More to Us (20 page)

"I'm not hurting you. I'm helping you."

"By trying to take away everything I love? And spying on me for my mom? Great, thanks a lot." I walk to the door.

"Kira, wait."

I turn around. "What?"

"You told Austin, right? He knows what happened? Because if he doesn't, you're—"

"Yeah, he knows," I lie. "So don't talk to him about it and embarrass me or make it sound worse than it is. You need to stop this, Amber. I'm not kidding. If you keep this up, I'm moving out. If I find out you're talking to my mom behind my back, that's it. I'm finding a new roommate."

"Kira, I—"

"No. This isn't a discussion. You agree to stop spying on me or I'm gone."

She sighs. "Fine. But you have to promise me you won't push yourself to the point that you get hurt again."

I roll my eyes. "I didn't get hurt from pushing myself too hard. You were there. You saw what happened. It was an accident. My foot slipped and I fell off the balance beam."

And yet it was more than that. She's right. I did push myself too hard. The day I broke my leg, I was tired and sore because I'd worked out too much that week, preparing for the meet. When it came time to do my routine, my muscles felt tight and my brain felt foggy because I hadn't slept much the night before. I felt off, and there were warning signals going off inside me, telling me not to do the routine. But I had to. I worked too hard not to. So I ignored the warnings. I made a stupid mistake and I paid for it. But I know my limits now and I won't make a mistake like that again.

She comes up to me and hugs me. "I'm sorry, okay? I just worry about you. I still remember that day and I was so scared when I saw you lying there. I thought—"

"That's not going to happen again, and my leg is fine, so stop worrying." I pull back and look at her. "So what happened last night with Matt? Did you um...do anything?"

"Yeah." Her shoulders slump and she walks over and sits on her bed. "We had sex."

"You did?" I race over and sit beside her.

She nods, with zero enthusiasm. And this is a girl who's always enthusiastic, about everything. That's why she made such a good cheerleader.

"And? What happened?"

She sighs and lies back on her bed. "It sucked."

"Oh. Well, maybe you just need to give it more time. The first time's usually not that great. Just try it again."

"I did. We did it again this morning. Still sucked." She stares at the ceiling. "I think I might have to break up with him. He's super nice and I like him as a person, but as a boyfriend, there's just something missing. I don't feel that spark, you know?"

"Yeah." I'm glad she's finally realizing this. I don't know what took her so long.

"Like when you and Austin are together, I can feel the chemistry you guys have. Everyone can. Even Matt commented on it."

"He did?"

"Yeah, that's why he suggested we let you guys have the apartment last night." She sits up. "Speaking of that, did anything happen?"

"No. Austin ended up going home after we left the bar."

"Did you guys fight or something?"

"No, he was just tired so he left." At least I hope that's the reason, but I'm assuming it is because he doesn't seem mad today. "So going back to you and Matt, are you canceling your dinner tonight? Or what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." She falls back on the bed again. "I don't feel ready to break up with him. Maybe last night only sucked because my mind was on Dylan. I've been trying to forget about him, but then Austin was talking about him and I kept imagining that night we spent together. Talk about sparks. Dylan and I had so many sparks we could've started a fire."

"If you don't feel that way with Matt, then maybe you need to find someone else."

"I don't think I'll feel those kind of sparks with anyone ever again. I only felt that way with Dylan because we didn't know each other. It was the unknown, the mystery about each other, that made us feel like that. If we were actually dating, it'd be different."

"Are you sure about that? Because I've been dating Austin for almost a week and the sparks I felt when I met him are still there, and they're not going away. If anything, they're even stronger."

She sits up. "You're not making me feel better."

"Sorry. I just want you to be with someone you really like."

"I like Matt. We just need to figure out that part of our relationship. I'll make him dinner tonight and I'll shove Dylan out of my head and then maybe the sparks will appear."

"Maybe," I say, but I don't think they will. The chemistry is either there or it's not. I know Amber already knows that, but for whatever reason, she wants to keep dating Matt.

