Page 88 of The Forever Vault

“Bro. You tryin’ to make me cry?” Ty joked. “And I’m the lucky one.”

We both found shirts, then tried to decide if we wanted to invite the penile peacocks to breakfast.

“At least they have to keep their clothes on in public,” Ty said.

I wasn’t so sure. This was San Francisco after all.

* * *

“How many of them are left for you to deflower?” I asked, before cutting another piece off my cinnamon roll. They were my favorite breakfast food and this place did not disappoint. They had an extensive list of pastries they served like appetizers before your actual breakfast.

“We’re not deflowering any of them-”

“That we know of,” Colton added.

“They’re porn stars,” Zeph said, “and based on their skills, I’d say it’s highly unlikely that any of them were virgins.”

“I reckon that’s true. And to answer your question, Luke, we have two left.”

“These sticky buns are amazing,” Zeph changed the subject.

“You mean cinnamon rolls?” I asked.

“You keep your cinnamon roll.” Zeph scoffed. “I’ll take my sticky buns. Kind of like this morning.” Zeph winked and leaned over to give Colton’s neck a quick suck, causing him to drop his fork. A few heads turned at the noise and stared for a little longer than was polite. But that was Colton and Zeph. They liked the attention.

“Stop it. You’re gonna leave a hickey. I can’t be on national television with a hickey.”

Zeph pulled back. “What? I swear you’ve already been on national television with a hickey. That little thing called the Super Bowl.”

“Uh huh, and Madison and Beau wouldn’t stop teasin’ me about it for a month.”

“Fine.” Zeph relented and took another bite of his sticky bun.

“Holy shit.”

My gaze snapped over to Ty, who was holding his phone. I could read the headline.

American Gymnast Caught Doping: Banned from Olympics.

“What?” Colton and Zeph both asked as I struggled to pull my phone out.

“Who is it?” I asked, a cold dread destroying any warm fuzzies the cinnamon roll had left inside me. The seconds I waited felt like hours.

“Preston. That’s it. That’s all it looks like. Preston was caught doping and he’s banned from the Olympics.”

“Cam’s not answering.” I hung up.

“Of course, he’s not answering. This story leaked. Martin’s going to be livid,” Ty said.

“Martin?” Zeph asked, looking over at Colton’s phone.

“Coach Woodward,” Colton answered, likely searching for the story. “Well, shit, the cheese just fell off his cracker.”

I’d almost feel sorry for him if he wasn’t such an asshole. Cam must be beside himself. I wondered-

“Did the team still make the finals?” I practically knocked Ty off his chair.

He shrugged. “I left my tablet at the hotel. I don’t know, maybe? The article doesn’t say.”