Page 67 of The Roommate Game

“My name is Gus, and I think I need help.”

CHAPTER 20

RAFE

Apologies weren’t my forte,but I was giving this one everything I had.

“I’m sorry for the late notice. I hate to inconvenience you or?—”

“Rafe. It’s all right,” Walker intercepted. “But I have questions.”

I perched on the edge of the sofa and adjusted my earbuds. “Okay. Shoot.”

“Did you and Eli break up?”

“No.”

“So you’re still together and?—”

“No.”

Walker went quiet on the line. “Taking a break?”

“No.”

“What’s the other choice?”

“We’re not a couple,” I admitted. “We never were. We went on one date. That’s it. Everything else has been…not exactly true.”

“Ahh, okay.”

“I’m sorry. This is…unsavory and terrible, and you probably think I’m such an idiot and an asshole, but?—”

“I don’t think that at all.” He paused for a moment. “Hey, would you be interested in doing a solo interview?”

Solo.

“Uh…on my own?”

“It doesn’t have to be now, but I’d love to put something on the calendar. Figure skating doesn’t get enough love. I’m happy to include Eli too with a different angle. ‘Two rivals who tried to date. Alas, their love couldn’t survive the pressures of competition.’ Or something like that. Think about it and get back to me.”

Triple Lutz, triple toe-loop, flawless landing. Smooth combinations, smooth transitions, smooth turns. I was on fire, so in the zone that it took a few seconds for me to rejoin reality as I glided off the ice and wobbled onto the rubber mats.

A petite woman with pointy features tossed a towel at me, then gesticulated wildly, mimicking a deeper stretch of fingertips. Nadia was a former figure skating champion from Romania and one of the Smithton coaches who specialized in technique training and choreography. “Bravo. This was good. Very good.”

“Thanks.” I smiled absently as I wiped my brow.

“I am proud of you, Rafe. You improve every day. This is what you must do to become great.” She patted my cheek, which required standing on her toes. “Again tomorrow, yes?”

I nodded, though I should have consulted my calendar. The extra hours at the rink were wreaking havoc with my classes. I had one more paper to finish before graduation, and I was running out of time. But I’d figure out a way to do it all. I had to.This was my shot and now that I finally had momentum on my side, I didn’t dare slow down.

“See you tomorrow.”

Nadia spun to leave and bumped into Eli. She gave him the same pat on the cheek and beamed between us. “My two best men. This team has promise. I tell Boris this every day now. Every day.”

Eli gave her a high five and sat next to me on the bench. “You talked to Walker?”

It was an accusatory statement, not a question.