The Summer Games: Out of Bounds (14 page)

Chapter Eighteen

Brie

The next few
days passed in a blur. If I wasn’t at Seattle Flyers, I was working out on Erik’s property, going for runs, fielding my mom’s calls, or hanging out with the team. I was running on fumes and I barely had time to squeeze in basic hygiene, but it felt good. I was slowly starting to get more confident in myself, but the Olympics were quickly approaching and my routines still weren’t where they should have been.

“Again,” Erik said.

I glanced up to see him standing at the end of the beam, arms crossed over his chest and his eyes on me. I stretched my arms overhead to gain momentum for the sequence, but he shook his head.

“From the mount.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and hopped off the beam, tired and wishing practice would end already. For the last few days, we’d both done our best to avoid one another. I gave him space and he did the same. We staggered our morning runs and generally stayed away from each other in the gym. Despite what he’d done to me in the front seat of his truck, he was still my coach, which meant I couldn’t avoid him forever.

“You feel that ache in your muscles?” he asked as I tried to catch my breath. I’d lost track of how many routines I’d completed that day, but Erik still wasn’t satisfied.

I reached up and massaged my arms. They were tired and shaky. There was chalk and sweat all over them, but Erik knew my limit; he knew how far to push me before I collapsed.

“Use it. You’re going to be exhausted when you get to this event. Your muscles are going to tell you to quit, but you need to override them. Make this routine just as good as the very first one you did today.”

I inhaled a deep breath and nodded, feeling strength building in my body.

Beam was mine. It came so easy to me.

I just had to own it.

Beam was made up of difficult skills disguised by beauty and grace. My years of ballet came in handy the most in this event. I finished my first pass: back handspring, back handspring, layout full connected to a Korbut. The Korbut was one of the hardest skills in my routine. It started with a backflip, but instead of landing back on my feet, I had to pause my momentum midway through and catch the beam with my hands, slowly lowering myself down to straddle the beam. If I didn’t slow my momentum enough or if my hands didn’t catch the beam in time, my thighs collided with the beam hard enough to make me see stars. I’d messed the skill up enough times to know I needed to stay controlled and nail it or I’d have bruises to contend with later.

I finished the Korbut and moved into my next piece of choreography, but Erik’s voice cut through the gym.

“Stop,” he said, cutting me off. I jerked my head up and stared at him. “You’re still not trusting your body. You’re hesitating on the layout, and the Korbut was weak. I could see you nearly falter at the end, scared to hurt yourself.”

My mouth dropped open in shock. “Of course I’m scared! Have you ever split the beam? It freaking hurts.”

He shook his head. “It’s too late in the game for that. Your routine has a 9.1 start value; that’s the highest in the world. You’ve done that skill a thousand times; stop acting like this is your first day in the gym.”

He didn’t give me time to reply before he walked away to help June on uneven bars; just as his back was turned, I flipped him off with both hands.

Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you.

God, I hated him.

Later that day
, after I’d showered and iced my aching muscles, I stood at the living room window, peering past the curtain and studying the hot tub that sat in the backyard between Erik’s house and the guesthouse. There was a plastic covering on top, but I wanted to try it out. The temperatures had dropped to the 50s now that the sun had set, and it would definitely feel good to sink into the hot water and let my body relax for a while.

“Wondering where Erik is?” Molly asked, coming up to stand beside me.

The windows of his house were dark. His car was gone, and yes, I’d originally peeked through the window to try to figure out if he was home or not. Generally, it was easy to guess where he was—running, working out, or coaching at Seattle Flyers—but it was late and the chances that he was still up at his gym were slim to none. There were other options of course. Maybe he’d gone to dinner with friends or maybe he’d gone to a bar for a drink. Just the image of him sitting alone nursing a beer made my stomach churn. How many women approached him in one night? A handful? How many would he smile at? How many would he ensnare with his good looks and smooth words?

