The Thomas Flair - E.J. Russell Page 0,37

the alternates. If I hadn’t come back, he’d probably be on the Olympic squad. His scores were decent—hell, they were more than decent. Some of them were better than Tony’s. Tony had been afraid that Jason might resent him, that all the alternates might, since he’d waltzed in at the last minute as the result of a petition. And a PR stunt.

Jason seemed just as cheerful as anybody else except maybe Danny—and certainly more cheerful than Rahul, who looked like he’d rather be studying. Was that an act? For the sake of the “we,” Tony turned away from Sol.

“Hey, Jason.” He kept his voice low so he wouldn’t pull anyone else into their conversation. “You cool with the way things shook out?”

Jason blinked at Tony, raising his eyebrows. “About…? Oh. You mean about being an alternate?” He mock scowled. “Hell, no. I’ve hired a hit man to take out everybody except Sol.”

I think he’s kidding… “Why the exception?”

“Because no hit man would be able to get past you to get to him, of course.” Jason punched Tony’s biceps. “Seriously, man. No hard feelings. We all did our jobs at the trials. The committee did their job afterward. There’s no point second-guessing their choices, because it won’t make any difference.” He grinned, and there didn’t seem to be anything other than friendliness in it. “I’m just jazzed to be going along. To be part of the training. Part of the experience.” He tapped the KT tape peeking out from under his tank top. “I’m still recovering from a shoulder injury, so I’m just as glad not to have the coaches’ full attention on me.” He took a gulp of water. “Sucks to be you.”

Tony barked a laugh. “Yeah, you’ve got a point. I’ll be paying for that high bar routine for weeks.”

“Are you kidding? Video of that has gone viral. Maybe they’ll name the element after you—the Thomas, a Cassina with a one-handed catch.”

Heat built in Tony’s chest at the thought of the other elements he’d suggested be named after him. Him and Sol. But when he glanced to his left, Sol’s chair was empty. “I’m, uh, pretty sure I won’t be able to repeat that. Not that I want to.” He balled his napkin and set it on the table. “Excuse me for a minute.”

“No problem.” Jason turned his attention back to Danny, who’d embarked on yet another anecdote which, judging by Rahul’s scowl, probably involved him.

Tony threaded his way through the tables to the hall leading to the restrooms. Sol emerged from the men’s room door just as Tony was reaching for it. Even in the dim hallway, Tony could see the way Sol’s face lit up. “Oh. Hi.” Then his brows drew together. “You’re not checking up on me, are you?”

Tony leaned against the wall so he wouldn’t be tempted to take Sol in his arms. Not in public. That’s not in the plan—not until after the Games. “No.” Yes. “Sometimes a guy just needs to pee.”

“Uh huh.” Sol’s tone held buried laughter. “Then why are you standing in the hallway instead of heading inside to take care of business?”

Tony shrugged. “Business can wait.” He swayed closer. “I missed you.”

“I was gone for five minutes. And you were talking to Jason, anyway.”

“Jealous?” Tony waggled his eyebrows. “’Cause I could get behind proving why it’s not necessary.”

“No, you goof. Not jealous. But also not rude.”

Tony huffed out a sigh and turned sideways to rest his shoulder against the wall. “I just wanted to make sure he was okay with me being on the team instead of him.”

Sol moved away from the door to face Tony in the narrow hallway. “I told you. You earned your spot. There’s no guarantee that Jason would have been named to the team if you hadn’t been there. He’s had a problem with his—”

“Shoulder. Yeah. He told me. He also told me the same thing as you—that he’s happy with the outcome and happy about having a place at the Games, even as an alternate.” Tony snorted. “I almost believe him.”

Sol edged a bit nearer than the close quarters called for—not that Tony was complaining. “Believe him. It’s the truth. I should know, since I was in his place in Rio. It’s still an amazing experience, and an alternate has been called up more than once. Do you remember—”

“Tony.”

Tony straightened up at the unwelcome sound of Andrei’s voice, which put him even closer to Sol, who backpedaled until he hit the opposite wall. Yeah,