Going for Gold (7 page)

Monday

Alina

"Wow, that was quick," I said.

"It really was," agreed Bryce. "He must have
known you couldn't wait much longer to get some meat in your mouth."

Oh my God. Why did I ever say that?
I couldn't think
straight with him standing so close in that damn fitted suit.
The way it
hugged his arms...
I hit his arm playfully. "Just get in the
car."

Bryce opened up the door.

"Is there enough room?" I asked. There were five of
us and only three seats in the back of the car, so the answer was no.

"Sure there is," said Kristen. "We can just
sit on their laps."

"Works for me," said Bryce.

Tim got in first, followed by Kristen. She sat on his lap way
more seductively than was appropriate.

"What about seatbelts?" I asked.

Kristen gave me a death stare. "I'm sure Bryce will be
happy to put his arms around you."

I glanced sideways at Bryce to try to catch his reaction, but
he was already climbing in after Alex. There really wasn't any room to sit
besides on Bryce lap. I slowly got in, trying not to expose myself in my tiny
dress, and sat on Bryce's lap. He put his hands on my hips and the smell of his
cologne filled my nose. God, he smelled so good. His right hand left for a
second to close the door, but then immediately gravitated back to my hip.

I swallowed hard. I was sure I wouldn't have felt what I was
feeling if there hadn't been a sex ban. There's no way his touch would send
shivers down my spine. There was no way I'd be noticing how big and strong his
hands were. I tried to shake the thoughts out of my head and stared out the
side window.

"Where to?" asked the driver in a thick accent.

"Carne Deliciosa," said Tim.

The driver nodded and pulled into the street. I lurched
forward slightly, which caused Bryce's fingers to dig into my hips. It didn't
matter what I tried to tell myself. I liked the feeling of his hands on me and
I liked the feeling of his fingertips digging into my hips even better.

His grip eased up on me, but every time we hit a bump or came
to a stop, his fingers would dig into my hips again. My body stiffened when he
started to trace small circles with his thumb along my lower back. I wasn't
sure if he was doing it absentmindedly or on purpose, but it was making my
heart race. I put my hand on the armrest on the door to steady myself. If I
wasn't careful, I'd melt into that touch.

"Alina?" Kristen said.

"What?" I turned away from the window.

She was staring at me like she had been trying to get my
attention for awhile. "Do you have any guesses?"

I cleared my throat. "Um...what are we guessing?"

Alex laughed. "She's been trying to guess what sport the
three of us are here for. Basketball, cycling, fencing...nope, nope, and
nope."

"Oh." I turned around to see Bryce's reaction to
those guesses.

He was staring at me so intently with his blue eyes that it
made me gulp.

I immediately turned back around and stared at the headrest
in front of my face. It seemed like he was doing that with his hands on
purpose. Maybe he was trying to see how I reacted to his touch, and I was
certainly reacting to it. "Do you guys play tennis?"

"I already told Kristen that we don't play with
balls," Tim said.

"Right." I coughed awkwardly. "Soccer? I mean,
not soccer. There's balls in that. I mean one ball."

Bryce laughed behind me. His laugh was electric. It was like
I could feel it radiating through me. His right hand had slipped down when he
laughed and now his thumb was dangerously close to my ass.

"You two have one more guess," Alex said.
"Make it a good one."

"What happens if we get it wrong?" Kristen asked.

Alex shrugged. "What do you guys think we should make
them do?"

"So many options," Tim said.

Bryce's hands were making it hard to concentrate, but I
didn't want to lose any more bets. I was still worried Kristen was going to
force me to have sex in public. There was no way I'd have another punishment
hanging over my head. As if the last couple days weren't punishment enough for
awhile. I thought about how fast Bryce had run during Operation Red Rip. All
the athletes in the ITA were in incredibly good shape. But they weren't all
that fast. "Track," I said, before they could even come up with a punishment.

"Bingo," Tim said.

Kristen almost looked disappointed that she wouldn't owe Tim
anything. She was totally crushing on him.

The car came to a stop outside of the restaurant and Bryce's
fingertips dug into my hips one last time. "Thanks for being my
seatbelt," I said and lightly touched his hand. I immediately removed my
hand from his, opened up the car door, and stepped down onto the curb.

