Page 22 of The Forever Vault

“That sounds good. I’ll ask.”

“I’m assuming you won’t be inviting Preston.”

“Fuck no. That was a given.”

Cam gave my hand one last squeeze. “Love you.”

“Love you more.”

I waved goodbye to Colton and Zephyrus and headed through the security checkpoint. Heading back to the dorm, I pulled out my phone.

Luke: Hey guys, want to grab dinner with me and Cam tomorrow night? Colton and Zephyrus will probably be there too.

Orion: Count me in. It’ll be nice to see Cam.

Miles: Zephyrus Jones?

Luke: Yup.

Miles: I’ll be there.

Luke: Big fan?

Miles: Yeah…there’s a lot to be a fan about.

The guys could see who I texted, and his name remained unmentioned. He hadn’t caused any trouble at today’s practice and I hoped that yesterday’s shit was the end of it. He wasn’t in the locker room afterward either. I’d have to double check with Shane that that was a permanent move.

I got off the elevator, headed to our room, and punched in the door code. “Ezra,” I called out, curious why he hadn’t responded to the text. I found him sitting on the floor on a yoga mat, holding his phone. “You okay?”

“Why is Jack Davies such a dick?”

“What?” I sat behind him on the couch. He held his phone out to me, so I took it. “What am I looking at?”

“Twitter, duh. He’s throwing shade at me. Look!”

“I don’t know what I’m looking at.”

“Ugh!” Ezra grabbed his phone back. “Here. His comment on my post. He says he can’t believe it either.”

“Which post?”

Ezra scrolled up and read it aloud. “Excited to be in SF. I can’t believe I’m here. #Olympics, #TeamUSA, and more hashtags.”

“Maybe he’s saying he feels the same, like he can’t believe he’s here either? Has he targeted you before?” I sat down next to him on the floor..

“Well, I may have said something snarky to him at the World Championships.”

“Do I wanna know?”

Ezra shrugged. “I was just being sarcastic. I mean, he’s clearly better than me.”

“Well, congratulations, sarcasm doesn’t always translate even when you both speak English.”

“I should ignore it, right?”

“Definitely!” I gave his shoulder a squeeze. “I doubt it will get worse, but you can always talk to your coach or Woodward if it does. However you look at it, he’s giving you attention, expending energy. Either he wants to be friends, or he considers you a threat. He could just be trying to make a bad joke, too?”

“Well, I guess that’s something, but still, I’m not thrilled.”