14. Chapter 13 Carter
F ebruary 2024
I don’t care that Bryce is talking to one of our old coaches when I find him; I grab his arm and drag him away from the conversation, flashing a smile at the coach as I do. My parents still raised me to be polite, even when I’m interrupting conversations.
“Hello to you, too.” Bryce laughs, practically tripping over his own feet as I drag him to a mostly quiet corner.
Once we’re away from anyone we know, I glare up at him. “Dude, what the hell? Did you kidnap our contractor or something?”
The smile drops from his face as he glances across the pool where we can see Josie and Mia. Beside Josie, looking confused and a little uncomfortable, is a strikingly beautiful blonde woman who I can only assume is Kat.
“No, she agreed to come. There was no kidnapping.”
“What is she even doing here?” I snap. “And why didn’t you warn me?”
“It’s not that big of a deal, man.” Bryce shrugs. “She’s not sure what we need, but is willing to learn, so I figured this was a good chance for her to experience swimming firsthand. There’s nothing she’s needed for on-site today and wasn’t going home for the weekend. It just worked. Why would I need to tell you she’s coming?”
“Because it has to do with me and being professional.” I fight the urge to look back to where the three women are sitting in the stands. “Some warning would have been nice.”
A knowing smirk appears on my best friend’s face as he crosses his arms. Internally, I groan. There’s nothing worse than a smug Bryce Clark. “Oh, my god, you’re flustered.”
“What? No—no, I’m not!” My sputtering only makes him laugh. “Dude, shut up. Who the fuck says flustered anymore?”
He cackles. “No, you’re totally flustered by this girl! Why?”
“Have you seen her?” I demand, vaguely motioning behind me. I silently pray they’re not looking our way because Mia and Josie will know we’re talking about them.
Bryce’s smugness is back. “Yes, I have. I’ve been working with her for a month, but this is the first time you’re seeing her.”
“And I didn’t expect her to look like that! You could have at least warned me about that .”
Bryce knows my type, whether it’s a man or a woman, and Katrina hits all my boxes.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve been too busy pulling our business together to even think about playing cupid between you and our contractor. My bad.”
I glare at him. “Stop being an ass.”
His grin returns. “I’m not being an ass; I’m having an appropriate reaction to this new information!”
I want to walk away, pretend this conversation never happened, and spend the rest of the weekend pretending I have no idea who he is.
“She’s got a boyfriend, man.” The words—spoken in a sober tone—are like a bucket of ice water over my head, a reminder of something I’d so conveniently let slip from my conscious. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
It is too late for that. “Yeah, I know. She told me.”
He looks at me with such sympathy; I have to look away. “I know you guys talk, but I didn’t know if you knew. From what she’s told me and what she’s told Josie, he’s a bit of an asshole.”
I know nothing about her relationship, but I’m instantly inclined to believe she deserves better. If Josie thinks this guy is a jerk, then he most certainly is.
“Apparently, she is considering dumping him.” I feel like I’ve dropped into an alternate universe or something. I never thought I’d be standing on a pool deck gossiping with Bryce about someone else’s love life. “If they do, you should talk to her about whatever this is.”
That snaps me back to the present. “I’m not talking to her about this weird crush I have on her. I don’t even know her. Besides, I thought you didn’t like her.”
“No,” he corrects with the shake of his head. “I never said I didn’t like her. I said I found her annoying.”
“That’s not much better, dude.”
“I have a theory,” he argues. This ought to be good. “If your best friend finds them annoying, maybe they’ll end up being the one. Look at me and Josie!”
My brows arch as I fight back a laugh. “Have you run this theory by either Josie or Mia? Because I think they would tell you that you’re an idiot. Besides, it doesn’t matter, she has a boyfriend and I have an Olympic team to make. I’m not going to be a rebound.”
Bryce sobers up and part of me feels guilty about saying something like that. Although the situations are completely different, I know it hits a nerve with him.
“Don’t apologize,” he insists before I can even say anything. “I get it. God, you know how much I get it, but don’t make the same mistakes I made. I know there’s a lot you still want to accomplish, but you’ve got a lot of life to live on the other side of the Olympics. And that includes things you don’t get second chances at.”
I swallow against the lump forming in my throat. I don’t know how to tell him it’s the things on the other side that have me scared shitless.
“Abrams! Get in the water!”
Both Bryce and I turn at the sound of my coach calling my name. He’s standing at the edge of the pool, hands on his hips, looking less than impressed.
“You better go, man,” Bryce warns. “I remember being on the other side of that look when he was still at Arizona.”
Laughing, I nod.
“Just think about what I said!” he calls as I turn to head into the water.
I wave him off over my shoulder, already pulling my cap and goggles from where they were tucked into the edge of my brief at my hip. Coach raises a brow as I approach, ready to ask me if I’m good, but I just shake my head, pulling the cap on.
I can’t think about this right now. I have a meet to focus on.
