"Get out, Kinsley," Liam said again, his tone loud and harsh. He wasn't yelling, but he might as well have been. “We can’t do this. Leave, Kinsley. Now.”
His words felt like a slap in the face, and I had enough dignity to get out before he made it even worse. I had hope that he would come to his senses as I passed him and headed for the door, but I turned the door knob and bolted without him saying another word.
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The drunken fool that had ruined our moment was still lying outside against the door. He was now completely passed out with a dopey smile across him face. I stepped over him, held my chin high, and tried not to wonder what would have happened if he’d chosen a different door to pass out against.
Chapter Nine
I was so anxious about practice Monday morning that I woke up an hour before my alarm and was the first one downstairs. I sat in the kitchen, nursing a bowl of granola and fruit, when Becca finally came down, wiping sleep from her eyes.
I'd avoided her like the plague the day before, not only because I was annoyed with her about the wax comment, but also because I didn't want to lie to her about what happened between Liam and I. I tried to push away the memory of his lips on mine.
Stop it. They were not that great. It wasn’t the best kiss you’ve ever had and you are definitely not falling for your coach.
There, see that’s not so hard.
"Morning, Kinsley," she offered gently.
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"Hey," I muttered, staring down into my bowl of granola. Yesterday had been terrible.
I didn't want to think about Liam, but I couldn't help it. I knew he had feelings for me, and I knew we couldn't be together, but that didn't mean it hadn't hurt when he kicked me out on Saturday night. It felt like a personal rejection rather than a logical one, and I couldn't get that out of my head.
Becca walked around the counter to where I was sitting and gave me her best puppy dog eyes.
"I'm sorry about the wax comment. That was really dumb and I know it was probably embarrassing," she said, wrapping me in a giant hug. "So, I'm not letting you go until you tell me that you forgive me."
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I lasted all of two seconds before cracking a smile. "Fiiine. Fine, but you have to promise that I can get you back sometime.
Okay?"
"Done! You can pants me at the next party we go to, but just warn me ahead of time so I can plan on wearing really cute underwear," she winked, then headed to the fridge for breakfast.
I laughed and took a bite of granola.
"Now that you're not mad at me, do you think you could fill me in on the whole..." she paused and looked over her shoulder before mouthing, "Liam situation?"
"Wow, that didn't take you long," I joked before finishing off the rest of my breakfast.
"If you hurry, I'll tell you in the car."
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We gathered our things quickly and I had just enough time to decide that I would be honest with Becca. I felt bad about keeping it from Emily, but the fewer people to know, the better, and Becca already knew something was going on anyway.
Once I parked outside the practice field, she unbuckled and turned to face me.
"Okay, spill," she smiled.
"You first. Did something happen between you and Jace?" I asked.
"You mean before you pulled my ass out of the party?"
After I’d bolted out of Liam’s room Saturday night, I’d found Becca and forced her to leave the party with me. She’d passed out as soon as we got to the car, so it saved 243/890
me from having to yell at her the whole way home.
I cringed. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was mad at you and Liam, and I just wanted to leave, but I didn't want to abandon you there."
Becca relaxed back against the seat,
"Nah, I'm kidding. I'm actually glad you found me when you did. I wasn't really into Jace. He was a cute distraction, but I haven't really thought about him since the party."
I envied her. To have the rights to my thoughts back would be a nice change of pace. I'm not sure when Liam had taken root inside of my brain, but he didn't appear to be leaving anytime soon.
"But obviously something happened with you and Liam. Right?” Becca asked, 244/890
pulling me out of my reverie. “You can tell me. I would never tell anyone else."
"Oh, like you kept the Brazilian a secret?"
She mashed her lips together and focused on the steering wheel. "Well, that was actually not so much of a slip in tongue as it was me forcing you and Liam to face your attraction toward one another. I mean, he was staring you down at the party like he was going to strip your clothes off right there. I just thought he needed a little shove in the right direction," she confessed.
I gaped and then narrowed my eyes. "I knew it! I knew you weren't that drunk."
"You can't be mad at me. It obviously worked! He dragged you away like he was a caveman about two seconds later!"
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I smiled at the memory. His hand had gripped mine so tightly; he hadn't given me the option at all. It's not like I put up a fight.
"It doesn't matter..." I began. "We kissed on Saturday night, but it didn't last long and he instantly regretted it. He pretty much yelled at me to get out of his room."
"Wow, really?"
I frowned and stared out the window.
The early morning fog was lifting and soon the rest of our team would arrive for practice. Soon he would arrive for practice.
"Yeah. There are about five good reasons standing in the way of my attraction to him.
All of which don’t seem to be enough to deter me.”
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“Well, we'll see how he acts today. You can't give up yet. He wants you and you want him. It doesn't have to be complicated."
I rolled my eyes at her for making it sound so simple. He was already on his last warning with his sponsors about his public image. My Olympic dreams were at stake, not to mention my college career and my fra-gile heart. How could the situation not be complicated?
…
I shouldn't have worried. The entire time at practice, Liam completely ignored me, which was quite a feat considering we split up into our position drills again. He gave all the girls feedback after their turn, yet with me he'd do 247/890
a simple nod or mutter a "good" or "nice form" without making eye contact.
I felt completely invisible.
Tara didn't seem to mind, though. She basked in his attention, making sure to stand extra close to him when she asked about her technique. How many times did he have to describe the same thing over and over again before he realized that she was just manipulating him?
"I'm not sure I've got it. Will you watch me do it one more time?" she asked with just the right amount of needy pout.
Liam pressed his lips into a thin line but nodded for her to continue.
"Oh my god. Enough," I mumbled, tired of watching the Tara and Liam Show.
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I must have said it louder than I thought though because Tara looked up at me before she started. "Excuse me?" she asked, taking a step closer to me.
"Enough with this drill, I need a water break," I lied, propping my hands up on my hips and daring her to challenge me. I was in a fighting mood, and in that moment I didn't care that she was the leader and I was the rookie.
"Go take one then. But you really should work on your endurance."
I fought the urge to ask her what the hell needing water had to do with my endurance.
I'd beat her at every single one of our sprints and I came in first during our long distance warm up runs every time.