Going for Gold (6 page)

Monday

Bryce

"Alright, I have a challenge for you," I said.

"Please tell me you finally want to see who can fuck
more girls by the end of the week," said Alex, aka Red Wolf.

"No. I was going to challenge you to find me a girl here
at the games who's hotter than Alina. I think it's impossible."

"Oh God damn it," said Alex. "Will you please
just fuck her and quit talking about it?"

"I think it's romantic how he's so smitten," said
Tim, aka Pink Ocelot.

"It's not getting on your nerves at all?"

"Well, maybe a little," admitted Tim.

"Alright. How about you go for a run, and when you come
back, we'll pretend like Alina doesn't exist?"

I was going to think of something clever to say, but then I
had an idea. I snapped my fingers. "You're a genius, Alex! If I go right
now, maybe I'll conveniently bump into Alina as she's leaving volleyball
practice." I was only half joking.

Alex shook his head. "I think you totally missed the
point of what I just said. Maybe instead you need to go find a nice Brazilian
prostitute."

I glanced at my phone to try to ignore Alex. Somehow he
always managed to steer the conversation back to his favorite topic: Brazilian
prostitutes. I'm pretty sure the only reason he trained hard enough to be a
part of the ITAs was so he could come to Brazil to find himself a nice
prostitute. He didn't even like running that much. I was hoping to see a text
from Alina, but instead I saw I had a missed call from my sister, Emily.

"Be right back," I said, ducking into the hallway
to call her back. I leaned against the wall and dialed her number.

"Hey, Bryce!" she said. Despite all we had been
through as kids, she always managed to be so positive. It was infectious. But
today there was something else in her voice.

"Hey, Em. What's up?"

"Nothing, it's okay now I think." The bubbliness
from her voice was suddenly missing entirely.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Well when I got back to my dorm today after class I got
a weird feeling, like someone had been in here."

"Was the door open or something?"

"No, no. Nothing like that. It just felt off. A few
things looked like they weren't how I left them. It was like when we used to
know Max had been in our room." For a year and a half, Max had been our
foster brother. He loved stealing stuff from our room whenever he had the
chance.

"Weird. Maybe it was a maintenance guy or
something?"

"Yeah, maybe. Anyway, don't worry about it. You need to
focus on your race."

"I'm actually having a little trouble with that."

"Is Alex keeping you and Tim up all night by banging
poor, sweet Brazilian girls?"

"Surprisingly, no. It's this girl Alina. I can't stop
thinking about her."

"Is she some sexy foreign girl?"

"No, she's American," I said.

"Is she cool, or do you just like her boobs?"

"Don't worry, it's not another Michelle situation."

Em made a gagging sound. "Thank God. She was the worst.
Just keep in mind that I have to be sisters with whatever girl you end up with.
Don't screw me on this."

"I'll try not to. Anyway, I dunno if anything is going
to come of it. She's in a relationship or something right now. It's
complicated."

"But you like her?"

"Yes."

"Then it's not complicated. Go get her."

I smiled. Em always had a way of making everything seem so
simple. "Alright. Thanks for the advice. I wish Tim and Alex could be as
sensible as you."

"Let me guess: Alex told you to fuck her and forget
about her, and Tim told you to send her a dozen roses and a singing
telegram?"

"Something like that, yeah."

Em laughed. "Those two..."

"I wish you'd been able to come," I said. I had
tried to think of a way to get her here to watch my race, but it was just too
expensive. All the money we had went towards her schooling.

"Me too, but you know I'll be watching from here and
cheering you on. Hey, I gotta run to class, but call me soon to tell me how
it's going with Alina. I want to hear all about her."

"Will do. Oh yeah, if you have a chance, watch the
highlights tonight of the men's gymnastics."

"Why? Oh my God, did you..."

"You'll see."

"I can't wait. Bye, Bryce!"

"Bye, Em. Stay safe."

Click.

I stayed leaning against the wall for a few seconds thinking
about what Em had said. I knew she was tough and could take care of herself,
but I still worried about how she thought someone was creeping around in her
room. I tried to think of someone on campus that I could have check in on her,
but no one came to mind. All the people I knew there had already graduated.