And of course, there was the last option, the worst one of all. Maybe he wasn’t just out at a bar, trying to find a random fuck. Maybe he already had his sights set on a woman, someone as beautiful and smart as the blonde he’d brought home the week we’d arrived. That thought didn’t just make my stomach churn, it made my blood boil.

“Brie?”

I shrugged, realizing I’d never answered Molly. “I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth the risk to try out that hot tub.”

She perked up. “I’d go with you.”

I grinned; Erik tempered his anger around Molly since she was a longtime pupil. It was settled.

We gathered Rosie and Lexi and brought them up to speed on our plan. Rosie protested, of course, but we insisted Erik wouldn’t care. He’d specifically given us rules to follow, and not using the hot tub wasn’t part of that list, ergo, it was free rein.

“I don’t speak Latin!” Rosie said as we dragged her out of the house after us. “What does ‘ergo’ mean?”

“Hot tubs are meant to be used!” Lexi insisted, whipping off the heavy plastic top that protected the water when it wasn’t in use. She tossed it aside, propped her hands on her hips, and looked my way. “Now what?”

I was already shivering in my bikini and I had no clue how to operate a hot tub. “Look for an on/off switch?”

Molly snapped and offered up a sarcastic, “Stand back everyone, we’ve got a genius here!”

I flipped her off.

After a few more minutes of searching, we were no closer to turning on the hot tub. I reached in to test the water, just to see how cold it would be if we hopped in before it was heated.

“Oh hell no,” I said, jumping back. “It’s freezing.”

Rosie shook her head. “Someone should call Erik. We should ask for his permission to use it and he could help us turn it on.”

Three sets of eyes swung in my direction, but I shook my head adamantly. “No.”

“Yes,” they replied.

“He hates me.”

Lexi reached for where I’d stashed my phone on the ground beside our towels. “Here.”

His number had been included in the information packet, and before arriving in Seattle, I’d plugged it into my phone as Coach Winter. I smiled at how naive I’d been then.

“Do it,” Lexi said, pressing dial for me.

“No!” I protested, but it was too late.

He answered on the first ring and I let his deep voice glide over my skin for a beat too long.

“Hello?”

I blushed.

“Who is this?”

I’d forgotten he didn’t have my number.

I cleared my throat. “Uh…it’s Brie.”

His subtle groan proved he was less than enthusiastic to hear from me.

“This number is for emergencies.”

His voice faded at the end, like he was pulling the phone away from his ear to hang up.

“Wait! This
is
an emergency.”

He paused, giving me time to continue.

“We’re trying to figure out how to use the hot tub.”

I could hear the slight amusement in his voice when he spoke again. “And that’s an emergency because…”

“Our muscles are really sore from practice,” I insisted, trying to make it sound clinical, therapeutic. “The heat and bubbles will help loosen us up.”

“Brie—”

“Oh! I figured it out!” Molly exclaimed just before bubbles started erupting from the jets.

I smirked, though he couldn’t see it. “Never mind. Molly figured it out.”

There were voices in the background. Music too. I wanted to know what he was doing, but I didn’t want to seem desperate.

“Have fun on your date,” I added casually.

“I’m not on a date.”

“Oh.” I smiled, butterflies erupting in my stomach.

“You guys have an hour before I get home. Be out of the hot tub before then.”

“Or what?” I dared.

The line went dead. I glanced down at my phone to see he’d hung up.
Jerk
.

“Sorry.” Lexi shrugged. “Guess you didn’t need to call him after all.”

I tossed my phone onto our pile of towels and slid into the hot tub. It wasn’t hot yet, but it was starting to warm up fast and I was too cold to care. A few minutes later, we’d all settled into our designated sides, letting the jets pound against our aching muscles. It felt like heaven.

“Molly, do you and Host Boy fight a lot?” I asked, opening my eyes to peer over at her. She was as blissed out as I was.

She blushed at the mention of her crush. “No, not really. He’s super nice.”

I rolled my eyes, bored.

“My last boyfriend and I fought all the time,” Lexi offered up.

“Really?”

She shrugged. “Yeah, but there was a language barrier there, so most of it was just miscommunication.”

