Out of Bounds (The Summer Games #2)

  I stood up, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and scanning for Brie. I lingered in the back of the line, letting the other passengers rush forward. We had assigned seats; it’s not like it mattered who boarded first. I hovered until there wasn’t any more time. Brie still wasn’t there and the attendant was waving me forward, insisting I was holding up the boarding process.

  I handed her my pass, walked down the long tunnel, and tried to fight the need to vomit. I’d never been lovesick over a woman before, not like this. I nearly laughed at the idea of boarding a plane for such a long flight at the exact moment my stomach’s contents wanted to revolt. What perfect timing.

  “Here you are, sir,” the flight attendant said, directing me to my seat in first class with a gentle smile.

  I’d upgraded Brie’s seat too. She was supposed to occupy the seat directly beside me, but it was glaringly empty and would remain that way for the next few hours, until we landed in Texas. I tossed my backpack onto her seat and sat down, rifling through the seat-back pocket in front of me for a vomit bag. Just in case.

  I listened as the other passengers boarded the plane behind me. Soon everyone would take their seats and they’d close the plane doors, locking out the possibility of Brie joining me.

  “Warm towel, sir?” the flight attendant asked, already holding one out for me.

  I shook my head and waved her away. She smiled and proceeded to remind me to turn off my electronics or switch them to airplane mode before making her way to the next passenger. I reached in my pocket to turn my phone off and caught sight of the calls I’d missed, ten in total, the last one only a few minutes before. Every single one of them was from Brie. I hurried to call her back, pressing the phone to my ear just as a soft voice filled the first-class cabin.

  “You know, it’s kind of rude to stash your stuff on someone else’s seat.”

  Warmth radiated through my body as I turned my head and saw Brie standing in the aisle. Our eyes collided, a mix of blue and brown so full of emotion, I felt dizzy. She was beautiful, standing there with messy brown hair framing her face. Her hand was pressed to her chest; she was trying to catch her breath. I assumed she’d had to run to catch the plane in time and my body flooded with relief that she hadn’t missed it.

  Her eyes were wide and expressive, and though she tried to play off the moment with an easy, playful smile, I could see her nerves eating away at her. She smoothed down her shirt and fidgeted on her feet, glancing down the aisle toward the back of first class and then back to me with a question in her eyes.

  I reached for my backpack so she could take a seat, and she did so with a long exhale, not looking to me right away. I wanted to speak, to do something silly like thank her for coming, but we sat in silence those first few moments as I tried to absorb the shock that she and I were finally meeting in the middle, no longer running from one another.

  I knew she could feel me watching her. A soft blush crept up her neck and she bit down on her bottom lip to try to keep from smiling. She was radiant and the longer she sat there, the more I picked up on the subtle things I’d come to love in the last few weeks. The smell of her shampoo—something with coconut—had a way of hijacking my senses. The smattering of freckles that stretched across her cheeks was more prominent than ever, brought out of hiding by the Rio sun.

  For several long minutes we sat in silence, each of us trying to process the step we were about to take. I was still struck silent when she finally turned to me, lips parted as if prepared to say something, but instead she shook her head and glanced away.

  I leaned forward and touched her hand, encouraging her.

  “This is crazy, isn’t it?” She shook her head and tried to pull her hand from mine, but I didn’t let her. “We are crazy,” she continued, as if trying to convince herself of something.

  “No—”

  I tried to cut her off, but she wouldn’t let me.

  “Do you have a plan for what you’ll do once you get to Texas?”

  I shook my head. “I’m kind of flying by the seat of my pants here.”

  She laughed. “See! Only crazy people do that!”

  I brushed my thumb across her knuckles. “Crazy would be doing the same thing I always do but expecting my life to just change on its own. This is me—us—doing something different.”

  Her gaze glanced to me, searching for more. “So you’re sure about this?”