Tim poked his head out of our dorm. "Dude, come check
this out."

I went back in and walked over to Tim's computer. He had
found a BuzzFeed article featuring gifs of Yao Kai splitting his pants. Tim
seemed to think the one where someone had photoshopped an image of a kitten in
place of Yao Kai's penis was particularly hilarious.

"Who were you talking to?" asked Alex. "Please
tell me it wasn't Alina."

"No, it was Em," I said.

"Did you tell her to get a flight here? She can share my
bed; I don't mind."

I punched him in the arm. "How many times do I have to
tell you that I'll kill you if you ever touch Emily?"

"What if she's the one who comes onto me? I can't help
it. Girls just love me."

"Yeah, not gonna happen. How's your search for a
Brazilian prostitute coming?"

"Not bad. I picked up some literature the other
day..." Alex held up a stack of fliers with half naked women on them.

"You better not bring them back to this room," said
Tim. "I don't want to end up in Brazilian prison."

"Yeah, that would be awful," said Alex.
"Especially for you, Tim. You'd definitely be the first one to be
someone's bitch."

Tim smiled, as if Alex had just given him a compliment.
"You know, I've always thought I'd be popular in prison. It's the one
place where my baby-smooth skin would come in handy. It's a blessing and a
curse..."

Alex and I glanced at each other and tried not to laugh. We
still weren't entirely sure if Tim was gay or not. He had a lot of girlfriends,
but the things he said were just so freaking gay.

I was about to add a comment about Tim's inability to grow
facial hair, but my phone buzzing in my pocket distracted me.

I pulled out my phone and read a text from Alina: "I
wonder if they'll ever find the mustachioed Canadian responsible for that
heinous crime."

Hmm...how to respond.
I started typing out a response:
"I don't know, but he sure seems like a real bad ass."

"Was that Alina?" asked Tim.

"Yeah," I said.

"Did you ask her out to dinner?"

"No."

"And you think
I'd
be the bitch in prison? You
can't even ask a girl out."

"Oh snap," said Alex. "Tim's right, you are
being kind of a bitch about this girl. You've been talking about her all day
and then you don't even ask her out?"

"I was just waiting for her to respond." I added,
"Where do you want to go for dinner?" and hit send. "There, I
asked where she wanted to go for dinner."

Tim put his hand on his head. "You didn't ask her if she
wanted to go first? Chivalry is dead."

"I like it," said Alex. "Way to man up."

"Do you even have proper Brazilian evening dress?"
asked Tim. "This is a disaster."

"What is this, Downton Abbey?" asked Alex.

Alina's response popped up on my phone: "Wherever you
want. Where should Kristen and I meet you guys?"

Damn.
Her inviting Kristen was a pretty clear sign
that she didn't want it to be a date. Em's advice ran through my head.
It's
not complicated. Go get her.
"Well, she thinks you guys are coming.
And her friend Kristen is coming. Who wants wingman duty?"

"Is Kristen her friend from last night?" asked Tim.

"Hmm...I don't know who you're talking about," I
said. I wanted to see if I could trick Tim into saying her codename outside of
a mission, a clear breach of spy protocol.

"You know. The tall one with the dark hair."

"Oh, you mean Brunette Gir..."

Tim slapped me. "No! No codenames."

I should have been shocked, but slapping was Tim's go-to move
when he got upset. Whenever anyone questioned him about it, he insisted that
punching was "too brutish."

"Alright, fine. Yes, Kristen is her friend from last
night. Now help me figure out where we should take them. We need somewhere real
nice."

"I read about a steakhouse in the city that's simply to
die for," said Tim. "I think it's called Carne Duro."

"My Portuguese is a little rusty, but doesn't that
translate to Hard Meat?" asked Alex. "As long as we aren't going to a
gay strip club, I'm in."

Tim grabbed his phone and brought up his trip advisor app.
"Oh, my mistake. It's actually Carne Deliciosa. Carne Duro must have
been...never mind. Here, I'll make a reservation." He clicked a few
buttons and then said, "Done. Tell the girls we'll meet them at the north
village exit at 6:30."

