In the Fast Lane (Fast Series Book 1) (19 page)

“Both of you, stop!” Jessi stepped in between them. “Sawyer, calm down. I know what this looks like, and I know what you’re thinking, but trust me. This isn’t like it was before. Dalton and I both know the score. We aren’t letting this thing between us get in the way. I promise.”

“Jessi, there is no way sleeping with him isn’t affecting your swimming.” Sawyer shook his head in disgust.

“Fine. You’re right. It’s affecting my swimming. I’m swimming faster now than I have in the last year. Looks like a little nookie is good for my stroke.”

A chuckle escaped Dalton’s lips.

“Do not fucking laugh, asshole.” Sawyer pinned Dalton with a hard stare. “And Jessi.” He focused his attention back on her. “Don’t try to joke your way out of this. That is not working this time.”

“You’re right, Sawyer,” Dalton interrupted. “This is a serious situation.” He gave Jessi a look that suggested maybe right now wasn’t the time to try to make Sawyer smile. “But Jessi has a point. She is swimming better. We’ve both talked this out, man. If what is going on between us starts to affect the end result, it’s done. No questions asked.”

Jessi really hated the sound of that, but it was true. She was enjoying her time with Dalton, but the gold medal was more important to her than a relationship that had no future.

Sawyer’s breathing was slowly returning to normal. He still looked like he wanted to punch Dalton though. “Let me remind you, McKinney, fraternizing with a subordinate is cause for termination.” Sawyer, it seemed,
was
up on his HR terminology.

Dalton and Jessi just stared at him, stupefied. Then, she felt Dalton tremble and she turned her head to look at him. His own head was bent and his eyes were closed, but his shoulders were definitely shaking. Dalton was trying not to laugh. The sight of him so discomposed threw Jessi into a fit of the giggles, which in turn caused Dalton to laugh even harder. Sawyer stared at them, decidedly not laughing, hands firmly placed on his hips.

“You two are freakin’ nuts.” He shook his head. Then he fixed Jessi with a hard stare. “Are you sure about this, Jess? This guy has been passed around like a bottle of Crown.”

“Oh my God. Really, Sawyer? A bottle of Crown?” Jessi glanced at Dalton.

He shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Annoyed, she ignored him and tuned back in to Sawyer.

“Sawyer, Dalton is your best friend.”

“Yeah, I love this guy like a brother,” he said, “but he is a complete ass.”

Dalton didn’t respond, apparently agreeing with the statement.

Jessi sighed. “Yes. I’m aware. And I’m sure.”

“McKinney, if I didn’t need you so bad, I swear to God I’d fire your ass right now. But I do. And you’re both right. Jessi’s swimming well. But
do not
flaunt this thing. Today was ridiculous. Any more of that shit and I’m pulling the plug on you two. Nothing more is going on here. You two want to start things up again once the Games are over, fine. Dalton, I swear to God, if I catch you anywhere near her room—”

“You won’t,” Dalton interrupted.

Jessi turned her head sharply to look at him. “He won’t?” she asked, disbelievingly.

Both men ignored her.

Sawyer pinned Dalton with a hard look. “If you hurt her, you’re gone.”

“Understood.”

“Hold up just a damn minute.” Jessi couldn’t believe this. “Who the hell do you two think you are? Neither of you have any right to dictate my life outside of swimming. I decide who I date, and who I’ll sleep with, and when I’ll do it, damn it.”

She focused her attention on Sawyer. “I appreciate you looking out for me, and I’d do the same for you, but I really don’t think you’d appreciate it if I interfered in one of your relationships. So quit cock blocking me!”

Sawyer’s mouth opened, but Jessi wasn’t finished. She fixed Dalton with an evil eye.

“And you, Dalton McKinney.”

Up until this point, Dalton had seemed to be enjoying Jessi’s little speech. He looked decidedly less happy when she turned her ire on him.