  “Absolutely.” I didn’t even have to think it over. I’d never been more sure of anything in my life. “I want to be where you are.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’ve…” I stalled, trying to decide if I wanted to say the next few words, if I could even say what she wanted. I’d never been the whirlwind romance kind of man. I’d said those three words to only two women in my life, one of whom was my mother, the other a woman I’d been dating for years before I even considered uttering them. Brie was different. Brie wasn’t a woman that would try to fit whatever ideal mold I thought I had for a partner; she was a woman that shattered the mold and made me feel the excitement of young love again—the kind of love where you never know what to expect next and you can’t wait to find out.

  I knew I wanted to be with her. I couldn’t stand the idea of flying home to Seattle without her, so what did that mean?

  “I’ve grown…accustomed to you.”

  Jesus. Did those words actually just leave my mouth?

  She groaned and squeezed her eyes closed. “Oh god, Erik. Did you just give me the My Fair Lady treatment?”

  I laughed and leaned forward. She was right. If I was willingly throwing caution to the wind for her, I couldn’t hold back the truth. I wasn’t just attached; I was…

  I brushed my hand along the base of her chin and held it in place so she couldn’t shy away from the next few words.

  “I love you, Brie.” The words spilled from my mouth so easily it shocked me.

  “I love you,” I repeated. “You have to know that.”

  The sun shined through the small airplane window, illuminating her bright, glossy eyes. She reached out and pressed her palms lightly to my cheeks.

  “I love you too.” She paused as if waiting for me to run at the mention of those words. When I smiled, she continued. “I really do.”

  “I wasn’t sure after you rushed out earlier.”

  She had to know how much that had hurt.

  “No, Erik. Earlier…” She shook her head and gave herself another moment to collect her thoughts. “When I left, it was out of fear. Rosie brought up the fact that I might be sabotaging my own happiness because I’m scared of being left. And I think she’s right. Honestly, I’ve never been in a position like this and I am scared of what will happen to me if…when you move back to Seattle.” She dropped her hands and turned away, summoning more courage before turning back to me. “I’ve never loved like this before…and at times it almost feels like too much too soon.”

  I shook my head, so sorry for the things life had taught her. No one should fear love. “You don’t have to be scared.”

  She frowned and replied, “I know,” though she didn’t sound convinced.

  I turned to face her and leaned closer, squeezing her hand in reassurance. “I don’t know what the future will hold for us, but I’m asking you to trust me, to trust that I won’t take your love lightly.”

  She leaned forward and brushed a chaste kiss across my lips. “You know we’re going to fight, right? Probably all the time.”

  “I look forward to it. It’s what we do.”

  I spoke the words against her mouth and reached up to wrap a hand around her neck, keeping her pinned against me.

  “Promise me you won’t push me away. Not this time.”

  “You’re a hard man to turn down, Erik.”

  I smirked. “And you’re a tough woman to convince.”

  Her pulse raced against my palm as I leaned closer and brushed my lips against hers again, long enough that she relaxed into me. Her hands fisted my s
hirt as she pulled me closer, moaning into my mouth. She was burning me from the inside out, so sweet and seductive.

  A throat cleared behind Brie.

  “Warm towel, miss?”

  Brie pulled away from me and laughed, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth.

  “Oh umm…” Brie giggled. “Actually, do you have a bucket of ice water instead?”

  I laughed, but the flight attendant didn’t understand her joke. She stood there confused until Brie waved her off with a shake of her head and a quick “no thanks”. When she was gone, I leaned close, too excited and turned on to give her space. I whispered against the shell of Brie’s ear, describing how large the bathrooms were in first class, how easy it would be to unzip her jeans and push her lace aside, how fast I could have her coming once the plane was in the air. I kept whispering dark promises in her ear until her cheeks were rosy red and her chest rose and fell with quick breaths.

  “Everyone please buckle your seatbelts and ensure your seat backs and tray tables are in the upright position. Once we’re in the air, you’ll be free to move around the cabin,” the flight attendant instructed from the front of first class before continuing on with her safety demonstration.

