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She’s practically asleep in my arms by the time I finally switch off the TV, bathing the hotel room in darkness. Just as I’m about to drift off to sleep myself, she shuffles closer, and kisses the underside of my jaw.

“You okay?” The words are barely a whisper, just wanting to check in on her.

“I’m so good,” she promises, sleep heavy in her voice. Her eyes flutter open to meet mine in the dark. “I love you, Carter.”

Just as I expected, the cloud hanging over us moves and we’re basked in warmth. I know my smile’s big, but hers mirrors it. I brush the lightest of kisses against her lips. “I love you, too. Now get to sleep.”

“M’kay,” she agrees, settling back down against me and almost instantly drifting off.

Still smiling to myself, I quickly followed her lead.

June2024

Rather than flying out to Omaha with the team I train with, I decided to fly out with Kat and everyone else. Unsurprisingly, Bryce has been asked to do some interviews and signings during the meet, so he needs to be there almost as early as I do. Those extra few days will give him and Josie a chance to see her parents, who are stopping off at home for a couple of days before heading down south to do more exploring.

It’s not what my coach would necessarily recommend for me, but he doesn’t really argue either. It’s my last Olympics and I’m nearly thirty; I can make the choice not to travel with a bunch of college kids. Especially since I’m one of the few pros who train with them.

Omaha is just how I remember it, but there’s also something different about it this time around. It’s not just another city I travel to for a meet or another city a friend of mine has lived in. Instead, this place has a small piece of Bryce and Josie that it didn’t have before. No matter how fleeting it is, they built a life here, and it’s one of the few aspects of my best friend’s life I never had a part in.

After getting loaded into the rental car Bryce secured, we start the somewhat familiar drive into the heart of downtown from the airport. It’s changed a bit, but most of it feels eerily the same. Bryce and Josie point out Hunt & Sloan, the building on the river they both worked out, the place they reconnected. I stare at the imposing brick building, trying to picture him working there. It’s almost impossible.

“Hey.” Kat leans in, nudging me slightly. I turn my attention from the window to her. “Are you sure you don’t have photographic proof of Corporate Bryce? I mean, I know it happened, but I’m not sure I believe it.”

Bryce must hear her, because he’s talking before I can give her anything more than a cheeky grin. “It’s not like the first day of school. I didn’t send him a picture of my outfit. It happened. I can drop you off so you can go in and ask them yourself if you want me to?”

“How about no one ever steps foot back in that building and we call it a day?” Josie offers.

While I’m sure people would be happy to see Bryce, I’m not sure if Josie would receive the same hospitality. Despite working there for longer, when she finally had enough and tried to put in a proper notice, they were so angry they told her she could go. Which should have been confirmation she was making the right decision, as they obviously didn’t care enough to fight for a valued member of their team.

Besides, do we really need photographic proof when we’ve seen that side of Bryce in action as he dissolved the partnership with Dalton Enterprises? He knew exactly what to say to make our case from both a legal and moral standpoint, ensuring the man understood we owe him nothing. I know how capable he is. It’s one of the reasons I asked him to run the club with me. My degree in sports management will help us as we become more well known, but the day-to-day operations of a place like this are over my head.

Still, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to come to terms with the idea of Bryce sitting at a desk eight to ten hours a day, wearing some rendition of a suit. It’s not his style.

Kat squeezes my knee, once again trying to get my attention. When I look at her, she’s got a soft smile on her lips. “You’re quiet. You okay?”

I lean in, pressing a kiss to her forehead, my fingers intertwining with hers on my knee. “I’m good, just in my head.”

“That’s okay, just checking in with you and reminding you I’m here.”

I doubt Kat realizes how much those words mean to me, but they’re grounding in a way I’ve never experienced before.

This isn’t even the first time I’ve been in a relationship during Trials, but something about sharing this moment with her is different. During the last one, Ben spent his time trying to distract me. He wanted to make sure I didn’t slip too far into my head, not understanding where a meet like this takes swimmers mentally. He didn’t like it when I got quiet; he didn’t like when I didn’t offer more to an outing than simply existing. He wasn’t a bad guy, and one of the few I saw a forever with at one point, but he fought too hard to understand something he likely never will. Instead of trusting me to handle it, he tried to fix something unfixable.

It wasn’t long after we split up. I’d gained more notoriety after my silver medal in Tokyo, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be the partner of a professional athlete anymore. I got it then and I get it now. We both were looking for something the other couldn’t provide, so we stayed friends and parted ways. Now he has his almost-husband and I have a good friend, who texts me well wishes, and an amazing girlfriend, who is sitting beside me now.

Kat might not get it. She might not understand the sport, or the way it can consume a person’s life, but she gets someone needing space. She never tries to force me to talk about things I’m not ready to talk about, nor does she try to get me out of my head. She reminds me she’s here for me, a gentle but formidable force at my side. With her there, I feel steadier than I have in years.

“And here it is!” At Josie’s words, my gaze drifts back to the passing scenery. She’s motioning to Riverview Convention Center as Bryce turns the corner to pass by it. This is one place that hasn’t changed. “Our home away from home for the next week. Your ass will be numb by the end of the week.”

Mia laughs, but is nodding in agreement. As we pull up parallel to it, I take in all the decorations adorning the building. Suddenly, I feel a little nauseous as we come to a stop at a red light and I’m staring at a massive photo of myself plastered above one set of doors. I didn’t know it was happening, nor would I have been expecting it, but there it was. The photo was taken during Worlds when I’d won a gold medal in the 400 IM.

“Oh, my god, Carter!” Kat already has her phone out, taking about a hundred pictures.

My cheeks are flushed pink, but I focus on the rest of the decorations. Every year it feels like they take up more room to help hype the meetup. Omaha’s always turned up for US Olympic Trials and the athletes are always grateful for the fantastic meet they put on.

Bryce is making a face as he looks up at the photo. “That’s going to be weird. Do we have to go through that door? I’m going to feel weird walking under Carter.”

“You’re just pissed they never put your pretty face up on a window,” I tease, reaching forward to swat him across the head before the light changes. “All you got was a door back in 2021.”