Page 16

After spending about two hours with Coby in our nook, just cuddling and talking, I come back to the unit. It’s getting late, I’m dog tired, and all I want to do is sleep. As I walk inside, an eerie sensation washes over me.

All of Caro’s things are gone.

I’m isolated.

Walking into Caro’s room, her bed is made, but there is nothing left—her photos, her clothes, her stupid toy unicorn that goes everywhere with her.

All gone.

Plonking down on her bed, I exhale and scan the hall. It’s dim, dark, and depressing, like my mood. I have no idea how I’m going to cope. I pat her pillow and wander back out into the lounge area, where I pick up my phone and open the messaging app.

Me: I’m so alone here…

I hit send and slump. I scan the suddenly not-so-small unit. My phone beeps, and I peek down.

Coby: I’ll be right over.

Half smiling, I reply.

Me : It’s not allowed, rules and all :-(

Coby: I don’t care about the rules. What number are you?

Smiling, I can’t be bothered fighting him on this. To be honest, I want him here. I just hope he doesn’t get caught.

Me: Unit seven, swimming section, female dorms.

Coby: I should hope you’re in the female dorms. lol. See you soon. xo

Half smiling, I shake my head. Obviously, I’m not thinking, where else would I be other than the swimming section in the female dorms? My head’s not in the game right now. Taking a deep breath, I wait about ten minutes. Was Coby actually coming? Then I hear a gentle knock at my door. I rush over and open it to him standing there, wearing a hoodie. I quickly grab and pull him inside, then peek out the door to see if anyone’s out there. There isn’t.

“You’re being silly. We can get into so much trouble if you’re caught here.” I giggle, shutting the door behind me.

Coby pulls me to him, giving me a slight head shake. “I’m not letting you be alone tonight. Fuck the consequences.”

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I smile up at him. “You’re a bad, bad boy, Coby Mathers,” I tease.

He smirks, leaning his forehead against mine. “Can I show you just how nice this bad boy can be?”

Chuckling, I roll my eyes. “Please, lead the way,” I reply, and he lets go of me, grabbing my hand. I lead him to my bedroom and turn around as I reach the bed. “Take the hurt away,” I murmur.

He pushes me, so I fall back onto the bed, bouncing slightly with the weight as I fall. He moves on top of me and kisses me passionately. I’m hurting—he can take my pain away, if only for a moment. He sits up, pulls his shirt off, and shuffles out of his shorts. I follow and make short work of removing the top half of my clothes.

Coby moves back over me, grabs the hem of my pants and pulls them down, taking my knickers with them, leaving me naked. His briefs go next, springing his giant cock free. I beam. He moves in between my legs and spreads them apart, nestling down in between.

Closing my eyes, I rest, trying to relax, get in the moment, and let my worries wash away. His lips trail up my thigh toward my pussy, and I chew my bottom lip as he teases me. His tongue darts out and runs warmth up my leg toward my pussy, and it connects with my clit, making my hips rise up to meet him as he circles it firmly.

My hands claw at the bed sheets as I finally let go and take in the sensations. His tongue swirls and rotates on my clit, my breath hitches slightly as his hand comes in, and he moves two fingers up to my opening. He swirls his fingers around, gathering my slickness and then slides in with a flick of his tongue.

My body arches off the bed as his fingers stroke my front wall, and I moan as my head flops to the side in pleasure. His fingers move in and out of me in a steady rhythm while his tongue continues to assault me with purpose and poise. His fingers move a little faster, working me up higher and higher. I’m sweaty. My back arches again as he thrusts deeper and flicks his tongue.

A wave of heat washes over my entire body, illuminating flashes of light behind my eyes. My muscles constrict. I detonate. My pent-up frustrations all come crumbling down. I moan and gasp while he flicks his tongue, making me jerk one last time. Then he pulls his fingers from me and slowly crawls up the bed over me. Coby leans down, pressing his lips to mine. His lips taste salty, but I don’t mind. Kissing him is the best part of any day. He moves his hands over my head to shift into position, but I place my hands on his chest, and he furrows his brows.

“You okay?”

I smirk and push him, forcing him to turn and roll over onto his back.

Coby watches me as I climb over, straddling him, and place my hands on his chest. “Can I lead this time?”

He smiles, positioning his hands on my hips and hoisting me up slightly, pulling me in line with his rock-hard cock. “Absolutely.”

I nestle down, placing my pussy in line with his cock and sliding down slightly. We both moan as I slip down on him, enveloping him completely. My head falls back—I haven’t buried myself this deep into him before. He’s panting. I rise and slowly cover him again and dig into his chest as his finger moves in line with my clit, and he presses on it, instantly making me gasp as I steadily ride him. The pleasure engulfing both of us is obvious from the way we’re both moaning as he moves his hips in time with mine.