  Brie turned to me with desperation in her eyes. “How long does it usually take for planes to take off?”

  “We’ve probably got another thirty minutes at least.”

  She groaned. “Then you need to stop talking until then.”

  “You don’t—”

  She held up her hand. “Erik, so help me God, if you keep talking, I will unbuckle this seatbelt and climb onto your lap right here in front of everyone.”

  I grinned, thinking over the sexy image she’s just painted for me. “I don’t think that would be so bad—”

  “Erik.”

  “You’re small, Brie. I could take you right here—just grab one of those blankets.”

  She was practically squirming in her seat by then and as a flight attendant passed by our row, Brie waved her down. “Excuse me, Miss, is it too late to switch seats? My neighbor is being, er…disruptive.”

  She frowned and assured Brie that every seat in first class was full.

  “But please let me know if I can do anything to make your flight more comfortable. Would you like that warm towel now?”

  Brie groaned and sat back against her seat. “No thanks, I’m good.”

  “Looks like you’re stuck with me,” I smirked, holding my hand out on the armrest, palm up.

  It was a peace offering—one she didn’t take right away. She sighed and glared over at me as if she were at her wit’s end, but I didn’t miss the sparkle in her eyes or the color in her cheeks. She loved our little games just as much as I did, and though we were leaving Rio, we weren’t leaving the magic behind. I wiggled my fingers, bringing her focus back down to my hand, and just before she reached out to lace her fingers through mine, she shot me a sly smile and whispered, “This is going to be a long flight.”

  Epilogue

  Brie

  It was a sweltering day in Austin and the air conditioning in Erik’s old truck was hardly enough to keep the sweat from collecting on the back of my neck. I leaned forward and aimed the air conditioning vent down toward my chest, trying to keep cool in the August heat. The drive to Lone Star Gymnastics wasn’t more than ten minutes from our house, but in the heat of Texas summer, it felt like forever.

  “Are you sure we needed to bring this many cupcakes?” Niklas asked from the passenger seat. I glanced over as he adjusted the two-tier plastic carrying case on his lap. It was my pride and joy. That baby could hold two dozen cupcakes, nearly three if I crammed them in there really tight.

  I frowned. “It’s too much isn’t it?”

  He laughed and pointed down to the floorboard, where his feet were completely hidden beneath more baked goods—breads, croissants, and cookies, just to name a few. I’d gone a little overboard on baking in the last few days, but I always did when my nerves were getting to me.

  “It’s…a lot of food,” he conceded. “But I’m sure everyone will appreciate it.”

  I smiled before glancing back to the road. Niklas never pestered me about my stress-baking—not when he found himself on the receiving end of a warm croissant—and for that, I was grateful. He’d traveled to Texas from Sweden a few months earlier, intent on a short vacation, but we’d persuaded him to stay on longer. Our house had plenty of room for him and he was an enjoyable houseguest. He’d helped us build a garden in our backyard and I’d forced him to watch a season of The Bachelor with me. (“Why does he not just buy more roses?”) He was supposed to stay until things started to settle down at the gym, but as luck would have it, we were only getting busier and busier, which meant hopefully Niklas would be here to stay.

  “You could pass them out to the gymnasts too, no?” he asked, dropping his face so it was right in front of his air vent. I envied him, but I knew our drive wouldn’t last too much longer.

  “Exactly. Most of them could use a few carbs anyway,” I said with a wink just as the sign for Lone Star Gymnastics came into view up ahead. The gym was situated about thirty minutes north of Austin, in a perfect spot for gymnasts to commute and train from all over central Texas. When Erik’s father had given him the gym two years earlier, it was in dire need of a makeover, so we’d taken a few months and overhauled the facility from top to bottom, even expanding the footprint to make room for a new men’s training area. By the time we’d finished, it was nearly twice as large as Seattle Flyers, and twice as time-consuming as well.

