Out of Bounds (The Summer Games #2)(89)

It was no use.

We’d won gold for Team USA earlier that afternoon and the moment the gold medals had been placed around our necks, Lexi’s ability to attenuate the volume of her own voice disappeared. She could only scream and shout, too excited to register that the elevator was small and we all wanted to punch her.

“You’re not actually wearing that to the party, are you?” Molly said, pointing to Lexi’s chest.

She still had her gold medal wrapped around her neck. It was huge and heavy, weighing down the material on her skimpy black dress, but she looked quite content with it in place. “Absolutely! I’m always looking for more accessories, and nothing goes with black quite like gold.”

We were in the elevator on the way to Hudson’s party after the longest day of my life. I wanted nothing more than to fall into my bed and sleep, but they’d insisted I join them at the party. I feigned fatigue, insisting I needed sleep, but they didn’t believe that excuse for a second.

Truthfully, I wanted to see Erik.

I needed to see him.

All day, he’d been there, coaching from the sidelines, happy when we were happy, there to give me guidance whenever my nerves got to be too much. When we’d stood on the podium during the medal ceremony, he’d stood watching from the sidelines, as proud as ever. He’d been there, but other than a quick hug after I’d nailed my floor routine, he hadn’t touched me. It was an intentional distance. I knew he couldn’t treat me special in public, but that didn’t mean I stopped craving it.

After the applause, the pictures, the flowers, the anthem, and the tears, we stepped off the podium for even more photos. It was a never-ending process that bled into the evening and by the time we were done, Erik was gone. I’d seen him out of the corner of my eye, getting interviewed by NBC about the success of the team, but somewhere in the madness, he’d slipped out of the arena before us.

“Don’t you think it’s weird that Erik didn’t stay to head back to the village with us?” I asked as the elevator doors slid open on the fourteenth floor of our athlete complex.

Molly shrugged. “No. He probably just took the shuttle back before us.”

“He’s probably celebrating with the other coaches or something,” Lexi said.

I scowled. “Do you really think he is?”

The thought of him out with Valerie made my chest ache.

“Why do you care? You look seriously hot in that blue dress. You’re a f*cking Olympic champion, and tonight, we’re going to get laid.”

Molly and Rosie shook their heads.

“Uh, I’m waiting for Duncan,” Molly said. “Remember?”

Rosie nodded. “Yeah, and I hardly even know Hudson.”

Lexi groaned. “Bores, all of you! Don’t you want to make memories now that will last a lifetime?”

Molly laughed. “I think herpes lasts a lifetime too.”

I fingered my phone in my clutch, trying to decide whether or not to text Erik. He could have contacted me, sent me a congratulatory text or something. Why hadn’t he?

“Put your phone away and get ready to party,” Lexi said, swinging her arm around my shoulders.

I forced a smile as she pushed me down the hallway after Molly and Rosie. They were counting down the condo numbers, but there was no need. The entire floor was quiet except for one condo at the far end of the hallway. Athletes trickled in and out, their voices drowned out by the loud music playing inside.

“I’m going to take a wild guess and say that’s where the party is,” Lexi said, pointing to the two drunken athletes falling to the ground outside the door.

We stepped around them as we approached.

“Should we call someone?” Rosie asked, glancing down with concern.

The two guys were rolling on their backs, laughing hysterically.

“They look fine to me,” Molly said, stepping over them.

Hudson had promised a small party, but the scene we walked into reminded me of the frat parties I’d seen in the movies. It wasn’t just the soccer and swim teams; there had to be over a hundred people crammed into the living room and kitchen, spilling out onto the balcony and surrounding bedrooms.

“Oh god,” Molly groaned. “This is going to be…”

“AMAZING,” Lexi finished, waving down a guy passing around drinks on a tray.

“What’s in these?”

He grinned, assessing Lexi with a long glance down her legs before landing back up on her medal.

“This crap isn’t for you baby, I’ll get you the good stuff.”

Gag me.

I pushed her past him, waving away a drink.

“Don’t accept a drink from a stranger. Even if these people are athletes, that doesn’t make them angels.”

No. One quick glance around the room—over the guys playing beer bong, the couples on the dance floor, the group taking shots near the kitchen, and the squeals coming from the bedrooms—showed we definitely weren’t among angels.

“Rosie!”

A loud voice boomed over the crowd and we turned to see Hudson pushing his way through to get to us.

“You made it.” He beamed, glancing over us quickly before landing back on Rosie.

The boy is infatuated.

Rosie offered him a small wave and he stepped forward, bending low to place a quick kiss on her cheek. The gesture nearly burst my heart open. He was confident enough to lean forward and kiss her in front of all of us. He wasn’t playing games with her. He liked her, he invited her to a party, and now he was about to spend the next few hours getting to know her. The simplicity of it nearly made my head spin.