AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Stop lying.”
“I saw you through the window.”
“Good.” His tongue tastes the water at the corner of his mouth. “What did you think? Did you want to come in and try me on?”
I open my mouth to say something professional. All that comes out is, “What’s the matter with you?”
Then he grins for real, flashing his expensive teeth, grabs my wrists, and shoves me off the wall. He hops up and trots toward the large French doors that he must have thrown open on his way to rescue me.
Since my body has decided it doesn’t want to die, it lashes out and finds the side of the pool, scraping my palms and knees. I prop my elbows securely on the decking and watch my childhood hero grab a pair of red boating shorts from a basket by the door and pull them on. He picks up a towel draped over the door handle and ruffles it in his hair.
My muscles are shaking so badly it takes me three tries to get out of the pool. I limp to my wagon and grab my wallet; maybe my business card will prove that I’m not some kind of sex offender.
“Excuse me, sir?”
Leaving the towel draped over his head, he studies me up and down. “Jesus.” He reaches out and swipes a thumb across my knee, coming away bloody. I look down. It’s barely a scratch, but the water is carrying rivulets of red down my calf, staining my sock. He sticks his thumb in his mouth and straightens up, nose wrinkling slightly. I’m surprised to see that he’s shorter than me.
“On behalf of Emerald Lawncare, I want to formally apologize and assure you that you won’t be charged for this visit.”
He sighs and drops his towel on my feet, retreating into the tiled hallway leading to the rest of his mansion.
I make a terrible mistake. Maybe everything is inevitable after all. Maybe none of us have any choice. But by any measure, if I had a choice, the one I make now is the wrong one. “Wait.”
He stops with his back to me. He still has a swimmer’s profile, wide shoulders above a narrow waist, but it’s obvious that whatever steroids gave him such a jaw-dropping body in his prime haven’t been in his system for a long time.
“This is a ridiculous thing to ask, but I have a cousin. We were huge fans. I promised him I’d get this signed someday, somehow.” I pull a pristine, foil sports trading card out of my wallet. Part of me wants to explain that I’d never ask this if my promise to Danny hadn’t become the last one I ever made him.
He turns around, frowning, and squints at the card in my hand. It was a lucky find from aRio Olympics Young Championsset printed months before the fateful drug tests. A younger-looking Victor beams at the camera, goggles dangling from one finger and a thumb looped in the waistband of his high-tech swimming trunks. Danny memorized the stats on the back, promising he would beat them someday.
Abruptly, Victor laughs. He pulls the card away and studies it incredulously. “Young Olympians? This is fucking hilarious. Where did you get this?”
“I—” I want him to give it back. I want him to get out a pen and say nice things about Danny while he writes his name. Because that’s the guy I worshiped.
“How much do you want for it? I’ll beat whatever you were going to get on eBay, signed. I need one of these.”
“It’s not for sale.”
He holds the card up between two fingers, eyes dangerous, and for a second, I’m certain he’s going to tear it in half. “You have some fucking balls to show me this.” His other hand cups, like he’s still holding mine.
And without another word, he walks into the house.