“Did he ever infuriate you?”

She snorted. “Every day I was with him.”

“But you liked it?” I asked.

“I loved it,” she insisted. “He turned me on like crazy.”

“We heard you shout at Erik last night out front,” Rosie offered, blushing and glancing away when I met her eye.

“It sounded intense,” Molly added.

“It was nothing.” I shrugged and stared down at the water. “He just gets under my skin.”

“And under your dress too.”

I punched Lexi in the shoulder.

“Hey!”

“I told you that in confidence.”

She shrugged. “And then I told Molly and Rosie in confidence too. So now I’m confident we’re all up to speed.”

Molly was smiling, seemingly proud of me for acting on my crush on Erik, but Rosie was averting eye contact as if uncomfortable with the topic altogether.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone,” she insisted. “I mean…he is handsome and I can’t really blame you, but are you sure it’s a good idea? Fooling around with him?”

I laughed at her question. “Of course I don’t think it’s a good idea! I have no clue what I’m doing. For all I know he’s out with another woman right now. I just…can’t really make myself stay away no matter how much he infuriates me.”

Lexi waggled her eyebrows. “Because you loooooovveeee him.”

I reached out to punch her arm, but she whipped out of the way before I could. I groaned and relaxed back against my side of the hot tub, trying to think of a way to turn the conversation away from Erik and me.

I turned my attention back to Molly. “Did you and Host Boy ever shout at each other like what you heard last night?”

She grinned. “No. Duncan is really easy to get along with. He’s sweet and considerate.”

Lexi held up her hand with a bored expression. “Say no more. Clearly, Molly is into some
Full House
shit, whereas you and me, Brie, we’re looking for the kind of love they can’t show on daytime television.”

“That’s not true! Sometimes he kisses me when his parents are home,” Molly added.

Lexi rolled her eyes. “Real titillating stuff, Molly. Tell us more.”

She crossed her arms to pout, but I nudged her shoulder playfully.

“It’s not that I
enjoy
arguing with Erik,” I continued, though it felt like a lie.
Is it healthy to want to argue with someone? To get off on it?
I sighed and stared up at the sky to avoid their judgmental stares. “I just can’t decide if I like him or if I hate him. One minute he drives me insane, and then the next he’s opening himself up to me. It’s hard to resist his vulnerable side.”

“Well, we have a week until the Olympics,” Lexi said. “I would figure out if you hate him or not before then.”

I scrunched my brows. “Why?”

Her smile unfurled, slow and devilish. “Because once you arrive in that Olympic Village and you see the wealth of athletes Rio has to offer, he might not be worth the trouble anymore.”

Chapter Nineteen

Erik

“How is your
team coming along?” my grandfather asked over the phone.

It’d been a few days since I’d last talked to him and I knew he was itching to talk about my father. For now, I was more than happy to discuss my work.

“They’re doing well, but I’m thinking of doing something different before we head to Rio.” I wedged the phone between my shoulder and cheek then leaned over to adjust the stuff sitting on the passenger seat of my truck. All afternoon, I’d run around like a mad man picking up things I needed for Rio. A garment bag blocked the window and I resisted the urge to toss it on the floorboard. My new tailored suit was inside—the one I’d need for formal events during the games—and though it was taking up too much room, I didn’t want to ruin it.

“Oh?” my grandfather asked, bringing my attention back to the call. “What did you have in mind?”

I stared back out to the road. “Just some personalized lessons for them. Cross-training of sorts. See, they’ve come up in this rigid gymnastics crucible that standardizes learning, even though they each have unique deficiencies to address. Like for instance, June moves like a robot on floor no matter how much I tell her to loosen up. I’m thinking of having her take a hip hop dance class.”

He chuckled. “Sounds like a good idea. What will you do for Brie then?”

I gripped the steering wheel, surprised to hear her name from him.

“Brie?”

“Yeah,” he continued. “I was just reading an article about her this morning. The press is going crazy. First time Olympian slotted to win gold on every event? It’s all anyone cares to talk about—well, her and that British swimmer. I think Brie is a bit more interesting though. I love a good underdog story.”

