Free Cheater: A Summer Games Short Read (Going for Gold) by Kelly Collins Page A

The fall was devastating to the whole team. All the Russians needed was to have a clean rotation, and we were out.
    Our hopes for an all-around medal were gone once Ivan Yazov finished his last event. I was over Bryn, but it still pissed me off that of all people to sink Team USA, it would be the guy Bryn hooked up with.
    Many of the team members’ best chance for a medal had been in the team event. Now we had to depend on ourselves. Team was a great concept until it fell apart. We’d gone from “there’s no I in team” to “every man for himself.”
    Collette was waiting outside of the locker room when I emerged. Disappointment covered her face.
    “I’m so sorry, Alec.” She lowered her head into my chest. “Can I do anything to make you feel better?”
    There were a lot of things she could do to make my body feel better, but all my soul needed was her presence.
    I dropped my gym bag, picked her up, and swung her around in a circle. I was in Rio. I had an amazing girl with me, and that was enough reason to celebrate. “Let’s go out and party.”
    The lips that had brought me so much pleasure last night pursed with puzzlement. “You want to party?”
    “We have two options.” I released her and let her slide down my body. “We can drown in our disappointment at not making the finals, or we can embrace the experience. Losing isn’t the end—death is the end, and you and I, Collette Lamont, are alive. So…let’s live.”
    “I like your style, Grumpy Maes.”
    We hopped on the bus back to the village. Once we changed, we headed out to explore Rio. The walk along the Copacabana was breathtaking. The water was the blue seen in postcards, the sand sparkled like buffed pearls under the falling sun. Birds swooped in to say hello, and it was perfect.
    Rumor had it that a hole in the wall called Bip Bip was the place to go if you needed to unwind. Live music and a casual atmosphere was exactly what I wanted. A guitar player sat in the corner strumming his brand of entertainment.
    Collette and I ordered a sampler platter of local cuisine, making sure to avoid anything with seafood, which was a shame because we both loved it, but we didn’t want to follow in Wade’s footsteps. We sipped sparkling water and watched a one-man show turn into a full band as other artists joined the jam session. We snapped photos throughout our date and sent them to our parents.
    It was easier now to communicate with Mom through pictures, not words. They were keeping her medicated, so her attention span was almost nil, often cutting our daily calls short. I did get a short text after the loss today, telling me I’d made her proud. Lord, I could have fallen off the rings and she would have figured out a way to make me feel good about it. I’d miss that.
    With my hand over Collette’s, I looked into the depths of her cocoa-colored eyes, a near mirror to my own. “What’s next, Collette?” My question was intentionally vague, but what I really wanted to know was whether there was a future for her and me. A week had passed, and in that time, I’d experienced more love and compassion, camaraderie and kinship than I’d ever felt outside of family. She was a good habit I didn’t want to break.
    “The world is our oyster, Alec.”
    “Yeah, but you’re the pearl.” I squeezed her hand. “What I’m really saying is, I want to keep knowing you after the Games.”
    She lifted my hand to her lips and caressed my knuckles. “We’ve already established that you need me.”
    I shook my head. “But do you need me?” I wanted her to need me as much as I knew I needed her.
    She thoughtfully sipped her water. “Have you ever looked at someone and knew they’d be important to you? Have you ever lain with someone and had your heartbeat fall in sync with theirs?”
    “Yes.” Collette was my heartbeat.
    “You’re that person to me, Alec. It doesn’t have to be solved today. We’ll figure it out.”
    As we canoodled at our table, we