  That day, we were hosting our first competition and the parking lot for the gym was already full. Cars were spilling out onto the road, parked alongside the shoulder and out onto side streets. We’d opened registration for Lone Star’s inaugural meet six months earlier and we’d had three times the amount of gymnasts we’d expected sign up for the competition.

  “Wow, the place is full to the brim,” Niklas said, eyeing the cars we passed as I pulled into the gym’s parking lot. “Filip and Sarah should be out front waiting for us. I called to let them know we’d need help unloading everything before we left the house.”

  I blushed. Maybe just this time, I actually had gone overboard a bit with baking. I mean, how many cookies can one person bake in a 24-hour period before they had a problem?

  I swung Erik’s old clunker of a truck into our designated parking spot and as promised, Erik’s parents were waiting for us out front. Erik’s mom, Sarah, wrapped me up in a tight hug as soon as I hopped out of the driver’s seat. I closed my eyes and let the familiar scent of her shampoo wash over me, calming my nerves.

  “I brought way too much food.” I laughed as she pulled back.

  “Nonsense,” she insisted with a twinkle in her eye. “Remember last year for Thanksgiving? That was too much food. This is different. There are a few hundred people inside who would love a free cookie.” She squeezed my biceps for reassurance. “I promise.”

  Erik’s dad stood behind her, waiting for his turn to get to me. I smiled at him over my shoulder, happy to see how healthy he looked. Though he and Erik had endured a trouble-filled decade, he and I shared a special bond and I knew it was partly because of my gymnastics career. He respected my achievements a great deal, and though I’d assumed it would bother Erik, he actually appreciated how well I got along with his parents. We spent a lot of evenings having dinner with them, and though Erik would always be much closer to his grandfather than his dad, it was an arrangement that worked and suited everyone well.

  “Will your mom be here today?” Erik’s dad asked after placing a quick kiss on my cheek.

  I beamed. “She’s coming a little later on. She just has to work for a few hours this morning.”

  “Always working!”

  “I know. I know. She just loves her job so much, even when I try to convince her to retire, she won’t listen to me.”

  On top of the money I’d earned from the Olympic Committee for winning a han
dful of medals, I’d signed three different large endorsement deals with Nike, PowerAid, and GK Elite Sportswear after the games. The first thing I’d done after I’d socked most of my earnings away was purchase a modest house for my mom in North Austin, partly because she deserved it more than anyone I knew, and partly because I was selfish and wanted her as close to me as possible. It’d taken a little (okay, a lot) of convincing for her to accept the gift, but eventually she’d moved in and cut back her hours. I knew she would never leave her position as a social worker, not when there were so many people who counted on her. She loved being a voice for the less fortunate and I admired her for it.

  “Are these white chocolate macadamia cookies?” Erik’s mom asked, sliding her gaze back to Erik’s father.

  “Oh? Are they?” I winked at him over her shoulder. “I baked so many I lost track of what they were.”

  They were his favorite dessert and I loved to make them for him every now and then.

  She hummed in disbelief. “You know he’s supposed to be watching his diet! He has even more of a sweet tooth than Erik.”

  “There you are!”

  Speak of the devil.

  I’d only just handed off the last of the cookies when Erik shouted at me from the front door. I spun around to see him leaning out, holding the door open for guests to walk past him. “You were supposed to be here twenty minutes ago!”

  I pointed to his grandfather. “Blame him! He was on the phone with Britta and I swear they were doing the ‘no you hang up first…no you hang up…’ thing for thirty minutes!”

  His grandfather chuckled as he brushed past Erik to get into the gym, though he didn’t deny my claim.

  Erik groaned and reached out for me. “Here, the others can bring in the stuff from the truck. Everyone has been asking about you and I’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off and…”

  I reached for his hand and squeezed it, trying to calm him down. We’d both been stressed about this competition over the last few weeks. I’d assumed competing at the Olympics would be the hardest thing I’d ever do, but that short week in Rio didn’t hold a candle to running my own gym with Erik.