Page 40 of Clean Point

Looking around the table, I took in the chorus of puzzled faces and lips pressed in firm, concerned lines as Inés and Henrik stared back down at their cards. Dylan, however, who sat opposite me, was calm and collected, a smirk spread on her lips.

‘You gonna call, Kotas?’ She challenged, raising her eyebrows confidently. I tried to ignore her, learning over the course of our stay here that she was impossible to read. I’d never played her on the court before, but after seeing her in a card game, I’d quickly figured out how terrifying an opponent she would’ve made.

I looked over at the kitchen again, spotting Scottie’s messy blonde bun sticking out above the door of the fridge, and without another thought, I folded. Dylan made an unintelligible noise of glee, scooping the hoard of chips to her side.

‘I’m going to sit this next round out,’ I announced, pushing myself out of the chair.

Inés eyed me suspiciously, her glance flickering behind me to the kitchen. ‘Are you going to get yourself a snack?’

I picked up my empty glass from the table. ‘I’m just getting a drink.’

‘Mhm,’ Dylan hummed. ‘Sure you are.’

‘You got something to say, Bailey?’

‘Nothing.’ She refocused on the pile of chips in front of her. There was a long silence as I looked around the group, waiting for somebody to crack and tell me the truth.

Henrik finally broke, saying somewhat playfully, ‘You two just seem to spend a lot of time together.’

‘Yeah, because we’re mixed partners. We train together all day.’

He smiled, lifting an eyebrow. ‘So are me and Inés.’

I looked between them as if I was still missing something. ‘And you guys are hanging out right now.’

‘Yeah, but I don’t chase her around.’

‘And don’t get me started on the way you guys look at each other,’ Inés chirped in. ‘It’s like watching a rom-com unfold.’

‘It’s sickening,’ Dylan said, just loud enough for me to hear.

My gaze caught on Dylan, her tone sharper. She didn’t look back up at me, but it was clear what she thought of Scottie. I could understand her view. While it was good that Scottie came clean and confessed to the doping, Dylan was robbed of the precious Wimbledon win. If somebody had stolen that from me, I’d never forgive them either.

Inés pulled my attention back to her, playfully adding, ‘So, you both ditched us in Lindos for no reason at all?’

‘Then turned up soaking wet?’ Henrik smirked.

‘It was raining!’ I defended, throwing my hands in the air. I realized that I had almost shouted, and after a quick glance to the kitchen, found Scottie there, unaware of the discussion that was going on.

‘You were supposed to be in the van.’ Inés smiled. ‘And you were gone for hours doing God knows what.’

‘We were just talking.’ My mind stuttered under their accusations.

I knew we were growing closer. After all, we’d been working together for a while now. We had a relationship where before there was misunderstanding and a little arrogance, but now there was communication and friendship.

And maybe, just maybe, I thought about the moment in the doorway. The way her pink lips had parted. How her eyes looked into mine. How the front of her soaked body pressed against me. Maybe I even thought about it in the shower when I most definitely should not be thinking about my mixed partner.

‘There’s nothing going on.’ I wasn’t sure if I had said the words for their sake, or for mine, but I said them firmly, trying to put an absolute end to this conversation. The last thing I needed was for Scottie to hear any of this, to think that … to know that …

‘Yet,’ Dylan said, looking across the table at me, her gaze icy and cutting. Inés and Henrik looked at each other with raised eyebrows, their lips pressed into small smiles.

I was stuck for a moment, unsure if I should continue my plan to see Scottie. I had only wanted to check on her after today, to make sure Sarah hadn’t done anything that we needed to speak to Jon about. Henrik had begun to shuffle the cards, and Inés looked over at me, a knowing smile on her lips.

I waited for another sarcastic response, but she just rolled her eyes at me and looked away.

‘Just go,’ she mouthed, nodding her head in the direction of the kitchen. I hesitated for a single moment longer, before relenting. Behind me, hooting and hollering rose from Henrik and Inés. I turned on my heels, sticking my middle finger up at them, sick of their childish antics.

Pulling the door open, I found Scottie sitting at the breakfast counter, snacking out of a box of granola. Her neck was left exposed by her swept-up hair, while she wore ELITE joggers and a tank top with thin straps that I made a mental note to ignore.

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