her. Keegan's departure from the team created a media sensation. The press hounded the women trying to find out information about the missing player. Unconfirmed rumors claimed Keegan was in the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. Gwen had no explanation for the sudden disappearance of her girlfriend.