Page 13 of The Forever Vault

“I know and it made things way more complicated. Trust me. Medals first, dick later.”

“We’ll see about that.”

I grabbed the dildo back from him and placed it in my dresser. “You want to do some exploring or grab something to eat before our first team meeting?”

Ezra and I ended up at the American dining hall. It wasn’t the largest, but it was the closest. Since we had a team meeting in an hour or so, I didn’t want to get caught up in exploring the new village just yet.

“So, I’ve seen you at meets, but I don’t know much about you. Why don’t you give me the Cliff Notes version?”

“The what now?”

“Jesus, I’m not that much older than you. What would your Wikipedia say about you?”

“Oh.” He thought about it for all of one second. “Well, I’m Ezra Barnes. I’m twenty-two, five-foot-nine, and a hundred and fifty eight pounds. I’m an ESFJ Gemini. I was born and raised in Bellevue, went to Washington University in Seattle, and majored in sociology with a minor in kinesiology. I have an older brother and a younger sister. I came in second at the last National Championships and medaled in the parallel bar and vault.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Uh…my favorite color is blue. My favorite cartoon is Spongebob Squarepants. My favorite cereal is Cinnamon Toast Crunch and my celebrity crush is Henry Cavill.”

“Henry Cavill? Not Camden Kane?”

Ezra gave me a smirk. “Cam’s definitely my sports crush, but I’m a sucker for Henry’s accent.”

“¿Entiendo que te gustan los acentos?”

“Spanish is kind of hot too.” He winked. “Is that all you wanted to know? Is it my turn to grill you yet?”

I finished the last of my chicken salad sandwich and shrugged. “What do you want to know?”

“How the fuck can you balance a relationship and the Olympics?!”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “It definitely hasn’t been easy.”

“Well, you make it look that way. You and Cam.” He lifted his shoulders and exhaled dramatically. “Goals, dude. Goals.”

“To be honest, this is a huge test.”

“You mean, that you're here and he’s an alternate?”

I nodded. “It sucks. It felt like we were competing against each other for the same slot.”

“You can’t think of it that way. Cam did his best and it wasn’t enough. That’s it. Period. End of story. The fact that he came so close. What are you guys? Twenty-seven?”

I nodded again.

“Exactly. And you’re all-arounders, not specialists. Sure, there are guys here older than you two, but they’re here for one event. You were both - are both - still doing all of them. That’s literally ridiculous. There’s no one else doing that right now except maybe Jack Davies.”

Fuck, he’s making some good points. “You’re right.”

“Of course, I am.”

“You’re a brat, aren’t you?”

He looked taken aback. “Me?! Never. And I’m sure you’re worried about Cam, but don’t be. I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Speaking of - shit - I haven’t checked in with him. I was trying to give him space. Normally, I kind of suck at that.”

Luke: How’s the hotel? Colton there yet?