I’d expected her to stay on the phone for a little longer.
I flashed Freddie a quick, grim smile and then moved to follow after Lisa with my head down, but before I could get far, Freddie reached out for my hand. He pulled me back with a gentle tug and kissed me square on the mouth. It was shocking and the feeling of his mouth on mine was enough to erase the rest of the room. There was Freddie’s lips on mine, his hand on my neck, and his claim on my heart. Lisa’s annoyed huff? The whistle from across the room? They were the last thing on my mind as Freddie kissed me senseless.
I pulled back, fluttered my eyes open, and took a breath. “Umm…”
He smiled and let go of my hand. I hated that he had to let go of my hand.
“Better get back to that training session.”
“Yup.” I nodded, but I didn’t move.
“Go Andie,” he said with an amused smile.
“Yes. Right-o.”
I turned back around on shaky legs. I didn’t care that Lisa was about to put me through hell; I’d just experienced heaven.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Freddie
I WIPED MY towel down my face and tossed it aside. My water bottle was empty, so I reached for my t-shirt instead, pulling it over my head and shaking out the excess water from my hair. I’d just finished my last lap at practice; I was bone tired and ready for lunch.
“Your times are insane,” Thom said, dropping his towel beside mine on the bench.
I nodded, but kept quiet. Good times are good times, nothing more. It was easy to psych myself out if I focused too much on the numbers.
“We’ve only got four more days before our races start,” Thom added, reaching for his water bottle.
I threw him a glare over my shoulder. “Thanks for that.”
“Oh c’mon, you can’t be nervous. You’ve done this a million times.”
He was right. This was my third Olympics games and I’d lost count of how many races I’d competed in over the years. “Expectations have never been higher.”
He nodded. “True.”
Everyone was looking to me to break my records from the last games. I’d had a team of trainers working with me for the last four years, helping me build strength through the offseason. I was stronger than I’d ever been, and my times were showing it. As long as I didn’t muck it up during the races, I’d be going back home to London with six medals around my neck.
“How’s the shoulder?” he asked as we carried our workout bags over to the water fountain.
I shrugged. “Better than yesterday. That ice really helped.”
He laughed. “The ice on your shoulder, or that kiss with Andie?”
Andie.
Andie. Andie. Andie.
I shouldn’t have kissed her in the training center the day before; it’d been bloody foolish. I knew we needed to lie low; we needed to keep this thing between us under the media’s radar, but she had been wearing those tight workout pants. I could see the slight gap in her thighs and the curve of her ass when she turned back to follow her trainer. When she had first come over to talk to me, I’d nearly pulled her up to straddle me on the table. As far as I was concerned, I had shown saint-like restraint with that kiss, but Andie probably wouldn’t agree.
“What are you going to do about that, mate?”
“I don’t know. She declined dinner with me.”
He laughed, the prick. “What’s that? Your first refusal in history?”
“Glad you can have a laugh at my broken heart.”
“All right, ease up. Just because she doesn’t want to come to dinner doesn’t mean you can’t figure out some other way to spend time with her.”
I arched a brow. “What do you mean?”
Over lunch in the food court, he laid out his diabolical plan. It was simple, but brilliant, and for a moment I was concerned that Thom had missed his calling as a Disney villain.
“You don’t think she’ll tell me to piss off when she shows up?”
He reached out and cupped my chin. “Wivva face like that?”
I jerked out of his grasp and punched his shoulder.
He laughed. “Text her, mate. Let’s see what she says.”
I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, stood up, and threw my workout bag over my shoulder.
“What?!” he protested. “You aren’t even going to tell me how she responds?”
I flipped him off, stuffed my trash into the bin on the way out of the foot court, and tried to decide what exactly I should text Andie. It wasn’t until I’d stepped into the gym that I’d settled on something simple and easy.
Freddie: Thom and I are having a party at our flat later.
An hour went by and she hadn’t responded, so I texted her again.
Freddie: I want you to come.
Andie: Sorry, we have our second game tomorrow morning. I can’t go out.
Freddie: I’ll have you in bed—your bed—by 9:00 PM. Swear.
Andie: Can’t.
Freddie: I already phoned the Queen and let her know you’ll be in attendance.
Georgie called then, jarring me out of the conversation with Andie. I ignored the call and let it go to voicemail. A second later, she phoned again. Persistent little bugger.
Georgie: ANSWER YOUR BLOODY PHONE.
I deleted her text and instead, replied to Andie.