The Summer Games: Out of Bounds (15 page)

Chapter Twenty

Brie

I was playing
with fire—no, I wasn’t just playing with fire; I was rolling in it. I was so confident I wouldn’t get burned, I didn’t realize how deep into the flames I’d fallen. The night before had been meant to be a joke, a
dare
. I’d stayed in the hot tub longer than anyone else because I’d wanted Erik to come and kick me out. I’d wanted to make sure he wasn’t lying about his date and I’d wanted to see the look on his face when I defied him.

Provoking him entertained me. On normal days, he was the image of stoicism, but when I pissed him off, his bright blue eyes smoldered. His strong jaw tightened. His muscles coiled with anger and I loved it.
I craved it
. It was the only time I got a real emotion out of him, and even if it was hate, it was better than nothing.

The moment he’d released me from his hold, I’d run back inside the guesthouse and locked the door behind me.
Why?
Had I honestly thought he’d follow me inside and deliver on his sensual promise? His words had been so twisted, so dark, and he knew the way they affected me. He’d
felt
the way they ignited me.

A blush spread up over my cheeks as fire overtook my veins. I tried to adjust in my seat to help ease the tension building between my thighs, but it was no use. Even after a night of restless sleep, I couldn’t get the feel of him out of my head. When I’d brushed up against him wearing nothing but my bikini bottoms, I’d felt his size. He’d nearly eclipsed me with his massive shoulders and hard chest. His hands had wrapped around my arms so tightly it nearly hurt
—nearly
being the key word, because that was the thing with Erik: he knew just how far to go. He knew what I wanted, even if I hadn’t yet admitted it to myself.

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Molly asked, nudging my shoulder.

We were in the back seat of the Jeep, heading to the gym for practice. June sat on the other side of Molly with her headphones in place, tuning us out. Lexi was driving like a madwoman, and Rosie sat next to her up front, trying to ignore Lexi’s “sexual lesson of the day”, as Molly and I had dubbed them.

I shook my head and brushed Molly off, too aware of June listening in on the other side. Her music wasn’t that loud; she could have easily heard every word I said.
Does it matter though?
She’d probably seen my little display by the hot tub last night.

There it was again.

The fire.

I inhaled a shaky breath and turned toward the window, trying to get a grip on my fantasies before we pulled up to the gym. Practice would be hell otherwise.

“So most girls forget about the balls,” Lexi said from the front seat. “If you want to know the difference between a good blowjob and a great blowjob, just go ahead and cup those bad boys. Keep ’em warm. Don’t let the shaft get all the spotlight.”

I stifled a laugh.

Rosie fidgeted in her seat. “It’s okay. I don’t really need to know…I mean, I can’t imagine
wanting
to—”

Lexi held up her hand to stop her. “Oh please. I used to think the same thing—
blowjobs are misogynistic, blah blah blah, NPR—
but believe me, oral isn’t about feminism, it’s about driving each other wild.”

Molly shook her head. “So what do you do after you, uh, cup them?”

Lexi smirked. “It’s up to you, but when I really like a guy, I’ll lick my thumb—”

Rosie turned the dial on the radio up loud so Lexi’s last words were cut off.

Lexi turned it back down. “—and at the last second I’ll stick it right in his—”

Rosie flipped the dial up so loud I had to hold my hands up to cover my ears.

June yanked her headphones off. “Jesus! What are you guys doing? Just leave the radio alone.”

“Speaking of tight-asses, no one asked for your input, June,” Lexi said, eyeing her in the rearview mirror. “You can go back to ignoring us.”

Fortunately, the gym came into view over the horizon before June could escalate the situation. Lexi whipped into a parking spot, not even close to being in the lines. June hopped out and ran for the door, and the four of us sat in silence for a second, absorbing the last few seconds.

“Do you think we should ease up on her?” Rosie asked, turning back to stare at Molly and me in the back seat.

“How can we?” Lexi asked. “She’s the one being a twat.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, we’re not exactly going out of our way to be nice to her either.”

Molly nodded. “I think we should try harder to include her. Maybe she thinks we don’t want to be friends with her.”

“Not after what she pulled on Brie!” Lexi argued. “Of course we don’t want to be friends with her!”

I frowned and shook my head. Something told me not to count June out. Sure, she wasn’t the nicest girl I’d ever been around, but she was stressed and away from home with no one to lean on.

“I think we should ease up on her as well.”

Rosie clapped from the front seat excitedly. “Maybe we could do something fun to make her feel included!”

Lexi eyes widened. “Should we take her to a strip club?”

“No.”

“Gentlemen’s club?”

“Definitely not,” I insisted.

“You’re right.” She clapped. “We bring the strippers to
us
.”

I groaned. “No strippers, Lexi.”

Rosie perked up and clapped excitedly. “When I was younger, the older girls in our gym kidnapped us from our houses in the middle of the night and took us to IHOP.” She beamed. “All-you-can-eat pancakes.”

Lexi leveled her with a glare. “How has life failed you so miserably?”

“It was fun,” she said, defending herself. “I had whipped cream on mine.”

Oh Rosie.

Molly held up her hands to cut the two of them off. “Okay, how about instead of some crazy plan, let’s just try to talk to her a little more, maybe offer her a smile every now and then, yeah?”

Lexi groaned as she hopped out of the driver’s seat. “Suit yourself, losers. Keep your bottomless pancakes. I would have picked bottomless strippers.”

I tossed my
t-shirt and shorts into my bag and rooted around for my pre-wrap and athletic tape. The rest of my team was already set up on floor, stretching and slowly easing into practice. I hadn’t seen Erik on my way into the gym, but he was there now, talking to the girls as I approached. I wanted to pretend as if it didn’t matter, but there was no denying the jolt of excitement that shot through me at the sight of him.

