his lips together. Sol had never seen him so serious. So worried. “Okay.”
“Good.” He gave Sol’s arm a tiny shake. “Although I’m guessing this’ll be a wake-up call for you, anyway.”
Yeah. But maybe not in the way you mean. Because despite the intimacy he and Tony had shared—all too infrequently—since Tony had arrived at the training center, it had never occurred to Sol that Tony’s feelings might run as deep as his own, that Tony might need him as much as he needed Tony, that underneath the flamboyance of the Thomas flair ran astonishing vulnerability.
Sol pinched the bridge of his nose. “God, this is going to generate exactly the kind of notoriety I wanted to avoid.”
“You’re trending, dude. It’s inevitable. But…” Tony’s gaze drifted to a place beyond Sol’s shoulder. “Maybe you just need to get ahead of it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, people want to know why you collapsed. They’re gonna speculate, especially if you don’t say anything.” He waggled his phone. “They’re already speculating in the comments and through tweets, everything from exhaustion to doping to physical abuse.”
Sol goggled at him. “Are you joking?”
“Sadly, no.”
“They can’t—” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I can’t be the cause of more PR problems for Team USA. I won’t.”
“I know. And I’ve got an idea. Come on, though. You need to get to lunch.”
Sol let Tony tow him down the corridor. “Wait. This isn’t the way out.”
“Secret passage. I got medical permission for you to avoid running the fucking press gauntlet in the mixed zone.”
Tony led him out into the Tokyo sun, but then Sol dug his heels in. “I’m not going any further until you tell me what your plan is.”
Tony screwed his face up. “It’s not anything as formal as a plan. Not yet. But Quinn is already here. She may have been watching our subdivision train—that’s the kind of thing she’d do. I can call Ori—”
“Your agent?”
“Yeah. I can have her set up an interview with Quinn.”
“I don’t know…”
“We can do it over at the main media center. It doesn’t have to be formal, but I think it’s time, Solly.”
Sol tried to be annoyed that Tony persisted in using his old nickname, but if he was honest with himself, he liked it. I’ve missed it. “Time for what?”
“Keeping this secret is doing more harm than good now. You need to lay your cards on the table for everyone to see, especially people who’ve been dealt the same hand.” Tony gazed at him, a smile playing around his lips, and Sol’s brain stuttered for a moment because he was so beautiful. Does he mean that we can let people know about us? No, he can’t mean that. “It’s time for you to come out. As diabetic.”
Ori came through as Tony knew she would. She had an interview with Quinn set up for immediately before afternoon training—although she told Tony that it hadn’t been difficult. Quinn had practically begged for a chance at the scoop. Ori checked in with Tony, her call coming in right after he and Sol returned to the suite after lunch. He ducked into the room he shared with Danny, who didn’t care because he was playing GTA in their common room with a scowling Rahul.
“I had to hedge a little, as if it was a huge imposition to get you there so quickly.” Ori’s chuckle came through clearly on the call, even though she was in Los Angeles.
“Me? This isn’t about me. It’s about Sol.”
“I know. But you’re the one who has the relationship with Quinn. Besides,” Ori’s tone turned sly, “I figured you’d want to be there to support your… friend.”
“Ori. I’m warning you. Do not even breathe that kind of rumor, not—”
“Chill out, my dear. I wouldn’t. But I’ve known you for years, so don’t think you can fool me. I think Sol would be more comfortable too, don’t you? Especially if he wants to downplay this in favor of focusing on the team.”
Tony sighed. Ori was right. Ori was annoyingly always right. “Okay. As long as Quinn knows this is Sol’s show to run.”
“She knows. I made it very clear. And I wouldn’t do anything to antagonize Sol. Not when I want to sign him after the Games.”
Tony plopped onto his bed. “You want him to turn pro?”
“Why not? His NCAA eligibility is up. If he medals at the Games—”
“He will.” Tony had zero doubts on that score.
“Well then. His going public with his medical condition makes him an even more attractive