Page 39 of One Timer With A Wingman

It’s a statement not a question.

“I guess not, but don’t read into it. I know your dick has made its rounds at school,” I say, reminding myself more than him that he isn’t a guy I can fall for.

“You aren’t wrong, but my dick has never had so many rounds with the same girl before, and I still want more,” he says, surprising me.

“Aaron.” My face falls. “That was never the plan.”

“I know, but I don’t like the idea of other guys putting their dicks inside you now,” he says.

I know what he means but the way he says it makes me laugh.

“That sounds so bad. If it’s any consolation, I don’t get around,” I tell him.

“That makes me like you more, Briar.”

The way he says my name makes my pussy clench.

“We had a deal. This fling has run its course,” I say, needing to protect my heart.

“You’re right,” he agrees.

A part of me wants him to say this is not over for him either, but we are heading back to Riverside. Back to real life, which means I need to accept the fact we are done. It’s for the best.

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

Briar

The trip felt like a dream and far exceeded my expectations of what a vacation would feel like. Now I understood the hype of taking a vacation, and I checked off three items from my bucket list. I was also paying the price of late nights and all that partying because I was tired. The last days of vacation were spent with me chilling around the house and in bed. When I wasn’t relaxing, I went to the Sports Complex to work out in the gym. I gained seven pounds in four days of vacation. It was something my coaches were going to notice. Gymnastics was one of those sports where weight mattered. It was hard to hide a few extra pounds with the bodysuits we were required to wear.

The group from Punta Cana spent New Year’s Eve together drinking and hanging out at Ivy and Lynsey’s house, but drinking and eating more food was the last thing I needed. So I spent the night in bed watching movies. When Annie and Ruby wanted to catch up after vacation, I couldn’t say no. The night before the semester started, I went to Black Jack’s with them. I had thought about telling them about my fling with Aaron but after giving it a lot of thought, I convinced myself it was better not to talk about him. I’d somehow managed to develop feelings for the jerk in the short time we were together. I cried the first night I was home because, how did I meet such a great guy who was so unavailable? The thought alone made it feel like my heart was breaking and that’s exactly what I tried to avoid by keeping Aaron at a distance. After Ruby revealed she and Macklin had been hooking up and were now together, I told myself it was better I kept the secret because Macklin played for the Riverside U hockey team, and now, I had two friends dating hockey players. Besides, Aaron was not dating material. Only problem is, I couldn’t avoid him when Annie got me a ticket for a home game. I had the privilege of watching Aaron in action, and boy was he good. NCAA hockey was popular among students at Riverside, unlike gymnastics, which didn’t get the same kind of attention. Watching Aaron play had my hormones in a twist. I never thought hockey would be a sexy sport. The guys are wearing so much gear and using sticks. Hell, I could barely see his face through the helmet and my body was heating up watching him fight for the puck. Once the game was over, I left the arena like a bat out of hell, while my friends waited for their men by the locker room. There was no way I wanted to come face-to-face with Aaron and be reminded of how good we were together. We had agreed to a fling in Punta Cana, and that is exactly what it was.

I drove home from the arena with my emotions swirling inside me like a tsunami. A wave of nausea washed over me as I was driving. I grabbed a hot dog at the game since I hadn’t eaten dinner, and it felt like it was making a comeback. Probably not the best option to eat a hot dog after all the weight I gained, but it smelled so good I couldn’t resist. Only the nausea felt overwhelming so I pulled off to the side of the road and got out of my car. A few cleansing breaths weren’t enough to keep the nausea at bay because suddenly I was puking at the side of the road. Instead of feeling worse after puking, I felt relieved. Maybe I got food poisoning from the hot dog.

I took a warm shower when I got back home and went to bed. I wasn’t friends with my housemates. My room was the cheapest one I could find in off-campus housing. I got a stipend as part of my scholarship. I had to make sure the money went a long way. Sometimes it got lonely not having friends to live with, but over time I got used to doing everything on my own. My mind wandered back to my time in Punta Cana. To the hot nights spent with Aaron in bed. The way his large strong body fit against mine, even though I was so much smaller. Aaron was gentle and attentive. I drifted off to sleep dreaming of sunsets and a hockey player with sandy-blond hair.

The next morning, I woke to my alarm with a startle. I sat up too quickly and felt another wave of nausea. Oh no. I must have caught something. Maybe it wasn’t food poisoning after all. I sipped some water and got ready. Skipping breakfast seemed like the right thing to do. I didn’t want my breakfast to make a comeback during practice. With a competition coming up this weekend, I couldn’t afford to bail on practice. I got to practice a few minutes early, which gave me time to run into the locker room and take off my hoodie and joggers since I always came dressed in my bodysuit under my clothes. My hair was in a high ponytail, as per usual.

My friend, Monica, was leaving the locker room the same time as me. “Are you feeling okay? You look pale.”

“I may have caught a bug, I’ll be fine.” I waved her off, despite feeling weak and tired. I hadn’t slept well the night before and my body was feeling it.

Coach Ludmila blew her whistle. All the gymnasts lined up. She gave us her usual spiel about the competition being days away. Then she ordered us to do ten laps around the gym to warm up. I ran beside Monica and a guy named Jaden, but I wasn’t keeping up with them and they slowed down, which I appreciated. By the time practice officially started, I felt wiped out. Coach put me on the floor with three other girls. I needed to work on my floor routine since I was having trouble sticking the last tuck.

Monica did her routine first. Hers was similar to mine in that it started off with a roundoff back handspring. I could usually do those in my sleep, but when I got into position my head felt like I was floating. I pushed through it and ran into my roundoff, then went straight into my back handspring followed by a twist to face forward, at which point I went into a front tuck. I didn’t stick the landing and fell on my ass like a complete amateur. Coach Ludmila caught on to my mishap and walked over to me.

“What’s going on?” she asked, looking me up and down like she was inspecting me under a microscope.

“I’m fine. I just didn’t sleep well last night,” I reply, which wasn’t a lie.

She pinched her lips. “I didn’t want to mention anything, but how was your break? Did you go home to see your family?”

I hated questions about my family. I avoided them like the plague. Especially since Mom hadn’t even remembered to call me on Christmas Day. She called on New Year’s and said things had gotten hectic with my siblings, who I barely knew.

“I went away with friends.”

She nods. “You’ve put on weight. You’re tired and you aren’t on you’re A game.” Gymnastic coaches were known to be harsh. It was that kind of sport and Ludmila had made herself a career training world-class gymnasts. You didn’t get that reputation by going easy.

“I’m taking care of the weight. I may have a small bug. It’s nothing. I’m sure I’ll be fine for the competition,” I assure. It was three days away. I was fighting a virus. It was enough time to feel better.

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