“Why would I be jealous? I have a boyfriend, and you’re not him.”
“Oh, you’ve made that abundantly clear.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Fuck you, Thayer.”
“Are we done here?” he asked, annoyance in his tone.
“Are you dismissing me?”
“Giselle?” a deep voice interjected.
I froze as Thayer spun around. It was Gino, decked out in suit pants and a sweater vest, holding a carry-on bag.
“Gino?” I said, stunned he’d shown up.
“Everything okay?” he asked as he approached, his eyes jumping between Thayer and me.
I shook off my surprise and hurried toward him. “What are you doing here?”
He pulled me into a hug. “I jumped on the first flight, hoping to catch at least one of Kason’s runs. I texted you from the airport. Even though I was too late, I wanted to come celebrate anyway.”
“I just left the bar,” I said, stepping out of his hug. “We can head back if you’d like. Kason’s still there.”
He looked to Thayer who lifted his chin at him. “’Sup, dude?”
“’Sup,” Gino said, the word sounding so unnatural coming from him. “Was I interrupting something?”
“Just schooling your girl,” Thayer explained. “But now I gotta bounce. Got a room full of willing snow bunnies, if you know what I mean,” he said, clasping Gino on the shoulder. “And a monster pillow fight waiting to happen,” he added for my benefit.
With that, he walked into his room and closed the door. The click of the lock echoed in the now quiet hallway.
“To be single,” Gino mused.
I looked to him, annoyed. Was it his words? Or, was it the fact that Thayer was in a room full of drunk girls? What would happen behind closed doors? Was my imagination worse than reality?
I guess I’d never know.
Nor did I have the right to.
3
THAYER
I picked at the scrambled eggs on my plate, not really able to stomach much after the amount I drank last night.
“And, once I landed that trick, I knew the gold was mine,” Kason explained to his family and friends at the hotel restaurant.
“So, when does Olympic training begin?” his mom asked.
“Been training for it my entire life,” Kason said. “Right, Thayer?”
I glanced up to find all eyes on me. “True story,” I agreed, knowing we’d both been training for it. Only, I fucked it all up and stopped competing.
“You considering any qualifying events?” Kason’s dad asked me. “I’m sure fans are waiting for your return.”
I shrugged. “You never know. I’ve been feeling like I need some time away from Colorado.” My gaze shifted to Giselle, but her attention was on Gino, whose arm was draped over her shoulders. I had no idea why I needed to constantly be reminded that she didn’t care what I did—unless of course I was entertaining a room full of girls. Then, she went all crazy. “Maybe I’ll hit up Switzerland,” I added.
“Switzerland?” Kason asked, excited by the prospect of me going with him.