Page 20 of Burnout
“What are you doing tonight?” Quinn asks. “Want to hang out after you shower?” She wrinkles her nose at me like she can smell me.
I’m sweaty, but I don’t stinkthatbad. “I can’t. I have a podcast interview.”
“This late?”
“I told them I could only do it on a weekday if it was after practice.” I blow out a breath, not really wanting to get up nowthat I’ve sat down. “I should go shower and then head to the library and see if I can get one of the study rooms so there isn’t a bunch of background noise during the interview.”
“You can do it here. We were going to grab dinner at that Mexican place you like so much, but we were waiting on you.” Quinn moves her gaze from the TV to me.
My stomach growls.
She smiles knowingly. “Want me to bring you something back?”
I press a hand to my midsection and laugh. “Yes, please.”
She sits up, Colter stands, and then he pulls her to her feet and all the way to him so he can brush a kiss on her lips. My chest squeezes at how cute they are together. I was fully prepared to dislike Colter when I met him because I was certain he was going to break my friend’s heart, but it’s so obvious how much he adores her.
“Give me two minutes to put on shoes and grab a jacket,” Quinn says as she heads toward her room on one side of the suite.
I smile at Colter as he watches her go. His gaze slowly returns to me. It’s hard to say who is more obsessed with whom, him or her.
“How’s the knee?” he asks.
“Okay.” I tense my leg and bend it tighter to feel the joint work.
“Good. I’m glad to hear it.” He shifts his weight from one leg to the other. “Do you have any extra time to train someone over the next month or so?”
“Miss me already?”
His upper body shakes with a small laugh. “Nah, not me. I’ve got a new guy on the team and he’s struggling with some of the same things I was. I think you might be just what he needs.”
“I’m flattered,” I say honestly. “I won’t have a ton of time once competitions start, but I work out most weeknights at the club gym. Could he come then?”
“I’m not sure what his schedule is like in the evenings. I know he’s free during the day.”
“I could also do before team practice every day but Fridays. I have a lab that runs late that day, but I’m free the other days.”
“That might work better for him. Thanks. I mentioned you, but I thought I should ask before I gave him your contact information.”
“Yeah, give him my number. I’m happy to help if I can.”
He nods and turns his head as Quinn comes out of her room. “I’ll tell him. Thanks, Avery.”
My roommate sidles up to him. “Ready?”
He wraps an arm around her and squeezes her tight. “Ready.”
“Bye.” Quinn wiggles her fingers at me as she follows Colter out.
“Bye,” I say, sinking into the couch and letting my head fall back into the cushion for just a second before I force myself up and to the shower.
“What did it feel like to win a silver medal as the underdog?” The interviewer, Mary, asks. She’s a former gymnast herself and competed in the Olympics in the early two-thousands, but never won an individual medal.
“It was incredible,” I say, a real smile curving my lips as memories flood me. I was too excited and confident to be scared or put off by people not believing I was a threat. “Being there was everything I had dreamed of, everything I had worked so hardfor. I believed in myself enough that it didn’t matter if no one else did.”
“And now that there are certain expectations for you, how does that motivate you? Is it harder or easier to believe in yourself after something like that?” she asks. The question feels like a dart to the chest.
“Harder,” I admit, but then smile wider. “But I love a challenge and I’m still one hundred percent motivated to win.”