Monday

Alina

I finished blow-drying my hair and glanced down at my phone.
I had been silently willing Chris to text me all day. He was doing a great job
staying away from me, which is what I had requested. But that was before I had
told him we were done. And this silence didn't feel like he was respecting my
boundaries. It felt like we really were over. I knew we needed to have another
conversation. I refused for it to end by me slamming the door in his face. I
didn't think he really meant the things he said, but he still said them.

If he called me right now, I'd answer in a heartbeat. I'd
hear him out. But he wasn't calling. And I couldn't help but think that he was
hanging out with a bunch of sleazy women, catching up on all he had missed out
on in the last two years. I put my elbows down on the sink and my face in my
hands. It really was over. Gabriela had won. Again. I just felt so defeated.

A knock on the bathroom door made me jump.

"Hey, are you almost ready?" Kristen asked.

"Yeah, just a sec." I glanced down once more at my
phone. Chris had cheated on me. I had found out. And now we were done. He
hadn't reached out to try to fix things, because there wasn't anything else to
talk about. Even if I could forgive him, I couldn't trust him. Maybe if this had
been the first time that he hadn't been faithful. But this wasn't the first
time we had a conversation like this. I just never had photographic evidence
before. I was like putty in his handsome hands and he knew it.
Screw you,
Chris.

I took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. All the
under-eye concealer in the world couldn't hide the fact that I had been crying,
but I applied a little extra hoping it would help before unlocking the door.

"Wear this one," Kristen said and tossed me a
sparkly, low-cut dress when I walked out of the bathroom.

"I want something a little more conservative." I
tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear and opened up the closet.

"It's a date, not an office meeting."

"It's not a date either. What if Gabriela set Chris up?
Maybe I should call him..."

"No. Chris is an asshole. Chris has always been an
asshole. And Chris will always be an asshole."

"Just because you don't like him..."

"Alina, you're my best friend and I'm trying really hard
to be supportive. I know I've told you this a hundred times, but apparently you
need to hear it one more time. People don't change."

She was referring to Chris being a player. We had had this
conversation a bunch of times. And I always chose not to believe her. Because
there hadn't been proof. Now that there was, could I really look the other way?
I pulled a dress out of the closet. It was short but didn't have such a
plunging neckline. "How about this one?"

She smiled and nodded. "Keeping a little to the
imagination. Good choice."

"Are you sure you don't want to just grab takeout and
watch that movie we skipped out on yesterday?"

"Bryce seems like a nice, normal, drop dead gorgeous
guy. You need this."

"I need time." I felt empty and lost. I thought
Chris was my future. I bit my lip. There was no way I was going to start crying
again.
Fuck.

Kirsten gave me a sympathetic smile. "Trust me, tonight
is going to make you feel better."

I thought about my reaction to Bryce kissing me during
Operation Red Rip. I had wanted to kiss him back. I pulled on the dress I had
picked out. Bryce had cheered me up after that horrible game. He didn't care
that I had snot all over my jersey. He sat with me and made me laugh. And
during Operation Red Rip he had made me forget all about my breakup with Chris.
He made it feel like I could breathe again. I didn't know anything about him,
but I liked the way he made me feel. When I was with him everything seemed like
it was going to be okay.

"What do you think?" I asked and turned toward
Kristen. She was wearing a dress much more similar to the one she had wanted me
to wear. Apparently she didn't want Ocelot to imagine very much.

"Perfect. Come on, or we're going to be late." She
linked her arm in mine and pulled me toward the door.

Monday

Bryce

I couldn't believe it, but I actually had butterflies in my
stomach as we waited for the girls to arrive. It was like I was back in fifth
grade again.

"Dude, what's that guy's deal?" asked Tim,
signaling with his eyes for us to look behind him.

Alex and I turned to see what he was looking at, but nothing
stood out. All I saw was a big fence separating the athlete's village from the
rest of the city, a few guards at the gate, and a guy leaning against the fence
smoking a cigarette.

"Who?" I asked.

"The smoker. He keeps staring at us. Now why don't you
idiots quit making it so obvious that we're talking about him."