As for my own man, I need to get back to him. He's probably wondering what's going on in here. I'm sure he heard Amber and me fighting, but I hope he didn't hear what we said. I still don't want to tell him the truth about what happened to me. I'd rather he never know. He doesn't need to. I'm fine now. My workouts are going well, and if I keep them up, maybe I could try competing next year. Even if it's just a local competition, that's a start. I just need to be a gymnast again, both for my family and for me.

Gymnastics is all I've ever known. It's what I'm good at. It's what makes me happy. What makes me feel like me. Without it, I feel lost. I don't know who I am.

Austin

I don't know what's going on, but right after Amber got home, she and Kira started fighting. They went in Amber's room and I could hear them yelling at each other. Matt said they fight all the time, but if they're best friends, why are they fighting so much? I hardly ever fight with my friends. Maybe it's a girl thing, although Callie, Ivy, and Jen are all friends and they never fight.

"You already have the bracket up?" I hear Kira ask.

I turn around and see her smiling, like everything is fine. "Yeah. It didn't take long." I nod toward Amber's room. "Everything okay in there?"

"Yeah. We were just having girl talk. We can get a little loud."

"It sounded like you were fighting."

"We weren't fighting. We were just talking loud."

She's not being truthful again. I know what I heard, and they were fighting, so why doesn't she just admit it? What is she trying to cover up?

"I'm going to finish the shake you made me," she says. "You want anything?"

"No, I'm good."

She goes in the kitchen as I attach the TV to the bracket. When it's secured in place, I turn the TV on. "What do you think?"

"Looks great!" I hear Amber say. I turn and see her walking into the living room. "Thanks for doing that for us."

"Yeah, thanks," Kira says, standing next to Amber. "It's so much better than having it on the floor."

"You guys heading out now?" Amber asks. She doesn't seem mad anymore and neither does Kira.

"Yeah, we just need to get my bike. I'll go grab my keys." Kira goes in her room.

"You're not going to work her too hard today, are you?" Amber asks, glancing down at Kira's room.
 

"I think
she'll
be the one working me. You should've seen how fast she was going on those rollerblades yesterday."

"Well, don't be afraid to tell her to take it easy. She tends to push herself too hard."

"Okay, let's go." Kira's back, her keys in her hand.

We go downstairs and get Kira's bike and put it in my truck. By the time we reach the trail, it's almost ten and a lot of people are already out. I picked a trail that winds through the trees to give us some shade. The sun is out and it already feels hot but at least there's a breeze.

"Why don't we slow down a little?" I ask Kira after we've been biking at record speed for at least twenty minutes.

"Don't you want a workout?"

"We had a workout last night with the rollerblades. Today doesn't need to be a workout. We can't talk when we're going this fast."

She slows down, but just slightly. "Is this better?"

I slow down even more, but it's still faster than most people are going. "Let's try this."

"This seems really slow."

"You'll get used to it."

At least now we can have a conversation. We talk about movies and music, and then I tell her how I got started with the band. An hour later, we decide to turn around and head back, but stop first for a water break.

"This is fun," she says, stretching her legs out as we sit on the bench. "I'm glad you suggested it. Are we going again tomorrow?"

I smile and give her a kiss. "You never stop, do you?"

"I told you I like being active."

"I know, but sometimes you need to rest. Why don't we keep it low-key tomorrow? Maybe take a walk somewhere."

"I guess we could do that."

"We could go to one of the parks downtown. They're having concerts there for the holiday. Speaking of that, you want to come over on Monday? My dad and I are cooking out. My brothers are out of town so it's just my dad and me."

"I should probably spend the day getting ready for class."

"What's there to get ready? Don't you just show up there on Tuesday?"

She laughs. "Yeah. I guess I don't really need to get ready. But I don't want to interrupt your family time."

"You're not interrupting anything. And if that's what you were worried about, then just tell me that. You don't have to make up an excuse. Be direct, remember?"

"It's not always that easy to do." She drinks her water.

"Sure it is. Just tell me what you're thinking. It's as easy as that."

She turns to me. "So what are you thinking right now?"