“We discuss our sex life
together
.” Jessi pointed her index finger between her and Dalton. “You do not get to make decisions about
us
on your own,” she added. “Why don’t you grow up and have a mature relationship? You know, one where you discuss your feelings and crap.”

She stomped out of the room. She had stuff to do, damn it. There were gold medals at stake, and she didn’t have time for stupid boys and their dumb antics.

Chapter 19

“Did she just say
cock block
?” Sawyer looked stupefied and a little shell shocked.

“Yep. Did you really say that I passed myself around like a bottle of Crown?” That was really all Dalton had in the way of words at the moment.

Sawyer didn’t answer. Instead, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay. So this thing is real?”

“Yeah, it’s real.” Dalton paused and looked down. “Look, Sawyer, I don’t know how this is going to end, man. I really don’t. It probably will. Lord knows I’ll fuck it up somehow, but I promise I won’t mess with her swimming. I’ll leave this thing alone until after the Games.”

Dalton had never had a serious girlfriend, and while he didn’t see himself in any relationship for the long haul, he also didn’t see this one coming to an end any time soon.

“Yeah, you will. Just so you know, if you fuck this up after the Games, it will affect our relationship.”

“I know. All I can ask is that you give me some time to figure things out.”

“I don’t have to tell you how messed up this is, or how much is on the line. But Jessi’s right—she’s an adult and can handle herself. Do not be mistaken, McKinney. If she thinks you are affecting her swimming in a negative way, she will kick you to the curb.”

Dalton knew that. He knew Jessi was too good for him and eventually the novelty would wear off, but hearing it from someone else stung. “Thanks for the reminder, man. I’ll just go down to the kiddy pool and let the real swimmers do their thing.”

He turned around and started to leave. Fuck this. He didn’t have to put up with this bullshit. He’d worked his ass off, and Jessi was swimming better than ever. But people never took him seriously. His former life of alcohol, women, and fast cars was too much to look past.

“Dalton, don’t be an asshole.”

“Sawyer, goddamn it, I swear to God I’m on my last nerve. I’m warning you to back the fuck off, right now.”

“Well, at least the feeling is mutual.” Sawyer shook his head and continued, “Look, I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean that Jessi’s different than the other women you’ve been with. Respect that. She’s right—this isn’t a one-man show. You two are in this together. That is going to freak you the fuck out. So, just....chill, okay? She’s not the only one I don’t want to see get hurt. For some goddamn reason, you’re my best friend, of all the fucked up things, and I’d really like to see you happy. You’re a great coach, and when you left swimming, we lost something. I don’t want that to happen again. To you or to...me, either.”

Dalton was really tempted to call him on his girly bullshit, but didn’t. Sawyer was struggling. “I get it, man. But don’t think I’m going to hug it out.”

“Shut up. Go do your job. I’ve got work to do.”

Chapter 20

After coming clean to Sawyer, things were both good and bad. On the good side, Jessi and Dalton didn’t have to worry about things. They were able to concentrate on getting her ready for Canada. On the down side, Dalton had listened to Sawyer and put a stop to their late night rendezvous with the high-handed excuse that he needed to set an example for the team. He’d used their friendships with Sawyer as extra ammunition.

“Jessi, Sawyer has a lot on the line here. He’s asked us not to have a physical relationship while you’re training, and we’re going to respect that.”

Sawyer was the one person in her life she wasn’t willing to lose or let down, so she begrudgingly agreed to Dalton’s mandate of forced celibacy.

Problem was, what the mind understands, the body doesn’t always agree with. As Jessi made her way out of the cafeteria one morning shortly after their confrontation with Sawyer, she contemplated the great irony that came with finally ending a dry spell. She could go—and had gone—months, maybe longer, without any sex whatsoever. Her lack of extracurricular activities hadn’t really crossed her mind. Oh, sure. There were times when she missed sex, and certainly times when she wished there was someone to mess around with. But she could always take care of things herself, and all in all, felt pretty satisfied.