I n the past, I’ve been distracted at meets by talking to my friends or signing autographs. There have been plenty of times I’ve used the excuse of not being able to avoid it or get away from people. It turns out, when I have the right motivation, it’s easy to avoid people. I manage to avoid them until the end of finals, when Bryce basically ambushes me from behind, grabbing my backpack, and hauling me backward.
“What the hell, dude?” I question, turning to find him glaring at me. “I’m trying to get back to the hotel. I’m beat.”
He scowls at me. “No, you’re not. You’re not tired. I’ve known you for twenty-five years; I know when you’re tired. You’re coming to dinner with us.”
I scowl back like the petty asshole I am. “Why?”
“Because you need to eat.” He levels me with a glare, knowing full well he’s got a point. “And because my girlfriend is pouting—yes, pouting, because you haven’t said hello to her yet. She’s convinced she’s done something wrong because why else would Carter ever wound her this way?”
My eyes widen in realization of how my behavior probably came off to Josie and Mia. Kat wouldn’t know any difference, figuring this is normal for me during a meet like this, but the two of them would and it'd hurt them. Despite only being a couple of hours from Columbia, Josie and I haven’t seen much of each other. Building a strong relationship with Josie was the one thing I promised myself I’d fix when she and Bryce got back together, and I would not shut her out again.
“The girls already went ahead to put our name in at the restaurant across the street; it’s about a twenty-minute wait,” Bryce continues, glancing around here. “Are you done here?”
Swallowing, I nod. He releases my backpack and starts leading me out of the natatorium. “You know I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings, right? I was going to say hi. I just—”
“I know,” he replies, barely looking at me. “It’s just not like you to act like this over someone.”
“What do you mean? I wasn’t avoiding anyone! I was busy.”
He glares at me again, and I deflate. It’s hard lying to someone who knows you like the back of his hand. If I never believed Bryce when he told me he was over Josie, why should he believe me when I give him a pathetic excuse like this?
“All right, fine.” I sigh. “I just . . . I don’t know what to say to her or how to act around her.”
“Are you seventeen again with a crush?” he asks. “I haven’t seen you this nervous in literal years, not even when you were with the British dude.”
“Ben,” I stress, rolling my eyes. “His name is Ben, and you know that.”
“Of course I do.” Bryce smirks at me over his shoulder. “Josie and I got an invite to his wedding.”
I roll my eyes, because even though Bryce pretends to dislike him, he and my ex are friends. “Me too. Are you going?”
“It’s during the Olympics, so no. Are you planning on going?”
“Shut up.” I shove him with a laugh. “Ben realized the mistake after he sent the invite and apologized to me. Which is so crazy to me; it’s his wedding, but he wanted me to be a groomsman.”
“The crazy part is you being able to be friends with your exes, like all of them,” Bryce argues. “Who does that?”
“Step one is not being an asshole all the time,” I tease back.
Bryce and I spend the walk over to the restaurant continuing to mess around. He teases me a little more about Katrina and I take the opportunity to turn the tables and focus on his own relationship. I wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to give Mr. I-Don’t-Want-Anything-Serious shit for buying a house with a woman he once kept at arm’s length. By the time we reach the restaurant, I’d forgotten Katrina was even there as I relaxed into the easy familiarity of being around my friends.
I’ve done this countless times—dinner after a meet with Bryce, Josie, and Mia. This wasn’t anything new. Until I saw the flash of blonde hair waiting outside as we approached.
My focus is soon pulled from her, as I see Josie Martin scowling at me, arms crossed in front of her chest. Bryce hadn’t been lying when he told me she was pouting.
“Josie.” I grin, ignoring Katrina and Mia in favor of wrapping one of my favorite people in a hug. Josie relaxed slightly as I came toward her with outstretched arms, and then she was crowding closer to me, returning the hug. “I didn’t mean to ignore you.”
She tilts her head to look at me. “You’ve never not said hi to us.”
“I was distracted,” I admit, hugging her tighter.
Sighing, she hugs me back just as tight before another set of arms wrap around us. Josie and I both laugh as Mia tackles us in a group hug.
“I’m here, too!” My arm moves to pull her in closer and the three of us stand there hugging for a second.
For the two years these women were out of my life made things feel a little less full. It felt like something was missing, but I didn’t understand what it was until they came back last spring. The fact we only saw each other a few times a year didn’t matter; we’d woven ourselves into each other’s lives and when things ended between Josie and Bryce, those threads were cut. I’d hated it. I’d hated not looking up in the stands and seeing them. Then Bryce retired, and the sport felt lonelier again.
Tonight was the first time in a long time I felt like things were back to normal.
Someone clears their throat behind us, and we all poke our heads out of the hug to see Katrina standing there, waving her phone in the air. “The table’s ready.”
The three of us separate from the hug while Bryce pulls open the door. Josie leads our group inside but, just as I’m about to walk through the door with Katrina trailing behind us, Bryce lets it go, sneaking in after Mia. Fighting the urge to yell at him, because I know exactly what he’s doing, I snag the door, and step back to hold it open for Katrina.
