Settling the Score (The Summer Games #1) - R.S. Grey Page 0,91

said the doctor—”

“I’m not going to listen to him.”

I smiled. “You’re different than any woman I’ve ever met.”

I could practically hear her smile as she spoke. “Don’t you forget it.”

Dave sighed on the phone, bringing me back to the topic at hand. “You only have a few days left before the games are wrapped up. I’ll get my team on Caroline, and in the meantime, I need you to keep your head focused on swimming—if not for your sake, for Andie’s.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

Andie

“ANDIE, SIT OUT for these next couple of drills.”

“But I can—”

My coach shot me a glare. “Not a request.”

I balled my hands and ignored the pain in my wrist as I headed for the bench. It was three days until the final game and Coach Decker was still treating me like I was made of glass. She’d forced me to sit out of warm-ups, so instead I’d jogged around the field, sending defiant glares her way with every lap I completed. Since then, she’d excused me from nearly every other drill. My legs would fall off if I ran another lap, so I had nothing left to do but sit on the bench like a loser.

“Line up ladies!” she shouted, directing everyone’s attention back to practice.

I turned away and popped the top off my water bottle with more force than necessary.

I’d already done double my usual cardio and there was another hour left of practice.

“Andie, just rest.”

I resisted the urge to flip her off and tossed my water bottle on the ground. Times of rest had become my most agonizing, because the burn I felt while being active helped take my mind off the crush of the world. Coach Decker was either coldhearted or genuinely oblivious to how painful it was to attend practices for a team I was no longer a part of.

TWO HOURS LATER, I dragged myself back to my condo, more frustrated than ever. I wished I could have called Freddie to tell him about my day, but he was at his races, probably winning races and breaking records. I’d seen on the news that he already had two gold medals to his name. What a life. Instead, I settled on a phone call with my mom.

The phone rang twice before she answered and went straight into her sentence. With her, the phone calls never really started. In her mind, we were talking all day, every day.

“Andie, Meemaw is just beside herself. The ladies at the bridge club are talking about kicking her out of the group.”

“Well, we’re all suffering.”

“You and Freddie are the talk of the world. I thought it would settle down after that ping pong player got caught doping, but you guys are still the bigger story.”

“Well I have that Sports Illustrated party tonight. I’ll try and calm things down a bit.”

She sighed heavily. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to go to that thing? It seems like you’ll only add fuel to the fire.”

“The PR team said in the mind’s eye, you’re only as guilty as you act in public. So if I hide out for too long, people will assume I have reason to.”

“Well you need to be careful.”

If even one more person told me to be careful, focus on soccer, or stay away from Freddie, I’d rip my hair out. Fortunately, a musical knocking sounded on my bedroom door before I could tell her that.

“All right, I’ve got to go now, Mom.” I opened my bedroom door, surprised to find Georgie in the living room. She was wearing short denim cutoffs and a loose tank top. She’d pushed her sunglasses onto her head to keep her long brown hair out of her face, and resting in her arms were two cartons of takeout, the smell of which immediately made my mouth water.

“Sweetie, I’m not done. I was going to—”

“I’ll talk to you later.”

“Promise me you’ll focus on soccer, and if you are with Freddie, be sure to practice safe—”

Oh, Jesus.

I hung up on her and eyed Georgie tentatively.

“I come with gifts,” she said, holding up the takeout. “First, some Chinese food, as interpreted by Brazil. There was a language barrier, so I’m not sure what I’ve ordered. Fortunately, I’ve also nabbed a bottle of wine to help us wash it down.”

I laughed. “Oh boy…”

Before I even invited her in, she stepped inside my room and kicked the door closed with her foot. I had half a mind to turn her away—I didn’t really feel up to company—but she’d already