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“Still won at bowling. You still lost.” She pointed at me and did a moonwalk in her bowling shoes while I glared at her and willed my heart to beat a little bit slower.
Dom gave me updates and pictures of the kids on rides and I was so glad they got to have that time. Those memories were going to last for the rest of their lives, and even if they would be sad about losing, they’d have this day.
“What are you smiling about over there?” Echo asked me, leaning over my shoulder.
“Dom has been sending me pictures and videos. They’re all so cute, I’m going to miss them so much.” Even Mack got in on the action and rode all the non-water rides with her cast, her arms in the air and a joyful scream on her face.
“I know what you mean.” Echo sat back and sipped on her soda. We’d both agreed that drinking, even if we weren’t with our squads, was not a good idea. You never knew who was out and about and might catch a picture of you.
“I feel like we’ve been through so much, and now they’re just going to be gone and I might not hear from them again. We’re such a part of each other’s lives for such a short time and then it’s over. And it will never be the same.”
Echo set her drink down and scooted closer, putting her arm around me.
“It’s hard. It really is. But they’re not going to forget. I’ve seen you, Kiri. You’re a great coach and they adore you. You’re much nicer than I am.” I wasn’t sure if that was true.
I wiped a few stray tears. “Sorry. I try not to get emotional about it in front of other people.”
“It’s okay to have emotions, you know. You don’t have to hide them.”
I sniffed and she handed me a napkin.
“I know, I know.” I blew my nose and cleared my throat. “Okay, that was ridiculous. You ready to go?”
“Yeah, I’m ready. You want to go back to the hotel and hang in my room?” she asked.
“Sure.”
We held hands until we got into the car to take us back to the hotel.
“So maybe not the best to PDA in front of everyone. At least not until we figure out how we’re going to move forward. I don’t want to deal with fifty bazillion questions and speculations,” I said.
“Good point.” She unlinked her fingers from mine, and I tried not to feel the sense of loss that came with the removal of contact. Things would be different when we got back home. The two of us could go on dates and hang out and do whatever we wanted. I could meet her cat and her friends and see her apartment. I was beyond curious about her apartment.
“So, remember when I texted you that night that I wanted red wine and a massage?” she said as we sat at a red light in the back of the car. The driver hummed softly to himself.
“Yeah?” I said.
“Well, we can’t do the red wine, yet, but what do you think about getting massages in my room?”
“I think that sounds like one of the best ideas you’ve ever had.”
She grinned and rested back on the seat. “Good.”
“How in the hell did you get this room?” I asked when she opened the door of her room after swiping the key.
“I had some points, so I upgraded,” she said as I took in the palatial suite.
“This puts my room to shame.” I walked around the main living area with a couch and huge TV and balcony with a view of the pool, and then glanced into the bedroom with the absolutely massive bed and double the number of pillows that were on mine. She even had a little kitchen area with a microwave and fridge.
Echo called and booked the two massages and passed me a bottle of water.
“I can’t believe we have to leave tomorrow,” I said.
“Our flight isn’t until the afternoon. You?”
“Ours is at nine. Kill me.” My main job tonight would be harassing the team into packing all their shit, checking their rooms to make sure they had packed their shit, and then triple checking to make sure they had packed their shit. There would be no missed flights, not on my watch.
“That sucks, sorry,” she said. “It’s going to be so weird, going home. It ends so abruptly. We’re doing a party at one of the parent’s houses on Friday night.”
