Page 23 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10

Tuesday

Alina

Bryce kept his hand in mine as we sat down side by side on the train.

He scooted in close to the armrest, the only thing that was separating us.

The train's air conditioning was on full blast, but I could feel Bryce's body heat radiating off of him.

His hand was so warm. I felt safe and happy when I was with him.

This was how I should be feeling after my game.

I wanted to rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes.

But falling asleep wasn't exactly the best use of the only alone time we'd gotten since he'd given me my phone back on that bench.

"You were amazing today." Bryce traced the lines on my palm with his thumb as he spoke.

I wasn't sure if my cheeks blushed because of his compliment or because of the way he was touching me. My whole body felt warm. "Thanks."

"Really. I don't think you lost a single point. I've never seen volleyball like that."

I laughed. "We have a really good team."

"And they're certainly lucky to have you."

Kiss me. But Bryce didn't move any closer to me.

Maybe because I was a sweaty mess. He had just come from his practice too.

A long shower and some nicer clothes might make our first real kiss better anyway.

But I wanted to run my hands through his hair and feel the muscles in his back again.

I shifted a little closer to the armrest. Maybe he'd get the hint.

"Speaking of people being lucky to have you, I'm guessing Chris came to the game?"

I knew a few ground rules about dating, even though Chris had been my only boyfriend. And one of those rules was that you don't talk about an ex on a date. "Yeah. But it's definitely over. We don't have to talk about that."

Bryce continued to trace my palm with his thumb. It was so soothing. It felt like I could tell him anything. And his silence made it seem like he wanted me to.

"At dinner when Kristen said he hooked up with my arch nemesis, she was talking about the girl that bullied me in school.

Gabriela Santos. She plays for Brazil. During our match against Brazil I got this envelope on my seat.

I opened it up and it was pictures of Chris with Gabriela.

And she was topless. I was so upset, we lost the match.

It was all my fault. I just...she just..

.I couldn't play against her. She did it on purpose to mess with me, I know she did.

She has this way of crawling under my skin.

And she used my relationship with Chris against me.

Chris said he didn't know it was her. And that nothing happened.

But then he kept changing his story. Eventually he said she kissed him.

But then it was him kissing her back too.

And I don't know what else happened, and I don't want to know. I don't want to think about it at all."

I realized I was rambling. But for some reason I couldn't stop.

"He said it was my fault. That if I didn't still resent Gabriela I wouldn't be upset about the whole thing.

But that's not true. I'd still be upset with him for cheating on me, no matter who it was with.

And he said it was my fault for not celebrating the way he wanted to celebrate after he got his gold medal.

But I couldn't. My coach has a sex ban, and I couldn't risk being benched.

We have to win gold. I need the money." I swallowed hard.

I don't know why I didn't stop talking. Now Bryce was going to think all I cared about was money. Which wasn't true.

I looked down at our hands. "I mean, it's not just about the money for me. I know that there's more important things than money. I want to win. I want to beat Gabriela." I put my face in my free hand. "And there's more important things than revenge. This is all coming out wrong."

Bryce laughed. "Hey." He put his fingertips under my chin and tilted my face back to his.

"I get it. Beating your arch nemesis, especially after what she just did, will be the most satisfying feeling in the world.

That's not revenge. That's overcoming something.

And everyone here wants the money that comes with gold.

There's nothing wrong with that being an incentive for victory. "

"All I meant to say was that Chris and I are done."

Bryce laughed again and his fingers dropped from my chin. "I'm glad to hear that." He squeezed my hand. "Tell me about why you need the money."

"I..." I let my voice trail off. Chris had told me my plan was dumb.

That I should be using my education after I retire from volleyball.

Or that I should go pro. I didn't want to do those things, though.

They didn't make me as happy. And Bryce wasn't Chris.

He loved dessert. Maybe he'd understand.

I looked up into his blue eyes. "My grandma owns a bakery.

But she has beginning stages of Alzheimer's and has to retire.

