Page 72 of Going for Gold (Sweet Cravings 3)

"Is that your mom?"

I nodded.

"Tell her I say hi."

I lifted the phone back to my ear. "Kristen says hello."

My mom was super polite. I thought she'd immediately say, "say hello to Kristen for me." Instead, she said, "He went to get pizza? If you're not with Chris, who is the he that Kristen if referring to?"

The smile that came to my face didn't feel weird like my laugh did. "His name is Bryce. He's on the track team. We've been hanging out a lot."

"Talking about him has seemed to cheer you right up."

I didn't say anything. She was right. Maybe tonight could turn around. I couldn't change what had happened earlier. A silver was still damn good. I shouldn't be moping around my last few days in Brazil. Screw Gabriela. I just wanted to focus on Bryce.

"Isn't it a little fast though? You've only been there for two weeks. I don't know when you broke up with Chris, but..."

"Bryce is a really good guy, Mom. It's not like it was with Chris." I looked over at Kristen. She was staring at me, but she quickly looked away and pretended to fold some clothes when we made eye contact. "He actually hears me, you know? We have so much in common. He's so easy to talk to. He's supportive and sweet and really handsome. And even though he lives in Pasadena, his sister lives in Philly. So he'll be around a lot." I hope. I pulled my knees to my chest. Oh my God, I'm falling in love with him. "I really, really like him," I said instead.

"Just be careful, sweetie. When I saw you fall to your knees after the game, I..." her voice trailed off. "It's so hard to see you upset. You'll understand when you're a mother. It kills me to see you hurting."

"I know, Mom."

"But if he makes you happy, hold on to him."

The door opened again and Bryce walked in.

"He does. He actually just came back with food, so I have to go."

"Okay. I love you so much. Enjoy your last few days there."

"I love you too, Mom. See you soon."

Bryce smiled and walked over to me. "Hey, Kristen," he said. "Want some pizza?"

"Absolutely."

I couldn't take my eyes off him. I knew it was fast. But I was falling for him. My heart actually hurt at the thought of saying goodbye on Monday night. But if he was serious about making a stop on the east coast, then I didn't have to worry about a goodbye yet. Eventually he'd have to go home though. Maybe I'd go to Pasadena with him. I could save up more money and start a new bakery. I wanted to tell him how I was feeling. I didn't want to take things slow. For once in my life, I didn't want to play it safe.

"What?" he asked with a smile. He took a big bite of pizza.

I'm falling in love with you. I shook my head. "Nothing." I grabbed a slice.

"We have to eat fast," he said.

"Why?"

"Apparently Tim booked us a spa day."

"Us? Does that mean you too?"

"Um...yeah. Tim was rather insistent about it." He shrugged. "He said it was like massages and stuff. To make sure we're all ready for the dance tomorrow."

"Oh, no, the dance tomorrow," I said with a mouth full of pizza. I hadn't even been thinking about the stupid tiebreaker.

Bryce laughed. "It's our chance to beat Gabriela. Well, Kristen's chance I guess."

"I am definitely going to win this dance off. It's time to finally show that bitch her place." Kristen opened up the container with a delicious looking piece of chocolate cake. "And a spa day sounds perfect," Kristen said. "That's just what we need, right, Alina?"

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