She offers me a small smile as we step inside. “Thank you.”
The other three are talking to each other as the host leads us on a winding path through the restaurant to our table. Neither of us has held eye contact with the other for longer than two seconds, but the awkward silence is starting to kill me.
Before I can break it, though, she does. “Bryce didn’t tell you I was coming this weekend, did he?”
I bite the inside of my cheek, glaring at my best friend. I shake my head. “He did not.”
“I figured based on how surprised you looked.”
“You could have told me. We just talked yesterday.”
“He told me he’d tell you!” she defends. “I had no reason not to believe him.”
When we arrive at the table, we all take our seats after some shuffling. I’m not at all surprised to see the seat Bryce bullied me into is right across from Katrina. I kick his shin under the table, hard.
“ Shit ,” he curses, reaching down to grab it as he glares at me. “What the hell, Carter?”
I give him my best innocent smile when I look up from my menu. “Oops?”
“Bryce, why didn’t you tell Carter I was going to be here this weekend?” Kat doesn’t even give him a second to get comfortable before the interrogation starts. I have to say, I’m kind of impressed. “You told me you’d tell him.”
He gives her his innocent smile. “Must have slipped my mind. It’s not like it’s a big deal. Right, Carter?”
I position myself in a way that hides my glare from everyone except Bryce. He shrinks back under it, leaning closer to Josie like she’ll save him.
“It’s fine,” I say in a tone I hope tells him to let it go. Not wanting to make Kat feel uncomfortable, I turn my focus back to her. “It’s seriously fine, Kat. I’m happy you’re here. What’d you think about your first meet?”
Between ordering and waiting for our food, Kat dives into all her questions. We all get a few laughs out of her slightly clueless understanding of the sport and what she thinks is happening. For the most part, the questions are legitimate, and I think she might have even had some fun. She talks about the feeling of excitement that overcame her as people cheered for their favorite swimmer, even if she wasn’t sure what was going on.
I spent most of that time watching Katrina and struggled not to become completely captivated by this woman, but man, is it hard. There’s something about the way her eyes sparkle when she laughs, or the way she fiddles with the ends of her long, blonde hair when she’s nervous or unsure. Her personality meshes easily with all of us, like she’s been part of this group forever. Like she’s the missing piece.
Except she’s not, and she can’t be. She’s with someone else, not me, and any type of daydream I get wrapped up in is only going to result in me getting hurt.
When our dinner arrives, the conversation drifts to something calmer; not all of us talking over each other and fighting to be heard. I glance up from my pasta to see Katrina enjoying hers, but she’s looking around like she’s waiting for something to happen or looking for a conversation to join.
I can start a conversation with her, we’ve talked a hundred times in the last month or so. She’s one of the easiest people to talk to, but I don’t know where to start. She catches my eye and smiles before taking a bite of her food.
“So, you’ve never told me—what made you want to be a contractor?” She looks up at me in surprise. “I mean, I know your stepfather is one; did you want to follow in his footsteps or something?”
“God, no.” She laughs, shaking her head. “I just liked the idea of being the one that got to build something that’ll last. Architects can draw and design buildings, but I’m the one who oversees them as they become a reality. It’s always been more interesting to me to focus on that side of things.”
“So you’re not much of a daydreamer, then?” I ask, ignoring Bryce listening in to our conversation from my right.
She gives me a coy smile, drawing my attention to her more. “Wrong again, Carter. I’m a huge daydreamer, but I like to see them come to life more. Building and interior design are also things I’m passionate about, but I decided not to let that be my focus.”
“Which is why you’re helping Josie and Bryce with the house,” I point out, and she nods. “Josie’s been telling me about some of the plans you’ve got and they all sound great.”
She smiles softly. “The two of you are pretty close, aren’t you?”
I shrug. “Next to Bryce, she’s one of my best friends; Mia too. That’s what you get with this group. Best to be honest with you about it up front.”
She stares at me across the table in pure amazement. “What?”
My brow furrows as I look back at her. “You’re part of this group now, Kat. Did you think you wouldn’t be?”
“But . . . I’m just the contractor,” she argues. “I’m not here permanently.”
“You think distance bothers any of us? This is going to be the first time we’ll all be in the same spot, ever. Charleston isn’t that far away.”
“What are the two of you talking about down there?”
I look down the table toward Mia, who is staring at us expectantly. “About how Kat is part of the group now.”
“Without a doubt.” With a brow furrowed, she turns to Kat. “Wait, did you not realize that?”
When I look back at Kat, she has that same mystified look in her eye, like she’s grappling to understand the reality she’s in. “I do now,” she promises all of us, and the table goes back to different conversations effortlessly.
Throughout the night, Kat keeps looking at me like I’ve handed her the moon, but that can’t be true, because I’m sure she handed it to me.