CHAPTER THIRTEEN #3
The ceiling suddenly became the most interesting thing in the room. There were no nearly naked riders up there. Completely unrelated to the situation, I tried to remember how long it had been since I’d last had sex.
‘Hey.’ Quinn was a man of many words.
‘Do you remember Paldon?’ Theo draped a bare arm around my shoulders. ‘You probably didn’t see much of her since she didn’t overtake you once during our wyvern days. She begged me for a tour of the gym and I was feeling generous today.’
‘Okay. Thanks, Theo,’ I said through gritted teeth. I brought my eyes back down from the ceiling and shoved his arm away. I kept my gaze above the neck as I nodded at Quinn.
‘Yeah, I remember.’ His voice was low, both in volume and tone. He stood straight and confident, despite the accidental audience he’d ended up with. He wasn’t ashamed or embarrassed, at least not that I could tell.
He also remembered me. A surprise, given how much earlier he’d succeeded in racing than us.
‘Good to see you again, Quinn.’
I expected him to turn away, to return to wherever these guys got changed for the spa rooms, but instead he looked at me with absolute sincerity.
‘You’re racing again?’
The dam holding back the worry over being discovered burst in an instant, flooding me with panic. My body locked up, overloaded with anger that Theo had blabbed before I’d even given him my answer.
‘Nah,’ said Theo, relaxed. ‘She’s a keeper now.’
I took a deep breath. It was an innocent question, that’s all.
Quinn nodded. ‘I saw.’
I blinked. He had?
‘Shame. You were good.’ That’s when he turned to leave, heading towards the exit that I now realized was a very open changing room.
The second he was out of view I slapped Theo’s arm in triumph.
‘Hear that? I was good.’ I’d missed gloating so much. I could happily have ridden that high for weeks. It flushed out the previous panic, leaving only smug satisfaction behind.
‘Didn’t you used to have a crush on him?’ Theo crossed his arms, tucking his hands under his biceps.
The glare I gave him only egged him on.
‘What was it … the word you used?’ He pursed his lips, struggling to rein in his grin.
‘Shut up.’ I climbed on to the training machine and looped my limbs through the straps.
‘It was something like …’ He watched me get grumpier by the second. Then snapped his fingers. ‘Dreamy.’
‘I hate you.’ I handed him the other end of the elastic training bands. ‘Let’s get this done.’
‘Oh, you’re embarrassed over your girlhood crush?’ He braced a forearm on the seat, getting close enough to whisper. ‘Another secret I need to keep?’
I clamped a hand over his mouth and reduced the distance between our faces to nothing but an inch.
‘You don’t joke about that. Not out loud and not in public.’ I may have been whispering but my voice dripped with violence.
His eyes crinkled at the corners, I could feel him trying to smile under my hand. He gently peeled it away and kept hold of it.
‘Relax. We made a deal. Plus, as soon as anyone finds out, I lose the ability to tease you about it. Then I wouldn’t get to see this look on your face again.’ He had the audacity to wink at me. If he did it one more time I was going to punch him.
‘Your word means nothing to me, Vaspre.’ That wiped his face clean.
‘Um, excuse me guys …’
I whipped my hand out of Theo’s. He straightened up lazily.
It was Omar. Again. He stood awkwardly and gestured towards my feet.
‘I forgot my drink.’
On the floor was a purple metal flask with a rubber stopper. Omar’s name was written on the side in bright blue. I’d been too preoccupied arguing to notice it.
I untangled myself and handed him the bottle. ‘Here you go.’
‘This is Paldon, Omar. She’s my …’ He left a dramatic pause that made my gut churn. ‘Friend.’
My expression must have been dire, because his smile doubled in size. It made everything look even worse.
‘Nice to meet you.’ I offered a hand to Omar. ‘I’m a keeper with Kiestral, but used to be Vaspre’s teammate in junior racing. I can sympathize with the pain and suffering he’s likely causing you now.’
To Omar’s credit, he laughed the whole thing off with a genuine and infectious smile. He took my hand and shook it.
‘Nice to meet you. If you have any tips on how to get him to be quiet, let me know, I’m still trying to figure that out.’ He backed away with a polite wave. ‘Oh, and can you remind Thorne about the next Rider Union meeting? I swear he’s been dodging me for weeks.’
I watched his back as he left, waiting for the moment the frosted glass slid shut behind him.
The second Omar was out of sight and earshot I punched Theo in the arm. Mostly for his attempt to embarrass me, but I also needed somewhere to direct my anxiety over people missing Thorne.
‘Ah! What was that for?’ He rubbed his bicep, his face more wounded than his arm.
‘What do you think, asshole?’ I hissed through my teeth at him. ‘Go get a weapon to defend yourself, because that’s not the last of it either. If you’re going to piss me off like this then let’s at least make the most of it.’
The faux pouting evaporated, replaced instead by a spark in Theo’s eyes. ‘Time to spar?’
‘Yes.’ I was going to make him suffer.