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She rolled her eyes at me. “For someone who doesn’t like drama, you have a habit of attracting it.”

“I feel as though I should apologize again. It was not my intention to take the attention away from our dance.”

“I know.” She looped her arm with mine. “We’ll give them their five minutes, and then I’ll shut it down.

The press pen was a small, closed room, packed with reporters and cameras. As soon as we walked in with the media organizer and our coach, the atmosphere turned electric. What came next would be intense, and I wasn’t entirely sure I was ready for it.

As soon as we took our places, the barrage began.

“Ren, was that kiss confirmation of a relationship with Navarro.”

“How long have you been together?”

“Were the disciplinary investigations connected to your relationship with a rival athlete?”

“What does this mean for your respective partnerships and national teams?”

I raised a hand, and surprisingly, they fell silent. “I’m sure you can appreciate that we’d like to keep the questions focused on the competition, not my personal life. I will confirm, however, that Camden and I have grown close since we competed together at the Meridian Cup. But our personal lives are our own. I hope you can respect that.”

After that, the questions steered back to the competition and the dance itself, with the media organizer only needing to redirect away from my love life a few times.

With the competition over and the interviews done, the team were transported back to the Village by coach. Later that night, we were all due at an official after-party where athletes would mingle with sponsors.

Alone in my apartment, and after a day I’d never forget, the quiet rushed in.

I pulled the silver medal from my pocket, set it down on the side, and rested my fingertips on its cool surface. Not bad for my final dance.

I dropped onto the end of the bed and pulled my phone from my pocket.

Social media notifications were in the hundreds. The team’s media manager could deal with much of it tomorrow. I checked my father’s message thread. Nothing. No “congratulations on silver,” no “I’m proud of you, son.” I likely wouldn’t hear from him again. And that was probably for the best.

A missed call from Dame Ashborne and a voicemail message. It was probably about my father. I’d get to that.

A message pinged from Cam.

wanna go for a walk by the river?

I smiled. It had been hours since our public kiss. He would have been dealing with the same press fallout as me.

I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be right now than beside him.

It’s cold.

And dark.

its called winter remember?

Alright.

meet at waterside café

fifteen minutes

I showered quickly and changed into casual clothes, threw my coat on, and headed out. No snow outside tonight, but the cold air nipped at my face. I pulled my collars up, shoved my gloved hands into my pockets, and walked across the open areas toward the café. There weren’t many people braving the elements, and any who were outside rushed from building to building, trying to stay warm.

I spotted Cam’s silhouette by the side of the café. The beanie hat I’d gotten him had temporarily tamed his hair. His face was rosy, nose and cheeks pink. He had a bunch of pretty flowers in his hand.

“Hey,” he said, maybe a little coyly.