Page 114 of Floored By Love

“I never knew that,” I said.

“Did you think we came up with it? It’s not a very popular name.”

I shrugged, but smiled. “I guess I never thought about it. Thanks for telling us that story.”

I felt Luke’s hand on my thigh, rubbing it intermittently. “Yes. Thank you, Heather.”

The suite was empty when we got back. Again. It’s like they didn’t want to enjoy it.

“They must be with their families,” Luke said.

“Or watching an event?” I suggested.

“Oh yeah, we’re at the Olympics. Maybe we should see some of it?”

“Nah, I’d rather have you naked and in the hot tub.”

“I can do that!”

We stripped down, leaving a trail of clothes across the room. Luke grabbed us some towels from the bathroom and we raced out to the tub, covering ourselves just enough to stay legal before slipping under the piping hot water.

Luke giggled. “Someone’s eager.”

“Hey, I can be excited. I just came out to the world by kissing my super-hot boyfriend. All the gay boys are gonna be jealous.”

“And some girls, too. Speaking of, we should have toasted the end of America’s Sweethearts at dinner. No one can think you’re together now.”

“Uh...I think that ended when she got engaged to Isaak.”

“Oh shit, I forgot.”

I laughed. “You goober. Haven’t you met him? Erika mentioned something about it.”

“Yeah, I bumped into them at this fancy benefit in New York my parents made me attend. I guess Isaak’s family is from the upper echelon of society that my parents like to pretend to be a part of.”

“I guess there’s a lot about the past four years we don’t know about each other,” I said, as I snuggled into his side. He lifted his arm over my head, wrapping it around my shoulders.

“True, but you can always ask me anything. We have time now, though that doesn’t mean we have to. Whenever you want to talk about it is fine.”

“I don’t mind talking now. Why don’t you tell me something important I might not know. It seemed the first year after Brisbane looked rough for you. You weren’t really doing well at competitions.”

I felt Luke wince a little. “You noticed?” He sighed. “Yeah, I did not take our forced separation well, even if it was my choice. I...uh...dealt with some depression. I was on some medication for a brief period, but that really fucked me up, so I stopped. It wasn’t until I reached out to Ty that he had me speak with his brother, who then referred me to a therapist friend in New York.”

I tried to hide my surprise, but I was never very good at that.

“I know. I didn’t publicize that, and maybe I should have, to help with the stigmas of mental health, but I couldn’t handle the public scrutiny, especially then. He helped me through most of my issues, and I’m still in touch with him. We talk every few months, so I can vent and reset my brain a little. Kind of like getting an oil change for your car.”

“Okay, don’t use mechanical metaphors to explain emotions. I’m way better with feelings than cars.”

Luke laughed. “I’ll try to remember. But since I shared something, now, it’s your turn.”

“Is that how it is now?”

Luke nodded. “Yup. Go for it, handsome.”

“Well, the first year we were apart, I actually started doing yoga, and that kind of morphed into an interpretive dance class. The yoga teacher suggested it. She said it would help my musculature and the tension she sensed in me.”

“Really?”