Page 41 of The Forever Vault

Noah laughed. “He reminds me a little of you, actually. The way you used to ramble.”

“Used to?”

“Hard to believe, but you don’t do that as much as you used to.”

“It’s because I’m all mature and shit now.”

“That’s definitely the reason.”

I don’t know why I thought Ezra would wait until later to grill me about my past with Zane. As soon as we were naked and showering next to each other seemed like the perfect time to discuss my past sexual history.

I didn’t feel like baring my soul and I didn’t want to potentially alter his relationship with his coach, either. I needed to be delicate.

“Hey, how about you tell me about your first time?”

“Wh-what? Why would I do that?”

“Because that’s what you’re trying to discuss with me right now. It’s not a pleasant memory and I don’t mean to be a dick, but to be blunt, Zane pretty much used me for sex and I’ve hated his guts for over a decade. I’m still processing his apology, so if you don’t mind talking about something else, let’s do that.”

I knew that wasn’t delicate, but I had no idea how else to say it. It’s what I felt and it was my truth. Ezra didn’t seem to know what to say, but mumbled an apology.

Thankfully, Orion rescued us from further awkwardness.

“How did it feel to be out there today?”

I turned away from Ezra to meet Orion’s gaze and we chatted back and forth a bit. Our conversation eventually morphed to include the other guys. They were about to have their first official press conference as Olympians. Albeit, Luke’s injury and withdrawal was going to be the main focus.

Hudson poked his head into the showers. “Just a heads up, you’ve got twenty minutes, boys.”

“Fuck, he’s hot,” Ezra said, once Hudson had left.

“What’d you say?”

I turned to look at Miles, who was staring at Ezra, waiting for a reply.

“Just appreciating the male form. I mean, wouldn’t you all agree?”

I definitely would. I’d say he was tall, but as a gymnast, pretty much everyone was tall to me. His frame was dominated by broad shoulders and massive biceps. I’d seen his Instagram fitness posts. He could do one-handed pull ups with weights hanging off a belt all day. I didn’t know much about him other than he was a multi-sport athlete in college, a personal trainer slash fitness influencer, and was friends with Ty’s fiancé, Declan.

Orion spoke first. “Dude is ripped, for sure. I can’t say he’s my type, but whoever ends up in his bed is a lucky…person.”

I wasn’t sure if Hudson was gay either. Being friends with Declan didn’t mean he was or wasn't, but I didn’t know much about any of the coaches, so anything was a possibility. I could always ask Noah, but I didn’t really have a reason to care.

Miles seemed to have retreated back to wherever he went when the rest of us were talking. I’m not sure if he didn’t hear Ezra earlier or if there was a tone. Hudson was his coach, so it’s likely he was just being protective. I would definitely pipe up if someone mentioned Noah’s name. Although if they mentioned how hot Noah was, I’m not sure what my reaction would be.

* * *

Back near the village outside of one of the media rooms in the press building, I was impatiently waiting for Luke’s arrival. In twelve minutes, he’d be late for his own press conference. I knew why we were holding one. The team had changed. But without the MRI results, we didn’t know much.

“Have you heard from him?” Coach asked.

“Not since he texted earlier. He hasn’t answered me.”

“I just heard from Shane. They’re close. It seems they had trouble finding an Uber.”

“Alright, that’s something. We can’t really have it without him.”

“Makes sense, Coach. So how many more of these do we have?” Ezra asked.