Free Going for Gold by Ivy Smoak Page A

was looking at, but nothing
stood out. All I saw was a big fence separating the athlete's village from the
rest of the city, a few guards at the gate, and a guy leaning against the fence
smoking a cigarette.
    "Who?" I asked.
    "The smoker. He keeps staring at us. Now why don't you
idiots quit making it so obvious that we're talking about him."
    "He's probably just mesmerized by the hair gel dripping
down your forehead," said Alex. "I think you might have used a little
too much. I'm concerned you might get a stain on your dinner jacket."
    Tim got a worried look on his face and whipped out his
compact mirror to check on his perfectly quaffed hair. He checked a few angles
and then snapped it shut. "I don't know what you're talking about. My hair
looks fantastic, although I'm not sure how much longer it will last. Not even
Paul Mitchell's finest gel can last long in this heat. The other day in Cosmo I
read..."
    "Hey!" said two girls.
    I spun around. Alina and Kristen were standing behind us. I
probably should have been more subtle, but I couldn't prevent myself from
giving Alina the up-down. Her dress was fairly conservative on top, but it
hugged her tiny waist perfectly and showed off her great legs. I snapped my
focus back to her face. "Hey, Alina," I said, going in for the hug.
    I got a nice whiff of Alina's perfume. Cherries? Maybe. I
could never tell the difference between all those scents. It all either smelled
like cherries or cookies. Whatever it was, it smelled good.
    "So now that we're not on our secret..." Alina
started, but Tim put his finger across her lips to shush her. She swatted his
hand away. "Sorry, I just wanted to find out your real names."
    Tim stepped back and smoothed his ridiculous maroon dinner
jacket. "This is Alex, and I'm Tim." He locked eyes with Kristen and
gave a flourished bow. "It's a pleasure to see you again, m'lady."
    "I figured bringing him would give us good entertainment
for the evening," I whispered to Alina as Kristen introduced herself to
Tim.
    He, of course, kissed the back of her hand.
    Alina stifled a laugh and whispered, "Is he always like
this? I think Kristen has a crush on him."
    "Unfortunately, yes. He is."
    "Is he gay?" she asked.
    I laughed. "Officially? No. Unofficially..."
    Alex cleared his throat. Alina and I quit whispering and
looked up. He was standing awkwardly by himself while Tim taught Kristen how to
do a proper curtsey and Alina and I whispered to each other. It was obvious
that he held the unenviable position of being the fifth wheel. I would have
tried to get Kristen and Alina to bring a third volleyball girl, but I wouldn't
wish Alex on anyone.
    "Sorry," I said.
    "So where are we going?" asked Alina.
    "Some steak place. Hopefully it'll be good. Tim said it
had pretty good reviews on trip advisor."
    "Perfect," said Alina. "I've been craving some
meat."
    "Yeah, Alina loves meat in her mouth," said
Kristen.
    Alina started to turn red. "Oh my God. I didn't mean it
like that. I meant steak meat, not penis meat. Not that I don't like penises,
it's just I'm really hungry for steak. And I should stop talking now."
    Kristen cut in. "Sorry, Alina's having a little trouble
thinking straight. Our coach has banned us from sex for the past four weeks.
Did your coach give you guys a sex ban too?"
    I tried not to show my excitement. I knew Alina had a
boyfriend, but with things being "complicated" between them and Alina
being horny as hell, things could get interesting later in the week.
    Tim laughed. "Yeah. We aren't even allowed to
masturbate. It's been kind of funny, actually. It's like boner-city in the
showers after practice. A little hot water and boom, boner time." He
turned to Alina. "You probably know all about that though after you
wandered into the men's locker room the other day."
    Alina caught my gaze and raised an eyebrow slightly. She
didn't need to speak to communicate a very clear, "What the fuck is wrong
with Tim?"
    I shrugged. I had no explanation for the odd