"Oh, like you kept the Brazilian a secret?"
She mashed her lips together and focused on the steering wheel. "Well, that was actually not so much of a slip in tongue as it was me forcing you and Liam to face your attraction toward one another. I mean, he was staring you down at the party like he was going to strip your clothes off right there. I just thought he needed a little shove in the right direction," she confessed.
I gaped and then narrowed my eyes. "I knew it! I knew you weren't that drunk."
"You can't be mad at me. It obviously worked! He dragged you away like he was a caveman about two seconds later!"
I smiled at the memory. His hand had gripped mine so tightly; he hadn't given me the option at all. It's not like I put up a fight.
"It doesn't matter..." I began. "We kissed on Saturday night, but it didn't last long and he instantly regretted it. He pretty much yelled at me to get out of his room."
"Wow, really?"
I frowned and stared out the window. The early morning fog was lifting and soon the rest of our team would arrive for practice. Soon he would arrive for practice.
"Yeah. There are about five good reasons standing in the way of my attraction to him. All of which don’t seem to be enough to deter me.”
“Well, we'll see how he acts today. You can't give up yet. He wants you and you want him. It doesn't have to be complicated."
I rolled my eyes at her for making it sound so simple. He was already on his last warning with his sponsors about his public image. My Olympic dreams were at stake, not to mention my college career and my fragile heart. How could the situation not be complicated?
…
I shouldn't have worried. The entire time at practice, Liam completely ignored me, which was quite a feat considering we split up into our position drills again. He gave all the girls feedback after their turn, yet with me he'd do a simple nod or mutter a "good" or "nice form" without making eye contact.
I felt completely invisible.
Tara didn't seem to mind, though. She basked in his attention, making sure to stand extra close to him when she asked about her technique. How many times did he have to describe the same thing over and over again before he realized that she was just manipulating him?
"I'm not sure I've got it. Will you watch me do it one more time?" she asked with just the right amount of needy pout.
Liam pressed his lips into a thin line but nodded for her to continue.
"Oh my god. Enough," I mumbled, tired of watching the Tara and Liam Show.
I must have said it louder than I thought though because Tara looked up at me before she started. "Excuse me?" she asked, taking a step closer to me.
"Enough with this drill, I need a water break," I lied, propping my hands up on my hips and daring her to challenge me. I was in a fighting mood, and in that moment I didn't care that she was the leader and I was the rookie.
"Go take one then. But you really should work on your endurance."
I fought the urge to ask her what the hell needing water had to do with my endurance. I'd beat her at every single one of our sprints and I came in first during our long distance warm up runs every time.
"Okay, c'mon, let's focus," Liam said, staring at Tara. He couldn't even look me in the eye. Fucking coward.
"Did you want to show me that drill?" he asked Tara, but before she turned around, she flashed me a smug grin and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder.
"Sure thing, Coach Wilder."
At that point I pretty much blacked out for the remainder of practice. I pushed myself beyond what felt good because I wanted to work out all my annoyance and anger. Coach Davis joked about me being an overachiever at the end of practice, but I couldn't even muster a smile.
…
"Finally, you answer!" my mom said as I fell back on my bed. I'd had lunch and showered after practice, but now my muscles were starting to ache and an afternoon nap was calling my name.
"I know, I'm sorry. I've been busy lately. I just got back from practice and I'm exhausted."
I held the phone between my ear and shoulder as I pulled the covers up to my chin.
"Ah, I won't keep you long. I wanted to talk to you because there have been quite a few companies calling us lately with endorsement deals for you. I know you can’t take them up on their offers while you’re playing for the NCAA, but there's Adidas and Nike, as well as a few other big ones."
That was the last thing I was thinking about at the moment, but she was right. I had to consider my career beyond college at some point. After all, if I made the Olympic team college would be put on hold.
"Would you mind just saving them for now?"
"Sounds good.”
After we hung up I rolled over and plugged my phone into charge. Then I grabbed my calendar off my nightstand and flipped through the worn pages. Last time I checked there was exactly ten months until the Olympics tryouts. Now there was nine months, two weeks, and one day.
I threw off my blanket, ran down the hall, and barged into Becca's room.