Page 49 of Burnout
“I didn’t say that.”
But we both know she might as well have implied it.
“Tomorrow night I’m busy,” she says.
I’m not sure if she is expecting me to go down the days of the week, praying she has one empty for me, but I don’t. I nod and let it drop.
“I have to go to this sponsor event. It’s going to be awful. Quinn was supposed to be my plus one, but now her parents are coming into town to take her out to dinner.”
“Sponsor event, huh?” I think back to some of the ones I’ve had to attend. Dinners, drinks, mingling with rich people who don’t know shit but want to pretend that they do. “Sounds like a crappy way to spend an evening.”
“It’s going to suck, for sure, but I can’t get out of it.”
I bob my head in agreement.
“Unless…you want to come?” She laughs it off like she’s joking.
And maybe I’m crazy, but I don’t hesitate to take her up on it. “What time?”
“I was kidding. You don’t want to come. Trust me.”
“Sure I do. I’m great at schmoozing.”
She pauses pulling her hair out of its ponytail. “You’re serious?”
“No, actually I’m terrible at it, but I’m free.”
“I meant about coming.” Her gaze narrows on me. “What’s the catch?”
“There’s no catch.”
“What’s in it for you?”
That shakes a laugh free from my chest. “Nothing. I promise.”
I can tell she’s thinking really hard about my motive so I level with her. “I owe you.”
She opens her mouth to protest, but I beat her to it, quickly adding, “It’s the least I can do, and I already planned to be hanging out with you anyway.”
“I didn’t say yes to your non-date hang out.”
“I meant here, working out together.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks flush a pretty pink.
“Now you just won’t get to boss me around and toss foam blocks at my head.”
“Don’t be so sure about that,” she says.
EIGHTEEN
Knox is meetingme at the event, so I’m standing in the parking lot waiting for him. I should go in and let him find me, but the truth is I need to work up the courage to face the people inside.
Everyone at Bella Hunter has always treated me well. I owe a lot to them. They were one of the first companies to reach out and want to provide funding. I hadn’t even won an Olympic medal when they invited me to be part of their team. Plenty more sponsors came then, and I can’t blame them for not believing in me sooner, but I always liked that the Bella team saw something in me before.
Unfortunately, with that comes the pressure to live up to their hopes.
The rumble of a motorcycle stops the tapping of my foot on the pavement. My heart lurches as he pulls into the parking lot in all black. Black motorcycle, black pants, black jacket, black helmet.