Bryce smiled as he climbed out of the car. "No
problem."

"He liked you being on top of him," Alex said and slapped
Bryce on the back.

Oh my God.

"So, Alina, you and Kristen both play volleyball,
right?"

I turned my attention to Alex as we walked toward the
restaurant. "Yes."

"So why are you so much shorter than Kristen?"

I laughed. "I play in the back row so I don't need to be
tall."

"Interesting."

A hand on my lower back almost made me jump. I looked up at
Bryce smiling at me. He removed his hand as he opened the door for everyone. I
had my doubts about what Bryce wanted before tonight. But it was becoming pretty
clear and I wasn't sure if I was ready. I knew that I was a mess right now.
When I looked into his eyes, though, I wasn't thinking about what I had just
lost. I wanted to hold onto that feeling.

Even if this wasn't a date, I was going to enjoy myself tonight.
I wasn't going to think about Chris. At all. Because he damn sure wasn't
thinking about me.

Tim said something to the hostess and we followed her.

I felt Bryce's hand fall to my lower back again, guiding me
toward our table. I was almost disappointed when we reached our table, a
crescent shaped booth in the corner of the restaurant, because Bryce's hand
dropped from my back.

Alex scooted into the booth first. "Girls," he said
and tapped the booth on both sides of him.

Kristen laughed and scooted in on one side of him. As long as
Bryce was planning on sitting next to me, I didn't care who was on the other
side of me. I slid in beside Alex.

Bryce sat down beside me and put his arm behind me on the
booth, without touching me. "Alright, let's play a game while we wait for
the waiter," he suggested.

"What game?" I asked.

"It's called ask a friend. We go around the table and
take turns asking anyone at the table any question we want, but instead of them
answering, someone else at the table has to answer for them. Alina, do you want
to start?"

"Sure. What's Bryce's favorite food?"

"Really? That's a super lame question," said Alex. "But
if you must know, his favorite food is a nice juicy rib-eye."

"Oh. Well what kind of question should I have
asked?"

"Let me give you an example. What's Alina's
number?"

"Why is that question any better?" I asked.
"Half the people here already have my number."

"No. I meant how many people have you had sex
with?"

"Oh..." My face started to blush.

"One," said Kristen. "Her boyfriend. Er...her
ex boyfriend. Or whatever they are."

"Okay, next question," I said quickly.
"Kristen, I think it's your turn." I could feel Bryce staring at me.

Kristen tapped her finger against her mouth while she thought
of a question. "What's Tim's biggest fantasy?"

"Based on our conversation earlier, I think he wants to
be someone's prison bitch," said Bryce.

Alex laughed and Tim looked slightly annoyed. From the brief
time I had known Tim, I thought that Bryce's guess might not be far off.

"Nope, try again," said Tim.

"Well if he was normal he would just want to have a
threesome," suggested Alex.

"With two guys or two girls?" asked Tim.

"Two girls I hope," said Alex.

Tim shrugged. "Oh, I've done that before."

"What?!" yelled Alex. "How did you not tell me
about that?"

"I dunno. What's the big deal about having a threesome
with two girls?"

"Wait, are you being serious?" I asked. "I
thought it was like every guy's fantasy to have a threesome."

"It was okay I guess. It was just kind of tiring and I
felt like I didn't really get to fully satisfy either girl. I'd much rather
just focus on pleasing one woman at a time. If anything, a threesome makes more
sense if it's two guys and a girl."

"A devil's threesome?" asked Bryce. "Is that
your fantasy?"

Tim thought about it for a second. "It's not my fantasy,
but it makes way more sense than two girls and one guy."

Bryce laughed. "How does it make more sense?"

"Simple anatomy, really. Do I need to draw you a
picture?"

"No you don't..." started Bryce, but it was too late.
Tim had already flipped over the menu and started drawing naked figures.

