Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28455 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 114(@250wpm)___ 95(@300wpm)
“Jesus Christ. Are you crazy? You can’t take a joke, man?”
“You are a joke, boy. I know you think you’re some kind of golden boy because you’re a rich kid with a pretty face, but you don’t impress me. You’re a piece of shit. End of story. Maybe it bothers you that Marissa sees through you. Maybe that’s why you’re so obsessed with her. It doesn’t matter. I’m not your therapist. I’m the guy who’s gonna fix you in other ways if you don’t do what I say. Clear?”
“Just get off me. If you don’t, I’ll file a complaint.”
“With who? About what? It’s just you and me, boy. Now, don’t make me kill you.”
“Fine, man. I’ll keep my mouth shut. I’ll stay away from Marissa. Is that all you want?”
“That’s it. Simple. You can go on being a piece of shit forever just as long as you steer clear of me and my girl.”
“Done. Now can you let me go? I’m going to be late for the opening ceremonies.”
“Get the fuck out of here. It wasn’t a pleasure knowing you, shithead.”
I release my hold on him but I don’t move. I force him to wiggle his way around me. I don’t know if the message sank in or not, but this is his last warning. If I have to confront him again, it will be with my fists.
Once the boy is gone from my sight, I go downstairs and pick up breakfast for Marissa. The athletes need to be at the Stad de France at the crack of dawn to rehearse and cut videos before the ceremony begins in the late afternoon.
It’s a grueling schedule, and I wish Marissa didn’t have to go through it. I expect that soon, our alone time will be spent with me watching her sleep. That’s alright. I don’t care what we do as long as I can be close to her.
I return to the room to find her dressed in her new official red, white, and blue warm-up suit. She would look amazing on a cereal box. I make a mental note of it so I can mention it to the advertising agency.
“I was about to send a search party out looking for you. You’ve been gone a long time.” She smiles.
“You were asleep when I left. How do you know?”
“I always know when you get out of bed. It feels different when you aren’t there.”
“That sounds sweet but maybe it’s just because I take up so much space.”
She wraps her arms around my bicep and rests her head on my shoulder. “No. It’s definitely your energy. I know when it isn’t there anymore.”
I kiss her forehead. “You need to eat. Today will probably be the longest day of your life.”
“Will you be able to watch?”
“The rehearsals? No, but I’ll be around. When you have an agent, they’re required to let us attend any video or photo shoots. Then, when the ceremony begins, Andrika and I will be watching from the control tower.”
“I like that,” she says, taking a bite of her toast.
“What?”
“I like knowing that you’re watching over me.”
“Good, because I’m never going to stop.”
Security surrounds the stadium, and it takes an eternity to get inside. We park in the assigned parking lot and make our way to the entry doors. Once inside, Marissa stops short and gazes up at the glass-domed ceiling.
“It’s like a different world in here.”
“It’s big enough to be its own world,” I reply, taking her by the arm to move her along.
We part ways once she files with the rest of the swim team. As I turn to leave, I spy Everet King lining up with the divers. Perhaps my warning had the desired impact on him because he’s cooing and rubbing up against Katrina Lee like a horny dog. I hope the girl has the good sense to kick him in his nuts, but it’s no skin off of my nose. As long as he stays away from Marissa.
As the day rolls on, I quickly learn that I won’t be seeing much of Marissa for the next few weeks. The swim team isn’t allowed to leave the stadium, or each other’s sides for that matter, until they’re released for the night. I feel like a parent dropping my child off for the first day of school and wondering what I’ll do with myself while they’re out of the house.
If nothing else, I suppose it opens up more time for me to network on her behalf. She doesn’t know it, but I passed off all of my other clients to a former colleague of mine the moment she took me up on my offer. She’s all that matters now.
I meet Andrika in the lobby and escort her to the control tower to watch the ceremony. The tower is close quarters with the Olympic staff, other trainers, and agents all crowded around the monitors. I look at Andrika and point to the windows. “It’s a tower. We have a bird’s eye view from here. We don’t have to watch the monitors.”