“Right.”

“So what does she need to help her improve? She looks pretty good from what I’ve seen.”

“It’s minor, but…she doesn’t trust her body. Gymnastics is more mental than it is physical, and she’s been psyching herself out over the last few weeks.”

He sighed. “That’s a shame. Most first-time Olympians don’t know how to channel the pressure.”

“Exactly.”

“How are you going to help her?”

I smiled and turned my truck up onto the gravel drive. Even from a distance, I could hear the girls outside in the hot tub. I’d given Brie explicit instructions to be out of the hot tub before I got home, but she sounded fairly content breaking the rules.

I ended the call with my grandfather, promising I’d call him in the morning, and then I killed my engine. I reached to the side and grabbed the handful of groceries I’d picked up after my suit. Though I wanted to get out and shout at Brie to get back inside, I knew that wouldn’t end well. I couldn’t see the girls in the backyard as I unloaded my stuff, but I told myself I’d give them the benefit of the doubt. If they were out by the time I finished unloading, then it’d be no harm, no foul.

I hung my suit in my closet and pounded back down the stairs, annoyed by the high-pitched laughter filtering in from outside. I peeked through the blinds, spotting Brie right away. The other girls were tilted toward the guesthouse, but Brie was facing my porch with her arms outstretched across the top of the hot tub. She was wearing a black bikini top that barely rose above the water. Her tan skin glowed in the hazy moonlight. She’d piled her long hair high on the top of her head, but a few pieces had already fallen out. The strands were wet from the water and stuck to the exposed patch of cleavage between her breasts.

She threw her head back and laughed at something one of the girls said and then her gaze flickered to my house. She knew I was home; the gravel road was loud and my old truck was louder, not to mention my lights were on throughout the bottom floor. She sat up a little taller, exposing more of her bikini top as her gaze swept across the bottom floor of my house. If she knew I was home and she was still in the hot tub, then she wanted to test me.
Perfect.
I was in the mood for a fight.

I swiveled on my heels and headed for the breaker box inside the utility room. It was labeled well: Kitchen, Guest Bath, Master Bath, Patio, and most importantly, Backyard.

Without hesitation, I flipped the switch and killed the power to the hot tub and exterior lights. A second later, moans rang out from outside. I smiled and slammed the breaker box door closed again.

By the time I made it back to the kitchen, Rosie, Molly, and Lexi were getting out of the hot tub and drying off.

“I guess it was nice while it lasted,” Molly said with a shrug as she set off back toward the guesthouse. “Come on, if we hurry we can still watch a movie or something before we go to sleep.”

“Yeah, better than nothing,” Rosie agreed.

Lexi turned back to the hot tub, where Brie sat immobile. “Are you coming?”

Her attention was on my house when she nodded, just once. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll just be a second.”

They set off without her, whipping open the guesthouse door and disappearing inside. Brie hadn’t budged from her spot, illuminated by the light spilling out of my house. She looked angry, though there was no reason to be. I’d been the one to allow her to use the hot tub; she was one who couldn’t follow simple directions.

I pulled open the back door and stepped out onto the porch. Her gaze locked on me immediately. Those brown eyes assessed me with an air of curiosity, but she still made no move to get out of the water.

“I gave you an hour.”

A gloating smirk overtook her lips. “And I wanted more.”

Of course she did.

“Get out. It’s late.”

“You know I don’t need your permission to sit here. The water’s still warm and I’m feeling pretty relaxed.”

I walked off the porch and stepped out onto the grass, closer to her than I should have been. She stood up and water dripped down her skin, rolling down her chest, stomach, and thighs. Her bikini was nothing, little strings holding her top up behind her neck and two bows on either side of her hips. She stood there as I raked my gaze down her body.