"He's probably just mesmerized by the hair gel dripping
down your forehead," said Alex. "I think you might have used a little
too much. I'm concerned you might get a stain on your dinner jacket."

Tim got a worried look on his face and whipped out his
compact mirror to check on his perfectly quaffed hair. He checked a few angles
and then snapped it shut. "I don't know what you're talking about. My hair
looks fantastic, although I'm not sure how much longer it will last. Not even
Paul Mitchell's finest gel can last long in this heat. The other day in Cosmo I
read..."

"Hey!" said two girls.

I spun around. Alina and Kristen were standing behind us. I
probably should have been more subtle, but I couldn't prevent myself from
giving Alina the up-down. Her dress was fairly conservative on top, but it
hugged her tiny waist perfectly and showed off her great legs. I snapped my
focus back to her face. "Hey, Alina," I said, going in for the hug.

I got a nice whiff of Alina's perfume. Cherries? Maybe. I
could never tell the difference between all those scents. It all either smelled
like cherries or cookies. Whatever it was, it smelled good.

"So now that we're not on our secret..." Alina
started, but Tim put his finger across her lips to shush her. She swatted his
hand away. "Sorry, I just wanted to find out your real names."

Tim stepped back and smoothed his ridiculous maroon dinner
jacket. "This is Alex, and I'm Tim." He locked eyes with Kristen and
gave a flourished bow. "It's a pleasure to see you again, m'lady."

"I figured bringing him would give us good entertainment
for the evening," I whispered to Alina as Kristen introduced herself to
Tim.

He, of course, kissed the back of her hand.

Alina stifled a laugh and whispered, "Is he always like
this? I think Kristen has a crush on him."

"Unfortunately, yes. He is."

"Is he gay?" she asked.

I laughed. "Officially? No. Unofficially..."

Alex cleared his throat. Alina and I quit whispering and
looked up. He was standing awkwardly by himself while Tim taught Kristen how to
do a proper curtsey and Alina and I whispered to each other. It was obvious
that he held the unenviable position of being the fifth wheel. I would have
tried to get Kristen and Alina to bring a third volleyball girl, but I wouldn't
wish Alex on anyone.

"Sorry," I said.

"So where are we going?" asked Alina.

"Some steak place. Hopefully it'll be good. Tim said it
had pretty good reviews on trip advisor."

"Perfect," said Alina. "I've been craving some
meat."

"Yeah, Alina loves meat in her mouth," said
Kristen.

Alina started to turn red. "Oh my God. I didn't mean it
like that. I meant steak meat, not penis meat. Not that I don't like penises,
it's just I'm really hungry for steak. And I should stop talking now."

Kristen cut in. "Sorry, Alina's having a little trouble
thinking straight. Our coach has banned us from sex for the past four weeks.
Did your coach give you guys a sex ban too?"

I tried not to show my excitement. I knew Alina had a
boyfriend, but with things being "complicated" between them and Alina
being horny as hell, things could get interesting later in the week.

Tim laughed. "Yeah. We aren't even allowed to
masturbate. It's been kind of funny, actually. It's like boner-city in the
showers after practice. A little hot water and boom, boner time." He
turned to Alina. "You probably know all about that though after you
wandered into the men's locker room the other day."

Alina caught my gaze and raised an eyebrow slightly. She
didn't need to speak to communicate a very clear, "What the fuck is wrong
with Tim?"

I shrugged. I had no explanation for the odd shit Tim said. D
oes
he really check everyone out in the shower?
I made a mental note to stay
away from Tim in the locker room.

"Shouldn't we get going so we aren't late to
dinner?" asked Alex.

"Good idea," I said.

As we walked through the gate, I glanced over at the guy that
Tim had accused of being creepy. The dude stared at me for a second and then
flicked his cigarette and ground it into the sidewalk with the heal of his
scuffed Timberland boots. There was a pile of about three dozen other cigarette
butts in the same spot.
Does this guy do anything other than stand here and
smoke?
He pulled out his phone, typed out a text, and walked away.

"Alright, our Uber should be here any minute," said
Tim.

Just as he finished his sentence, a black car with an Uber
sticker in the window pulled up.