"Look," said Tim, holding up a drawing of two stick
figures having sex while a third watched. "Guys only have one penis, so
they can please one girl at a time. That leads to one girl feeling left
out." He drew a frowny face on the third wheel to make his point. Then he
drew a picture with a girl sandwiched between two smiling men. "Girls, on
the other hand, have three holes, so they could easily please two men at once.
Not to mention that girls take a lot longer to please than men do, so it makes
sense for multiple men to work together to give a beautiful woman the attention
she deserves."

"I think his logic is sound," said Kristen.

Tim smiled at her.

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, realizing that I was
starting to get damp between my legs.
God, what is wrong with me? This sex
ban is turning me into a freak.

Our waitress appeared and pulled out a notebook. "Are
you all ready to order?"

"Yes, I think so," said Tim. "Ladies?"

Kristen ordered a stupid salad, but I had to go for Bryce's
favorite. A big juicy rib-eye. I couldn't resist. We were at a steakhouse after
all.

"Nice choice," Bryce said. "I'll have the
same." He put his menu down and then leaned in a little closer to me.
"Couldn't pass up the opportunity for meat in your mouth?"

I laughed awkwardly. The restaurant suddenly seemed stifling.

Before I knew it, our wine glasses were being filled. Kristen
took a sip of hers. She always could hold her alcohol better than I could. There
was no way I was drinking before tomorrow's game, though. And the longer I sat
here with Bryce so close in proximity, the more parched I got.

"Okay, my turn," Tim said when the waitress walked
away with our order. He rubbed his hands together. "On a scale of one to
ten, how attracted is Alina to Bryce?"

Bryce seemed to stiffen. "Dude. Ask a different..."

"An eleven," Kristen said and winked at me.

Holy shit.
I could feel my cheeks turning red.

"Bryce thinks Alina is an eleven too," Tim said.
"Stop looking at me like that. It's true."

Bryce cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I forgot to tell
you that my friends are the worst."

I was embarrassed that Kristen told the whole table I was
attracted to Bryce. But I wasn't upset with his friends for getting him to confess
that he was attracted to me. This was definitely a date. I avoided Bryce's gaze
and fidgeted with my hands under the table.

"The worst?" Tim asked. "You know that you're
in love with me."

"I don't know how many times we have to tell you
this," Alex said. "There's a difference between loving someone and
being in love with someone. Bryce and I love you like a brother. But we aren't
in love with you, man."

Tim shrugged. "I really don't understand the
difference."

"Do we need to draw you a picture?" Bryce asked and
started laughing.

His laughter was infectious. Soon I was laughing and couldn't
stop. I thought that our friends announcing that we were attracted to each
other would take the night on an awkward turn. But who was I kidding? I thought
Bryce was hot. And sweet. And funny. It was nice to know that he was attracted
to me too. I was still laughing when I looked up at him.

There was that twinkle in his blue eyes again. It took my
breath away. And I knew I was in trouble, because I didn't ever want to look
away from those eyes.

"Can I steal you for a second?" Bryce asked.

Kristen gave me two thumbs up, not subtly at all.

"Um, yeah, sure." I slid out of the booth after
him. "I was hoping to get some water from the bar."

"I noticed that you weren't drinking any wine." His
hand fell onto my lower back again. Those really big, manly hands.
Stop it.

"We have a game tomorrow. I really shouldn't be
drinking."

He nodded. "My race is on Wednesday. I'm going to skip
the wine too." His hand left my back and he waved down the bartender. He
ordered two waters and leaned against the bar. "Where are you from?"

That wasn't what I was expecting him to ask me.
"Wilmington, Delaware. You?"

"Pasadena most recently. I've moved a lot. Did you go to
school in Delaware?"

"I went to the University of New Castle for the last
three years. I just graduated."

"What about for freshman year?"

I felt that familiar lump forming in my throat. I tried to
swallow it down. "NYCU."

"Why'd you transfer?"

Our waters had arrived, but Bryce made no movement to head
back to our table. He was staring at me intently, waiting for me to respond.

"You don't have to..."

"No. It's fine. It was so long ago." I smiled,
pretending it was nothing. "It was silly, really. There was this girl who
played the same position as me. She wasn't happy that a freshman was competing
for the same spot as her on the team. And she didn't take it well. She hazed
me. At least, that's how she put it."