The bakery is kind of in disarray. It needs new ovens and basically a remodeling in general.

My parents don't want to front the cost of all that.

They're planning to sell it. But it was my dream to take over for my grandma.

I love baking. All my best memories from my childhood were in that bakery.

I need the money so I can take over the lease and buy the necessary equipment to keep it going.

This is my only shot. They're selling the bakery at the end of the month if I can't take over. "

"See, that's a good reason." Bryce smiled. "Is your grandmother's bakery in Wilmington?"

"Yeah. It's the cutest little shop. And it's actually in a really good location. If I could fix it up, I know it could do really well again."

"I envy you."

I laughed. "Why on earth would you envy me?"

"Because you know what you want to do after all this. I just graduated too, and I have no idea what I want to do."

"Are you going to keep running after the ITAs?"

"I don't know. It depends on a lot of things." He looked out the window. We were passing some of the beautiful mountains in Rio. But it didn't seem like he was actually seeing them. He seemed lost in thought.

"You said you run because you had something to run from. What was it?"

Bryce shrugged. "Everything. I felt like all I did was run. We grew up in foster care. Bad foster parents, even worse foster siblings. It wasn't...easy."

My heart seemed to constrict. That was why he knew what it was like to be bullied. "You said we?"

Bryce smiled. "Yeah, me and my little sister, Em."

"Is that why you're so good at comforting girls when they cry?"

He laughed. "I guess I've had quite a bit of practice." He looked down at our hands, rubbing his thumb against my palm again.

I loved that feeling. I never wanted him to stop touching me. "Why do you run now?"

He looked back up at me. "I need the money too. To pay for Em's college. I don't want her to have to start her career with a bunch of debt."

"That's really sweet."

"Or horrible, since I'm motivated by money?" He raised his eyebrow at me.

I laughed. "Well, sweet and horrible. Maybe I could come to your race tomorrow and cheer you on?"

"I'd love that."

I bit my lip. It was almost like he said it because he knew I said love earlier by accident. "Where does Em go to school?"

"Penn U."

"Oh, in Philly? That's actually really close to where I live. Do you visit her a lot?"

"Not as much as I'd like to. But if I win gold tomorrow, I'll be able to more often. Me and my greedy ways."

I gently nudged his arm with my free hand. "You knew what I meant." My hand hesitated on his arm a moment too long. God his bicep felt amazing. "Sorry, I..." I let my voice trail off and laughed awkwardly as I removed my hand.

His eyes lingered on my lips. I watched his Adam's apple rise and then fall. He's going to kiss me!

"You're making it really hard to be respectful." He leaned forward slightly. I could smell his cologne. I wanted to lick his skin and taste it.

I took a deep breath. All I wanted was his clothes on the floor of the train. "What if I don't want you to be respectful?"

Phones buzzing and ringing all around us both made us jump. Bryce dropped my hand and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Shit." His eyebrows lowered.

"What's wrong?"

"They found Liam."

"Is he okay?"

"No." He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. "They found his body."

"Oh my God." I put my hand over my mouth.

The train squealed as it started to come to a stop.

"I'm sorry, I have to go." He slid his phone into his pocket and stood up.

"Bryce, I'm so sorry. Did you know him?"

"What? Yeah. Kind of." He ran his hand through his hair. His face looked pale.

"Do you want to go get dinner and we can talk about it?"

"No. I'm sorry, I have to go," he repeated when the train stopped moving.

He lifted out a single rose from his backpack and handed it to me.

"Congratulations on your win, Alina." He leaned forward and kissed my cheek.

And the next thing I knew he was pushing his way past the other athletes getting off the train.

I looked out the window to see him run off the train.

He stopped in the middle of the street and bent over with his hands on his knees.

It looked like he was going to throw up. Maybe he still wasn't feeling well.

I tried to shove my way through the other athletes too, but I wasn't as big as Bryce. It took me a few minutes to get off the train. And Bryce was already gone.