Page 7 of The Fall

“That’s all I ask. Now I’m starving. You got any food here?”

Kelsey laughs. “She’s got like ten pounds of grilled chicken in the fridge.”

I shrug. “It’s easy to prep and throw in with other foods.”

Max hops off the couch. “Cool. I’ll make dinner then.”

Kelsey looks from Max to me and shakes her head. She doesn’t understand our dynamic. Max is my skating partner, but he’s also become one of my best friends. He’s also, on occasion, my sexual partner, but that’s usually before competitions when I need help relaxing. We’re not together together. We’ve had that talk and set those boundaries and are both free to see other people (not like we have much time for that). When the time comes that we want to be in a relationship with someone, we’ll stop sleeping together. Simple as that.

Until then, we’re just having fun.

Max makes us a chicken stir fry for dinner before heading back to his place. I take a relaxing bath, do some stretches, and crash into bed.

The next morning, I’m up early and still not feeling great about the whole coaching situation. But I’m going to try my best to listen. I can’t promise I won’t make any snide remarks. He did break my ankle after all.

I get to the rink before Max and make my way to the locker room. We get to start our days a little later now since we’re finished with college and don’t have to plan our sessions around classes. I put my stuff in my locker and grab my skates before heading out to do warm-up stretches.

Logan is standing outside the room, waiting for us. He’s in black sweatpants and a white long-sleeve T-shirt today. His hair is a little messy, like he ran his fingers through it a few times before calling it a day. If I didn’t hate him so much, I might find him a little attractive. Good thing that’ll never happen.

“Good morning, Savannah.” His tone is friendly, and it pisses me off even more.

I nod at him. “Coach.”

“Is Max here yet?”

I shrug and walk past him into the room. He sighs as I pass, and while I feel a tiny bit bad for being standoffish, it’s not enough to turn around and tell him Max will probably be here in five minutes. Max is almost always five minutes late. I’ve decided it’s how his internal clock works.

I find a mat and start stretching, and a few minutes later, Max walks in with Logan trailing behind.

“You look lovely today, Sav. Ready for a good day?” Max asks, standing next to me on the mat.

I glare at him. “Shut up.”

He chuckles as I bend over into a hamstring stretch.

“Oh yes, that’s what I love to see first thing in the morning.” Max slaps my ass, and I stand up, laughing.

“What the hell?”

He laughs and shrugs. “Can’t help it.”

I glance at Logan in the mirror. His smile has faded, and I can tell he’s trying to work out what’s going on between me and Max. Tati never asked for details of our friendship, and we never offered them, so I doubt she told Logan anything. I guess on the outside, it could potentially look like we’re together. I’ll let him think whatever he wants, though. It’s none of his business.

“Can we stretch, please?” I ask, folding back over into my hamstring stretch.

“Someone is tense this morning,” Max mumbles.

I don’t respond as I move into my next stretch. My muscles are sore from the skating yesterday. After having a few weeks off, it’s hard to get back to it without being sore. It didn’t help that I tossed and turned all night long.

“Are you sore, Savannah?” Logan asks. He must’ve noticed my wince.

“Obviously.”

The corner of his mouth twitches like he wants to smile but doesn’t. He keeps his arms crossed over his chest as he watches me switch legs and lean over.

“Have you tried ice baths?” he asks.

Max laughs. “You don’t want to see Sav in an ice bath. She’s the biggest baby.”