Break that dry spell though, and all of a sudden she was whining when she couldn’t get any. Dalton mostly laughed and teased her for her lack of self-discipline, but she could see that celibacy was wearing thin for him, too. Turning toward the locker rooms, she spotted Dalton down the hallway. As they walked toward each other, she decided to take advantage and attempted to persuade him to change his mind concerning their current predicament.

This may or may not have involved discreetly looking around, and, upon seeing that they were alone, shoving her hand down his pants. She was a girl in need. Dalton chuckled, forcibly removed her hand, and bent down to whisper in her ear.

“Be patient, baby. In two weeks, we leave for Canada. Imagine how good it will feel after wanting...” He took her earlobe into his mouth and bit down gently. “And waiting so long.”

He straightened himself and attempted to look unaffected, but Jessi could see the lines of strain etched into his face. Dalton was a man on the edge. Well, two could play this game. Jessi went for the kill.

Moving closer to him, she forced his back into the wall. She cupped him through his sweatpants, and went on tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on his full lips. He groaned a little, which emboldened Jessi even more. She whispered into his mouth, “Then, of course, there’s all that downtime after the swimming events are over. I’ve been thinking a lot about how much you liked the reverse cowgirl. I’d really like to break my record for staying on.”

“Jessi, I am not a man to be toyed with right now,” Dalton growled.

“You’re the one who insisted on celibacy.” She winked at him. “I’ll see you in the film room later.” Jessi turned around and started down the hallway, just barely containing a happy dance. The glory of victory promptly came to an end when she saw Claudel at the end of the hall. Shit, shit, shit. They were meeting today to finish up the exposé. She didn’t know how long he’d been there, but by the look on his face, it had been long enough.

Claudel glanced over her shoulder and fixed Dalton with a hard stare. She didn’t have to turn around to know that Dalton had seen him too and was probably glaring back. Jessi straightened her shoulders and pressed forward. They were all adults here, and she would be damned if she let stupid—and unwarranted—jealousy from a past relationship unnerve her.

“Hi, Claudel. Are you ready to get things started?”

“Yes. The hair and makeup folks are in the commons. Go get cleaned up. You look like shit.” He turned around and walked away. Jessi was very glad Dalton was too far away to hear. She was used to Claudel’s little temper tantrums and blew them off. She had the distinct feeling Dalton would not be so generous.

The hair and makeup people didn’t do much, really. The exposé had a lot of footage of her swimming, so throughout the project, they’d gone for the natural look. Today, she and Claudel would be walking around the pool while the rest of the team was doing weights.

She’d been dressed in her team warm-ups. Her hair had been fluffed up around her shoulders. A little light makeup and she was given the green light. She had sort of hoped they’d take a little longer. She wasn’t eager to see Claudel. There was no way this interview was going to go well.

Jessi sighed and walked through the doors to the pool. Claudel was standing by the bleachers a few feet away, looking over his notes. The lighting people were by the pool, adjusting their lenses to account for the lighting on the deck. They were engaged in the task and took no notice of her. It was just her and Claudel. Great. She walked up to him and prepared for the worst.

“So, you’re fucking your coach now. Classy.”

Okay, she hadn’t expected him to lead with that. “Claudel, it’s not what it looks like, and even if it was, it’s not your business.”

“So, you’re not sleeping with him? Because that’s what it looks like.”

“Still not your business.”

“I’m a reporter, Jessi. Everything is my business. If U.S. coaches are taking advantage of their athletes, it’s my job to report it.”

“First of all,
Claudel,
you are a playboy, sometimes announcer, who does a few human interest spots here and there. You are not a reporter. Second, no one is being taken advantage of here. In fact, I initiated my relationship with Dalton.” Looking back, Jessi really couldn’t remember who had made the first move, but it didn’t matter. Claudel needed to get the point.

“So, this is a
relationship
then?” Claudel sneered at the word, making it sound dirty. “I’ve never known Dalton McKinney to stay in one place for long.”