Page 1 of Floored By Love

1

Lucas

LONDON

“No! No! No!” Cassandra yelled at me for what seemed like the fifth time in five minutes. I was on the pommel horse and apparently, I wasn’t performing to her standards. “Your transitions are getting sloppy, Lucas. How many times have I told you that?”

I finished the flair sequence I was on and dismounted. “Too many to count,” I muttered.

But she must’ve heard me. “You’re gonna keep counting, Lucas. Because I’ll keep saying it until you get it right.” I felt my eyes roll before I could stop them and she barked, “Again!”

She worked me on the horse until my arms were jelly and she could tell. I was really getting sloppy when she finally told me to take a break. I knew not to complain about the intensity. That only made it worse with her. After almost four years, I knew what not to do around her. Complaining was one of those things, and talking about anything personal was another. I headed over to the bench, wiped the sweat off my brow and armpits with a towel, and alternated sips between Gatorade and water.

Ty jogged over to me. “Is it safe?” he joked.

I looked behind him. “Probably not for long.” Cassandra was on her phone. “How’s it going, Ty?”

“That’s ‘Coach Ty’ to you, bro.”

“Ah yes. I still don’t understand how you manipulated Woodward into giving you that kind of authority, Assistant Coach Ty.”

“My natural charm?”

“You certainly put the ass in assistant.”

“Or maybe he wanted someone around with Olympic experience besides you and Cam?”

I watched his face change when he realized he said the name. And even from a hundred feet away, it’s like Cassandra heard it too because she was heading towards us. Ty seemed to sense it, turning to meet her face to face.

“Coach Marudas.”

“Coach Hale, I’d appreciate you not distracting Lucas during our training sessions.”

“Didn’t mean any harm. Just chatting, one Olympian to another.” Ty stepped back, hands raised in surrender. Cassandra could be such a hardass. And right when I almost felt like a normal human being, too.

“Cassie! Can I see you for a few minutes?” Woodward beckoned from across the arena.

She hated being called Cassie. I thought Coach called her that on purpose, but I wasn’t sure.

“Yes, sir,” she replied, turning to me. “I’ll be right back, Lucas. We’ll work on the high bar next.”

As she walked over to Coach, I was so thankful to him at that moment. Ty sat down next to me, exhaling loudly. “So, she’s still being a super bummer all the time?”

“Bummer is the nice way to describe it.”

“Sorry, bro,” Ty said, putting his arm on my shoulder.

He was trying to comfort me, to be a friend. But his touch felt nice and I couldn’t help but sigh and lean into it. “That feels nice, Ty.”

“I’m honored to assist in any way. It’s part of my job. And while I pinch-hit for your team, this body is reserved for someone else.” He gave my back a pat and withdrew his arm.

I smirked. “Got it. How is Declan, by the way?”

I looked over at him and recognized the feelings behind his expression when he answered, “He’s great. Flying into Heathrow in a few days. I’m really excit-“ He cut himself off and looked guiltily at me.

“It’s okay, Ty. You can talk about Declan. It’s been years. I’ve moved on.”

“I don’t buy that for one minute. And based on how you reacted to my arm on your shoulder, it’s been a while, bro. Your hands can’t replace him and a Fleshjack doesn’t count either.”