Free Dominate (University of Gatica #5) by Lexy Timms

Not as big as the World Juniors in Poland had been, but that had been a different experience. Aileen had been alone there, pushing everything that she had into making that race. Here, there was a chance for something else. Or there would have been, if she hadn’t still been hung up on Tyler.
    She couldn't stop thinking about him. It’d been almost a month since the break-up and some days it felt like just yesterday. The day had started so promisingly, and then that glimpse of him in Wavertree Fieldhouse had brought it all crashing back. She could have gotten through it if he’d been on the bus, she was sure. Knowing that he was going to be at Conference, where she could admire him from afar, would have helped.
    Now she couldn't enjoy walking across Cornell's campus arm in arm with Jani and Chrissy in the time they had after they arrived and before check-ins for the event started. She should have been able to, and it frustrated her that she couldn't. Why couldn't she just put Tyler out of her head for long enough to at least have a little fun before she buckled down to the competition?
    She knew why. She hadn't been able to get Tyler out of her head from the moment she saw him. And she hadn't even known him in person then. Hadn't heard his voice. Hadn't seen those startling eyes up close. Hadn't felt his hands moving over her body.
    Aileen shied away from the memories. They were just going to make things worse.
    Jani was looking at her again. Aileen knew that her housemate was worried. She knew that Chrissy was worried, too. Both of them had tried to talk to her about it since she'd broken up with Tyler… if you could call what had happened a break-up. She didn't know what to tell them, though. That he had refused to be seen with her in front of the media and she felt like he was ashamed of her? That she had turned him down because she couldn't deal with having a long-distance relationship? They would both think she was being ridiculous, and the last thing she needed was her friends telling her that she had made the wrong decision. Or asking her how crazy she had been to give up the man every woman in the world would want. The guy every girl on campus swooned over. She'd had him, and she'd not only given him up. She'd chased him away.
    Which she wasn't supposed to be thinking about.
    Aileen turned her thoughts to the upcoming races. There would be the preliminary heat first. She wasn't worried about that one. Unless she was really off her game she was going to take it, no sweat. Then she had—
    Suddenly Tyler was there, when she looked up, standing with a small group of people and listening to some pretty redhead in New York State colors. She was obviously into whatever she was talking about, gesturing with her hands as she spoke, and heads were nodding around the group.
    Next to Tyler Aileen spotted Ryan, Chrissy's hockey player. She turned to say something to her friend, only to smile when she realized the other girl had already spotted her boyfriend and was running across the grass to him.
    “Looks like it's just you and me,” Aileen said, turning to look at Jani.
    The taller girl gave her a lopsided smile. “Just like old times,” she said. “Although I wouldn't mind if Carter suddenly appeared, so if that happens you might find yourself temporarily abandoned.”
    That was the part where Aileen should have laughed, but she didn't really feel like it. She wondered where Sean had gone off to. Maybe if she got them together, between him and Jani they could clear her up.
    Jani was leading her toward the group with the redhead, where Chrissy was still with Ryan, her arm wrapped around his and her head resting on his shoulder. It made Aileen's heart ache to look at them. She had wanted to have something like that with Tyler, but apparently it wasn't meant to be.
    “Are you sure we have to go this way?” Aileen asked Jani as they got closer. “I'm sure there are other options.”
    “Of course we have to go this