pilfered an apple but didn’t have time to add milk to his coffee before Sheri led him back out of the network’s offices. But coffee was coffee, and he needed the caffeine fix more than he needed to dull the harsh taste of coffee brewed in a three-gallon urn.
On the ride back, Isaac said, “Marcus Holt wants to interview me.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful!” Sheri’s whole face lit up. “That would be great for you.”
“Well, he wants to do an interview that talks about my comeback, so I’d have to get into everything. I’d have to talk about the DUI and rehab.”
“Oh. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I brought it up. I can’t tell if it’s a good idea.”
Sheri tilted her head and appeared to think about it. “I don’t think it is. I mean, do you really want to air all that? The US Olympic team has already gotten its share of negative press. Like that gay diver who was dating the actor? You don’t want that kind of attention, do you?”
It looked like now was not the time to let Sheri know he’d spent the night with that gay diver. Even if they’d only slept in each other’s arms, and nothing else. “No, I guess not.”
“I mean, I can’t tell you what to do, but my recommendation would be to keep your head down and swim. Forget about the interview. You don’t need that kind of press.”
Some rebellious part of Isaac that bucked at people telling him when to shut up made him want to do the interview, but he said, “Okay. That makes sense.”
A FEW quick text messages led to Tim tracking down Jason. They met at the cafeteria for breakfast.
“Sorry for not coming back last night,” Jason said sheepishly as they sat down with their trays. Tim had opted for a vegetarian egg white omelet that looked delicious. Jason had a plate full of what looked like a variety of breakfast meats on top of a burrito.
“It’s okay,” Tim said. “I’m not your parent.”
“I ran into Becky Lowood last night. She’s that UK diver? The one who won the bronze at Worlds last year?”
“I know who she is, yeah.”
“Anyway, she came by the lounge after you went to bed. She’s good friends with Ginny and Kayla. So we got to talking. And then we kept talking… in her room. I mean, nothing really happened. We made out a little bit. But we didn’t, like, go all the way.”
Tim smiled. He found Jason’s little moments of immaturity charming. “It’s okay, Jason. I ended up going to see Isaac after he got back from celebrating his gold medals.”
“Isaac? Flood?”
“We’ve been hanging out. We’re friends.”
Jason tilted his head. “Friends or friends?”
“Unclear.” When Jason raised his eyebrows, Tim added, “I don’t know how public this is, so don’t go spreading it around, but he’s bisexual. I kind of thought something would happen last night, but he was too tired. Which is fine. Besides, it’s probably not a good idea to get involved with someone on the night before I have to dive.”
“I guess. You like him?”
“Yeah. I like him a lot. But don’t… I mean, I’m telling you this as a friend. Don’t tell anyone. Isaac and I have been hanging out and texting and we like each other, but I don’t really see it going anywhere. We live on opposite sides of the country.”
Jason grinned. “Who cares? It’s the Olympics, right? Everyone here has the dating apps on their phones turned on and is hooking up with everybody else. Ginny said the rhythmic gymnasts down the hall from her have been having a grand old time with a few of the guys from the Ukrainian rowing team.”
“Ha. Isn’t Ukraine one of our gymnastics rivals?”
“Isn’t the Olympics all about peace and love?”
Tim grinned. “I don’t know about all that.”
“It’s cool that Isaac won two races, though. How does he feel?”
“He’s doing well. He went to the broadcast center to do an interview this morning.”
“God, that’s so cool. Do you think we’ll be on TV if we win a medal? I mean, beyond the event broadcast.”
Tim had been all over the network’s programming four years ago, and he’d already filmed a package about his career heading into this Olympics. So he’d be on TV plenty, which meant Jason likely would too. “Yeah, probably.”
“My dad couldn’t fly down here because of work, so I hope he can watch.”
Tim nodded. “My parents are staying at the same hotel as most