Hot Pickle - J.J. Knight Page 0,70
forget about me.
I follow the instructions Camryn texted until I’m at the end of a long hall. Most of the rooms here are shut tight, but one has a small crack.
I push on the door.
Camryn grabs my hand and drags me inside. “Don’t be seen,” she says with a laugh.
I’m barely inside when she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down to kiss her.
This is what I needed.
I relax into the kiss, reveling in the feel of her. All the familiar smells. Tanning oil. The floral scents I now know to be her shampoo and lotion.
“Poppyseed dressing,” I whisper against her cheek.
She smacks my back. “Nailed my lunch.”
“Who did you go with?”
“Amy.”
“I didn’t know you guys were friends.” Amy has never mentioned Camryn during our coaching sessions.
“We’ve been talking more since the two of you started advancing.”
“We’re making a killer team, the four of us.”
“We are.”
I hold her tight, pressing her head to my chest. My heartbeat slows down. I feel at rest.
“I think you have a shot,” she says. “I know you feel underdeveloped compared to them, but only a couple of them had any charisma. It’s probably going to be about like last time. I doubt you’ll claim the top spot, but you could place in the top five and qualify for Nationals. That’s what you’re here for.”
I twirl her ponytail around my hand. “I don’t even care about that. I want to do a good job up there for Dad and my brothers. This might be the end of the line.”
“There are plenty of open competitions if you lose here. And you’ll be invited to another qualifier even if you don’t place at this one.”
“Everybody seems to think I’m some golden boy, getting an article in the paper.”
“It’s a big deal. Bodybuilding needs all the good press it can get.”
“I want to hold you for a while.”
And we do. I let my anxiety fall away. Bodybuilding brought me to Camryn. It reconnected me to one of my friends. I definitely lost any flab I once had.
It’s done its job. Besides, when we confess to Franklin, I may lose my training partner. Today might be the last day it’s exactly like this.
“It’ll be all right,” she says.
“How did you know what I was thinking?”
“It’s all in how you grip my waist.”
“We have gotten to know each other, haven’t we?”
“We have.” She pulls away and looks up at me. “I want you to hear this from me first. Amy got me a job traveling with the international bodybuilding circuit. But I’m going to turn it down. I want to be here with you.”
I step back from her, holding her hands. “But isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? Travel? The big meets?”
She shakes her head, and I can see she wants me to support her on this. “That opportunity won’t go away. Now that I know about it, I can always try again later. Or if you make the international circuit, then I’ll go with you. I don’t have to take off with Amy halfway across the world when I feel like my world is right here.”
I pull her close again. “Promise me you won’t let all your opportunities pass you by.”
“I won’t. I have lots of connections. Besides, I’m attached to the golden boy of bodybuilding.”
I thread my fingers through her hair. “I’m glad you met my family. I think Anthony might have a crush on you.”
“It’ll all get straightened out as soon as we reveal who we are.”
“Tonight, maybe,” he says. “At least my family. And then we’ll deal with Franklin as soon as it makes sense.”
I squeeze his bicep. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. You could both advance, and you might want to withhold this disruption to your partnership until it makes sense to put it to the test.”
“You’re right. You’re always right.”
I lift her chin to mine. She tastes perfect. Sweet and honeyed and warm. I drag her body flush against me. And something starts to stir.
She feels it. “Now don’t go tempting that pickle at a time like this. It’s less than an hour until the competition.”
“Tempt me later?”
She presses both hands to my cheeks. “You’ve got a promise there.”
So, I’m going to pause the story one more time.
Let’s savor this moment. Me. Cam. The competition ahead.
Everyone still likes each other.
We’re all a team.
Because, friends, everything is about to go belly up.
So, close your eyes, remember a time like this. Maybe you loved somebody. Maybe you had a big, bright moment