I grabbed a spare leo and ran down the stairs after Molly. For the amount of beers I’d had the night before, I didn’t feel as bad as I’d thought I would. I mean, yes, there was definitely a category 5 hurricane wreaking havoc on my brain, but with a little food and water, I knew I’d be fine.
Molly grabbed protein bars for us and then June directed us outside.
“We don’t have any time to spare,” she said, tapping her foot.
“We’re coming!” Molly said, running after me.
“What the hell are you wearing?” June asked as I passed.
Lexi laughed. “It’s her leotard, June.”
I grinned. “Pretty cute, right?”
“No.” She rolled her eyes and then spun on her heel to lead us all out of the house.
Lexi leaned in close. “Wow, guess you won’t be the only cat in the gym today.”
I smiled back at her before trailing outside after the others. There was an old forest green Jeep parked in front of the guesthouse and a note on the front windshield outlined the rules. It was ours to use while we were in Seattle—well, ours to use if we wanted to go three specific places: Seattle Flyers, the grocery store, or the emergency room. Anywhere else was off limits.
“I’ll drive!” Molly said, whipping around the front of the Jeep and pulling open the driver’s side door.
Molly was quite possibly the worst driver in the world. To be fair, the car was a manual and she hadn’t used a clutch in years.
“I’ll get the hang of it,” she promised as the Jeep stalled for the fifth time in the middle of the road.
“We’ll never get there,” June groaned, letting her forehead fall against the window in the back seat.
“Just have a little faith,” Rosie said from the center seat, leaning forward to pat Molly’s shoulder. “I think you’re doing a great job.”
“You really are,” I added, purposely leaving out the fact that Google Maps had estimated the drive would take fifteen minutes and we’d already been driving for thirty.
“He’s going to kill us!” June said. “Ugh, just let me out and I’ll walk there myself.”
“JUNE! Just shut up,” Lexi snapped from the opposite end of the back seat. She was massaging her head, likely battling the same hangover hurricane as me.
By the time we pulled up to the deserted parking lot of Seattle Flyers, we were all annoyed, carsick, and in a rush to get inside. Molly pulled in next to an old Ford pickup and I’d barely hopped out and pulled the front seat forward when June pushed past me to get out. The seat collided with my shoulder with the force of her exit, but she didn’t care. She ran ahead so the four of us were left to walk in her wake.
“What a joy it will be to live with her for four more weeks,” Lexi groaned.
“That’s not even counting Rio,” Molly pointed out.
I frowned. “I keep trying to give her the benefit of the doubt…y’know, like maybe she’s really nervous about competing…but it’s getting harder to see reason with her.”
Lexi shook her head. “I agree. We’re all about to be in the Olympics. We all feel the pressure. It doesn’t mean you’re allowed to shit all over your teammates.”
“Let’s just go easy on her, guys,” Rosie said, holding the gym door open for us. “I’m sure she’ll warm up to us soon.”
We walked in and dropped our gear next to a wall of cubbies near the entrance of the gym. Come 4:00 PM, the place would be packed with gymnasts arriving to work out after school. Until then, the place was ours.
“It looks really nice,” Rosie said, stepping up beside me.
I nodded. “It’s nicer than where I trained in Austin.”
The space was divided into two areas, one for men’s gymnastics and one for women’s. The women’s side of the place looked like it could fill up multiple football fields. There were two regulation size floors, a dozen beams lined up in two rows of six, three vaults, and too many uneven bars to count. Everything was organized and clean. The equipment was all relatively new and bright. The walls were painted a crisp white and dozens of championship banners hung from the ceiling. Clearly, Erik had made a name for himself in the gymnastics world.
“…and I tried to stop them, but they went out last night anyway.”
June’s voice jerked me out of my scan of the gym. I turned and walked around a corner of the foyer to find her talking to Erik near the gym’s office.
“Obviously I knew it was against the rules, which is why I didn’t go,” she continued. “So I don’t think I should be included in any punishment they receive.”
He was trying to exit through the office door, but she’d caged him in so she could snitch on us.
“Oh hell no,” Lexi said, breezing past me. “That little rat.”
I reached out my arm to stop her. “It’s not worth it.”
Besides, Erik wasn’t paying attention to June, he was watching us—specifically, me.
His stubble was back, covering his chiseled jaw and framing his high cheekbones. His hair was tousled and his strong frame stretched his gray t-shirt in a way that made my knees weak. I’d never had a gymnastics coach as intimidating as Erik and the longer his eyes stayed pinned on me, the more I wanted to cut and run.
“So, you all had a little fun last night,” he said.
When we didn’t try to deny his claim, he continued. “Whose idea was it?”