Her breasts were small and perky, enough to fill my hands. Her nipples were hard beneath her bikini top and goose bumps bloomed across her skin as she acclimated to the cold night air. Her arms and legs were slender, toned. Her waist was tiny and I knew it’d be so easy to get a grip on her there. I wanted to dig my fingers into her waist and take her from behind, bending her forward over the hot tub.

She cleared her throat and I flicked my gaze away, but it didn’t matter. I had her body burned to memory. I reached down and grabbed her towel off the ground, tossing it toward her so she had to catch it fast before it fell into the water.

She wrapped it around herself and stepped out of the hot tub on my side, cast in the yellow glow seeping from my windows. The movement brought her just feet away from me, hardly enough distance to keep her safe.

“Cover up,” I demanded, annoyed with how quickly I was losing self-control.

Her brow arched. “Why? Is it hard for you to see me like this?”

She tilted her head, waiting for my answer, but I wouldn’t give her a single fucking word.

Her smile widened and I swore I could see the wheels in her head turning as she thought of how she’d torture me next. I thought once I gave her the towel, she’d beg off and head inside, too nervous to take the game to the next level.

I was wrong.

She reached up to pull the string behind her neck, then her hands slipped inside her towel, working on the string behind her back. She was removing her bikini top so she could dry her skin and I couldn’t open my mouth to force her to stop.

The black material fell to the ground beneath her feet and then her towel dropped after it. She stood there topless, shrouded in darkness, hidden from the guesthouse. She was wearing the most devilish smirk I’d ever seen. My hands fisted by my sides as she reached up and felt her skin, dragging the palm of her hand over her stomach until she reached her right breast.

“How long has it been since you touched me?” She answered the question herself. “Nearly a week?
God
, you must be going
crazy
.”

She was so fucking sure of herself, like she’d done this a million times. I wouldn’t call her bluff; I didn’t need to. I knew if I stepped closer, I’d feel how shaky her hand was.

She liked my attention; she wanted to show me everything I couldn’t have, and though I should have walked away, I stood immobile. My breaths were coming heavy and my fists were clenched to my sides, aching to reach out and stroke her breasts as she pushed her palm down, down,
down
, right to the spot between her legs. I wanted to lean forward and cup her breasts, roll my thumb over her nipples until her mouth fell open and she begged for me. She hadn’t done a good enough job; she didn’t know how to make herself moan the way I could.

Fuck.

She was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen and I was so turned on, my dick strained against my jeans.

Her hand dipped into the bottom of her bikini and she dragged it back and forth, rocking herself against her palm. Her bikini bottom fell another inch down her legs and I knew she was about to strip for me, bare herself completely.

“Remember what I said the other day?” she asked, sling-shotting me back to reality. “About you touching me?”

Brie wasn’t stripping for me, she was taunting me,
teasing me
.

She took two steps toward me and pulled her hand out of her bikini bottom. She pressed up onto her tiptoes, rubbing her naked breasts against my chest, and I resisted a moan.

“I still mean it,” she snapped with a little laugh.

The brat assumed she’d won. She’d gotten me hard—she’d felt it when she brushed herself up against me—and now she was backing off, slinking back to the safety of the guesthouse.

She stepped back, reaching for the towel on the ground, but I reached out and gripped her arm, hard enough that she couldn’t pull it away when she tried.

Her eyes blazed as she whipped around. “Let me go.”

I pulled her in, just as close as she’d been a second before. I tilted down, dragging my lips up her neck as my other hand found the wet spot between her legs. I could have made her come with a single swipe of my finger, but I didn’t move, didn’t give her the satisfaction.

She bared her teeth, trying to yank her arm free.

“Get off me.”

I smirked and reached up to grip her chin, her wetness still on the tip of my finger. Slowly—slow enough that I watched her eyes close with need—I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her lips. I thought she’d bite me, but her lips were soft and receptive. She moaned into my mouth, leaning herself into me, needing more. She wanted it just as badly as I did, but I pulled back, breaking the kiss off with an angry growl. Then I let her go and she stumbled back in the grass, eyes wide, lips swollen.

“Tease me like that again and I’ll make sure you regret it.”