Thrust after thrust, I slide up and down on him perfectly. The synchronization as we move together as one is perfect, with our bodies sliding together.

I move my head back looking down at him, and he’s staring at me. As he rotates on my clit again, it sends a shockwave right through me. His expression is one of pure lust and adoration.

This man cares about me as I do him.

He swirls on my clit again, and the heat washes over me once more as he thrusts into me. My body quivers and tenses as I squeeze my eyes shut and ride him hard. He presses firmly, and everything around me starts to spin as I catch my breath, arching my back. My muscles tighten, and I moan out as I orgasm on top of him. My fingers dig into his chest, but I’m careful not to leave marks as I come down. I continue to ride him as I attempt to catch my breath and fall back down to earth.

He thrusts inside of me, and I need to kiss him, so I inch down, pressing our chests together and kiss him tenderly. He yanks my hair as I ride him. My hands grip either side of his shoulders as we continue to move at a rhythmic pace. The angle is different, and it’s hitting a different spot than before, which, in turn, is working me back up. I didn’t think I could go again, but I’m thinking I might if it keeps going this way.

Coby thrusts inside of me as I drive down on top of him. His hand gripping my hair in a dominant way is only turning me on more as his other moves to my arse and grips my cheek. I moan as he moves with me.

We slide together, both our bodies glistening with sweat. The heat rises and washes over me, and my back curves as lights sparkle and dance behind my eyes. My breath stops as my muscles seize, he tenses his, and we both moan as he unloads inside of me.

My climax has me contracting around his cock right as he blows his load. I bury myself in him as we both pause and break the kiss, panting from our joint orgasm.

We’ve never done that before, but fuck that was incredible.

My head rests in the crook of his neck, and he rubs up and down my back as we both pant.

“I can’t believe we have sex like this,” he murmurs, and I chuckle.

“We’re so good at it,” I reply and stay on him for a few minutes in an easy silence as we both come down from our lofty heights, his hands stroking and caressing me in every way until I become too cold and have to slide in under the covers.

It’s great to have him here.

To rely on him.

He’s shaping up to be an amazing man.

And as I drift off to sleep, I dream of him rather than the nightmare of my real life.

***

Opening the door, I turn to my left and then right to check if anyone is nearby. No one’s around, so I grab Coby, and we hightail it out of my unit and down toward the stadium.

As we arrive, a crowd gathers around the televisions, and I furrow my brows at Coby, who shakes his head. We walk up to the monitor to spot reporters going nuts over something. Then the headline flashes all over the screen—Australia’s first drug cheat shames our Olympic Games. Caro and the Hughes are seen to race off in the background, being swarmed by reporters.

Gasping as Coby wraps his arms around me, I blush.

“Jesus Christ,” I murmur as the reporters run up to Caro and the Hughes. One knocks forcefully into Trinny, making her fall over. My stomach lurches as I watch the horror unfold on the television screen in front of me.

“Fucking hell,” Coby whispers.

Anger surges like adrenaline flowing through my veins. Pulling out of Coby’s grip, I grab a flyer stand nearby and throw it across the room. I groan as Marta walks in, and her smirk irks me to the very core.

“Lacy!” Coby calls.

It’s all white noise.

My feet don’t fail me.

I hit the ground running.

I storm up to Marta and shove her.

She tumbles backward into the bench.

“Are you happy now?” I scream in her face.

She smirks. “Blissfully… my silver has been upgraded to gold. Why wouldn’t I be happy? I’m just sad you’re not a drug cheat like your friend.”

My blood boils. “You pompous bitch!” I lunge forward, but Coby grabs me around my waist, holding me back as my hands and legs flail about, trying to get to Marta at all costs. I’m moaning and groaning as I kick and thrash, attempting to do as much damage as possible, but Coby has me tight as she snickers and walks away.

“Lacy… stop !” Coby demands, dropping and turning me to face him.

My breaths are coming firm and rapid from my nose as I try to calm down. I gaze into his eyes, and he furrows his brows. “You can’t attack her. She’s looking for a way to remove you from the relay team. Don’t let her win… again . Please, stop and think.”

Taking a deep breath and deflate. “You’re right. God! She’s so… so damn aggravating.”

“Try not to let her get to you. Now, how about we get out of here for a while? Maybe go to the Olympic Stadium and watch something else? Get our minds off swimming till Friday?”

“Sounds good to me. What about East?”

“Yeah, let’s go find him.”

