Page 47 of Heated Rivalry 1
“Shane Hollanderrrrrrrr!”
Shane nearly jumped at the sound of his name being bellowed behind him. He spun around, and spotted two familiar faces approaching him: Carter Vaughan (yelling) and Scott Hunter (not yelling). Scott was the captain of Team USA’s men’s hockey team, and Carter was his teammate both here and in New York, where they played for the Admirals.
Shane had been walking, alone, on the beach in Sochi. He had the rest of the day and night off, and had been at a bit of a loss of what to do. His parents had considered traveling to Russia but had ultimately decided against it. For one thing, the travel arrangements and accommodations were a nightmare. Shane had convinced them that it really wasn’t worth the hassle, and pointed out that they’d watched him compete in international tournaments since he was a teenager. And maybe he was being overly cautious, but there had been a lot of articles leading up to these Games about possible security concerns, and he wanted to keep his parents safe.
Shane had had no idea what to expect before he’d arrived in Sochi. He’d never been to Russia before, and he wasn’t sure this over-the-top spectacle was the best representation of Rozanov’s homeland. He found himself wondering, often, about the pressure Rozanov was feeling. Being in the Olympics at all was thrilling and stressful enough for Shane without it being in his country.
“What’s up, guys?” he said as Carter and Scott caught up with him. “Did you know there was going to be a beach here? What the fuck is this place, right?”
Carter laughed. “No! There are fucking palm trees here! I thought Russia in the winter would be, like, cold.”
“Congrats on your win last night,” Scott said. Scott was a super nice guy. Carter was nice too, but Scott was, like, an angel who was really good at playing hockey. Helookedlike an angel: blond hair and blue eyes and built like a Navy SEAL who was also a model and maybe also a firefighter.
“Thanks. It was a pretty easy win, but I’ll take it.”
“These early games are all easy. Who are we playing next, Scotty? Fiji?”
Scott frowned at him. “Denmark. And I don’t want anyone being cocky about it.”
“Yes, sir,” Carter teased.
Carter looked nothing like Scott, with his dark skin and brown eyes, but he was just as attractive. The difference was that Carterknewhe was attractive. He was the kind of guy who took over a room, but in a good way. Everyone liked him.
“How are you finding the accommodations?” Shane asked.
“Are you kidding?” Carter asked. “I’m sleeping on acot—”
“It’s a twin bed,” Scott corrected him.
“Whatever. A fucking twin bed, wedged between two other twin beds. One of them has this fucking oaf snoring away on it.”
“I don’t snore.”
“And the other has Sully—Eric Sullivan—and I don’t even know that kid, but he’s even bigger than Scott. I would like to find the Sochi Four Seasons.”
Shane laughed. “I’m rooming with J.J., and your teammate, Greg Huff.”
“Well, Huff doesn’t take up much space,” Carter said, “but J.J. is a giant.”
“He’s not a fan of the beds either.”
“What are your plans for tonight?” Scott asked.
“I thought I’d watch some of the speed skating.”
Scott’s face lit up. “Yeah? That would be cool. I saw the men’s figure skating short program is tonight too.”
“Oh, right. That’s probably going to be packed.”
“Those fucking guys are brave to be here, you know?”
“Brave?” Scott asked.
Carter lowered his voice and glanced around the beach. “Yeah, like...because of the gay thing, right? Some of those guys are risking their lives for real here. Brave as hell.”
“Right,” Scott said. He turned his gaze to the ocean. Shane knew about Russia’s laws against homosexuality, but he’d been trying not to think too much about stuff like that. He just wanted to enjoy the Olympics, win the gold medal, and go home. But now he was thinking about Dev, a guy he’d trained with a bit from Ottawa who was on the men’s speed skating team, and who Shane knew was gay. He was here. Was he terrified? He must be.
“They should have beach volleyball at these games!” Carter said cheerfully. “Women’s beach volleyball. That’s exactly what the Winter Olympics needs, right?”
