the text from Isaac summoning him to room 308. It was one floor down from Tim’s room; the American delegation took an entire building in the college-dorms-on-steroids complex that made up the Athlete Village. The whole building was an explosion of stars and stripes, the bland white walls of the hallways festooned with flags and posters, and more flags hanging over the balconies attached to each of the suites.
Tim took the stairs, which meant he passed two track runners who seemed to be running drills up and down the steps for fun.
He got to Isaac’s room and knocked. Isaac opened the door and practically yanked him in. Then Tim found himself crushed against the closed door and kissed within an inch of his life.
When Isaac finally eased off, Tim said, “Why, hello.”
Isaac smiled. “Hi.”
“Um, congratulations?”
“Thank you.”
“Two medals, huh? So you’re an overachiever.”
“Two gold medals. You said I only had to win one gold medal.”
“So I did. But you’re probably tired.”
Tim had meant it sarcastically, but Isaac nodded. “I can barely move.”
“Oh,” said Tim.
“Believe me. If I thought I could muster enough energy to fuck you senseless, I’d be doing it right now. But I have to be up again in….” Isaac looked at his phone. “Six hours, Jesus.”
“Practice?”
“Morning television.”
Tim laughed. “Really?”
“Everyone wants to interview me. ‘Swimming’s bad boy wins two gold medals.’ That’s an actual headline.”
“You’re a bad boy?”
Isaac shrugged. His face sobered, and he added, “I really wanted to see you tonight, though. Is that strange?”
“No. Not at all. I watched your first race. I wish I’d been there at the Aquatics Center to celebrate with you.”
Isaac smiled. “I wish you’d been there too.”
“Good thing we’re here together now.”
“Yeah. I’m very glad you came down here. But is it okay if we just sleep?”
Tim could the exhaustion in Isaac’s eyes. And it was only Day 2. “Yeah, we can sleep.”
“You’ll recall that the agreement was not that we’d have sex immediately, but that winning a gold medal allowed me to dictate when and where. So, basically, not tonight, but as soon as my arms stop feeling like spaghetti noodles, it’s on.”
Tim smiled and put his hands on Isaac’s shoulders. “Reasonable.”
Isaac grinned. “Glad you think so.”
Chapter 10
Day 3
IT HAD been a while since Isaac had done the interview circuit. A couple of years of being persona non grata would do that. Sheri came with him to the Olympic Broadcast Center. The drive over was lovely—the car took them through the Salamanca district, and Isaac realized he was seeing more of Madrid than he’d seen since the bus ride from the airport.
Madrid had many sports venues peppered throughout the city, so some of the Olympic events were being staged miles away from each other. The car passed by the WiZink Center, or the Palacio de Deportes, as everyone called it, which the signage out front indicated was the home of Olympic Basketball. In a lot of ways, this section of Madrid could have been any European city Isaac had been to—London, Dublin, Paris, Berlin—but it also had some interesting architectural flourishes, from the curved balconies overlooking the street to the church-like towers atop many of the buildings. Isaac didn’t really have the vocabulary to describe it all, but he liked it and thought it was pretty. If only he had a camera.
He could have turned on his phone, but since last night’s medal ceremony, every time he had, it buzzed nonstop with text messages, voicemails, and social media alerts. Isaac appreciated the outpouring of love, but it was too much to deal with right now.
“They set up the broadcast center in an office building off El Retiro Park,” Sheri said. “The park is gorgeous, by the way. Sort of like Central Park in New York.”
“Okay.”
“You should walk around a little after the interview.”
“I have to get back. I have a prelim race early this afternoon.”
“Right, right. Next week, then, after the swimming is over. If you need a ride anywhere, let me know. Cab fare is on USA Swimming.”
“I may take you up on that. I’ve never been to Madrid before.” Although he wondered if she’d even offer if he didn’t have those two gold medals currently hanging around his neck, tucked under his official USA windbreaker, because after a couple of years of living in a shitty apartment in a shitty neighborhood in Raleigh, he was in the habit of not conspicuously displaying anything someone might want to steal.
There were some people, sports fans maybe, lingering outside the broadcast center,