"About how hot you look." It's true. She isn't wearing much and I can't stop looking at her. That tight little body, those sexy curves, and her skin is smooth and soft with a deep tan.

"I'm all sweaty," she says, wiping her forehead. "I don't look hot."

I cup her chin and look in her eyes. "Trust me. You look hot."

She kisses me. "Ready to head back?"

"Just let me finish my water." As I gulp it down, I hear someone saying my name. I look over and see a girl walking toward me with a guy just behind her. The girl looks familiar. A tall blonde with long legs, a pretty face, and breasts that are too big and perky to be real. She has on one of those tight cycling shirts in a bright pink color and black bike shorts.

"Austin." She comes up to me, smiling, and takes her helmet off.

It's Lauren. We went out last spring. It was only for a few weeks, but we had a lot of sex in those weeks. Like A LOT. That's all she wanted to do, so what the hell? I wasn't going to say no. The girl is hot. I tried taking her on dates, but when I'd go to pick her up, we'd never make it out of her apartment.

I get up from the bench. "Hey, Lauren, how's it going?"

"Great. How have you been?"
 

"Good." Kira is now standing beside me and I motion to her. "This is my girlfriend, Kira."

Kira gives her a wave.

Lauren glances at her, then points to the guy she's with. "This is Brian. My brother."

"Hey." He gives me a nod.

Lauren smiles at me. "Maybe we could meet for coffee and catch up. I'd love to see you again."

I don't know why girls do this. Why they flirt with a guy in front of his girlfriend. Are they just trying to stir up trouble?

I take Kira's hand. "We've gotta get going, but enjoy the rest of your ride."

"Come on," her brother says.

Lauren puts her helmet on. "I'm sure I'll see you at the bar. Maybe we can catch up then." She flashes me another smile, then she and her brother take off.

"I'm guessing you dated her?" Kira asks as she gets on her bike.

"Yeah," I mutter.

She just nods and takes off on her bike.

Great. Now Kira's mad because Lauren was flirting with me. Now I know how my brother, Jake, feels. He dated a ton of girls before he met Ivy and they're always coming up to him and flirting, even with Ivy there.

"You're mad," I say as I catch up to Kira.

"I'm not mad." She glances at me. "I know you've dated other girls. Probably a
lot
of other girls. The thing that's irritating is that she flirted with you even after you told her I was your girlfriend."

"I know. It was rude. Sorry."

"She's the one who owes me an apology, not you."

At least Kira's not blaming
me
for this.

"How long did you date her?"

"Just for a few weeks. Last April."

"Where'd you meet her?"

"She's a bartender at one of the bars we play at. Let's not talk about her, okay? I don't want her ruining our day."

Kira smiles. "I wouldn't let her do that."

"Good. So new topic. What are you thinking for lunch? I'm starving."

"Me too. Maybe Mexican? I know it's not the healthiest but I'm really craving it."

"There's healthy stuff at Mexican places. And I splurge on the weekends."

"Then let's do Mexican. But I need to clean up first. I stink."

"You don't stink, but yeah, I'll take you to your apartment."

It takes an hour to bike back to my truck, so by the time we get there, we're both starving. I give her one of the protein bars I brought.

"These are really good," she says, looking at the label on the bar. "Where'd you get these?"

"They sell them at the gym. I'm friends with the manager so he sells them to me at cost." We're driving back to her apartment and I cut through a residential area to avoid traffic. "I could get you some if you want."

"That'd be great. I love these peanut butter ones. If you could—"

"Shit, hold on." I quickly pull over and park on the street because I just watched some old guy fall off a ladder. He's on the ground now, unable to get up. I turn off the truck and jump out and run over to him, kneeling beside him. "You okay?"

He rolls onto his back, holding his arm. He's really old, like 85, or maybe even older.

Kira races over to me. "Is he okay?"

"I don't know."

"I'm fine," he says, in a scratchy voice. "Just need some help getting up."

"Does your arm hurt?" Kira asks him. "Maybe you should stay there. We'll call an ambulance."