Even as he stood talking to Rosie, my body begged me closer, but then he broke out in a smile—a real, wide grin he’d never once used on me. A dark thought spiraled through me. It’s not that I thought for one second he might be attracted to Rosie, but maybe he liked that type of woman. She didn’t talk back, she called him sir, she finished her workouts on time, and she smiled politely every chance she got.

What an easy life he’d have with a woman like Rosie: no fights, no games, no war—just obedience. My stomach twisted at the thought as I stepped up onto the floor and crossed the white boundary taped around the perimeter. I chanced a quick glance at Erik as I approached the group, but he was still talking to Rosie. It was like he wasn’t even aware of the fact that I’d joined the group.

My stomach ached as I took a seat beside Lexi. She tried to meet my eye, but I ignored her, busying myself with finding the start to my roll of pre-wrap.

“Here,” Erik said, startling me.

When did he come over here?

He didn’t wait for me to hand him the tape, just reached down and grabbed for it, brushing the back of his hand along my thigh with the effort.

“Let me do it,” he insisted.

My mouth went dry as I handed off the pre-wrap and a barrage of memories flooded in at once: his finger between my legs, his tongue gliding across my lips, his hard cock pressed against my stomach beneath his jeans. He was acting casual, but less than ten hours earlier, we’d nearly attacked each other in his backyard. I mean,
I stripped for him for God’s sake
. My entire body blushed from head to toe and I turned away, trying to hide my red cheeks against my shoulder as he bent down in front of me.

He reached out and pulled my foot to him like he owned the damn thing. I shivered at his touch as he gripped my ankle, but I’d be damned if he saw me blushing. I bent my other leg to my chest and folded my arms around it, glancing to Lexi for a distraction. She was smiling, flitting her gaze back and forth between Erik and me. I narrowed my eyes, trying to convey how much I hated her in that moment.

“Flex,” Erik said, gripping the arch of my foot in his palm. My body pooled with warmth as his thumb dragged across my sole.
Why. Why. Why.
He was touching my foot! Last I checked, my vagina was somewhere between my hips and thighs.

“Before we get started today, I have two things to announce,” Erik said, glancing over his shoulder to the rest of the team while he continued wrapping my ankle in yellow pre-wrap. I needed him to hurry up or I was going to spontaneously combust.

“We’re leaving for Rio two days early.”

My eyes widened.

“What?!” Lexi asked. “Why?”

“The Olympic Committee wants us there for press.”

My heart pounded.
No.
We were supposed to have another full week in Seattle before we left.
How is this possible?
June and Rosie shook their heads, just as distraught by the news as I was.

“Calm down,” Erik said, tossing my pre-wrap aside with a touch too much aggression. “It’s two days. We still have plenty of time to train, and even if we didn’t, every single one of you is ready to compete.”

He turned back to my ankle and propped it up on his thigh so he could use both hands to wrap the white athletic tape around it.
Is having my ankle on his thigh supposed to be intimate? Because it’s making me sweat.
Suddenly, I felt like leaving for Rio as soon as possible, just to get some space.

“I’ve been very impressed with everyone’s skills, conditioning, strength—your hardware,” he said. “But that’s only half the battle. What I’d like to see you work on is your software, your mental toughness, so I’ve drawn up some unorthodox training schedules for these last few days before we leave.”

We sat in silence, waiting for him to continue. Surely he wouldn’t do anything too torturous to us this close to our departure.
Right?

“Well?” Lexi interrupted. “What is it?”

“I’ve identified something unique you each need to work on.” He tilted his head to June. “I’ve been telling you for the last few weeks you’re too stiff on floor, so I’ve signed you up for two hip hop dance classes before we leave.”

June’s eyes nearly fell out of her skull. “Hip hop? No! That’ll mess up my choreography.”

“It’s not optional,” he replied with a hard stare before turning his gaze to Molly and Rosie.

“You two will be taking a boxing lesson.”

Rosie’s eyes widened. “Boxing?”

“You’re both too timid on vault, like you’re afraid you’re going to get hit. So, I want you to get to do the hitting and build some confidence.” At Rosie’s wide eyes, he continued, “Don’t worry, you’ll have a trainer who knows you’re both competing soon. Injury prevention is key.”

Both of them nodded, glancing to one another with excitement once they realized it wouldn’t be too bad.

“What about me, Coach?” Lexi said, waggling her brows.

“Ballet.”

Her face fell. “Ballet? That’s not really my thing.”

“Exactly. I think a ballet class will balance you out. A little grace never hurt anyone.”

She mumbled under her breath as Erik’s gaze turned back to me. The weight of his attention was almost too much to bear. I wanted to turn away or glance down, but I held his piercing gaze and tried not to cower. My lips were dry, but I didn’t lick them; I didn’t want him to think I was inviting him to kiss me or something. Instead, I locked my arms tighter around my knee as he spoke.

“Brie, will be taking a yoga class.”

I furrowed my brow.
Yoga?
What was that supposed to teach me?
How to become one with my chakras?

“Sounds good,” I said, turning away just as he finished wrapping my ankle.

“No argument?” he asked, standing to tower over me. He tossed the tape down and it rolled against my thigh.

I smiled a private smile and shook my head. “I could use the peace and quiet. Last night kind of wore me out.”

There.

It was out.

If he wouldn’t bring up the previous night, then I would.

A devilish smirk was the only reply I needed. He most definitely remembered. Even if he was putting on a show for everyone else, there was still a war waging on inside him.