Four Days Later

The three of us have spent the last few days checking out the sights and having as much fun as we can with such a big, dark cloud hanging over us. I’ve checked in with Caro every day, and she’s miserable but getting there.

The investigation into Marta proved nothing.

There was no evidence anywhere linking her to the drug scandal, even though all four swimmers connected weren’t known to each other but had the exact same drug in their system. Which points to them taking it at the same time, but again, nothing could be proven. I just wish I’d thought about keeping one of those cups, but then again, what good would that have done?

It’s my word against hers?

And so far, she’s untouchable.

The only saving grace is that word has spread throughout the swim team about Marta, and everyone thinks she should be investigated. But no one will touch her. It’s like she is invincible. I’m sure Karma exists somewhere, but it sure is lacking right here, right now.

It’s the day of the relays, and I’m on the team with Katie, Hayley, and Laura. We’re all on tenterhooks, not comprehending what Marta has in store for us today. I shared my thoughts with Katie about Marta, the false start incident, and the poor Chinese girl who fell prey to her as well. She thinks Marta is perfectly capable of doing it and that I didn’t imagine it at all. So we’re worried that she might pull the same trick again today, especially because she and I will be on the starting blocks together.

As we line up for the walk out, I turn to Katie. “Just watch your back out there, okay? Who knows what she has planned for us,” I whisper.

She exhales. “It’s pretty shit that we have to watch ourselves. I’m sure it’s not supposed to be like this. It wasn’t at the last Games I was at. Everyone supported each other. Marta is in a class of her own. I’ll never understand what she gains from cheating her way to victory.”

As we walk out, we all wave and smile at the cheering crowd. I’m despondent and lonely because the Hughes aren’t here to support me. But I know they’re watching at home.

The announcements start, and I roll my shoulders and slap my biceps, releasing the blood flow through my muscles. I need to be on my A-game for this race.

“Australia,” they announce.

I step forward, holding Katie’s hand, and we throw them up in the air as a team. The home crowd cheers and erupts in applause. I have to admit that having a home Olympics as your first one is pretty special. Having the home crowd advantage is proving to be something amazing.

The buzzer sounds, and Laura moves up to the starting block. My nerves aren’t as bad as they were for my gold medal race, but they’re definitely there. This is more of a team effort—we all need to work toward this goal. We can do it. The buzzer sounds, and Laura drops into the pool to get ready for her backstroke.

“Take your mark.”

Laura positions herself on the wall, crouching up into it and the starting signal fires. She leaps from the wall backward into the clear water. Katie grabs my hand and we jump up and down in excitement as she takes off into the lane perfectly. She’s out in front, right alongside the English swimmer. There’s not much space between them. This is going to be a tight race. Hayley steps up to the starting block, ready to take her place and jump in when Laura hits the wall.

Laura turns down the other end and is still in line with the English and the Americans, with the Chinese tight on our tails. We all need to put in our best efforts to win this relay. Katie and I cheer as Hayley positions herself ready to jump in. Laura glides toward the wall, and I hate this part—anything can go wrong—so my breath holds, and I grit my teeth as Laura slams against the wall and Hayley dives in. My stomach settles. Katie glances at me and beams as Hayley takes off doing the breaststroke in her perfect form.

I’m up next, so I turn to Katie and nod.

She grins at me, squeezing my hand. “You can do this.”

I offer a small smile. “Yeah, we both can.”

She turns to leer at Marta, who I’m going to be racing against, and then she turns to face me. “Whoop her damn arse.”

With a chuckle, I step up to the starting block. My nerves are out of control as I catch Marta staring at me. I glance ahead to watch Hayley and the English girl in a direct line—I can’t tell who’s in front. I need to push to get us a healthy lead, and my God, I am going to push hard to get ahead of Marta.

Hayley swims, and as she gets closer and closer, my stomach flips. I’m nervous, but I can do this. Hayley slams against the wall and I leap off the starting block and dive straight into the water. A slight smile crosses my face as I hit the pool. I’ve missed this, the adrenalin of the race, the thrill of the chase, the speed of the hunt. I live for this. As I come up for air, I raise my arms over my head. Then slam back down into the water. I love freedom in the water. All my cares all my worries disappear. Right now, all I can think about is getting in front so I can kick Marta’s scrawny, pale arse.

I reach out for the wall and turn, and as I come back up, an almighty smack crashes up into my face. My eyes roll around as the sharp pain radiates through my nose. I stop swimming and push myself to the edge of the pool, grasping at my nose. A buzzer sounds as arms reach down to lift me out of the pool as my head fades in and out of blackness.