Out of Bounds (The Summer Games #2)(92)

Cracking jokes? This man didn’t joke. He had one expression: a scowl.

The silence settled and I realized I was supposed to respond; she’d been talking to me.

“Oh. Yeah, that sounds fun. I’m glad you two have each other to stay sane.”

Erik narrowed his eyes at me, but I didn’t meet his gaze.

Tell her you aren’t going. Tell her you need to stay and be with me.

“Anyway,” Valerie said, smiling at Erik. “Are you ready? I don’t want to be late.”

Please don’t leave with her.

Please.

“Yeah.” He nodded and turned away, and it was in that simple act that I felt my heart start to break. “Let’s go.”

Valerie laughed. “Aren’t you going to say bye to Brie?”

I wanted to throw up. I wanted to throw my clutch at the back of Erik’s head and shout at him for being so f*cking stupid. If he had feelings for me, if he cared for me in any way, he needed to turn around and give me a sign.

And yet, he didn’t.

“Oh, he already has,” I said before turning on my heel and walking away.

I heard her whisper something to him, probably confused by my abrupt departure, but I didn’t care. Let her think I was crazy. I held my chin up high as I walked away from them, my heels clacking on the sidewalk with a confident air. I felt strong and independent, like I’d just slapped him or something, when in reality, he was the one who’d struck me.

I passed in front of the athlete complex and kept walking, feeling the confidence starting to seep out of me. My shoulders sagged and my chin dipped toward the ground. I’d gone down to meet Erik so I could surrender, and I had. I’d laid down my sword and armor, and in return, he’d stabbed me square in the chest. It was an ambush.

I kept walking, keeping my head down, until I couldn’t resist the temptation. I glanced over my shoulder and watched the two of them walk away together. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and she was talking animatedly. She nudged his shoulder with hers and he nodded.

The logical part of my brain knew he wasn’t going out on a date with her. They weren’t going back to his apartment and making love, but I’d just thrown myself at him, declared everything I was feeling, and he was walking away with another woman.

I pulled my phone out of my purse, prepared to text him an angry message—Forget everything I just said and go f*ck yourself—but I knew I wouldn’t survive his flippant response—Okay. Fine. Sounds good to me.

Erik wasn’t a good guy. He wasn’t going to run after me and plead for a place in my heart.

In reality, I meant as little to him as I had a month and a half ago, and now that I’d surrendered, he likely wanted nothing to do with me.

Game over.





Chapter Thirty-Four


Erik





I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I should have left Brie alone from the very beginning, but now it was too late. She was stubborn and appealing and seductive. I wanted her without thought of the consequences. Somehow in the last few weeks, she’d gone from being a thorn in my side to a desire so constant, it consumed me night and day.

Despite my better judgment, I thought about calling her. She’d put her heart on the line and I’d walked away. I wasn’t a blubbering idiot. I knew how much that had hurt her, but what was I supposed to do? Declare my love in front of Valerie? No. I needed to tell her how I felt, but it couldn’t be out on the sidewalk in the middle of the f*cking Olympic Village. She wanted answers, but she didn’t want to wake up the next day and see herself splashed across gossip sites. I knew she was thinking with her heart and not her head. If she took a step back, she’d see there was no point in making the next five days harder than they had to be. If I came out and paraded her around the Olympics, the media would have a field day. She had five more days of competition and the only thing she needed to concern herself with was gymnastics.

After the coaches’ dinner, I went back to my condo and rolled my cell phone between my hands, trying to think of something to say to her. I typed out a text and erased it. I didn’t want to tell Brie I liked her over a f*cking text message. This wasn’t high school—not to mention “like” was a shitty word. I “liked” spinach. What I felt for Brie couldn’t be summed up in a few typed words.

“Erik, my boy! To what do I owe this pleasure?”

I smiled at the sound of my grandfather’s voice through the phone. I’d been sleeping like shit in Rio; waking up before my alarm had become par for the course over the last few days, so I decided to put my time to good use.

“I’ve got a few minutes before practice,” I said, staring out at the Rio landscape past my condo’s window. “Thought I’d check in. It’s been a few days since I’ve talked to you.”

The condo was sparse, not nearly as nice as where the athletes were staying, but I didn’t care. I only had five more days and then I’d be flying home.

Home.

Wherever that was.

“Right, well, things have been pretty busy over here.”

“Yeah? Have you talked to your neighbor yet?”

“I baked those cookies Brie talked about and the first four batches burned.”

I laughed. “How’d you manage that?”