Page 28 of Going for Gold (Sweet Cravings 3)

"It's not a date either. What if Gabriela set Chris up? Maybe I should call him..."

"No. Chris is an asshole. Chris has always been an asshole. And Chris will always be an asshole."

"Just because you don't like him..."

"Alina, you're my best friend and I'm trying really hard to be supportive. I know I've told you this a hundred times, but apparently you need to hear it one more time. People don't change."

She was referring to Chris being a player. We had had this conversation a bunch of times. And I always chose not to believe her. Because there hadn't been proof. Now that there was, could I really look the other way? I pulled a dress out of the closet. It was short but didn't have such a plunging neckline. "How about this one?"

She smiled and nodded. "Keeping a little to the imagination. Good choice."

"Are you sure you don't want to just grab takeout and watch that movie we skipped out on yesterday?"

"Bryce seems like a nice, normal, drop dead gorgeous guy. You need this."

"I need time." I felt empty and lost. I thought Chris was my future. I bit my lip. There was no way I was going to start crying again. Fuck.

Kirsten gave me a sympathetic smile. "Trust me, tonight is going to make you feel better."

I thought about my reaction to Bryce kissing me during Operation Red Rip. I had wanted to kiss him back. I pulled on the dress I had picked out. Bryce had cheered me up after that horrible game. He didn't care that I had snot all over my jersey. He sat with me and made me laugh. And during Operation Red Rip he had made me forget all about my breakup with Chris. He made it feel like I could breathe again. I didn't know anything about him, but I liked the way he made me feel. When I was with him everything seemed like it was going to be okay.

"What do you think?" I asked and turned toward Kristen. She was wearing a dress much more similar to the one she had wanted me to wear. Apparently she didn't want Ocel

ot to imagine very much.

"Perfect. Come on, or we're going to be late." She linked her arm in mine and pulled me toward the door.

Chapter 12

Monday

Bryce

I couldn't believe it, but I actually had butterflies in my stomach as we waited for the girls to arrive. It was like I was back in fifth grade again.

"Dude, what's that guy's deal?" asked Tim, signaling with his eyes for us to look behind him.

Alex and I turned to see what he was looking at, but nothing stood out. All I saw was a big fence separating the athlete's village from the rest of the city, a few guards at the gate, and a guy leaning against the fence smoking a cigarette.

"Who?" I asked.

"The smoker. He keeps staring at us. Now why don't you idiots quit making it so obvious that we're talking about him."

"He's probably just mesmerized by the hair gel dripping down your forehead," said Alex. "I think you might have used a little too much. I'm concerned you might get a stain on your dinner jacket."

Tim got a worried look on his face and whipped out his compact mirror to check on his perfectly quaffed hair. He checked a few angles and then snapped it shut. "I don't know what you're talking about. My hair looks fantastic, although I'm not sure how much longer it will last. Not even Paul Mitchell's finest gel can last long in this heat. The other day in Cosmo I read..."

"Hey!" said two girls.

I spun around. Alina and Kristen were standing behind us. I probably should have been more subtle, but I couldn't prevent myself from giving Alina the up-down. Her dress was fairly conservative on top, but it hugged her tiny waist perfectly and showed off her great legs. I snapped my focus back to her face. "Hey, Alina," I said, going in for the hug.

I got a nice whiff of Alina's perfume. Cherries? Maybe. I could never tell the difference between all those scents. It all either smelled like cherries or cookies. Whatever it was, it smelled good.

"So now that we're not on our secret..." Alina started, but Tim put his finger across her lips to shush her. She swatted his hand away. "Sorry, I just wanted to find out your real names."

Tim stepped back and smoothed his ridiculous maroon dinner jacket. "This is Alex, and I'm Tim." He locked eyes with Kristen and gave a flourished bow. "It's a pleasure to see you again, m'lady."

"I figured bringing him would give us good entertainment for the evening," I whispered to Alina as Kristen introduced herself to Tim.

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